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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.
Analyze That (2002)

Analyze That (2002)

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Released 1-Jul-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Main Menu Introduction
Main Menu Audio & Animation
Filmographies-Cast & Crew
Audio Commentary
Featurette-making of
Game-M.A.D.E.
Theatrical Trailer-2:09
DVD-ROM Extras
Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2002
Running Time 91:50
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (28:47) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Harold Ramis
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Robert De Niro
Billy Crystal
Lisa Kudrow
Joe Viterelli
Cathy Moriarty-Gentile
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $39.95 Music David Holmes


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
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, bloopers during end credits

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

Plot Synopsis

    After the success of Analyze This, a comedy with the slightly bizarre premise of a mobster going to a shrink, it was inevitable that a sequel would be made. Well, this is that sequel, and it's predictably called Analyze That.

    All the major characters reprise their roles. Dr. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) is now married to Laura (Lisa Kudrow) and they are attending his father's funeral. Just before he has to deliver his speech, Ben receives a call from none other than the super-mobster himself - Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro).

    Paul is calling from a prison phone, and he believes someone is trying to kill him. Sure enough, that night a prison guard shoots into Paul's bunk in his cell, but thankfully Paul is hiding "under the mattress." (a very subtle reference to The Godfather). The next day, Paul encounters another inmate at the canteen who also tries to kill him.

    Paul hits on a brilliant ploy to get out of prison before he gets killed - pretend to be insane. He starts alternating between singing songs from West Side Story and acting catatonic (Robert is obviously reprising his role from Awakenings). Needless to say, the authorities are spooked and call in Ben.

    After some discussion, the authorities agree to release Paul into Ben's less-than-willing custody provided his house is temporarily designated as a Federal prison :-)

    Once he's back in the "free" world, Paul loses no time in contacting his buddies - including "Jelly" (Joe Viterelli) - to find out who is trying to kill him. Is it his former "Family" - now headed by Patti LoPresti (Cathy Moriarty) - or a rival operation headed by Lou "The Wrench" Rigazzi (Frank Gio)?

    In the meantime, the director of the hit TV series "Little Caesar" (another obvious reference - this time to The Sopranos), Raoul Berman (Reg Rogers) wants Paul to "consult" to add to the "realism" of the show - which stars Anthony Bella (Anthony LaPaglia). Paul surprisingly (since he hates the show) agrees, but it soon becomes apparent he is using it as a cover-up for Something Big. What is he planning?

    I found this film fairly watchable, although not memorable. It is probably worth a rental, but I'm not sure about this being a "keeper."

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Transfer Quality

Video

    This is a widescreen 1.78:1 transfer (16x9 enhanced) based on a 35mm film source with an intended aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

    Given that this is such a recent (and relatively short in duration) film, I would have expected the transfer to be excellent, and it is.

    Detail levels are high, although shadow detail seems to be somewhat lacking - then again, maybe it's just all those black suits. :-) I suspect the contrast may have been slightly digitally enhanced.

    Colour saturation is pretty much near perfect.

    I did not notice any compression artefacts. Edge enhancement is present, although kept at minimum levels and hence below the level of annoyance. Grain is virtually non-existent.

    There are two subtitle tracks, both in English. One is a transcription of the script, the other of the audio commentary track.

    This is a single sided dual layered disc (RSDL). The layer change occurs in Chapter 9 at 28:47 and is reasonably well placed as it occurs during a pause on Robert de Niro.

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

Audio

    There are two audio tracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) and English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded (192Kb/s).

    I would have expected this to be a dialogue focused front-centred audio track, and it is. Dialogue is clearly reproduced and easy to understand, and I did not notice any audio synchronization issues.

    Surround activity seemed to be mainly confined to background music, ambience and occasional Foley effects. For most of the film, I was not looking out for surround activity, but I was slightly disappointed that even during the car chase and heist scenes (where there is some attempt at doing pans across the front speakers), there wasn't not much more than faint murmurs coming from the surround speakers.

   Subwoofer activity was also minimal.

    Apart from various cast members (but mainly Robert de Niro) singing songs from West Side Story, the background music is mostly instrumental muzak composed by David Holmes.

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

Extras

    The extras are reasonable, although not as "well-endowed" as on some discs.

Menu

    All menus are 16x9 enhanced. The main menu is preceded by an intro and is animated/includes background audio.

Filmographies-Cast & Crew

    This contains a set of stills (containing filmographies plus photos taken from the film) for:

Audio Commentary

    This is by co-writer and director Harold Ramis. It's a pretty factual and down-to-earth commentary - I was hoping for either some funny jokes or startling revelations and got neither. He makes the usual comments on casting, locations, how certain scenes were shot, etc.

Featurette- The Making of Analyze That (11:29)

    This is a standard promotional featurette, presented in full screen and Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).

    Besides excerpts from the film and behind-the-scenes footage, it contains interviews with:

Game-M.A.D.E.

    This is a multiple-choice quiz. "M.A.D.E" stands for "Mafioso Associate Degree Exam" :-)

Theatrical Trailer-2:09

    This is presented in 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) and Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded (192Kb/s).

DVD-ROM Extras

    The disc contains an installation of the InterActual Player (Version 2.04.08.1018). The main menu promises "Additional Special Features" upon putting this disc into a PC and installing the software. Well, I didn't find anything exciting apart from a few web links.

R4 vs R1

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

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

    I would rate both versions as essentially equivalent in terms of extra features.

Summary

    Analyze That is the sequel to Analyze This, and it features Billy Crystal and Robert de Niro re-enacting the shrink-Mafioso relationship that made the first film so successful.

    The video transfer is excellent.

    The audio transfer is good but very front focused.

    The extras are reasonable, although not extensive.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Christine Tham (read my biography)
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDDenon DVD-2900, using Component output
DisplaySony VPL-VW11HT LCD Projector, ScreenTechnics 16x9 matte white screen (254cm). Calibrated with Video Essentials/Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationDenon AVC-A1SE (upgraded)
SpeakersFront and surrounds: B&W CDM7NT, front centre: B&W CDMCNT, surround backs: B&W DM601S2, subwoofer: B&W ASW2500

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