The Bourne Identity (Rental) (2002)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Trailer-Johnny English; The Hulk
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	113:36
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (67:07)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Doug Liman
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Matt Damon Franka Potente Chris Cooper Clive Owen Brian Cox Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje Gabriel Mann
Case	?
RPI	Rental	Music	John Powell

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English Titling	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    I must admit that my interest in the spy film sub-genre has waned in recent months. After actually paying money to see the recent James Bond disaster Die Another Day (which should have been retitled Advertise Another Day for the blatant product placement featured throughout), I found it difficult to get too excited about taking a look at yet another film featuring spies and gadgets. A friend lent me the Region 1 disc last week but I waited until I received the Region 4 rental version before I sat down to watch it for the first time. To make matters worse, I realised that this film is a remake of a 1988 made-for-television film of the same name starring Richard Chamberlain. Doesn't anyone have any original ideas these days? As a side note, I have decided that you know you are getting old when film remakes appear and you can vividly remember the original either on television or showing at the cinema. Such is life, I guess. Anyway, enough of my rambling.

    Based on the spy-novel by Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity stars Matt Damon as the main man, Jason Bourne. The story opens on a stormy night, when the crew of a fishing boat pluck the body of a man (Damon) out of the Mediterranean Sea, thinking he is dead. They proceed to check him over, finding several bullet holes in his back and a tiny capsule embedded in his hip that contains the details of a Swiss bank account. It also happens that he isn't actually dead, just very close to it. When he comes round, he has absolutely no idea who he is, or how he came to be bobbing around in the sea in the middle of the night. The only lead he has is the Swiss bank account number, so after a brief period of convalescence, he heads to Zurich to find out what is tucked away in the safety deposit box. Once past all the security checks (not bad for a guy who has no ID, no wallet, and no idea who he is), our man is given access to a large box that contains all manner of goodies, including several passports for different identities for a multitude of countries, all with his smiling face on the inside cover. Add in a few spy gadgets, an automatic pistol, and a swag of various currencies and we're getting the idea that Jason Bourne (the US passport is in this name and it's the first one he opens) isn't an insurance salesman. When he arouses the suspicions of the Swiss authorities, he makes a dash for the American Embassy, only to get himself in more trouble. He is also beginning to learn that he has some pretty serious training on his side when he can effectively disable several armed men, all with his bare hands, and he discovers he is fluent in a multitude of languages. With everyone after him, he makes a spectacular escape from the Embassy and convinces the lovely Marie (Franka Potente - she was Lola, in Run, Lola, Run) to drive him to Paris. From here he attempts to unravel the mystery of exactly who he is and why so many people are trying to do him in. The story cuts to the CIA offices in Langley, Virginia where we find those responsible for his predicament trying to clean up the mess before it escalates out of control. What follows is a cat-and-mouse style chase with no real obvious distinction between good and evil. Some stylish set pieces such as the car chase in a Mini through the street of Paris add to the excitement, as does Bourne's slow realisation of exactly who he is and his bewilderment at the things he can do without actually remembering how.

    While following many of the formulaic conventions laid out in the How To Make A Spy Film guidebook, it is done in a stylish and slick manner. There is no clear delineation between the good guys and the bad guys. In fact, come to think of it, there aren't really any bad guys, or good guys. Even Jason Bourne himself has such an unknown past that the audience is left guessing just whose side he is working for. The casting is perhaps the weakest aspect of the film. Matt Damon is obviously the star here, but you sometimes are left shaking your head about him being a world-weary trained killer spy. He just looks too innocent at times! I also thought that the small role for the lovely Julia Stiles as the covert CIA operative in Paris also felt a little out of place, though I guess the better spies pop up as the most unsuspecting people

    One point of local interest. Keep an eye out for the stack of Australian hundred dollar bills in a 'cameo' role. The plastic green notes stand out a mile from the others during the early Swiss bank scene.

Video

    A recent blockbuster film deserves a pristine transfer and I can say this one almost gets one. Almost, but not quite.

    The video transfer on offer here is presented in its original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1. It is also 16x9 enhanced.

    Sharp and well defined detail is evident throughout. Thankfully, there is no major edge enhancement to be concerned about. Shadow detail looks a little dodgy at times, but this would surely have to be all source based. Spies do like to creep around in the dark to do their work and this is no different. Grain is so minimal as to be barely noticed. There is also no low level noise.

    The colours are quite drab, with the entire production feeling like it was filmed under leaden skies with the constant threat of misty rain. Being set almost entirely in Europe, this grey drab tone suits the locales well. Blacks are perfectly solid and skin tones a little pale (but remember this is Europe in winter).

    I saw no MPEG artefacts. There is some shimmer on several surfaces that, while quite obvious, just borders on what I consider acceptable. The usual culprits offend here. Some grille-style walls in CIA headquarters at 12:17 and the grille of the Mini at 34:21 are the most notable offenders, with a handful of smaller, less bothersome instances scattered throughout. There are no film artefacts of any note which is always pleasing.

    There are two subtitle streams available, these being the standard English fare plus an English titling option for the location captions (which are used quite heavily in the early part of the film). The normal English subtitles are accurate, though mildly obtrusive on the actual screen.

    This is a dual layered disc that is RSDL formatted. The layer change occurs mid-scene at 67:07, but it is so well placed that you will barely notice it. Matt Damon pauses and remain virtually motionless before answering a question. The layer change is smack bang on the moment he pauses and with no audio of any sort is virtually unnoticeable.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There are two audio soundtrack available, these being an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at the lower bitrate of 384 Kb/s and an English dts soundtrack also encoded at the lower bitrate of 768 Kb/s. I listened to both soundtracks back-to-back and did a couple of direct comparisons. The same old lines that we usually trot out to differentiate dts and Dolby Digital soundtracks apply here, though both are extremely high-quality tracks and neither will disappoint. The dts track would be the version of choice, solely based on the marginally more pronounced and solid lower end. Both offer superb separation, heaps of solid, clean grunt, and some really well mixed panning effects. Modern soundtracks, both of them, make no mistake, that will give your amplifier some serious work to do.

    The dialogue levels are fine, though on occasion in the early scenes I had a little trouble understanding the various European accents. There are no audio sync problems.

    The score is credited to John Powell. It has an espionage-style suspense-building tone and suits the action very well indeed. There didn't seem to be any need to constantly play the score and the moments of silence at the appropriate times add much more to the tension. There is also a song by Moby called Extreme Ways played over the end credits.

    There is plenty of surround channel use throughout the film, with the levels varying between highly aggressive down to a subtle ambience that finds you looking over your shoulder to see if a bird (or car) hasn't somehow snuck into your home theatre room. Check out the very good surround use examples at 23:57 for some amazing background street-scape style ambience, and again at 84:35 when the birds fly around.

    There's plenty for the subwoofer to keep itself occupied. The classic car chase scene through Paris will get it thumping as will a couple of the martial arts scenes.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Introduction

Menu Animation & Audio

Trailer

    No, not a trailer for the actual film. We get two teaser trailers for upcoming cinema releases. The first is for the Rowan Atkinson spy-spoof vehicle Johnny English, and the other is a very brief but tantalising teaser trailer for the Eric Bana blockbuster, The Hulk. Running time for the former is 39 seconds and the latter 58 seconds.

    This isn't a like-for-like comparison at present, since this Region 4 release is a bare-bones rental disc only. The Region 1 disc is fully featured with a pile of extras which will hopefully find their way to the Region 4 retail version when it is released here in a few months. The mild shimmer which I counted as the only negative in the video transfer is also present on the Region 1 version.

    For the record:

    The Region 4 disc misses out on;

• French Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
• Spanish Subtitles.
• Commentary soundtrack by Director Doug Liman.
• The Birth Of The Bourne Identity Featurette (Making-of)
• Four Deleted Scenes and an Alternate Ending.
• Music Video - Moby's Extreme Ways.
• Production Notes.
• Theatrical trailer.

    The Region 1 disc misses out on;

• Nothing

    Ours is certainly a bare-bones rental effort and at this stage the Region 1 is the version of choice. This will likely change when the full retail version is released here in a few months time.

    Is the The Bourne Identity one of those dumb action/thriller films? Maybe, but who cares? When you've had a crappy day at work and you just want to come home and forget about the world for a while, I can think of plenty of worse ways to do it. This is a stylish and well-made spy film that offers something a little bit different to the usual run-of-the-mill good guys and bad guys thriller. The well-worn espionage clichés are certainly present, but there are also a couple of very engaging set pieces, in particular a heart-pumping car chase through the streets of Paris. Matt Damon isn't too bad as the bewildered young spy with an unknown past, and Franka Potente shines in her limited role.

    The video quality is close to perfect. Not quite there, but close.

    The audio soundtracks are superb. Modern, clean, and powerful.

    This is a rental disc only so there are virtually no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall