Orange County (2002) |
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Orange County (2002) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Comedy |
Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Deleted Scenes-4 TV Spots-Interstitials (15) Audio Commentary-Jake Kasdan (Director) & Mike White (Writer) Theatrical Trailer |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2002 | ||
| Running Time | 78:48 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (48:01) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Language Select Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Jake Kasdan |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Paramount Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Colin Hanks Schuyler Fisk Jack Black Lily Tomlin Catherine O'Hara John Lithgow Chevy Chase |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $35.95 | Music | Michael Andrews |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0  (224Kb/s)
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
Hebrew Greek English Spanish French Croatian Italian Portuguese Slovenian English Audio Commentary Spanish Audio Commentary French Audio Commentary Italian Audio Commentary English Titling Spanish Titling French Titling Italian Titling |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Orange County is a comedy about the efforts that one person will make to get into their university of choice when they find out they have been rejected.
After the death of his best friend in a surfing accident, Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) finds a book that changes his life. This book inspires Colin to become a writer and he applies to Stanford University where the author lectures. When he is told he is guaranteed a place at Stanford by his college advisor, Colin does not even bother applying to any other schools but after a mix-up in his application he is not accepted. Extremely disappointed by this rejection, Colin enlists the help of his girlfriend (Schuyler Fisk) and brother (Jack Black) and the group heads to Stanford to plead his case with the admissions director. Unfortunately, everything and everyone seems to be working against Colin and he faces numerous hurdles along the way.
This film received a significant amount of publicity due to some of the people involved with it. Colin Hanks is the son of Tom and Schuyler Fisk is the daughter of Sissy Spacek. The film was directed by Jake Kasdan who is the son of writer/director Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill, Grand Canyon, French Kiss). While each of these individuals has famous connections, their work on this film prove that they are able to easily stand alone. The film also has an always-enjoyable performance from Jack Black and an excellent supporting cast. Despite its relatively short running time, this film is extremely enjoyable and definitely worth taking a look at.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is consistently sharp throughout and it always reveals extremely high levels of detail. No low-level noise was detected at any time during the transfer. During the dark scenes, excellent levels of shadow detail were always displayed.
The transfer displays a natural colour palette throughout and is always vibrant and well saturated.
No MPEG artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer.
A number of minor aliasing artefacts were detected during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 1:19, 2:29, 3:37, 4:16 and 9:02. A number of moiré artefacts are also present and examples may be seen at 8:43, 12:05, 12:59 and 17:58. Due to their frequency, these artefacts are slightly distracting.
A small number of very minor film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Examples of these artefacts may be seen at 3:21, 3:30, 4:03, 4:24 and 8:12. All of the film artefacts are very small and only minimally disruptive.
Seventeen white subtitle streams are included on this disc. I extensively sampled the English streams and found them to be consistently accurate.
The layer change occurs at the start of Chapter eleven at 48:01 during a scene change and is unlikely to be detected by most viewers.
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| Shadow Detail | |
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
The dialogue is always clear and easy to understand at all times. No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.
The original score by Michael Andrews works well with the on-screen action but never draws attention to itself. As expected from an MTV production, the score is supplemented with numerous enjoyable tracks that complement the storyline.
The surround and LFE channels are used to support the score and the numerous directional effects throughout the transfer create an enveloping soundfield.
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| Audio Sync | |
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The animated menu is presented at either 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 depending upon player setup.
A collection of four deleted scenes are presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. They are not 16x9 enhanced. English, Spanish, French and Italian white subtitles are provided. After playing each scene, I found that it took a significant amount of time to return to the menu. The following scenes are included:
This is a collection of television advertisements that were aired on MTV to publicize the film. These commercials are presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with English, Spanish, French and Italian subtitles. Similar to the deleted scenes, I found that it took a significant amount of time to return to the menu after playing each spot. The following promotional spots are included:
During this feature-length scene-specific audio commentary, director Jake Kasdan and writer Mike White discuss their work on this film. Some of the topics covered during the commentary include the origins of the project, the extensive editing process, locations, casting and the publicity they received and the audience reactions to the film. This commentary initially contains a number of short pauses but these are reduced as the track progresses. White English, Spanish, French and Italian subtitles are included for the commentary. I sampled the English stream and found it to be consistently accurate.
This theatrical trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Both versions of this film appear to be identical and I therefore would have no preference for either version.
Orange County is a highly enjoyable comedy with excellent performances and an impressive supporting cast.
The video transfer is of high quality and is only marred by a small number of aliasing and moiré artefacts.
The enveloping audio transfer is of high quality and suits the on-screen action.
An enjoyable collection of extras provides some interesting insights into the making and US promotion of the film.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Toshiba 2109, using S-Video output |
| Display | Sony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Front left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged) |
| Speakers | Front left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259 |