Training Day (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Main Menu Audio Dolby Digital Trailer-Train Filmographies-Cast & Crew Audio Commentary-Antonie Fuqua (Director) Featurette-Making Of Deleted Scenes Alternate Ending Theatrical Trailer Music Video-#1 - Nelly Music Video-Got You - Pharoahe Monch
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	117:04
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Antoine Fuqua
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Denzel Washington Ethan Hawke Scott Glenn Cliff Curtis Dr. Dre Snoop Dogg
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$39.95	Music	Mark Mancina

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

    Training Day scored Denzel Washington his first Best Actor Academy Award, one he thoroughly deserved because he puts in a powerhouse performance in this movie. There is a strong belief in many circles that Russell Crowe was robbed of the prized award that night. Whatever your opinion on this issue, it will surely be a moot point for a while to come.

    Training Day tells the story of rookie cop Jake Hoyt's (Ethan Hawke) first day in the elite narcotics branch. Jake has one day to prove he has what it takes to become a member of this elite team. He has been assigned to Detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington), the head of the narcotics team. Alonzo phones Jake early in the morning and tells him not to go into the office, but instead to meet him at the local coffee shop for a briefing. While Jake is very keen to impress on his first day, Alanzo has been planning this day for an entirely different reason. Alanzo has gotten himself in trouble with some Russians in Vegas. If he does not deliver a million dollars to them by the stroke of midnight, he will be a dead man. Alanzo knows Jake won't be part of the corruption he has planned on this day so he bribes his partner into taking some of the drugs they have seized as well as loading him with alcohol. Jake now knows only too well that if he were to tell anyone else in the police force about the deceit and corruption he has witnessed today that he would be facing instant dismissal from the force for having an illegal substance in his body while on the job. The final straw for Jake occurs later that night when Alanzo leaves him in a local gang's house with instructions to have him killed after Alanzo is gone. Jake then decides to go looking for Alanzo and dish out some of his own brand of justice. This will be one day he will never forget, his Training Day.

    Training Day features a star-studded cast, also including Scott Glenn (Vertical Limit), Tom Berenger (Platoon), Cliff Curtis (Blow), and recording artists Snoop Dogg and Macy Grey.

Video

    This video transfer of this movie is stunning, and is of reference quality.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is clear and sharp and has become my new reference standard for picture quality on a DVD. Shadow detail was first rate on this DVD. Every possible detail in the darker scenes was seen without any problem at all. There was no low level noise present on this DVD.

    The colours on this DVD were rock solid. Everything look very natural, and skin tones looked spot on.

    There were no MPEG artefacts seen on this disc. Aliasing was extremely rare and very mild when it did occur. The few scenes that I noticed aliasing in were at 4.11 on some Venetian blinds, at 19.48 and then again at 58.40, but I must stress that I am only nit-picking here because there was nothing else to complain about.

    This disc is an RSDL-formatted disc. I was unable to detect the precise layer change point despite three viewings of this DVD, so either the layer change is located between the movie and the special features, or my new Pioneer DV-S733A DVD player is performing layer changes on discs so quickly that I am finding it hard to locate changes on certain discs. I am going to throw this one open to the floor and ask that if anyone can detect a layer change break in the movie itself could they please contact me with the time it occurs so that I can recheck my own copy again.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio transfer on this disc is first rate and is of reference quality.

    There are two audio tracks on this DVD. The first track on the DVD is the English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The second audio track is an audio commentary by Director Antoine Fuqua. I listened to both tracks.

    The dialogue quality was extremely good and was always easy to understand at all times. Audio sync was not a problem on this DVD.

    The musical score was very good indeed and provided some nice ambience as well as heightening the tension when necessary.

    The surround channels were used very aggressively on this DVD. The use of discrete effects and music provided a full scale soundfield throughout most of the movie.

    The subwoofer channel was used to great effect by this soundtrack. Very deep and powerful bass was used to great effect in all of the action scenes and a few of the musical tracks in the movie.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Cast and Crew Biographies

    The usual standard information on the cast and crew.

Commentary

    This commentary track is provided by Director Antoine Fuqua and runs for the entire length of the movie. It is fairly informative and definitely worth a listen.

Documentary - Making Of Training Day (15.04)

    This documentary is the standard mixture of on-set location shots as well as cast and crew grabs. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is not 16x9 enhanced. It is encoded with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Additional Scenes (12.36)

    This is a collection of three additional scenes. Each scene basically starts with a scene in the movie and expands on that scene a little further. The scenes are presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, are not 16x9 enhanced and carry Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. They are all of extremely poor quality technically.

Alternate Ending (4.49)

    This alternate ending to the movie, like the additional scenes above, is also of very poor quality and is also presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and encoded with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Theatrical Trailer (2.22)

    This theatrical trailer is of good quality and is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. It also offers a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Music Videos

    Two music videos are included on this disc. The first one is "#1" by Nelly and the second one is "Got You" by Pharoahe Monch. Both music videos are not 16x9 enhanced and are also encoded with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

    I compared the Region 4 DVD to my Region 1 copy and can report that both copies are identical in the quantity of extras. The picture and sound quality are also comparable on both, so I see no reason to rate one above the other. Call this one a draw.

    I loved Training Day. The performances in this movie are first rate and this is a great film.

    The video quality is superb, and is of reference quality.

    The audio quality is superb, and is of reference quality.

    The extras are very good although the additional scenes and alternate ending are of very poor quality. Aside from this small drawback, I highly recommend adding this one to your collection.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall