Amnesia (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	146:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Nicholas Laughland
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	John Hannah Jemma Redgrave Anthony Calf Patrick Malahide Brendan Coyle Jeremy Child
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	John Lunn

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    I had lots of reasons for choosing to review this disc. Firstly, it stars an excellent British actor, John Hannah, probably best known to international audiences for his supporting role in the Mummy films with Brendan Fraser. He also has a long history of fine performances in British Television dramas including series such as Rebus & McCallum. Secondly, I tend to enjoy British television dramas especially at the grittier end of the spectrum such as Wire In The Blood, Prime Suspect or Cracker. Thirdly, it just sounded intriguing, and it certainly is.

    Amnesia is based around Det Sgt Mack Stone (John Hannah) whose wife, Lucia, disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. He seems to be incapable of remembering the details of her disappearance and when she does not show up within two months, people begin to fear the worst. After two months of leave, he returns to the force and immediately begins investigating a man who disappeared some years earlier, called Paul West. He thinks there may be a link between West and an amnesiac, John Dean (Anthony Calf). He convinces his partner, Det Cons Ian Reid (Brendan Coyle) to ask permission from their boss, Det Inspector Brennan (Patrick Malahide) for them to investigate. Due to Stone's emotional state he quickly annoys Dean and his wife Jenna (Jemma Redgrave) and they complain to his superiors. All is not as it seems, and the story quickly begins to twist and turn, causing the viewer to first suspect one character and then another.

    This show was originally presented on English television early in 2004, and quite recently here on the ABC. It is a two part mini series and is presented in the same fashion on this disc, including the 'Next week on' section at the end of episode one and the 'Previously on' section at the beginning of episode two. I thought it was a bit slack to leave these on the DVD as they are unnecessary.

    I thoroughly enjoyed this show - the acting was very good, the story well written and the show was absorbing despite its 2.5 hour run time. It seemed to slip by very quickly and never dragged. All of the people involved are very experienced British television drama cast and crew and obviously know what they are doing. There is an excellent twist at the end, in addition to the ones through the show.

    Any fan of shows like Prime Suspect, McCallum, Rebus or British police dramas in general would enjoy this. Recommended.

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was very good. From a picture quality perspective, this is obviously a television production and does not approach the clarity of a well transferred major motion picture.

    The colour was very good throughout with all colours being well saturated and free from colour bleeding.

    The only noticeable artefacts were an occasional black speck.

    There are no subtitles which is a shame.

    The disc is dual layered but the layer change must be between the episodes.
    

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio quality is very good but only stereo.

    This DVD contains one audio option, a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand, however, needed to be turned up approximately 5dB above my reference level.

    John Lunn's score is very good as is usual with these quality British productions. It adds tension to the programme and generally enhances the viewing experience.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer are not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The menu allowed for scene selection but included nothing else besides the two episodes.

    This disc is not currently available in any other region, so Region 4 must be the best.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good but only stereo.

    The disc has no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall