Liar Liar: Special Edition (1997)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio dts Trailer-Piano Featurette-Bridging The Comedy Chasm Audio Commentary-Tom Shadyac (Director) Deleted Scenes Outtakes Theatrical Trailer Gallery-Photo
Rating
Year Of Production	1997
Running Time	82:51
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (52:31)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Tom Shadyac
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Jim Carrey Maura Tierney Jennifer Tilly Swoosie Kurtz Amanda Donohoe Cary Elwes Justin Cooper
Case	?
RPI	$36.95	Music	John Debney

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English Audio Commentary	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, outtakes play as the credits roll.

    Liar Liar itself is notable for a pair of firsts. It was the first feature film to carry the logo of the Brian Grazer/Ron Howard production company Imagine Entertainment, and it was the first leading role for Jim Carrey in which he got to use his own hair. Okay, maybe they're not so notable after all, but they are at least interesting. One thing that is worth noting about this film is that it is one of Jim Carrey's funniest, and certainly the most accessible of his straight comedy efforts. The reason for the increased accessibility is that the character of compulsive liar Fletcher Reede is as close to reality as any of Carrey's comedic characters have ever come.

    Fletcher Reede is a lawyer at a big firm, and is a man who will do anything - including swearing to the most imposturous lies - to make his way further up the corporate ladder. Unfortunately, Fletcher's son Max (Justin Cooper) and ex-wife Audrey (Maura Tierney) have felt the side effects, and hardly ever get to see Fletcher. Seeing the disappointment in her son's eyes every time his father does not show up when he "promised" to, Audrey begins considering a move to Boston with boyfriend Jerry (Cary Elwes). When Fletcher doesn't show up for Max's birthday party however, Max makes a fateful birthday wish - that his dad can't lie for an entire day. By some twist of fate, the wish comes true, and Fletcher must make it through an entire day - including a court appearance - and win back his son and wife without telling even one lie.

    Liar Liar successfully avoids becoming a one-joke movie both by keeping the running time short (it clocks in at only 83 minutes), and by using almost a third of that time in character build-up prior to the principal comedic element of the wish. By varying the way in which Fletcher tells the truth, the comedy is also varied, keeping the movie both interesting and funny. The story is certainly Hollywood, but there is enough here to maintain interest, and the "heartfelt" moments are well restrained, and successful enough to invest the film with an emotional interest in addition to the comedy. This is certainly a comedy worth watching, and not just for Jim Carrey fans. Yes, his trademark faces, expressions, and brand of physical comedy are all present, but the more realistic base of the characters gives the film a far wider appeal. If you're looking for genuine laughs, then you could do much worse than Liar Liar.

Video

    Presented at the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, this transfer is 16x9 enhanced.

    The only real problem with this transfer is a slight lack of sharpness throughout. The image is just a little on the soft side, and although there is still more than enough detail present, the end result is something just a little softer than we know the format is capable of. There is a little grain, but it only becomes obvious very occasionally, such as at 31:39 and from 66:34 to 66:39. Shadow detail is also just a little down on what the format can deliver, but is still very good. There is no low level noise present.

    Colours are slightly muted, although this was also the case with the previous release (which at the time was considered to be very well represented), indicating that it is a source issue. Again, this issue is relatively minor, but in comparison to what other recent transfers offer, it is not quite equal.

    There are no compression artefacts at all in this transfer. There is some light aliasing present, and a few instances of more severe aliasing, such as on the vent from 17:11 to 17:15, and the grille from 34:10 to 34:16, but in general it is not a problem. There are a few film artefacts, such as at 17:02 and 79:34, but they are few and far between.

    The subtitles are mostly accurate, but do tend to abbreviate statements on a regular basis. In general, this does not affect the comedic impact of the dialogue, but it would still be preferable to see what was actually said.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc with the layer change taking place at 52:31 during Chapter 12. It is a very well placed layer change, taking place on a static screen with no audio, and is almost impossible to spot (I missed it the first time through).

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There are three audio tracks on this disc. Annoyingly, it is not possible to switch between tracks from within the movie, necessitating a visit to the audio setup menu each time. The tracks present are the original English dialogue available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 (at 384 Kbps), and DTS 5.1 (at half bitrate), and an English audio commentary track in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (at 192 Kbps).

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. There is some minor distortion that appears occasionally, such as from 14:35 to 15:03, but it really is very minor, and never becomes distracting. Audio sync is generally good, although there are a few occasions, such as from 15:30 until the end of the scene, and at 74:34, where it slips out slightly.

    The score, credited to John Debney is well suited to the movie, if not all that original. It keeps pace with the rapid-fire changes in tone of the film, and is quite good at keeping the audience in the right frame of mind.

    Surround presence is, to be quite blunt, non-existent. There are a few occasions where the score will bring the surrounds whimpering to life for a short period of time, but in general they sit dormant for the length of the feature.

    The subwoofer provides some limited backup for the score, but apart from that has little to do.

    The DTS and Dolby Digital tracks are fairly evenly matched, as is really to be expected for a soundtrack that doesn't really tax the capabilities of most modern audio systems. The advantage, and it is slight, would have to go to the DTS track, which presents a slightly richer sound in relation to the Dolby Digital - but the difference is extremely minor.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

Bridging The Comedy Chasm (16:08)

Audio Commentary - Tom Shadyac (Director)

Deleted Scene (3:53)

Outtakes (1:34)

Trailer (2:10)

Stills Galleries

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

• Production Notes
• Cast & Crew Bios
• Trailers for: The Nutty Professor, Patch Adams
• French Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack

• English DTS 5.1 soundtrack

    The video quality is very good, with only the fact that the transfer could have been a little better in a few areas (as opposed to anything overtly wrong with it) letting it down.

    The audio quality is serviceable, but this soundtrack won't so much as blow over a cardboard cut-out.

    The extras are reasonable, although certainly not worth a three year wait.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall