Cruel Intentions

Collector's Edition

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Theatrical Trailer(s)	Yes, 1 - 1.33:1, Dolby Digital 5.1
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	Yes, 1 - Dolby Digital City
Year Released	1999	Commentary Tracks	Yes, 1 - Roger Kumble (Writer/Director), Theo Van De Sande (Director of Photography), Jon Gary Steele (Production Designer), Denise Wingate (Costume Designer), Neal H. Moritz (Producer), Heather Zeegen (Co-Producer), Edward Shearmur (Music)
Running Time	93:33 minutes	Other Extras	Featurette - *Behind The Scenes* (5:55) Music Video - Placebo: Every You, Every Me Music Video - Marcy Playground: Coming Up From Behind Deleted Scenes Cast & Crew Biographies
RSDL/Flipper	RSDL (68:22)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region	2,4	Director	Roger Kumble
Studio Distributor	Columbia Tristar	Starring	Ryan Phillippe Sarah Michelle Gellar Reese Witherspoon Selma Blair
Case	Transparent Amaray	Starring
RRP	$39.95	Music	Edward Shearmur

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	MPEG	None
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Dolby Digital	5.1
16x9 Enhancement		Soundtrack Languages	English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 384 Kb/s) French (Dolby Digital 5.1, 384 Kb/s) English Audio Commentary (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Macrovision	Yes	Smoking	Yes
Subtitles	English French Dutch Arabic Czech Danish Finnish Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Norwegian Polish Portuguese Swedish Turkish French Audio Commentary Dutch Audio Commentary	Annoying Product Placement	Yes
Subtitles		Action In or After Credits	No

Plot Synopsis

Contrary to what Michael might have told you, the dialogue and story of this film is actually very beneath the average 16-21 year old. Or at least, that is how my personal experience leads me to view this film (I grew up with some very interesting people around me for company). However, the real problem with this film lies not in the characterizations, but rather in the screenplay and its source material. Cruel Intentions is the fourth, and thankfully the last (so far, anyway), major motion picture to be based upon the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which was penned in 1782 by Choderlos De Laclos. The other three are Les Liaisons Dangereuses (directed in 1959 by Roger Vadim), Valmont (directed in 1988 by Milos Forman), and Dangerous Liaisons (directed in 1988 by Stephen Frears). I'll be frank with you, and tell you that a novel penned in the latter part of the Victorian era carries some major plot annoyances that are reflective of its time. The obvious fear and loathing of the overtly sexual woman that is carried over into the character of Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is probably the most loathsome aspect of this story. The prevalent belief that the overtly sexual man is evil and pernicious in the era the novel was written in is also part and parcel of the character of Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe). The perverse belief that the asexual woman is a heroic figure to be held as a paragon to emulate is also a hangover expressed in the characters of Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon) and Cecile Caldwell (Selma Blair). Not that there is anything wrong with being any of those things for the right reason, but the way in which these roles are presented in this film is rather irritating. This version of the story works far better as a comedy than as a drama because of the ridiculous implementation of the characters and their interpersonal relationships. The manner in which Ronald Clifford (Sean Patrick Thomas) relates to Cecile and her mother Bunny (Christine Baranski) is particularly amusing, although I presume that this would be one of the few areas in which this film is wildly variant from the novel. Perhaps the way in which characters of Sebastian Valmont and Blaine Tuttle (Joshua Jackson) interact is another area of variance, but I won't presume anything with an eighteenth-century work of sexual bigotry.

