City by the Sea (2002) |
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City by the Sea (2002) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Theatrical Trailer-1:52 Featurette-six words about filmmaking (8:36) Biographies-Cast & Crew |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2002 | ||
| Running Time | 103:39 (Case: 110) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (63:41) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Michael Caton-Jones |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Robert De Niro Frances McDormand James Franco Eliza Dushku William Forsythe Patti LuPone Anson Mount John Doman Brian Tarantina George Dzundza |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
| RPI | $9.95 | Music | John Murphy |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | Yes, tobacco and other substances |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
The City by the Sea referred to in the title of this film is Long Beach, NY. Once an attractive place, it has become run-down and infested with junkies and dealers — I don't know if the real Long Beach is like this; I'm talking of the Long Beach in this film.
Joey (James Franco) is a drug addict who steals to support his habit. The film opens with him trying to flog a guitar (presumably stolen) — he looks quite strung out. He manages to get a fix from Snake (Brian Tarantina), but it's not enough — they both need more, so they go looking for Picasso, a dealer Snake knows. Snake tries to get drugs from Picasso on credit, but Picasso comes after them with a knife. There's a fight, and Picasso ends up dead. They throw his body in the river, not even having the sense to search it first.
Vince LaMarca (Robert De Niro) is a cop, a Lieutenant in Homicide for NYPD. He's investigating the murder of a low-level drug dealer who washed up in New York, but whose driver's licence shows he lived in Long Beach. Vince and partner Reg Duffy (George Dzundza, in a role very like his role in Basic Instinct) drive to Long Beach to check him out — Vince hasn't been in Long Beach for a long time, even though he grew up there.
Vince and Reg get a lead on the killer. That lead identifies the killer as Joey; Joey LaMarca, Vince's son...
This is a fairly slow-moving film, and I wondered if it couldn't have been pared down somewhat. But I think it really works as it stands. We need the length so we get a real understanding of how Vince feels about what's going on. The extra pressures put on Vince by Michelle (Frances McDormand), his long-term lover, and Maggie (Patti LuPone), his long-term estranged ex-wife, don't help matters. Nor does the pressure from the mayor's office, in the form of Vanessa Hansen (Drena De Niro, Robert De Niro's adopted daughter, in a small role).
De Niro's performance is really very good, but it's not one of his absolute best (I guess we really expect a lot from him). More impressive is James Franco (especially considering the only thing I've seen him in before was Spider-man, and he didn't exactly shine there) — he's convincing as the junkie trying to escape from his problems.
Although I originally became interested in the film because Eliza Dushku was in it (her role is fairly minor), I don't regret seeing the movie. This is a character study more than anything else, with thoughts about free will and determination, even though it's cloaked as a cop and killer movie. This isn't a pleasant story, but it's well-told — apparently it's based on a true story, with some dramatic licence.
The DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which matches the theatrical release, so no complaints there. It is 16x9 enhanced, and that's good, too.
The image is excellent — clear and clean, without any of the fake sharpness of edge enhancement. Shadow detail is mostly quite good, although there are exceptions. Film grain really only intrudes in one scene, which is very dark, around 69:45. Low level noise is never a problem.
Colour is well-rendered, but the production design is deliberately fairly low-key. There are no colour-related artefacts.
I didn't notice any film artefacts at all, as you might hope on a film this recent. A few shots look to have been shot hand-held, but I don't count a little bit of camera bob as a film artefact.
There's more than occasional aliasing, but it's usually mild when it happens, and not too distracting. There's one bit of moiré on a cyclone mesh fence. There are no MPEG artefacts.
All up, this is a fairly clean transfer.
The only subtitles are English for the Hearing Impaired. I watched them, and they are very good — well-timed to the dialogue, easy to read, and more than usually accurate (an occasional paraphrase is all). Unfortunately, they are placed on the bottom edge of the picture, rather than in the black bar under the picture, which is what I'd prefer.
The disc is single-sided and dual-layered, formatted RSDL. The layer change comes at 63:41, and it's not a bad one — a momentary pause that comes at a quiet point in the film.
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There is only one soundtrack on this disc. It's English, Dolby Digital 5.1, 448kbps.
The dialogue is clear and readily understood. I didn't spot any audio sync glitches.
The music is more than usually varied, opening with Guy Lombardo singing Red Sails in the Sunset (complete with the original crackles of the 78), which segues into some modern cool blues. There's some rock, some rapid tense music, some slow, some tribal-sounding, even some cheesy TV music, and an old-fashioned music box. And there are some moments when they have no music at all — a smart move. The music is credited to John Murphy.
There's fairly little use of the surrounds in this film, but that's OK — they aren't needed. The subwoofer never draws attention to itself, but it does support the lowest register subtly.
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There is little in the way of extras on this disc.
The menu is slowly animated, with music. The music is a bit loud, in my opinion.
Quite a decent trailer, one that doesn't give away too much, but includes a line that didn't make it into the movie (don't they all?).
An interesting little piece featuring Michael Caton-Jones talking to camera. He talks about his philosophy of filmmaking. He shapes what he's saying around six words:
We get quite decent, albeit brief, bios and filmographies for seven members of the cast and the director. The longest is for Robert De Niro, at nine pages, but even the shortest is three pages.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Still, I think we have to award the gold-plated banana to the Region 1 this time.
A well-made, interesting film on a good quality DVD.
The video quality is quite good.
The audio quality is very good.
The extras are limited, but the featurette is a good one.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-S733A, using Component output |
| Display | Sony VPH-G70 CRT Projector, QuadScan Elite scaler (Tripler), ScreenTechnics 110. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Denon AVC-A1SE |
| Speakers | Front Left, Centre, Right: Krix Euphonix; Rears: Krix KDX-M; Subwoofer: Krix Seismix 5 |