Breakdown (1997)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Main Menu Audio Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1997
Running Time	89:05
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Jonathan Mostow
Studio Distributor	Dino De Laurentiis Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Kurt Russell J.T. Walsh Kathleen Quinlan M.C. Gainey Jack Noseworthy Rex Linn Ritch Brinkley Moira Harris Kim Robillard Thomas Kopache Jack McGee Vincent Berry Helen Duffy
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$24.95	Music	Richard Marvin Basil Poledouris Charley Pride

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Breakdown is an old rental favourite of mine - a simple but satisfying thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

    Jeff (Kurt Russell) and Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are a happy middle-aged couple approaching a transitional phase in their lives. With new careers and a new residence awaiting them, they decide to travel by road from their old life in Boston to San Diego. All is well for the travelling pair until in the middle of nowhere their brand new vehicle gives up the ghost, leaving them stranded in the hot and unforgiving desert. A passing truck offers them a lift to the nearest phone so they can call for assistance and Amy accepts, leaving her husband to guard the car. Time passes and Jeff fixes the car himself, heading straight for their arranged rendezvous - but Amy is nowhere to be found. The locals are ambivalent to Jeff's pleas, only making him more anxious to find his absent wife. The more he investigates, the more he suspects she has fallen prey to some of the town's less-than-desirable characters.

    To give away any more of the plot would certainly spoil this film, but rest assured that this is a first-rate thriller and a very tightly crafted effort from director Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3). Although it relies a little on the "it could happen to you" premise in order to hook the viewer, there are several factors that save this film from becoming half-baked straight to rental fare. The film is very well paced and maintains a great deal of tension from beginning to end, aided by great performances from the film's villains. Kurt Russell is superbly nervous as the perpetually concerned husband and is particularly convincing as an every-day man, as opposed to the muscle-bound heroes we commonly see in such roles.

    If you enjoy a solid and entertaining thriller, this is certainly recommended.

Video

    Breakdown has been transferred to DVD in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, complete with 16x9 enhancement. This film was screened theatrically in an aspect of 2.35:1, which would serve the vast, spacious scenery and visual loneliness of this film much better.

    Since the transfer has been zoomed and cropped to create a 1.78:1 frame, the level of visible detail does suffer a little. Close-up facial shots reveal slightly dull skin textures and a limited degree of detail.

    Colours are bold and well rendered, with no signs of bleeding or oversaturation. Shadow detail is equally good and doesn't present any problems at all. There is no low level noise present in the transfer.

    Film artefacts are common and occasionally distracting in this video transfer. Specks of dust and dirt are the most common, and the odd hair can be seen here and there. A persistent scratch appears in the top right of the frame at 85:34, but only lasts for a few seconds.

    MPEG compression artefacts are nowhere to be seen. A hint of grain is noticeable on several occasions, but doesn't become problematic. Aliasing is similarly well controlled and rarely seen.

    There is an English subtitle stream for the Hearing Impaired included on the disc, which serves the dialogue of the film accurately. The subtitle stream appears under the character that is speaking, which makes the subtitles very easy to follow. The stream is strangely activated by default, so it has to be removed manually.

    This disc is single layered (DVD5 format) and as such does not contain a layer transition.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The only audio track on this disc is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. This is contrary to the cover slick which also lists a stereo option.

    The dialogue of the film is always clear and distinct. I didn't notice any inconsistencies relating to audio levels or lip sync.

    The soundtrack score by Basil Poledouris is as tense as it is eerie and atmospheric. It's one of those background scores that you rarely notice until it creeps up on you - but plays a big part in the film's flow from scene to scene.

    Surround channels were used sparingly, but very effectively. Cars roar from front to rear during the road scenes (34:14), particularly when a truck speeds by at 49:23. Elements of the film's score creep from the rears occasionally, most notably some brief percussive bursts and orchestrations.

    The subwoofer wasn't over-used at all, preferring to sit back and offer a slight rumble now and then as a car roared past. There wasn't a lot of call for it in this thriller, and I feel that had it been pushed any further it may have become tacky. I can safely say that I won't be needing my old VHS tape anymore!

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The main menu is 16x9 enhanced and is backed by some eerie music from the feature. The main menu page includes the following options:

• Play Movie
• Subtitles on/off
• Scene Selection
• Play Theatrical Trailer

Theatrical Trailer (2:09)

    This is a short but effective trailer which touches on the film's plot and includes several frames and pieces of dialogue that aren't found in the feature. The trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

    The Region 1 disc has an additional French dubbed soundtrack and optional Spanish subtitles. The video transfer is presented in 2.35:1, however it is not 16x9 enhanced. The Region 1 disc is similarly bare in the extras department.

    The UK Region 2 disc on the other hand contains an anamorphic transfer in the film's intended aspect ratio of 2.35:1, but is similarly light on the extras.

    The German Region 2 release contains an anamorphic transfer in the intended aspect ratio, behind the scenes footage, still gallery, interviews, trailers and TV spots. Unfortunately though, this appears to be a censored version of the film.

    I'm going to give this to the UK Region 2 disc, for offering the film in its intended aspect ratio with 16x9 enhancement. It remains apparent that this film has yet to receive a definitive release.

    The video transfer is good, but is let down by a butchered aspect ratio. For this, I have deducted a star from the final score.

    The audio transfer is great.

    The only extra is a trailer.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall