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Category | Drama | Theatrical Trailer(s) | Yes, 1 - 1.33:1 non-16x9, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono |
Rating | Other Trailer(s) | No | |
Year Released | 1992 | Commentary Tracks | No |
Running Time | 149:49 minutes | Other Extras | Biographies - Cast & Crew
Production Notes |
RSDL/Flipper | RSDL (70:39) |
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Start Up | Menu | ||
Region | 2,4 | Director | Martin Brest |
Distributor |
Columbia TriStar |
Starring | Al Pacino
Chris O'Donnell |
RRP | $34.95 | Music | Thomas Newman |
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Pan & Scan/Full Frame | No | MPEG | None |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Dolby Digital | 5.1 |
16x9 Enhancement |
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Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 ,
192 Kb/s)
German (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s) French (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s) Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s) Czech (Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, 192 Kb/s) Polish (Dolby Digital 1.0 mono, 96 Kb/s) |
Theatrical Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 |
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Macrovision | Yes | Smoking | Yes |
Subtitles | English
French Portuguese Danish Finnish Swedish Norwegian German Dutch |
Annoying Product Placement | No |
Action In or After Credits | No |
Chris O'Donnell is very good as the naive and honest young lad who guides Al during his seemingly last few days, effectively being his seeing-eye companion around New York while Al Pacino indulges in what he plans to be his last pleasures of life before he ends it all. Things, of course, do not turn out the way he thought, and the two-and-a-half hours which this movie occupies just flies along whilst we both pity and loathe this old retired Lieutenant Colonel.
One point I must make is that Al Pacino never looks into anyone's eyes; by that I mean he never makes eye contact. Whilst this may be of little significance for him, it does make his portrayal of a blind man sometimes a little too obvious. Whilst I cannot say for sure, I would imagine that a blind person would naturally point their face at the person they were speaking to, especially when that person has had sight for most of their life.
I will say that this movie is very sharp and detailed, at least as much as a non-16x9 transfer can be. There is plenty of clarity to the image, and no low-level noise. Shadow detail is less than expected for a recent movie, and is quite poor at times.
One area where this transfer shines is the colours. The overall feel is very warm, with strong colours when called upon. There is absolutely no chroma noise, and no oversaturation. The image has a nice depth to it given the high contrast and strong colour palette, and I can't help but pine for a proper anamorphic transfer....
There were no MPEG artefacts of any kind during the movie. The transfer was ravaged by aliasing, and it was present a good deal of the time. Every possible scene where aliasing might be a problem was a problem, and even Al Pacino's suits shimmered away, testament to the high level of detail. This was distracting for me given that I am acutely aware of it, however it was not as distracting as the aliasing in, say, The Mummy, because the transfer is simply not in that league. Film artefacts were trivial.
This disc is RSDL formatted, with the layer change taking place at 70:39. This is perhaps the least observable layer change that I have seen - it lasts a split-second and does not even stop the flow of a particularly sombre conversation between Al and Chris.
Dialogue was always clear, with no distortion or lip-sync problems.
The musical score by Thomas Newman is mellow, sullen and very, very effective on a subliminal level. It has the effect of reinforcing the often strong emotions conveyed from the equally strong acting, and is excellent at this job.
Surround presence was typical of a good matrix mix, being subtly enveloping and adding to the atmosphere. The score also made good use of the surround channel. This movie would not have benefited greatly from a dynamic, aggressive 5.1 mix anyway given that it is a dialogue-driven movie and fairly slow paced.
The mix was well rounded, with enough bass when it needed it. Not floor thumping, just a pleasant bottom end to add some weight.
Theatrical Trailer (2:27)
Presented in 1.33:1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, the quality might be poor but the content is great! A very effective trailer which touches on the right aspects of the movie. As always, a welcome inclusion, irrespective of quality.
Biographies - Cast & Crew
Production Notes
The video is okay, though the lack of 16x9 enhancement is an absolute crime. It must be noted that the packaging claims the transfer is 16x9, which only adds insult to injury.
The audio is good.
Limited extras beyond the trailer; to me this is a bare bones disc.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
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DVD | Panasonic A350A S-Video output |
Display | Pioneer SD-T43W1 125cm Widescreen 16x9 |
Audio Decoder | Internal Dolby Digital 5.1 (DVD Player) |
Amplification | Sony STRDE-525 5x100 watts Dolby Pro-Logic / 5.1 Ready Receiver; 4 x Optimus 10-band Graphic EQ |
Speakers | Centre: Sony SS-CN35 100 watt; Main & Surrounds: Pioneer CS-R390-K 150-watt floorstanders; Subwoofer: Optimus 100-watt passive |