Heist (2001) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Caper |
Main Menu Audio Dolby Digital Trailer-Egypt Theatrical Trailer |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2001 | ||
Running Time | 104:21 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | David Mamet |
Studio
Distributor |
Warner Home Video |
Starring |
Gene Hackman Danny DeVito Delroy Lindo Sam Rockwell Rebecca Pidgeon Ricky Jay |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $39.95 | Music | Theodore Shapiro |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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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 |
Unimaginatively titled, the film is about veteran thief Joe Moore (Hackman), who is ready to retire. When he’s not stealing gold or jewellery for Bergman (DeVito), he’s making boats. He plans to sail off into the sunset after his final job on one of them. Reluctant to pay up, Bergman forces Moore and his men - Bobby Blane (Lindo) and Don ‘Pinky’ Pincus (Ricky Jay) - to attempt to pull off one more heist. To make sure the job gets done properly, Bergman sends his arrogant nephew Jimmy Silk along for the ride. Moore and his men are the ultimate professionals in their game, and they don’t like working with people they know nothing about. Their reaction to this is where the film takes off, twisting and turning all over the place, resulting in a fairly solid film.
I originally saw Heist at the cinemas early on this year, and found it to be a decent film. The acting was top notch, especially from Hackman, Lindo, DeVito and Jay. Gene Hackman is a favourite of mine, and never puts in an ordinary performance. The film was very well written, especially when it comes to the cool dialogue. Mamet sure knows how to write dialogue, and here he gives everyone his or her fair share of great lines. The film’s many twists and turns seemed a bit much upon first viewing, but were more enjoyable on this, my second viewing.
Overall, I found Heist to be a solid – if unspectacular – film. Ahead of most other films punched out these days, it was great to see the teaming up of Mamet with his cast. A film that I will certainly revisit, Heist comes recommended from this reviewer.
The video transfer is quite good, just not perfect.
The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and is 16x9 enhanced.
The main area the transfer lets itself down slightly in is the sharpness. Not as crystal clear as a film of Heist's age should be, it lacks the detail of some other contemporary films. This is certainly not a big issue as it never detracts from the film’s experience, but it is still worth mentioning. Shadow detail seemed fairly solid, but again lacked a bit in comparison to other transfers of similar vintage.
Colours seemed solid enough, never bleeding or distracting, but seemed muted slightly, which could be put down to the director’s preference – not this transfer. Flesh tones were spot-on, looking natural in a way that NTSC cannot do (go PAL!).
There were no MPEG artefacts visible throughout most of the film, nor were there any film or video artefacts
This is a single sided single layered disc, and therefore there is no layer change.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio transfer is adequate, but somewhat lacking because of limited surround channel usage.
The only audio track provided is English Dolby Digital 5.1.
Dialogue was always clear and intelligible, never experiencing problems with distortion or dropouts. Audio sync was perfect throughout the film’s entire running time.
The film was scored by Theodore Shapiro. This was a score that I instantly recognised upon my second viewing of this film. It is fairly basic, but very catchy, and it suits the film perfectly. The music was presented quite well on this DVD, but the lack of surround support let it down a bit.
As I have mentioned, the surround speakers were barely awake throughout the entire film, and let the overall presentation down. With a contemporary film of this kind, you would expect Heist to feature a decent surround soundtrack. There were only a couple of occasions when the surrounds were required, but not enough for my liking.
Fortunately, the soundtrack features a bit of bass, giving the subwoofer a little more action than the surrounds, but again it's not on par with today’s standards. There were certainly opportunities for greater bass, but as with the lack of surrounds, it comes down to the film’s original soundtrack.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
Music from the film playing over a static shot of the film's three main stars.
The film's full theatrical trailer, presented in a 16x9 enhanced aspect ratio of 1.85:1, with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. If you ask me, the film's trailer should be compulsory on every DVD, and not considered an extra feature.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
It is not worth importing the Region 1 version of this DVD just for filmographies, so stick with the local version in this case.
The video transfer is quite good, but not on the same level as other recent films.
The audio transfer was a let-down, if only in regards to surrounds and subwoofer action. Quality in the fronts was fine, but not enough for a film in it's genre.
The theatrical trailer is not enough on its own, and the film certainly deserves more in the way of extras.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV-525, using Component output |
Display | Teac 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 | 5 Sony speakers; Sherwood 12" 100w Powered Subwoofer |