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| Category | Drama | Theatrical Trailer(s) | Yes, 1 |
| Rating |
| Other Trailer(s) | Yes, 2 - Dolby Digital City, Columbia Tristar DVD Promo |
| Year Released | 1997 | Commentary Tracks | None |
| Running Time | 109 minutes | Other Extras | Cast & Crew Filmographies |
| RSDL/Flipper | No/No |
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| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region | 4 | Director | Beeban Kidron |
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Distributor |
Columbia Tristar |
Starring | Vincent Perez
Rachel Weisz Ian McKellen Joss Ackland Kathy Bates |
| Case | Transparent Amaray | ||
| RRP | $34.95 | Music | John Barry |
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| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | MPEG | None |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Dolby Digital | 5.1 |
| 16x9 Enhancement | Yes | Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 2.0  )
English (Dolby Digital 5.1) French (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
| Theatrical Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 |
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| Macrovision | Yes | ||
| Subtitles | English
Dutch French Arabic |
Smoking | No |
Yanko (Vincent Perez) is a Ukrainian who is travelling to America. His ship is shipwrecked off the coast of Cornwall, and he is the only survivor. At first, he is treated like a lunatic by everyone, except for Amy Foster (Rachel Weisz) who feeds and bathes him. Yanko falls in love with Amy, despite the opposition of the townsfolk.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced. The DVD cover incorrectly indicates that this transfer is presented at 1.85:1.
The transfer was razor sharp and crystal clear throughout, with just a hint here and there of some picture grain. I tend to use this phrase frequently when describing the clarity of image on DVD, but this one is truly exceptional in its ability to resolve fine details without artefacts. Shadow detail was excellent, and no low level noise was apparent.
I noted two very slight skips in the image between 47:36 and 47:38, almost as if two single frames had been dropped.
The colours were well rendered most of the time. A few of the scenes appeared marginally oversaturated, and some appear to have been shot deliberately quite blue, but I believe that this was the cinematographer's intent.
There were no MPEG artefacts seen. Film-to-video artefacts were non-existent. Film artefacts were non-existent.
Dialogue was always clear and easy to understand, even though there was a lot of ambient background noise at times.
There were no audio sync problems.
The score by John Barry was very symphonic, and the best word to describe it would be "sweeping".
The surround channels were aggressively utilized for music and ambience. This mix is exceptional in creating an enveloping soundfield, from the railway yards to the various outdoor scenes, to the crashing of the various storms. The surround channels are used often, and loudly, but never to the extent of making it impossible to hear what is going on in the centre channel.
The .1 channel received a surprisingly large amount of signal for this style of movie.
The video quality is almost perfect.
The audio quality is a great immersive mix.
The extras are average for Columbia Tristar.
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© Michael Demtschyna
1st June 1999
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| DVD | Pioneer DV-505, using S-Video output |
| Display | Loewe Art-95 95cm direct view CRT in 16:9 mode, via the S-Video input. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Denon AVD-2000 Dolby Digital AddOn Decoder, used as a standalone processor. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | 2 x EA Playmaster 100W per channel stereo amplifiers for Left, Right, Left Rear and Right Rear; Philips 360 50W per channel stereo amplifier for Centre and Subwoofer |
| Speakers | Philips S2000 speakers for Left, Right; Polk Audio CS-100 Centre Speaker; Apex AS-123 speakers for Left Rear and Right Rear; Yamaha B100-115SE subwoofer |