Snake Eyes (1998)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1998
Running Time	94:30
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (70:03)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Programme
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Brian De Palma
Studio Distributor	Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.	Starring	Nicolas Cage Gary Sinise John Heard Carla Gugino Stan Shaw Kevin Dunn
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$34.95	Music	Ryuichi Sakamoto

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/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 for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	Yes
		Action In or After Credits	No

    This thriller works by flashing us back to the events surrounding the assassination utilizing different points of view as more and more information is revealed. It has its moments, but basically never quite becomes believable, so it fails to develop much more than a modicum of tension.

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer was extremely sharp and very clear. There was a lot of rapid camera panning, and subsequent motion blur, but this appeared to be inherent in the print rather than a fault with the transfer. Much of this movie was shot in darkness or in low lighting conditions, and it is fortunate, therefore, that the shadow detail of this transfer was very good, allowing a lot of detail to remain in the picture. There was no low level noise.

    The colours were well presented, even though somewhat on the muted side.

    No MPEG artefacts were seen. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of some very minor aliasing, but this really was minor. Potential severe aliasing candidates were spread throughout this movie, and virtually none of them shimmered at all. The ones that did, did so subtly instead of harshly. Film artefacts went unnoticed.

    This disc is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed within Chapter 9, at 70:03. It is slightly disruptive, but certainly beats getting up to turn the disc over, as has been the case with so many Buena Vista titles of late.

    There is only one set of subtitles on this disc, English for the Hard of Hearing.

Audio

    Dialogue was a little hard to understand at times, especially early on in the movie where it sounded somewhat muffled.

    There were no audio sync problems with this disc.

    The musical score was by Ryuichi Sakamoto and was singularly unremarkable.

    The surround channels were used moderately aggressively, especially during the fight, where crowd sounds were placed throughout the entire sound field. Overall, however, this soundtrack was not particularly enveloping.

    The .1 channel was used occasionally to augment the special effects, but was not worked hard by this soundtrack.

Menu

• Theatrical Trailer

• 16x9 enhancement

    The Region 4 version of this DVD is the clear winner because of its 16x9 enhancement.

    The video quality is exceptional, and is of reference quality. Because it is 16x9 enhanced, it is superior to the Region 1 version of this disc.

    The audio quality is passable without being remarkable.

    The extras are non-existent.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall