PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Nights in Rodanthe (2008)

Nights in Rodanthe (2008)

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Released 5-Mar-2009
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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Romance	Menu Audio Deleted Scenes
Rating
Year Of Production	2008
Running Time	93:05
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	4	Directed By	George C. Wolfe
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Diane Lane Richard Gere Christopher Meloni Viola Davis Becky Ann Baker Scott Glenn Linda Molloy Pablo Schreiber
Case	?	Starring
RPI	?	Music	Jeanine Tesori

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio 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	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

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Plot Synopsis

A couple of years ago, I reviewed a film called The Notebook which has since become one of my most read reviews for this website. The subject of this review is the latest movie made of the same author's books, Nights in Rodanthe. Four of Nicholas Sparks' novels have now been made into feature films, with a fifth, Dear John, in post-production. When I reviewed The Notebook I made the following comment 'Yes, this film could certainly be fairly referred to as a 'chick flick' or a weepie or unashamedly romantic. What it cannot be referred to as is a bad film. In fact, this is a very good film, because although it addresses one of the topics that has probably produced more bad films than any other, love and romance, it does it with style, class and restraint.' I would love to be able to make the same comment about this film, but unfortunately it does not come up to the standard of its predecessor. Although it is still a good film, it does not show the same level of style, class & restraint especially in the last 10 minutes or so when the cheese is poured on pretty thick. (Don't even talk to me about the ponies!)

The story in this film revolves around lonely mother of two, Adrianne Willis (Diane Lane) who's husband Jack (Christopher Meloni) has left her for another woman. As with many of Sparks' novels the main action of the film is set in the Carolinas, this time specifically in the Outer Banks islands off North Carolina. The Rodanthe of the title is a town on those islands. Adrianne's kids head off for a weekend with their father, who announces that he wants to come back to her once they return from their weekend. She is heading out to Rodanthe for the weekend to look after a friend's inn, which is expecting one guest. The Inn is a beautiful old house built right on the sand overlooking the ocean. The one guest soon arrives, Dr Paul Flanner (Richard Gere) an arrogant surgeon who has come to Rodanthe to visit the husband of a former patient who died on his operating table. Initially gruff, he slowly starts to relax and begins to reveal his purpose and personality to Adrianne. He is estranged from his surgeon son, Mark (an uncredited James Franco) who has gone to Latin America to do charity medical work. While Paul is in Rodanthe he also attempts to talk to Robert Torrelson (Scott Glenn) whose wife died while Flanner was operating on her and is now taking legal action. This setup is followed by the obligatory storms, sex and tragedies.

This first hour or so of this film is really quite good with some quality acting, beautiful scenery and excellent cinematography. The themes of second chances, living with regrets and romance are well handled and provide an entertaining experience. Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, the film is spoiled by the lack of restraint in the final scenes which leaves you with a disappointed feeling. Just in case you are thinking 'that's just a man's point of view', my wife expressed similar feelings without being prompted. The film was directed by first time feature director, George C Wolfe.

Once again, like Journey to the Center of the Earth, this new Roadshow release has unskippable, un fast-forwardable piracy warnings and 3 trailers which you must watch before getting to the menu. This seems to be more than an isolated incident then!

Fans of The Notebook will probably enjoy this film, as will romantics, however the ending spoils it for a broader audience.

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Transfer Quality

Video

The video quality is very good.

The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced widescreen.

The picture was very clear and sharp throughout. Shadow detail is generally good but some scenes are a little murky. There are some very minor MPEG artefacts especially when characters are moving in close up.

The colour was excellent with no colour artefacts. The beach scenes looks wonderful.

There was some very minor aliasing.

There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired which were clear and easy to read.

There is no layer change during the feature.

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

Audio

The audio quality is very good.

This DVD contains two audio options, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 384 Kb/s and an English Dolby Digital Audio Descriptive 2.0 Stereo soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.This is hardly an aggressive surround mix but it certainly handles the various surround ready scenes in the film well such as the storms.

Dialogue was very clear and easy to understand throughout.

The music includes a score and some songs by Jeanine Tesoni. It is well suited to the film adding to the atmosphere without adding to the cheese.

The subwoofer was used sensibly during the various storms and landslides.

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

Extras

Extras are very light.

Alternate Scenes (7:37)

A pretty boring set of alternate scenes with commentary by the director. One scene was removed due to Hurricane Katrina.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

The Region 1 release includes both full-screen and widescreen versions of the film however does not include the alternate scenes. This makes Region 4 the best choice unless you are desperate for the full-screen version. This film is also available on Blu-ray both locally and in the US.

Summary

A well made romantic drama based on a Nicholas Sparks novel which is spoiled by a very cheesy ending.