Stephen Fry in America (2008) |
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Stephen Fry in America (2008) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Documentary | Deleted Scenes | |
| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2008 | ||
| Running Time | 375:00 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
John-Paul Davidson Michael Waldman |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Madman Entertainment |
Starring | None Given |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Dual | ||
| RPI | $39.95 | Music |
Harry Escott Molly Nyman Debbie Wiseman |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | None | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Stephen Fry is almost ubiquitous on our TV screens. Fifteen years ago, however, it was quite a different story. With his comedy prime time years behind him Stephen suffered a nervous breakdown during a West End theatrical production and fled the country. It looked to all the world as though his career was over. However Fry has triumphed over adversity, even making his depression the subject of a TV special. Besides traipsing around the USA with this series he is also dispensing bon mots weekly on the clever comi-quiz QI.
Stephen Fry in America has at its core a somewhat dubious premise. Shortly before his birth Fry's father was offered a chance of a new life in the New World. He chose ..... to stay in England. So, Fry reasons, he could have been born in the USA. Although he claims a lifelong interest in all things American the truth may well be that he just liked the idea of gallivanting around the 50 odd states of America in his beloved London cab and managed to get finance for the odyssey.
Whatever the back story, it probably doesn't matter. For we viewers are the richer for having this freewheeling travelogue.
Of course, any attempt to sum up a multi-faceted nation like the US in 6 hours is bound to fail. Instead Fry achieves the somewhat less lofty ambition of keeping us amused, entertained and sometimes amazed at the mighty Uncle Sam.
Stephen Fry in America comprises 6 episodes of roughly 60 minutes each. The format for each episode is similar. Stephen gets into his quaint black cab (a hired version of his real motor) and travels as fast as possible from destination to destination. Along the way he meets up with individuals, some famous, some informative and some just eccentric, who provide snapshots of the region.
The episodes are, not surprisingly, divided by loose regions. They are:
It is not essential to be a Stephen Fry fan to enjoy the show although lovers of this modern day Oscar Wilde will get even more out of the colourful commentary and wry observations.
Stephen Fry in America was filmed on high definition digital video.
It is a 1.85:1 programme and that aspect ratio has been preserved for the DVD release. It is 16x9 enhanced.
The show consists of on-the-fly interview footage and a whole lot of “driving” footage. All is rendered cleanly and with minimal imperfections. There is slight video noise to be seen at times and the series lacks the crispness of the finest TV cinematography. Compression is not an issue.
It was broadcast in HD and therefore the DVD quality is that slight step down from the program as telecast.
The colours are bright and stable and the flesh tones are accurate.
There are no subtitles.
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Stephen Fry in America comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 English soundtrack running at 224 Kb/s.
This track is perfectly adequate for the show, which is really a series of interviews and a voice-over by Fry. The voices are clear and easy to understand although some of the American regional accents require a bit of concentration. There appears to be good audio sync.
There are no technical problems with the soundtrack.
A team of composers came up with the score for the show. The score varies appropriate to the location and tone of the segments and is interesting and varied throughout. The show also uses some film score material. I thought I detected Being John Malkovich and Alien early on but the references aren't provided at the end of the episodes.
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There are a few deleted scenes on each DVD. They are : DVD 1
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This DVD has been released in an identical form in Region 1 and 2.
Stephen Fry in America is an informative and breezy travelogue which doesn't require too much from the viewer except the desire to cross the country with Britain’s' "living treasure"!
The DVD looks good, without being great, and has a few short extras to complete the package.
| Video | |
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer BDP-LX70A Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output |
| Display | Pioneer PDP-5000EX. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
| Amplification | Onkyo TX-SR605 |
| Speakers | JBL 5.1 Surround and Subwoofer |