Domestic Disturbance (2001) |
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Domestic Disturbance (2001) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Thriller |
Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary-Harold Becker Deleted Scenes-7 +/- commentary Storyboards-2 Theatrical Trailer |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2001 | ||
| Running Time | 85:33 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Language Select Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Harold Becker |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Paramount Home Entertainment |
Starring |
John Travolta Vince Vaughn Teri Polo Steve Buscemi Matthew O'Leary Leland L. Jones Debra Mooney James Lashley Ruben Santiago-Hudson Susan Floyd William Parry |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $36.95 | Music | Mark Mancina |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0  (224Kb/s)
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
German English English for the Hearing Impaired French Slovenian |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Susan and her boyfriend, Rick (Vince Vaughn), are due to be married and Danny is constantly lying and making trouble to separate the two. Maybe he feels that he can get his mum and dad back together again if they both have to interrupt their schedule and pick him up from the police station time after time. While his antics are minor, they are of great concern to his parents who wish he would just accept that his mother is going to remarry.
Frank and Danny have a strong bond and the two are able to discuss all manner of topics, not as father and son, but rather like two mates. Frank is proud to know that the pair can communicate honestly and would never lie to conceal the truth.
One day, Ray Coleman (played superbly by Steve Buscemi), shows up at Susan and Rick’s door. Apparently he is an old acquaintance of Rick's, but nonetheless Rick is none too impressed to see him show up unannounced. Frank is curious about the pair and finds it peculiar that their friendship stories don’t match. When Ray ends up dead, Frank starts to delve a little deeper into Rick’s background to make sure that his wife and son are going to be looked after.
Further doubts are cast when Danny tells his parents that he saw Rick kill Ray. His mum passes it off as yet another prank but his dad is not so sure. After all, Danny has never lied to him before . . . or has he . . . ?
While the movie tends to be a little predictable, there are some superb moments of suspense and some great plot twists through the feature, and it was better packaged as far as storyline goes than some of the other offerings around at the moment. The cast were wonderful, but I would have to say that the blokes really shone in this one.
John Travolta has been on my hopeless actors list for a long time but he is really starting to pull it together and act in some convincing roles. Swordfish was the last movie he starred in where I thought he played a role that portrayed his character perfectly. In Domestic Disturbance, his part as a chubby father that is blindly devoted to his son was convincing and a neat fit for the movie. Vince Vaughn was also excellent, being able to switch moods at the flick of a switch. However, my favourite for the movie would have to be Steve Buscemi. His part as a slimy out-of-towner was just brilliant.
The feature is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The image exhibited a rather soft level of detail with a slightly blended definition between all objects rather than the sharp delineation that we would expect. The shadow detail was well controlled which helped a great deal in some of the night scenes, especially during the rain. Towards the end, some of the night scenes were a little softer than similarly dark shots from the first half. There were sections of mild grain, but at 71:49 it was rather distracting when the walls appeared to move or shimmer. I did not notice any low level noise.
The colours were rather drab throughout the entire presentation. I feel that the true colours were contained within the image but the darkened appearance of the transfer may have reduced the colour's ability to show it's true, erm, colours...
There were no MPEG artefacts that I noticed and the aliasing is very mild in the few spots that it appears. Film artefacts were also scarce, which is only to be expected for such young film stock. Those artefacts that did appear were rare and not at all distracting.
The English subtitles that I checked were close to the spoken word.
This is an RSDL disc with a layer change that appeared seamless, and as yet has been undetectable.
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The audio track really makes up for the shortcomings of the video quality.
There are three Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks available on this disc. They are in English, French and German with an English Commentary track presented in Dolby Digital 2.0.
The dialogue was clear and easy to understand at all times with no hiss being apparent. Audio sync was not a problem at all with this transfer, and was completely spot on.
The music was absolutely superb and I have made a note to purchase the movie's soundtrack CD in the near future. It really gets you in the mood for each scene and is a true credit to Mark Mancina. It defines a level of peace and tranquillity as the camera gives you an overview of the town during the opening scenes, but it also contains something uneasy just below the surface and then weaves between peace and chaos to suit. The music was orchestrated by Dave Metzger and conducted by Don Harper.
The surround channels were used heavily for directional effects. Even the little things like the opening of a door at 7:18 and 7:23 when it is shut again were handled well. In each instance, the sound was true to life as far as its volume level and ambience were concerned. My favourite section would probably be the thunder at 27:43 which rolls from the rear right across the sky to the front right, followed closely after by a walloping thunderclap at 28:10 directly over your head. The next clap of thunder is at 30:00, hitting somewhere in the front soundstage. Mental note to self - don't be holding a drink at any of these times when next watching this DVD.
The subwoofer was also well matched to the on-screen action. Its most prominent use was also during the thunder sequences. Use the time cues above to hear it rumble.
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All deleted scenes have poor video quality and offer Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. They all have the option of production audio or commentary by Harold Becker.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Some Region 1 sites have mentioned a screen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 in their reviews of the main feature. I have been unable to confirm if there is in fact a second Region 1 version of this DVD or if these few sites have incorrectly measured the aspect ratio of the transfer. The majority of sites report a screen ratio of 2.35:1 with the same extras. I have taken the majority rules approach for this comparison.
The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;
Domestic Disturbance has received a lot of negative reviews centring on the predictability of the movie's plot. In view of this, it is impossible for me to say if you will like it or not. I enjoyed it thoroughly - I see movies as a leisure activity and a way to switch off and be taken along for an adventure. I would at least suggest that this title is worth hiring to see once for its entertainment value.
The video was acceptable, with no serious problems.
The audio was handled well with good directional effects and perfectly balanced music.
The extras were interesting but could have been improved. The storyboards were probably overkill, showing 96 pages for one sequence. A small documentary talking to the people that drew the storyboards would have cost little and been a marked improvement.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-533K, using S-Video output |
| Display | Loewe 72cm. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Denon AVR-2802 Dolby EX/DTS ES Discrete |
| Speakers | Whatmough Audiolabs Magnum M30 (Mains); M05 (Centre); M10 (Rears); Magnat Vector Needle Sub25A Active SubWoofer |