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Category | Thriller | Theatrical Trailer(s) | 1 |
Rating | Other Trailer(s) | None | |
Running Time | 113 minutes | Commentary Tracks | None |
RSDL/Flipper | No/No | Other Extras | None |
Region | 4 | ||
Distributor | Columbia Tristar | ||
RRP | $34.95 |
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Pan & Scan/Full Frame | No | MPEG | None |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Dolby Digital | 5.1 |
16x9 Enhancement | Yes | Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
English (Dolby Digital 2.0) French (Dolby Digital 5.1) French (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
Theatrical Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
Macrovision | Yes | ||
Subtitles | English
French Dutch Arabic |
Teacher keeps a very close eye on Annie throughout the trial, including during jury deliberations, and demands that she not only vote "not guilty" herself, but also convince the other jurors to vote the same way. The jury's verdict leaves Annie deeply emotionally damaged, and the remainder of the movie focusses on her attempts to gain redemption, freedom and safety for herself and for her son.
This movie could be roughly divided into three sections; during the trial, during the jury deliberations, and after the trial, and all are equally exciting. The entire movie will keep you on a knife edge, with the only slightly slow moments early on in the movie as the characters are establishing themselves. There are number of plot twists, and double dealings, none of which you will guess before they happen, unlike the last movie I reviewed - Single White Female - which was a formulaic thriller if I ever saw one. Alec Baldwin delivers a stunningly powerful and extremely threatening performance as Teacher. I personally was amazed at the depth he was able to bring to the character. Demi Moore also shone as Annie. The supporting cast were excellent as well. All in all, this movie had me on the edge of my seat pretty much all of the time, and whilst the ending is almost predictable, the path taken to get to that ending is totally unpredictable.
The transfer was razor sharp at all times. Shadow detail was superb, with no low level noise apparent.
The colour was extremely well rendered. In particular, there was no oversaturation in the lower lit scenes, and in higher lit scenes, the colours were vibrant. All-in-all, the colour rendering in this transfer is perfect.
No MPEG artefacts were seen. No film-to-video artefacts were seen. Film artefacts were essentially non-existent.
This is a reference level video transfer.
Dialogue was always completely clear and intelligible, something which is particularly important in a movie such as this one.
The musical score was often present, underscoring the action. It was composed by James Newton Howard, and is very chilling. It suited the on-screen action superbly, adding to the tension significantly.
The surround channels were used for music, some ambience and some effects. As far as soundtracks go, the surrounds were not heavily utilized, with a lot of the movie up front and centre, but it was still a reasonable 5.1 sound mix, though it could have been more enveloping.
The .1 channel was used to enhance music and special effects. It only had a light workout during this movie.
The video quality is reference quality, with no artefacts seen.
The audio quality is a little more up front and centre than is usual with today's mixes, but is still a perfectly good audio mix.
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Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Michael Demtschyna
14th November 1998
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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 |