The Mexican (2001) |
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The Mexican (2001) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Romantic Comedy |
Main Menu Audio Featurette-Making Of Audio Commentary Deleted Scenes-+/- commentary Theatrical Trailer-2 |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2001 | ||
| Running Time | 118:18 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (87:05) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Gore Verbinski |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Brad Pitt Julia Roberts James Gandolfini |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $39.95 | Music | Alan Silvestri |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Auto Pan & Scan Encoded |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/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 | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Stylistically similar to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Mexican is an enjoyable romantic comedy and adventure movie, with engaging characters, a clever script, and a number of plot twists.
Jerry (Brad Pitt) is a bumbling but very likeable young man who has unwillingly become mixed up with gangsters. He is sent by the mobsters to Mexico to retrieve 'The Mexican', a finely crafted vintage pistol, with the promise that it is to be his last job. This should be a fairly straightforward assignment, even for Jerry. But his girlfriend, Sam (Julia Roberts) is very displeased (to say the least) to find that Jerry is still involved with these mobsters. While Jerry sets off for Mexico, Sam sets off for Las Vegas for an adventure of her own.
There are intertwining and parallel story lines, and the main and supporting actors all turn in great performances, really bringing their characters to life. The direction is clever, and the production standards generally are very high. My two criticisms of the movie are that it is overly long, and that there are too few scenes with Jerry and Sam together.
The video quality is close to flawless, and this is the first DVD I have reviewed to be given five stars!
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The sharpness, black level, colour, and shadow detail are all perfect.
There are no MPEG artefacts, and the only film-to-video artefact is some very slight aliasing. There is, for example, a slight shimmer on an air-conditioning grille at 2:43, but very little else to complain of.
There are also a few film artefacts, but these are tiny and rare. Examples can be seen at 42:59 and 110:20.
All the subtitles promised on the packaging are present, and the English subtitles are very accurate.
This is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed during Chapter 21, at 87:05. It is very smooth and as it is during a quiet moment in a scene, it is not disruptive.
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| Shadow Detail | |
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts |  |
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| Overall | |
While not a 'demo audio track' packed with explosives, this DVD features an immersive audio experience that really enhances one's enjoyment of the movie.
Apart from the default English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, there is also a director's commentary track in Dolby Digital stereo.
The dialogue quality and audio sync are excellent.
The musical score is credited to Alan Silvestri, who has composed a clever score paying homage to the westerns of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah.
The surround sound mix is quite enveloping, and the rear speakers are used effectively to help carry the score (for example at 23:57 and 111:45) and to provide ambience (for example the fireworks at 13:39 and the ricocheting bullets at 20:57).
The subwoofer is used sparingly, but effectively, such as for the gun shot at 20:50.
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The extras are plentiful, and really do add to one's enjoyment of the movie. One great feature with these extras are that they are all in their correct aspect ratios and 16x9 enhanced.
A simple menu, presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital Stereo audio.
The Making Of The Mexican
This fourteen minute and fifty two second extra is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital stereo audio. It contains clips from the movie, some behind the scenes footage and a few anecdotes from the main cast and crew members.
Director's Commentary
The movie's Director (Gore Verbinski), Writer (J.H. Wyman) and Editor (Craig Wood) provide some interesting insights into various aspects of the movie.
Deleted Scenes
Running for twenty three minutes and twenty one seconds, these scenes are presented in an aspect ration of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital Stereo audio. They can be viewed with or without a Director's commentary, and it seems that most were cut due to the movie's length.
Deleted Scene -- Brad Pitt
It is not clear why this scene was separated from the others. It runs for one minute and thirteen seconds, and is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital Stereo audio.
Theatrical Trailer 1
This two minute and thirty nine second trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital stereo audio.
Theatrical Trailer 2
Very similar, except shorter, this one minute and thirty second trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital stereo audio.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Mexican was released on DVD in Region 1 in August 2001.
The Region 4 DVD misses out on:
The Region 1 DVD misses out on:
I would call it pretty even. Although the Region 1 disc has the addition of DTS sound, this is not the sort of movie to take advantage of that. This is a dialogue-based romantic comedy after all. On the other hand, we get to enjoy a superior PAL image.
The Mexican is a fun and clever movie, which I enjoyed again (sometimes for different reasons) the second and third time that I watched it.
The video quality is superb.
The audio quality is excellent.
The extras are very good.
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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 |