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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

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Released 18-Feb-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Main Menu Introduction
Menu Animation & Audio
Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain
Featurette-MI-6: International Men Of Mystery
Featurette-English, English
Featurette-Disco Fever
Featurette-Fashion vs. Fiction
Audio Commentary-Jay Roach & Mike Myers
Deleted Scenes-15
Featurette-Jay Roach & Mike Myers: Creative Convergence
Featurette-Confluence Of Characters (4)
Featurette-Opening Stunts
Featurette-The Cars Of Austin Powers
Featurette-Anatomy Of Three Scenes (3)
Featurette-Visual Effects + introduction
Music Video-4
Teaser Trailer-4
Theatrical Trailer
Scene Selection Anim & Audio
DVD Credits
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2002
Running Time 90:39 (Case: 95)
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (22:42) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Jay Roach
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Mike Myers
Beyonce' Knowles
Seth Green
Michael York
Robert Wagner
Mindy Sterling
Verne Troyer
Michael Caine
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $39.95 Music George S Clinton


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (448Kb/s)
English dts 6.1 ES Discrete (768Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement Yes, plenty!
Action In or After Credits Yes, movie out-takes

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Goldmember is a thoroughly enjoyable comedy-adventure, beautifully presented on an expertly authored DVD.

    I don't think that anyone has explained to the producers of the Austin Powers movies, that sequels are supposed to be worse than the original., as somehow, each Austin Powers movie is better than the last; and Goldmember is absolutely shag-tastic! Goldmember is a post-modern comedy which draws on the earlier Austin Powers movies, as well as having much fun with British pop-culture, 1950s and 1960s spy movies, and 1970s American disco and black-urban films.

    Expertly written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers, and based on the larger-than-life characters created by Myers, Goldmember sees the return of Mike Myers as Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and Fat B******, Seth Green as Scott Evil, Michael York as Basil, Robert Wagner as No. 2, Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina, and Verne Troyer as Mini Me. There are also some great additions to the cast, such as the new characters, Goldmember (Mike Myers), Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce' Knowles), Nigel Powers (Michael Caine), and No. 3 (Fred Savage). Usually I dislike movies where a comedian-lead actor, such as Eddie Murphy, plays multiple roles, as this seems to be an egotistical, rather than a creative/comic decision. However, like Peter Sellers, Myers is one of the very rare, and incredibly gifted, actor-comedians who can pull it off.

    As for the plot, Austin Powers' father has been kidnapped by the bizarre, roller-skating, 70s hedonist, Goldmember. Austin must turn to his imprisoned nemesis, Dr. Evil, as he is the only man who can help Austin track down Goldmember. However, matters do not run smoothly, and soon with the help of Foxxy, Austin must not only rescue his father, but he must also save the world from the impending doom of Goldmember, and deal with Dr. Evil and Mini Me as well. From the eye-popping, James Bond style, John Woo homage-opening, Goldmember remains a thrill and laugh-packed, well-paced, magic carpet ride; while the plot's theme of father-son angst, ties the themes from all three Austin Powers movies together into a neat bundle. With fantastic production values, stunts, visual/sound effects, chorography, editing, costumes, sets, acting, writing, and direction, Goldmember is one of the all-time best comedy movies.

    One small request . . . I purposely have not mentioned any of the surprising cameo performances in the movie, and I ask that out of respect for anyone who hasn't yet seen Goldmember, that anyone posting a comment on this review does the same. "Oh Behave!"

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    This is a breath-takingly beautiful transfer — a term that I have never used before, in over 100 DVD reviews. While there were some minor instances of grain in the source material, and some minor edge enhancement, this transfer is pretty close to being  perfect.

    The transfer is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and it is 16x9 enhanced.

    The image is razor sharp and detailed, and the quality of the black level and shadow detail is excellent.

    There are accurate flesh-tones, and a rich palette of well-saturated colours is on display, which really enhances the movie's great art-direction.

    There are no MPEG artefacts. In regard to film-to-video artefacts, I have debated whether I should mention the following: there is no problem with aliasing, but on two or three fleeting moments during the movie, there is an extremely mild shimmer on some background objects, such as the air vent at 12:31. This is so rare and mild, that I didn't notice it the first time I watched this DVD, and it was only in studying the image with an objective eye a second and third time, that I spotted these forgettable blemishes, on an otherwise perfect transfer.

    This is a pristine print, but if you look very, very, very closely, on a large screen, you will notice a few minute film artefacts, such as the tiny pin-prick sized fleck that appears at 63:09. Again, I did not spot any of these when I watched the DVD the first time.

    Only English subtitles are present on the DVD, and they are slightly simplified, but accurate.

    This is a RSDL disc, with a relatively early layer change, between scenes at 22:42.

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

Audio

    With a simply amazing quality in audio for a comedy movie, the audio options on this DVD are enough to make any home-theatre buff drool . . . English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, and DTS ES Discrete 6.1. I note that these audio specs are even BETTER than the recent Superbit releases have to offer. Listening to both tracks, I did prefer the DTS track, for what appeared to be a wider range, and deeper bass. That said, the fidelity and quality of both audio options are brilliant.

    The dialogue quality and audio sync are perfect on both the default Dolby Digital and optional DTS audio tracks.

    The musical score is credited to George S. Clinton, and it features a variety of musical styles, ranging from 70s disco, and 90s urban hip-hop, to sweeping orchestral pieces. Beyonce' and Britney Spears also contribute songs to the movie.

    The surround presence and activity is enveloping and immersive. Despite being a dialogue-based comedy movie, the rear speakers are used heavily throughout to help carry the score, and to provide a number of surround effects.

    The subwoofer is also used very effectively to support both the score and the sound effects, such as the thunder at 7:11.

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

Extras

    There are extras galore on this DVD, not only in quantity, but in quality as well. Unless stated otherwise, all extras are beautifully presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital stereo surround audio.

Menu

    An animated menu, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.

MI6: International Men of Mystery (4:26)

    A look at the advent of the British gentleman-spy.

English, English (2:31)

   The phenomenon of Cockney rhyming slang.

Disco Fever (4:23)

    A peek at disco fashion and culture from the mid 70s.

Fashion v Fiction (2:00)

    A look at the costumes of Goldmember.

Audio Commentary (Dolby Digital 2.0)

    Mike Myers and director, Jay Roach, provide an entertaining and informative commentary track. Myers provides some very funny comments and observations throughout, while Roach points out some of the technical challenges and triumphs in making the movie.

Deleted Scenes (18:37)

    These are perfectly presented. One can watch them together or separately, with or without commentary, and all are presented in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital 5.1 (without commentary), or Dolby Digital 2.0 (with commentary). ALL deleted scenes on any DVD should be treated to this level of respect! Apart from the quality of presentation, the content is also great, and there are some great comic moments here, only cut out to due to the movie's pacing and overall length. A few out-takes and extended scenes are also included.

Jay Roach and Mike Myers: Creative Convergence (6:18)

Confluence of Characters

    Profiles of the characters, Goldmember, Foxxy, Nigel Powers, and the young Powers and Dr. Evil.

Opening Stunts (2:19)

    A behind-the-scenes look at the stunts in the opening sequence.

The Cars of Austin Powers

Anatomy of Three Scenes

    A behind-the-scenes look at the "Dancing at the Gates", "Roller Disco", and "Sumo Battle" scenes.

Visual FX

    A tour of some of the various visual FX that appear in the movie, such as green screen, miniatures, morphing, CGI, and layering shots.

Music Videos

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, there are four music videos included:

Teaser Trailers

    Four teaser trailers for Goldmember.

Theatrical Trailer (2:20)

    Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, like the deleted scenes. All DVD theatrical trailers deserve to be presented in this manner!

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    Goldmember had a street-date release on DVD in Region 1 of December 3, 2002. In the US, Goldmember is also available as a separate full-screen (1.33:1) edition, and available as part of an Austin Powers movie series 3-pack DVD set.

The Region 4 DVD misses out on:

The Region 1 DVD misses out on:

    I would still call the two versions even, as I would not find the extra subtitle or audio track appealing.

Summary

    Goldmember is the best Austin Powers movie to date, on an expertly authored DVD. The presentation of this movie really serves to highlight the amazing power of the DVD medium, and shows DVD's true potential remains largely untapped. Goldmember raises the bar in what we can expect from DVD distributors. "Yeah Baby!"

The video quality is close to perfect.

The audio quality is perfect for this movie.

The extras are plentiful and genuine.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Brandon Robert Vogt (warning: bio hazard)
Monday, February 03, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-535, using S-Video output
DisplayGrundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationSony STR DE-545
SpeakersSony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer

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