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| Category | Drama | Theatrical Trailer(s) | None |
| Rating |
| Other Trailer(s) | None |
| Year Released | 1988 | Commentary Tracks | None |
| Running Time | 115 minutes | Other Extras | Cast & Crew Biographies
Production Notes |
| RSDL/Flipper | No/No |
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| Start Up | Movie | ||
| Region | 4 | Director | Stephen Frears |
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Distributor |
Warner Brothers |
Starring | Glenn Close
John Malkovich Michelle Pfeiffer Swoosie Kurtz Keanu Reaves Mildred Natwick Uma Thurman |
| RRP | $29.95 | Music | George Fenton |
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| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | No | MPEG | None |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Dolby Digital | 5.1 |
| 16x9 Enhancement | Yes | Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
| Theatrical Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| Macrovision | ? | ||
| Subtitles | English
Arabic Polish Greek Czech Turkish Hungarian Icelandic Croatian English for the Hearing Impaired |
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Whilst we're at it, throw in the virginal Madame De Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer) whom the Vicomte is extremely desirous of seducing, Keanu Reeves as a musician who lusts after Cecile and the Marquise, and the fact that the Vicomte lusts after the Marquise but she will not allow him to have her. All in all, somewhat confusing and dense as regards to whom is sleeping with whom and why, but still nasty vicious fun.
Glenn Close and John Malkovich are excellent in their respective roles, and the supporting cast help them along nicely, but you will need to concentrate to understand this period piece.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced. Subtitles defaulted to ON.
The transfer was clear and sharp, but not as sharp as current transfers. Early on in the movie, I felt that it was too dark overall. Shadow detail was acceptable, but not great. No low level noise was apparent, though considerable grain marred the transfer at times.
The colours were clear and well-saturated throughout, except for the opening scenes, which were quite muted colour-wise.
No MPEG artefacts were noted. Film-to-video artefacts were not a problem. Film artefacts, however, were quite problematic at times, especially early on in the transfer when they were quite distracting.
Dialogue was usually clear and audible, though it tended to be a little muffled at times.
Audio sync was a problem, with frequent passages just marginally out of sync throughout the movie. This was nothing major, but was just enough of a problem to be noticeable.
The musical score is by George Fenton and is a lush orchestral score, frequently present and eminently suitable for this type of movie.
The surround channels were rarely used except for limited ambience here and there and subtle music placement. Fundamentally, this soundtrack remains a stereo mix, the way it was originally produced, with dialogue centralized.
The .1 channel was not used as far as I could tell.
The video quality is acceptable, with significant film artefacts present.
The audio quality is unremarkable, but acceptable.
The extras are very limited.
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© Michael Demtschyna
18th February 1999
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| DVD | Pioneer DV-505, using S-Video output |
| Display | Loewe Art-95 95cm direct view CRT in 16:9 mode, via the S-Video input. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Denon AVD-2000 Dolby Digital AddOn Decoder, used as a standalone processor. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | 2 x EA Playmaster 100W per channel stereo amplifiers for Left, Right, Left Rear and Right Rear; Philips 360 50W per channel stereo amplifier for Centre and Subwoofer |
| Speakers | Philips S2000 speakers for Left, Right; Polk Audio CS-100 Centre Speaker; Apex AS-123 speakers for Left Rear and Right Rear; Yamaha B100-115SE subwoofer |