Raising Cain (Universal) (1992)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1992
Running Time	87:47
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (60:58)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Brian De Palma
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	John Lithgow Lolita Davidovich Steven Bauer
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$19.95	Music	Pino Donaggio

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Hungarian Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Arabic Czech Greek Hungarian Turkish Romanian	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Raising Cain is a film about a respected psychologist who abducts a number of children to recreate a series of shocking experiments from his childhood.

    Carter Nix (John Lithgow) is a psychologist who has decided to take a year off work to help raise his young daughter. When Cain, one of Carter's multiple personalities, emerges he quickly sets about abducting a number of children and disposing of their parents. Cain plans to use these children, and his own daughter, to recreate a series of psychological experiments from his childhood. As Carter's behavior becomes erratic his wife Jenny (Lolita Davidovich) begins to suspect that he is hiding something and she become a threat to his plans.

    This film was written and directed by Brian De Palma (The Untouchables, Scarface) and it never escapes the feeling of a bad midday movie. The performances by all the lead actors are uninspiring and the script is predictable, containing numerous clichés and plot holes. Unfortunately, this film is very disappointing and it never really engages the viewer.

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is acceptably sharp throughout but does appear notably softer during some of the darker scenes. No low-level noise was detected at any time during the transfer. During the dark sections of the transfer an average level of shadow detail is evident. This level of shadow detail may be due to the original source material and is only minimally disturbing.

    The colour palette displayed always appears slightly muted with a strong emphasis on browns and greys.

    No MPEG artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer.

    A number of minor aliasing artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples may be seen at 13:31, 17:29, 42:02, 47:34, 51:06 and 52:14. Each of these artefacts are quite minor and they are only slightly disturbing.

    Numerous small film artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 10:16, 13:32, 17:53, 18:20, 19:19 and 24:58. Due to the frequency, these artefacts are slightly annoying. Some obvious film grain may be seen throughout the transfer but this is never irritating.

    Seven sets of subtitles are included on the disc. I extensively sampled the English stream and found it to be easy to read and consistently accurate.

    This is an RSDL formatted DVD and the layer change occurs at 60:58, during a fade to black at the start of chapter thirteen and it is not disruptive.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    An English Dolby Digital 192 kbps 2.0 surround track and a Hungarian Dolby Digital 192 kbps 2.0 track are included on the disc. I listened to the English track in full and briefly sampled the other track.

    The dialogue was always clear and easy to understand.

    No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.

    The orchestral score by Pino Donaggio suited the on-screen action but never draws attention to itself.

    The surround channel was used minimally throughout the transfer for the score and occasional effects.

    The subwoofer channel was not utilized during the transfer.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The non-animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of either 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 depending upon the player setup.

Trailer (1:53)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 192 kbps 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced: eight sets of subtitles are also provided.

    Both versions of the DVD appear to be identical and I therefore would have no preference for either version.

    Raising Cain is an ultimately disappointing film that will leave most viewers looking for a little more substance.

    The video transfer is acceptable but does show a number of relatively minor flaws.

    The Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack is functional and suitable for the feature.

    Disappointingly the only extra included is a theatrical trailer.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall