Executive Decision

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Theatrical Trailer(s)	None
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1996	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	127:04 minutes	Other Extras	None
RSDL/Flipper	RSDL (61:05)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Movie
Region	4	Director	Stuart Baird
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Kurt Russell Halle Berry John Leguizamo Oliver Platt Joe Morton David Suchet Steven Seagal
Case	Snapper
RRP	$29.95	Music	Jerry Goldsmith

    Kurt Russell, in a considerably more subdued role than I have seen him play in a long time, plays intelligence agent David Grant. Arab terrorists, led by the fanatical Nagi Hassan (David Suchet), hijack a US-bound plane. They demand that their leader is released from prison in the US or else they will kill all 400 hostages. David Grant is convinced that this is just a ruse for a much more devastating strike on the US.

    An Executive Decision needs to be made by the President of the United States; destroy the plane before it reaches the United States or allow it to land with the possibility of much greater bloodshed if David's theory is correct.

    The only hope is if a crack team of commandos manages to get onto and retake the beleaguered aircraft before it reaches U.S. airspace.

Video

    The image is very sharp and very clear. A few of the shots are somewhat grainy, but these appear to be stock shots rather than new footage. Shadow detail is good, and there is no low level noise.

    The colours were well saturated throughout.

    No MPEG artefacts were seen. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of copious amounts of aliasing at times. All the usual culprits were responsible, and this transfer is reminiscent of many of the older Warner Home Video 2.35:1 transfers which also suffered from this problem. The aliasing only lasts for a short time whenever it is visible, but it is certainly quite distracting whilst it is on show. Film artefacts were present more often than I would have expected as well, especially considering the recent vintage of this film, and they were quite distracting at times.

    The subtitle mix on this disc is quite intriguing - I wonder how many people will watch this movie utilizing the Arabic subtitles, considering that the bad guys in this movie are very much painted as stereotypical Arab fanatics - I can't see this DVD being a big hit anywhere in the Middle East.

    This disc is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed at 61:05, between Chapters 15 & 16. It is minimally disruptive.

Audio

    Dialogue was always clear and easily audible, despite the often high ambient noise present.

    There were no audio sync problems with this disc.

    The soundtrack was scored by Jerry Goldsmith and is in his usual triumphant orchestral style. It suits the movie nicely.

    The surround channels were aggressively used for music and special effects, with frequent and heavy use contributing nicely to the enveloping feel of this soundtrack.

    The .1 channel was heavily used during the special effects sequences and to enhance the music.

What's Missing / What's Extra

• Pan & Scan version
• Cast & Crew Biographies
• Production Notes

Menu

    The video quality is acceptable.

    The audio quality is good.

    The extras are non-existent.

Video
Audio
Extras	nil
Plot
Overall

© Michael Demtschyna
3rd August 1999