Rush (1991)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1991
Running Time	115:10
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (58:43)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Lili Fini Zanuck
Studio Distributor	MGM	Starring	Jason Patric Jennifer Jason Leigh Sam Elliott Max Perlich Gregg Allman Tony Frank William Sadler Special K. McCray Dennis Letts Dennis Burkley Glenn Wilson Jimmy Ray Pickens Barbara Lasater
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Eric Clapton

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired German for the Hearing Impaired French Italian Spanish Dutch Swedish Finnish Norwegian Danish Portuguese Greek Hungarian	Smoking	Yes, + drug taking
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    This film has a strange history for me, because I have owned its soundtrack for 13 years (since the movie was released), and played it many times, but have never before seen the film. Besides including an excellent instrumental score by Eric Clapton, this soundtrack album also includes the first release of the major Eric Clapton hit single, Tears in Heaven, which most people know from his huge Unplugged album, from a year after this film was released. The soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy and the song, for a Golden Globe. Many people do not think of Eric Clapton as a film score composer, but his resume in this area is actually quite long including the Lethal Weapon series, Homeboy, Patch Adams and the excellent British drama series, Edge of Darkness. Anyway, on to the movie......

    Rush is a dark, gritty and uncompromising look at the world of the undercover narcotics agent and their struggles with ethics, addiction, having a life outside of work and just staying alive in general. This is not a particularly 'up' film, however, by the same token it is not depressing and the ending includes some redemption and a feeling of being 'right'.

    The movie is set in the seemingly fictitious city of Ketterly, Texas in the mid 1970s. The main characters are Sgt Jimmy Raynor (Jason Patric, looking very much like Jim Morrison) an experienced undercover narcotics agent and his new and green partner, Kristen Cates (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Their assignment is to arrange drug deals with suppliers in order to uncover and convict the local drug kingpin, who is believed to be Will Gaines (Gregg Allman, of The Allman Brothers Band). Gaines is known to be the owner of local bars and pornography interests which means that the bible-bashing chief of police, Nettle (Tony Frank) is out to get him, even if it means rules need to be bent. The two police agents report directly to Capt Larry Dodd (Sam Elliott) who has previously been an undercover agent himself. As Jimmy & Kristen investigate, they become more and more embroiled in the drug scene, including taking drugs to maintain their cover. Also, their interpersonal relationship changes and begins to impinge on their work. They are soon faced with some very difficult choices which will affect the future direction of their lives and careers.

    The acting in this film is excellent with both Jason Patric & Jennifer Jason Leigh delivering excellent portrayals of cops on the edge, mentally, physically and ethically. They are both intense and very believable in their roles. The supporting players also do a very good job. The film is interesting and enthralling and certainly gets your interest and empathy for the main characters, as they go about their very difficult job in a very human way. They are certainly not the indestructible heroes of a Die Hard or True Lies. They are real people living in a very difficult world. The film is directed by Lili Fini Zanuck, a major Hollywood producer (Cocoon, Driving Miss Daisy) and wife of Richard D. Zanuck.

    Rush will certainly not be to everyone's taste but if the subject matter interests you (or if like me you own the soundtrack), this is a very well made drama.

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is most likely the original aspect ratio although I don't have any data to confirm that.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout, although it could not quite be described as crisp. There was no evidence of low level noise. The shadow detail was also very good. There was some very light grain in some scenes.

    The colour was very good and well saturated, particularly noticeable in the outdoor scenes which were in stark contrast to the drab colouring of the indoor and night scenes. This was an artistic choice rather than an issue with the transfer.

    There were some artefacts present, however, they were minor in nature. These included some aliasing on blinds (5:25 is an example), some minor edge enhancement and some occasional white specks. There was one more noticeable opaque splodge at 89:16 in the bottom left of the screen.

    There are subtitles in 13 languages including both English & German for the hearing impaired. The English subtitles were clear and easy to read, but a little summarised from the spoken word.

    The layer change occurs at 58:43 and is well placed at the end of a scene where it only causes a slight pause.
    

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio quality is good generally, and the music comes across very well indeed.

    This DVD contains five audio options, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s and Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtracks in German, French, Spanish & Italian.

    Dialogue was reasonably clear and easy to understand, although it was sometimes partially drowned out by the music. There was no problem with audio sync.

    The score of this film by Eric Clapton is excellent , adding tension and a soulful feeling to the movie. Additionally, the soundtrack includes songs by many great artists including Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, The Ohio Players, Bob Dylan, Johnny Winter and Freddy Fender. The music sounds great and greatly enhances the film.

    The surround speakers are used to add atmosphere, mostly such as rain sounds and so forth, and a few minor surround effects.

    The subwoofer is mostly used to support the music, but considering the amount of music in the film, this is a welcome addition.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The menu includes shots from the film, a scene selection function and a language selection function.

Theatrical Trailer (2:17)

    This is a very good trailer, giving you a good idea of the style of film, without giving away any important plot points. Better than average.

    The Region 4 version of this disc (when compared to the Region 1 release) misses out on;

• Commentary by the Director
• Featurette on "Filming Rush"
• Music Video

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

• Extra Languages 

    The Region2 release is exactly the same as ours. Based upon the above, the Region 1 disc is the pick as reviews indicate the transfer is comparable and it has extras.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good and includes some excellent music.

    The disc has only a theatrical trailer as an extra.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall