Notting Hill

PREORDER

General		Extras
Category	Romantic Comedy	Theatrical Trailer(s)	Yes, 1 - 1.78:1 16x9, Dolby Digital 2.0
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1999	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	118:53 minutes	Other Extras	Main Menu Audio & Animation Production Notes Cast & Crew Biographies Web Links Booklet
RSDL/Flipper	RSDL (66:42)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region	2,4	Director	Roger Michell
Studio Distributor	Universal	Starring	Julia Roberts Hugh Grant Hugh Bonneville Emma Chambers Jams Dreyfus Rhys Ifans Tim McInnerny Gina McKee
Case	Super Jewel
RRP	$34.95	Music	Trevor Jones

    I do, on the other hand, have a high opinion of the writer Richard Curtis, who wrote Notting Hill. His most notable other claim to fame is that very minor British film of a few years back - Four Weddings And A Funeral. He is an excellent and very clever writer.

    Notting Hill, despite starring Julia Roberts, is a great film. Actress Anna Scott (Roberts) is in London promoting her latest movie. Through a series of coincidences, she literally bumps into William Thacker (a perfectly cast Hugh Grant), a bumbling book shop owner, and the chemistry is inevitable.

    We all know what happens in RomComs - the two protagonists spend the entire movie not getting together for one reason or another even though we as an audience simply know that they are MFEO (made for each other). The inevitable pay-off is not the fun part of the movie - the tortuous path getting there is the fun part. In this case, Richard Curtis has woven a marvellously witty and cheeky cast of odd-ball characters into the storyline as only the British can, and we have a marvellous time watching the antics of the supporting characters. Spike (Rhys Ifans), in particular, steals every scene he is in as the flatmate from hell.

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It is 16x9 enhanced. Notably, the fact that this title is 16x9 enhanced is mentioned on the packaging.

    The transfer is sharp and clear. It has excellent shadow detail, and there is no low level noise.

    The colours are beautifully rendered. Early scenes are a little faded (intentionally), but the majority of the movie is vibrant and colourful with a particularly 'British' look about the colours.

    There were some MPEG motion artefacts seen with some minor image wobble present in several short sequences, most notably 13:07-13:31, 64:10-65:53, 69:38-70:02 and 75:57-76:08. This was not especially troubling, and I suspect that most less critical viewers would have these quite minor artefacts pass them by completely.

    Film to video artefacts consisted of some very minor and inconsequential aliasing. Film artefacts were very rare and all but unnoticeable.

    This disc is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed in Chapter 9, at 66:42. The layer change is well placed and is minimally intrusive.

Audio

    Dialogue was natural-sounding, clear and easy to understand - other than some minor problems with Spike's thick Welsh accent.

    There were no audio sync problems with this disc.

    The score by Trevor Jones is subtle but effective in creating the appropriate atmosphere.

    The surround channels were used subtly by the music and by the odd ambient effect. The overall result was surprisingly enveloping and created a reasonably immersive aural experience.

    The .1 channel was not used as far as I could tell.

Menu

Production Notes

Cast & Crew Biographies

Theatrical Trailer

DVD-ROM Features

The Travel Book

• Audio Commentary
• Featurette - Hugh Grant's Movie Tips
• Deleted Scenes (6)
• Music Highlights
• Universal Showcase (2 other trailers)
• Additional DVD-ROM Features

    The video quality is generally very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The extras are passable.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Michael Demtschyna
16th November 1999