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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.
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

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Released 11-Nov-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Action Menu Audio
Featurette-Behind The Scenes
Deleted Scenes-7 +/- commentary
Featurette-Pre-Viz Ejection Sequence
Audio Commentary-John Moore (Director) & Paul Martin Smith (Editor)
Audio Commentary-John Davis (Producer) & Wyck Godfrey (Producer)
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2001
Running Time 101:27
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (61:57) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By John Moore
Studio
Distributor

Twentieth Century Fox
Starring Owen Wilson
Gene Hackman
Joaquim De Almeida
David Keith
Olek Krupa
Case ?
RPI $36.95 Music Don Davis


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (96Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (96Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
Finnish
Hebrew
Hungarian
Icelandic
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Swedish
Turkish
English Audio Commentary
English Audio Commentary
Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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

Plot Synopsis

     Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson), aerial navigator for the US Navy, is bored with his lack of activity. Stuck aboard an aircraft carrier, he is persuaded by Commander Leslie Reigart (Gene Hackman) to fly just one last mission before packing his bags and leaving. Whilst on a routine reconnaissance mission over Bosnia, the aircraft is attacked and pursued by heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles, which, in an awesome sequence, eventually strike, forcing the pilots to eject. Once on the ground, a tense game of cat-and-mouse begins between the two stranded Americans and their enemy.

    Back on the carrier, Commander Reigart does all he can to locate his men in a bid to rescue them. What follows are some incredible action sequences mixed with contemporary camera techniques and editing. Going more for the action approach to war (a la Black Hawk Down) as opposed to the dramatic and emotional side (a la Platoon), newcomer John Moore’s Behind Enemy Lines was a pleasant surprise. The fact that comedic great Owen Wilson stars in the lead role as a war hero didn’t really attract my attention during the film’s fairly limited theatrical run. After giggling at Owen's funny face and voice for a while, I actually managed to take him seriously, and was surprised by his decent performance in the end. Adding to Wilson’s pretty boy looks, the clichéd title didn’t really do much for me, either.

    There were only two reasons I wanted to review this title: the always-excellent Gene Hackman, and awesome-looking action. Well, Gene was as solid as usual, albeit in a limited role, but it was the action that was the real winner here. One scene that must be mentioned was an obvious tip of the hat to Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Replacing the poison darts shooting out of the walls with trip wire equipped bombs, Owen Wilson’s character runs through, trying to jump the next trip wire, while at the same time dodging explosions either side of him. And the sound here is sensational.

    Shot stylistically for US$40 million, director Moore manages to add some eye candy to the awesome action set pieces. The camera is rarely fixed, and all sorts of post production techniques are implied, providing nothing really new, but nothing really unwanted. Behind Enemy Lines is essentially an action film, and should not be too deeply analysed or compared to other war classics such as Apocalypse Now, Platoon or Saving Private Ryan. I probably should be talking it down more than building it up, because if you go into it expecting a brilliant film, you will ultimately be let down. The reason I enjoyed it so much is because I expected a poor film. If you can put yourself into that frame of mind, you will be sure to come out smiling.

    After this, my second viewing of Behind Enemy Lines, my opinion of the film has not changed much at all, as I still see it as good entertainment. I have to say that, if anything, I enjoyed it slightly more, mainly due to the dts track provided.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     Being a recent film, Behind Enemy Lines looks great on DVD, and is of reference quality. The added audio options and extra features have not marred this transfer at all as far as compression goes.

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

    The transfer is incredibly sharp and clear, resulting in an almost 3D image at times. The amount of detail in the outdoor scenes is amazing. Everything is razor sharp and crystal clear for the entire running length of the film. Being a visually impressive film, a great video transfer is crucial, and that is what it gets.

    The film’s slightly muted colour scheme is represented perfectly, never bleeding or looking out of place. Flesh tones are dead on, and the contrast between blacks and whites never becomes distracting.

    There were no MPEG artefacts in this transfer at all. Some occasional grain that is barely worth mentioning was most noticeable at 87.22, lasting under 15 seconds. I noticed no aliasing, no edge enhancement and no film artefacts.

    This is an RSDL disc, and the layer change occurs at 61:57 and is non-intrusive.

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

Audio

     This is a highly aggressive audio mix, and is of reference quality - especially the dts 5.1 track.

    There are two audio tracks on this DVD; English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English dts 5.1. The differences are evident, with the dts track the clear winner. Increasing the bass slightly, and creating a more immersive 360° soundfield, the dts track sounds less speaker-specific.

    Dialogue remained clear throughout the entire feature. No hissing was evident, and all spoken words were always intelligible. Audio sync was always spot on, and never became a problem.

    The film’s musical score by Don Davis (The Matrix trilogy, Jurassic Park III) was enjoyable, adding to the tension throughout the feature. Perhaps not the most memorable score in recent times, but still befitting the film.

    The surround channels were used very aggressively to support the action during most of the movie. They were not entirely continual, but there was certainly support for ambience when required. Directionality was fantastic, following all sorts of ammunition and with explosions surrounding the viewer.

    The subwoofer was also used to great effect, becoming thunderous at times. This is certainly demo material, with a few scenes worth showing off.

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

Extras

Menu Audio

    A sample of the film's score loops over a static shot.

Featurette-Behind The Scenes - (6:07)

    This isn't that bad actually, as it's not overly promotional. There are interviews, and the main focus is on the aircraft carrier from the film. The only problem is its short running time.

Extended and Deleted Scenes - 7

    Available with or without commentary from Director John Moore and Editor Paul Martin Smith, these scenes kept me interested, if only marginally. Included is an alternate main title sequence, and alternate end credit sequence. Nothing that would have improved on the film, but still worth a look if you’re interested.

Featurette- Pre-Vis Ejection Sequence – (5:25)

    Again available with or without commentary from Director John Moore and Editor Paul Martin Smith. This is basically a computer-generated storyboard of a sequence from the film where the plane is shot down. I found it to be interesting, considering I normally skip these segments.

Audio Commentary - Director John Moore and Editor Paul Martin Smith

    Stating early that they both have head colds, they actually provide a decent track. Not an incredible amount of insight, but still worth a listen. Moore does most of the talking, but they both kept it going for the entire track.

Audio Commentary - Producers John Davis and Wyck Godfrey

    Perhaps not as interesting as the first track, this still provides a nice amount of information to go along with said track. It was great to hear from all four men, but the lack of one Owen Wilson was a bit of a missed opportunity. His personality may have lightened things up a bit.

R4 vs R1

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

    This Region 4 release is identical to its Region 1 counterpart, with the added benefit of a PAL transfer. Shop locally for this one.

Summary

     Behind Enemy Lines came as a nice surprise, as I went into it expecting a generic action film. Proving to be more than just that, it added some great tension and some great eye candy. Not a brilliant film by any means, but certainly worth revisiting.

    The video transfer is of reference quality.

    The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is excellent, and the dts 5.1 audio is even better. Both tracks are of reference quality.

    The extras provided are quite strong, only lacking a behind the scenes featurette of decent length.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Pockett (If you're really bored, you can read my bio...)
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-525, using Component output
DisplayTeac 82cm 16x9. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationSony STR DE-545
Speakers5 Sony speakers; Sherwood 12" 100w Powered Subwoofer

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