White Noise (2005) |
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White Noise (2005) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Thriller |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Menu Audio Audio Commentary-Geoffrey Sax (Director) And Michael Keaton (Actor) Featurette-Making Contact: E.V.P. Experts Featurette-Recording The Afterlife At Home Featurette-Hearing Is Believing: Actual E.V.P. Sessions Deleted Scenes-With Optional Director's Commentary |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2005 | ||
| Running Time | 93:54 (Case: 109) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (54:25) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Language Select Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Geoffrey Sax |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Michael Keaton Chandra West Deborah Kara Unger Ian McNeice Sarah Strange Nicholas Elia Mike Dopud Marsha Regis Brad Sihvon Mitchell Kosterman L. Harvey Gold Amber Rothwell Suzanne Ristic |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $39.95 | Music | Claude Foisy |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired French English Audio Commentary French Audio Commentary French Titling |
Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
White Noise is a slightly flawed but still very enjoyable supernatural thriller. While there is a lot to like about this film, especially the eerie atmosphere, sadly, like so many other recent horror flicks White Noise takes a potentially interesting idea and then folds it into a standard, formulaic structure.
Written by Niall Johnson, White Noise explores the chilling world of EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). Believers in EVP claim that we can record the voices, and even images, of those who have "passed over" through using standard recording devices.
John Rivers (Michael Keaton) is a successful architect who loses his pregnant wife, successful author Anna Rivers (Chandra West), in a terrible accident.
A few months later, a mysterious paranormal-researcher, Raymond Price (Ian McNeice), approaches John, claiming to be an expert in EVP. Indeed, Raymond claims that he has been receiving signals from Anna via television and radio static.
Understandably, John is initially skeptical, but still deeply in mourning he becomes interested, and then obsessed, with listening to the static, searching for messages from Anna.
However, while delving deeper and deeper into the world of EVP, matters take a disturbing turn, and John finds himself in the middle of an entirely new mystery.
Television director Geoffrey Sax makes his big screen debut with White Noise. There are two things that stand out here: Firstly Sax understands that one of the most important elements of a good thriller is atmosphere; secondly, Sax deliberately sets a slower pace, which suits the story well.
Also of note, White Noise marks Michael Keaton's return to the big screen as a leading man after an almost 10 year absence. His return is a very welcome one, as his riveting performance here carries this movie across the line.
The transfer is excellent.
The widescreen transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 Enhanced.
The sharpness is very good, as can be seen in the detail of the flower arrangement on the casket at 56:39. The black level and shadow detail are also very good, such as in the dark interior hallway at night at 16:30.
The colour is excellent throughout, and the skin tones are accurate.
There are no problems with MPEG, film-to-video, or film artefacts.
English for the Hearing Impaired, French, English Audio Commentary, French Audio Commentary, and French Titling subtitles are present. The English subtitles are accurate.
This is a single-sided, dual-layered disc, with the layer change occurring at 54:25. The feature is divided into 21 chapters.
| Sharpness |  |
| Shadow Detail | |
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
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The audio is also excellent.
There are three audio tracks on this DVD: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s), French Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s), and English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).
The dialogue quality and audio sync are excellent on the default English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track.
The musical score is credited to Claude Foisy, and it is a very effective orchestral score that heightens the suspense and tension of the film.
The surround presence and activity is subtle but enveloping, which makes for an immersive viewing experience. The rears support the score throughout, and also provide ambience, for example the rain at 30:17.
The subwoofer is also utilised very effectively, for example when the lift breaks down at 20:09.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use | |
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| Overall | |
There is an interesting set of genuine extras.
Animated with audio.
Audio Commentary
Geoffrey Sax (Director) and Michael Keaton (Actor) provide an interesting commentary which often focuses on the film techniques used in the story telling, such as the use of camera anglel or particular locations.
Featurette-Making Contact: E.V.P. Experts (8:42)
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, this featurette provides plenty of creepy examples of EVP. Recorded during a EVP Conference, a number of paranormal investigators speak about EVP and share some of their recordings.
Featurette-Recording The Afterlife At Home (4:27)
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, this featurette shows viewers how to record EVP using an inexpensive cassette recorder and white noise. Go to www.aaevp.com for further details.
Featurette-Hearing Is Believing: Actual E.V.P. Sessions (14:34)
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, host Jim Moret joins paranormal investigators recording EVP at an old Hollywood house and Chicago Nightclub.
Deleted Scenes
Presented with the option of a Director's Commentary, there are five deleted/alternate scenes:
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
White Noise has been released on DVD in Region 1.
The Region 4 DVD misses out on:
The Region 1 DVD misses out on:
I would call it even, although we do get an excellent PAL transfer with the local version.
If you're a fan of The Sixth Sense, The Others or The Ring, this is not quite in their league, but well worth renting.
The video quality is excellent.
The audio quality is also excellent.
The extras are genuine and interesting.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
| Display | Grundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Sony STR DE-545 |
| Speakers | Sony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer |