Other People's Money (1991)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1991
Running Time	103:38
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Norman Jewison
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Danny DeVito Gregory Peck Penelope Ann Miller Piper Laurie Dean Jones R.D. Call Mo Gaffney Bette Henritze Tom Aldredge Leila Kenzle Cullen O. Johnson William De Acutis David Wells
Case	?
RPI	$12.95	Music	David Newman

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English French Italian Dutch Bulgarian English for the Hearing Impaired Italian for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

Other People's Money is another tale of corporate America but the 1991 drama/romantic comedy is a much lighter film in comparison to its much more scathing counterparts, such as Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987). Starring Danny DeVito, Penelope Ann Miller and Gregory Peck, the production is based on a play by Jerry Sterner, directed by Norman Jewison and written by Alvin Sargent.

Much of the film's amiability is attributed to the diminutive Danny DeVito who shines in the role as his onscreen character becomes to be known as Larry the Liquidator to his corporate victims. Larry Garfield is a character who is arrogant, greedy, egotistical and ruthless and yet still quite commendable as DeVito plays the character as a person rather than a stereotypical greedy tycoon.

Larry Garfield loves money, especially other people's money, and he sets his eyes on Andrew Jorgenson's (Gregory Peck) family business New England Wire and Cable, a company which was founded by his father and is Jorgenson's source of pride. Garfield arrogantly tells Jorgenson that the business is dead and he intends to take over the business. Desperate Jorgenson asks his stepdaughter Kate Sullivan (Penelope Ann Miller), a successful lawyer, for help despite their sordid relationship. She agrees to help save the business and finds herself in a cat-and-mouse game with Garfield . To further complicate things, Garfield seems to take a shine to Sullivan that rivals his love of money. Is it possible for Garfield to give up his love of money for Kate?

Gregory Peck's presence within the cast is wonderful and Penelope Ann Miller is also great as a woman who loves her job and finds herself drawn to the enemy. Piper Laurie, Dean Jones and R.D. Call are also given great supporting roles and excel in their performances as characters affected by the impending situation that may force Andrew Jorgenson out of his own company. All round this is another great film from Norman Jewison with a great performance from Danny DeVito.

Video

The title is presented in 1.78:1, a slightly different aspect ratio from its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, however the title is 16x9 enhanced. The transfer is commendable as the film retains its cinematic feel with strong vibrant colours and shadow detail. The transfer suffers from mild visible grain but this does not detract from viewing the film as the picture remains sharp. Overall this is a good transfer of a film almost 15 years old and is free of major flaws. The subtitles are true to the onscreen dialogue and action.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

The soundtrack is mostly dialogue based which is no surprise as the production is derived from a play. As such the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is adequate for the title. Surround presence is limited, however dialogue is clear and the New York atmosphere is well presented. David Newman's score is well suited to Garfield's dilemma as it showcases his boisterous personality and emphasises Garfield's growing moral and ethical predicaments with melancholy. Ultimately the soundtrack is well produced in respects to the source material but it does not utilise the surrounds.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Theatrical Trailer

The NTSC R1 release includes 2.0 Stereo English and 2.0 Stereo Quebec French audio options with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall