Albino Alligator (1996)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1996
Running Time	92:58
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Kevin Spacey
Studio Distributor	UGC D.A. Inter. Sony Pictures Home Entertain	Starring	Matt Dillon Faye Dunaway Gary Sinise William Fichtner Viggo Mortensen John Spencer Skeet Ulrich Frankie Faison Melinda McGraw M. Emmet Walsh Joe Mantegna Doug Spinuzza Spencer Garrett
Case	?
RPI	$14.95	Music	Michael Brook

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	Dutch English for the Hearing Impaired German Italian Portuguese Spanish Turkish	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

In 1996, the versatile Kevin Spacey had received the Best Supporting Oscar for his performance in The Usual Suspects and unsurprisingly stepped behind the camera to direct Albino Alligator. With his directorial debut he proves he is just as competent as a director as he is a celebrated actor.

On the surface Albino Alligator draws parallels with Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut Reservoir Dogs, as both share an above-average cast, a well-written script, a claustrophobic setting and clever plot twists, yet the two films differ in their intentions. While Reservoir Dogs is a modern stylised crime thriller recalling Hong Kong cinema, Albino Alligator is set in a world recalling the classic American film noir cinema of the 1930s.

The tightly constructed film centres on three petty criminals, Dova (Matt Dillon), Milo (Gary Sinise) and Law (William Fichtner) who are on the run from police after their heist turns awry. In the early hours of the morning the desperate criminals seek refuge in Dino's Last Chance Bar in which there are few inhabitants. As the police surround the bar, Dova, Milo and Law take staff and patrons hostage and slowly lose control of the situation. Through this frantic situation the characters' actions, motives and loyalty are all strained.

The solid cast includes Faye Dunaway, Viggo Mortensen, John Spencer, Joe Mantegna, M. Emmet Walsh and Skeet Ulrich. Each actor excels in their subsequent performance as they are required to display a range of emotions from anger, to horror, to contempt, to desperation. Spacey creates tension throughout the pacing of the film as everything is not what it seems. Written by Christian Forte, the script is smart and knowing but for every formulaic convention there is a surprise for the audience.

I thoroughly enjoyed Albino Alligator and have been careful not to reveal too much of the plot - it is ultimately a stylish crime thriller which is visually pleasing and elegantly written.

Video

The PAL transfer of Albino Alligator is clean and suffers the odd film artefact but this does not detract from viewing the film.

The transfer is in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

Detail and sharpness are evident despite the fact that most interior sequences are shot with minimal lighting and the exteriors are set in mid-morning fog.

There is no apparent use of filters evident and the look of the film is natural with rich colours.

There is minimal MPEG compression artefacting and no evidence of colour bleeding.

Overall the transfer of Albino Alligator is very good, handling the differences between light and dark well.

The subtitle tracks available are large and visible and true to the on screen dialogue.

The film is divided into 20 chapters.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

Albino Alligator is a dialogue heavy film and the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track is encoded at 448Kb/s.

The audio is subtle and effective and makes use of the surround sound. Throughout the film, Dino's Last Chance Bar is under siege and outside SWAT, police and media surround the building. This is largely an atmospheric film and such restrained use of sound effects lends to the noir setting - for example, helicopters can be heard in the rear speakers during the film.

Dialogue is clear and there are no audio sync issues.

Other audio tracks available are German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s), Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s.

The original music was composed by Michael Brook, who provides a score fusing a jazz score with an orchestral melodramatic touch.

The music is in the backdrop of most scenes and lends itself to the tense and ambiguous nature of the plot.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

The main menu is a static image and omits a scene selection option but the user is able to select chapters once viewing the film.

The Region 4 version omits an audio commentary by director Kevin Spacey and a behind-the-scenes featurette

The Region 1 version omits foreign language tracks including German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s), Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).

I would prefer the Region 1 version for the extra features although please note it is 2.35:1 non 16x9 enhanced (Non-Anamorphic)

Albino Alligator is an excellent thriller in the tradition of classic American film noir.

The Region 4 DVD is bare-bones but the video and sound quality are above average.

For fans of Kevin Spacey the Region 1 disc may be more desirable.

I would recommend this title to those who enjoyed Dog Day Afternoon, Blood Simple, or Phone Booth.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall