What Women Want (Blu-ray) (2000)

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General		Extras
Category	Romantic Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Making Of Interviews-Cast & Crew
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	126:41
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Nancy Meyers
Studio Distributor	Icon Entertainment	Starring	Mel Gibson Helen Hunt Marisa Tomei Mark Feuerstein Lauren Holly Alan Alda
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	$34.95	Music	Alan Silvestri

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Way back in 2001, when this site had only been in operation for a few years, one of our reviewers ChrisT reviewed the original issue of this film on DVD by Roadshow Home Entertainment, which can be found here . The film has now been reissued by Icon Home Entertainment both on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray, which is the subject of this review. Chris provides a good summary of the plot in the original review, however I do feel that this is a better romantic comedy than Chris does. In the intervening years the romantic comedy genre has been abused by lots of rubbish films and even more mediocre ones, which makes a film like this stand out more. Sure the basic premise is unrealistic but this is a romantic comedy fantasy and when viewed as such is a very enjoyable viewing experience with some good laughs, believable romance and some nice set pieces like the scene where Mel Gibson dances and sings along to Frank Sinatra. Gibson is marvellous in this film, funny and romantic and combines well with Helen Hunt.

     It certainly did well at the box office on original release taking over $370 million at the global box office. It is ranked as the Number 2 romantic comedy of all time at the US Box Office, behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Another interesting thing is to note is that the film has been remade recently in Hong Kong in Chinese.

     In terms of the quality of this release, see the sections on video and audio quality below which I feel sure are the best this film has looked and sounded. Unfortunately, some of the extras have been lost between the original release and this with only two of them remaining, both promo featurettes. Unlike Blu-ray versions in other regions this version does not include the original audio commentary. See below for a full region comparison.

     A high quality romantic comedy that has stood the test of time, now released in high definition.

Video

     The video quality is excellent considering the age of the film.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is close to the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. It is 1080p HD encoded using the AVC codec.

     The picture was clear and sharp throughout, looking great for a 13 year old film. Shadow detail was very good.

     The colour is very good with just the occasional face looking a little pale.

     Artefacts are restricted to some blocking such as around heads during motion.

     There are subtitles in English which are clear and easy to read. They are in multiple colours to indicate who is speaking.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is very good considering the nature of the film.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in DTS HD-MA 5.1. This is a nice enveloping soundtrack which represents the music well and is well balanced between music and dialogue.

     Dialogue was clear and easy to understand throughout.

     The score by Alan Silvestri sounds great and adds to the feel of the film. There are also a number of Frank Sinatra tunes plus other suitable songs.

     The surround speakers provided mostly atmosphere and music but occasionally provided surround effects such as rain and crowd scenes.

    The subwoofer added bass to the music mostly.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     A small set of extras are included.

Menu

     The menu includes scenes and music.

Making Of (15:20)

     An original making of featurette from the time the film was made, included here in 4x3 with letterboxed scenes from the film. Very much a promo style making of, rather than anything overly informative.

Cast & Crew Interviews (11:39)

     I actually think this might be the extra entitled 'A Look Inside' on the original DVD release. It's another promo style featurette including interview snippets with cast & crew.

    The Region B version of this Blu-ray is basically the same, however it does include the original audio commentary as well. There is no Region A release at this point. Region B UK is the best choice.

    The video quality is excellent considering the age of the film.

    The audio quality is very good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall