Singles (1992) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Filmographies-Cast & Crew Outtakes-2 Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1992
Running Time	99:08 (Case: 95)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Sided	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Programme
Region Coding	1,4	Directed By	Cameron Crowe
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Bridget Fonda Campbell Scott Kyra Sedgwick Sheila Kelley Jim True Bill Pullman Matt Dillon
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$19.95	Music	Paul Westerberg

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English French	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    This film is a prime example of what Cameron Crowe does best- Singles is a breakdown of dating in the 90s and relationships in general. Crowe takes an ensemble cast and has little trouble in executing a fantastic film about the love lives of a group of people in Seattle in the early 90s.

    Starring Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick and Matt Dillon with a supporting cast of Sheila Kelley, Jim True, Bill Pullman, Ally Walker, Jeremy Piven, Tom Skerritt and Eric Stoltz, Crowe manages to give each deserving character enough substance to make them feel real and legitimate.

    The characters of Steve and Linda (Campbell Scott and Kyra Sedgwick) are the main thrust of the film- their relationship is amazingly realistic as they go through many different changes in their time together; both good and bad. The best thing about the telling of this story and the film as a whole is that it really steers away from any really sentimental and corny stuff. Even in scenes that probably called for some soppy dialogue or people crying with big ol' puppy dog eyes, Crowe keeps his distance as much as he can, which gives the film something that a lot of romantic films lack- credibility.

    The relationship of Janet and Cliff (Bridget Fonda and Matt Dillon) gets slightly less screen time than the abovementioned storyline. Janet is a love-struck neighbour of Cliff - the self indulgent lead singer of 'Citizen Dick'- a band from Seattle made up of Cliff along with Pearl Jam members Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard (Great move!). Cliff thinks that he is the complete master of the 'Seattle Sound' and he is a rock and roll god who is well on the way to making it big. Janet agrees with him but refuses to believe that his attention is sometimes given to other women. Bridget Fonda's portrayal of Janet is fantastic- as is the script she is given. Matt Dillon is superb as Cliff - someone you hate but like at the same time because his pumped-up view of himself is so funny - my favourite scene of the film involves this aspect of his character and can be found in the sequence where Citizen Dick are reading the latest review of their show. Obviously this character is based on a hybrid of many musicians Cameron Crowe met while writing for Rolling Stone magazine in the 1970s- he is so well drawn and is an indication as to how clued-in Crowe is to pop culture and the attitude that the pioneers of it espouse.

    This film has to be one of the pioneers of 'life analysis' entertainment, made famous by TV shows like 'Seinfeld' and films like 'Swingers' or to a lesser extent 'High Fidelity'. It addresses some of the same issues that these other shows have, like the male over-analysis of courtship - 'Will I seem too desperate if I call her immediately after the first date?' as a prime example. Or 'OK, if I make this basket, then that is fate telling me to call him.' - Fantastic Stuff.

    'Singles' is very well paced and free flowing due to its use of characters talking to camera and with the film divided into four or five distinct sections, each introduced by an on-screen graphic indicating the start of the next 'chapter'. The dialogue is fantastic and Crowe's depiction of Seattle early on in the birth of the 'Seattle sound' era is spot on. On top of this, the film involves cameos from plenty of Seattle rockers from the era. As well as the guys from Pearl Jam, there are appearances from Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Jerry Cantrell and Alice In Chains plus others. A truly enjoyable film.

Video

    Sharpness is quite a big problem with this transfer with many scenes not appearing as crisp and clear as they could. Grain is probably the biggest problem with plenty of scenes appearing very dirty and unclear because of it. Good examples can be found at 11:47, 12:07, 22:41, 27:41, 42:15, 45:19 and 56:33. Shadow detail is not too bad in this film due to the fact that Seattle is portrayed as a very overcast and grey city. A lot of scenes are presented in natural light which will mean that shadows are usually very dark. Some examples of scenes that lack shadow detail can be found at 16:01 and 27:41 - if you compare these scenes to a section with good shadow detail you will see the difference - see 69:41. There was no noticeable low level noise.

    As mentioned above, the city of Seattle is portrayed as a very grey and dull city colour-wise. As the film is set in the throes of the grunge revolution, most of the clothes that the characters wear are very drab and dark with no colours that are capable of jumping off the screen. Occasionally there are places where the colours are bright and vibrant. These can be found at 25:15 and 51:22. All flesh tones are consistent throughout which indicates a very good transfer colour-wise.
 
    There was only one MPEG artefact that I could find and it was very minor- some very slight macro blocking or pixelization at 56:02 on Bridget Fonda's right cheek. Aliasing was not a significant problem with only a couple of instances worth noting at 51:05 and 73:46 - a very good result from what is not a great transfer. Usually, aliasing is found everywhere on a transfer that is not up to scratch. There is some significant telecine wobble to be found during the opening titles, specifically at 00:22 and 00:31. Later on in the film there are other titles that appear, and it seems as if the problem was rectified because these titles are solid as a rock.

    Another film to video artefact that can be found on this disc is one that rarely gets a mention here at Michael D's. Because this is an NTSC transfer, we are open to seeing one of the most objectionable DVD artefacts you can find - the NTSC '3:2 pulldown' or 'judder'. There are a few instances of judder in this transfer with some horrible examples to be found at 29:17 and 29:26, plus another good example at 11:22. This artefact is hardcore, folks - it is worth having a look at just so you can comprehend how superior your PAL DVDs are!

    There are a lot of film artefacts throughout this film with chunks of dirt and grime present throughout, especially during the opening titles and at 45:26. There are also plenty of pieces of hair and negative flashes to be found at 43:37, 45:26, 59:43 and 72:36.

    I watched about 15 minutes of the English subtitles on this disc and found them to be very accurate, with only the occasional superfluous word being left out for pacing reasons. This is a tribute to how well Cameron Crowe's screenplay is written.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The surrounds are used surprisingly well despite this disc's 2.0 treatment. They are mainly used as an exclamation point for musical cues and some light effects.
 
    The subwoofer does not get used very much at all.
 

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    There are a minimal number of extras on this disc, but with some pretty good deleted scenes.

Menu

Outtakes

    Outtake 1- Advice to Lovelorn Steve    (3:20)

   Outtake 2- Bailey's French Club Fantasy    (3:09)

Theatrical Trailer    (2:09)

Cast & Crew Filmographies

• Production Notes

• Cast and Crew Filmographies

    Singles is one of the most enjoyable films I have seen in a while. It has a great script, a great cast and is set in an interesting time in an interesting place. It is very well made and a joy to watch.

    The video transfer is average.

    The audio transfer is good despite not being transferred in 5.1.

    The extras are minimal.

    The film is a ripper.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall