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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.
Auggie Rose (2000)

Auggie Rose (2000)

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Released 6-Mar-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Thriller Menu Audio
Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain
Theatrical Trailer
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2000
Running Time 104:14
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Matthew Tabak
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Jeff Goldblum
Anne Heche
Nancy Travis
Timothy Olyphant
Richard Jones
Case Soft Brackley-Transp
RPI $34.95 Music Mark Mancina


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (320Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    When a man witnesses the murder of a shop assistant he becomes obsessed with the victim and eventually assumes his identity.

    John Nolan (Jeff Goldblum) is a successful life insurance salesman who witnesses a robbery resulting in the death of a store clerk at his local bottle shop. As he is dying, the clerk reveals to John that his name is Auggie Rose. John is unable to come to terms with this tragedy and becomes obsessed with finding out more about this man. During his investigations, John discovers Auggie was an ex-con who had recently been released and was just beginning to get his life together. As time progresses, John becomes more fascinated by this man's life and he eventually assumes his identity.

    All the lead actors provide competent performances but unfortunately this film never really escapes the feeling that it is a made-for-television midday movie. This film will appeal to a select group of viewers but I feel most people will want more from the movie than it offers.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is consistently sharp throughout with excellent levels of detail always visible. No low level noise was detected during the transfer. During the occasional dark scenes, high levels of shadow detail are always displayed.

    The natural colour palette is always well saturated and is always accurately reproduced.

    No MPEG artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer, but a small amount of aliasing may be seen. Some examples of this aliasing may be seen at 14:09, 62:39, 96:13 and 96:42. All of these artefacts are very minor and are not distracting to the viewer.

    Considering the age of this movie, a surprising number of film artefacts are on offer, such as at 6:53, 7:44, 7:51, 12:41, 13:41 and 14:28. All of these artefacts are quite minor but due to their frequency they do become slightly distracting.

    A single set of white English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles are provided on this disc, positioned under the relevant character on screen. I extensively sampled these and found them to be consistently accurate.

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

Audio

    A single Dolby Digital 320 kbps 2.0 surround soundtrack is provided on this disc.

    The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.

    The effective original score by Mark Mancina suits the on-screen action and is made up of a number of classical and contemporary instrumental pieces.

    The surround channel was used minimally to support the score and occasional effects.

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

Extras

Menu

    The menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

Theatrical Trailer (1:47)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

R4 vs R1

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

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 release of this disc, titled Beyond Suspicion, is the clear winner when compared to the local release.

Summary

    Auggie Rose is a movie that unfortunately never escapes the feel of a made-for-TV production but luckily it is one of the better examples of the genre.

    The video transfer is acceptable but considering the film's age it does display a surprising number of film artefacts.

    The 2.0 surround track is acceptable but the exclusion of the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is disappointing.

    The exclusion of the extensive extras found on the R1 release is very disappointing.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Anthony Kable (read my bio)
Thursday, March 14, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 1200, using S-Video output
DisplaySony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationFront left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged)
SpeakersFront left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259

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