For those of you who aren't aware of the story in this film, it runs a little something like this: the vain, scheming Kathryn, along with Sebastian (in this version of the story, he is her stepbrother) each have a set of goals in life. Sebastian's number one goal in life is to seduce as many women of as many varieties as he can in the shortest amount of time possible. Kathryn's goal in life, as far as the movie allows it to be developed, is to screw over as many people as she possibly can while her nature remains clandestine and hidden from the eyes of others. In that respect, she would fit right in as a main character in the New Testament. One quiet day, Sebastian and Kathryn make a bet. If Sebastian cannot get Annette to go to bed with him before school resumes later in the year, then Kathryn will get his shiny little sports car. If he succeeds in getting Annette into bed with him during that time frame, he will get to have his very wicked way with Kathryn. "You can stick it anywhere you want," she coos at him while partially undressed, in that sickeningly sweet voice. This is what led to the initial summation of the plot as "stepbrother agrees to play very stupid game in the hopes that he will get to sodomize stepsister". Overall, this film is the sort of thing that makes me wonder what is going on in the minds of the corporate elite that is running Hollywood. The film starts off with good intentions (if you'll pardon the pun), but it is eventually overwhelmed by the need to stay true to source material that was obviously written by a man with attitudes to the human condition are on the same par as the deranged maniacs who wrote the book of Revelation. Sometimes, some of the literary relics from hundreds of years ago are better when they are just left to rot in the era and culture that they are specific to.

Transfer Quality

Video

Why is it that the most mediocre films with the most questionable plot values get the best transfers? This transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, with 16x9 enhancement. The transfer was surgically sharp and clear enough to be mistaken for film if you project it onto a wall or a suitable screen. The only part of the transfer that is not impeccable is the opening shot, which is blurred and fast-moving enough to induce a sensation akin to motion sickness. This, however, has nothing to do with the transfer, as it was originally shot in this manner. Shadow detail was excellent, with every detail in scenes of darkness being quite easy to make out, and there was a total absence of low-level noise.

The colour saturation was mostly spot on, although there were some moments when skin tones were a little overly tanned in my view. However, this is actually the way that this part of the film was meant to look, as far as I could tell. Otherwise, the colour scheme consisted of powerful and vibrant shades of each primary colour. MPEG artefacts were completely absent from the transfer, which makes me glad that this film was presented on an RSDL disc. Film-to-video artefacts were totally absent, which is interesting when you consider the opportunities that were presented throughout the film. Film artefacts were also completely absent from the presentation, which is quite nice to behold. This film is truly deserving of the Gold Standard Quality label that I found on the original Brackley case I bought the disc with.

This disc is presented in the RSDL format, with the layer change coming in at 68:22, between Chapters 22 and 23. It is well-placed and only very slightly disruptive to the flow of the film.

Audio

The video transfer of this film might be worthy of that peculiar Gold Standard Quality label, but the audio transfer is a very limited piece of work that doesn't really support the film that well. Not that this is much different to any other version of this film that you might find lying around on other mediums, but it is still a little disappointing. Contrary to what the packaging would have you believe, there are three audio tracks provided on this DVD: the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 5.1, a French dub in Dolby Digital 5.1, and an Audio Commentary track in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround encoding. The packaging lists Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround mixes in English and French that do not exist on this disc. I listened to the original English dialogue and the Audio Commentary track, and I even took the time to investigate a few scenes dubbed in French. The most important aspect of the audio transfer in a dialogue-based film such as this, the clarity of the dialogue, was completely impeccable. Audio sync was spot-on from start to finish, with not even the slightest hint of a problem at any point in the film.

The music in this film is a blend of contemporary music (read: American media-sanctioned crap) and a somewhat restrained score by Edward Shearmur. As you'd expect, the contemporary music wasn't worthy of the space it occupied on the disc, but the score music was quite exceptional in its execution, with a rich atmosphere and a powerful emotional balance. The commentary track suggests the use of the Wagnerian technique known as letitmotif (a technique which John Williams has used to great effect during the finest moments of his career), which would explain the overall connection of the score music to the on-screen action. The overall effect of this score lifted the film slightly above its mediocre script and mediocre source material.

The surround channels did very little except support the music, and the very occasional short sound effect, which might have been just my imagination in any case. Fundamentally, this is a front-and-centre stereo mix with some very minor surround elements. The dialogue was mixed into the front and centre channels, while the music was mixed into the left and right front speakers, with a little spillage into the surrounds for good measure. The subwoofer got some rather minor use by the music, but it was otherwise silent, even during the one moment in the film where it would have been useful (Sebastian being hit).

Extras

It's a scientific formula: the more vapid and short on real intelligence a film is, the more extras it will be given. This DVD has a sort of half-and-half balance.

This is your average 4:3 menu, with nothing remarkable about it save for the fact that the back cover illustration shows an extra option that only exists on the Region 1 version of the DVD: "Aspect Ratio". The Region 4 version is only in the one ratio, the ratio that all televisions will be shaped in by the end of this decade, anyway.

Theatrical Trailer

This is one of the better theatrical trailers I have seen on a DVD, with a smooth and clean look that belies its 1.33:1 aspect ratio. It is presented with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, which sounds absolutely great except for the content.

Featurette - Behind The Scenes (5:55)

This is basically an extended advertising trailer for the film, with footage from the film interspersed with footage from the film. The aspect ratio varies between 1.33:1 and 1.78:1, and the video quality is much better than I have previously come to expect from these extended commercials in spite of the fact that it is not 16x9 Enhanced. The sound quality, which is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, is a little ordinary.

Audio Commentary - Roger Kumble (Writer/Director), Theo Van De Sande (Director of Photography), Jon Gary Steele (Production Designer), Denise Wingate (Costume Designer), Neal H. Moritz (Producer), Heather Zeegen (Co-Producer), Edward Shearmur (Music)

What do you get when you have six people speaking the one commentary track without any sort of indicator of who is actually speaking? Well, you get a commentary track in which you have no idea who is saying what, and most of the people don't have anything interesting to say, anyhow. Theo Van De Sande saves this commentary track by offering insights and thoughts aplenty into the processes and artistic choices that were made in the production of the film. This leads me to the conclusion that only people who were intimately involved with the film should be allowed to speak about it. What on earth would Jon Gary Steele and Denise Wingate have to say about their parts that could possibly of interest to anyone other than fellow production designers and costume designers?

Music Videos - Placebo: Every You, Every Me / Marcy Playground: Coming Up From Behind

I didn't even bother with these videos, given the quality of the contemporary music contained within the film. A few seconds of viewing Placebo's offering to this section confirmed my opinion.

Deleted Scenes

Five scenes that were either deleted from the final film or re-worked into a different sequence are presented under a menu of their own. Four of them have a quick introduction by director Roger Kumble, in which he usually explains why each scene was taken out. A lot of the time he states that the flow of the final film was better off, but I believe that this film could have done with at least twenty minutes more character development.

Cast & Crew Biographies

Biographies for Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, and director Roger Kumble are provided in this section. They do provide an interesting list of films where you can see the lack of talent displayed by this quintet in all its ugly glory, but they are otherwise limited in value.

R4 vs R1

The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

Full Frame version of the film
A sixth deleted scene
Featurette - Creative Intentions: Finding A Visual Style

One of the reasons why this film looks so good on DVD is that there is only just enough video information contained on it to fill a dual-layer disc. Michael has already stated that he hasn't heard any reports that the Featurette is anything special, so I believe that there is insufficient difference to recommend the Region 1 version.

Summary

Cruel Intentions is based on a novel that is based on fear and loathing of a natural, healthy part of human life, and this shows a lot. It is presented on a very good DVD.

The video quality is reference material.

The audio quality is good, but nothing special.

The extras are comprehensive, although their quality is only good at the best of times.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment

DVD	Grundig GDV 100 D, using composite output; Toshiba SD-2109, using S-video output
Display	Panasonic TC-29R20 (68 cm), 4:3 mode, using composite input; Samsung CS-823AMF (80 cm), 16:9 mode/4:3 mode, using composite and S-video inputs
Audio Decoder	Built In (Amplifier)
Amplification	Sony STR-DE835
Speakers	Panasonic S-J1500D Front Speakers, Sharp CP-303A Back Speakers, Philips FB206WC Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Subwoofer