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"The
Story That Won't Go Away" |
Reviewed by
Cass Nunn |
Director
Oliver Stone
Cast
Kevin Costner,
Kevin Bacon,
Joe Pesci,
Tommy Lee Jones,
Laurie Metcalf,
Sissy Spacek,
Gary Oldman,
Michael Rooker
Music
John Williams
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| Screen
Format/s |
2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen |
| Audio
Track/s |
DD 5.1
English, Italian |
| Subtitle/s
|
English,
Italian, French, German, Romanian, Bulgarian. |
| Region Code
|
2, 4 |
| Chapters
|
88 |
| Disc Format
|
DVD9 +
DVD5 |
| Running
Time |
197 minutes |
| Extras |
Disc 1:
- Cast and Crew Listing
- Audio Commentary: Oliver Stone
- Awards Notes
Disc 2:
- Deleted and Extended scenes
- Featurette: Multimedia essays
- Theatrical Trailer
- DVD ROM Extras |
| Classification
|
M15+ |
| Distributor
|
Warner Home Video |
| Release
date |
19th April 2001 |
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JFK is one of those films that while it is based on a
true story still holds enough entertainment value for multiple screenings. Anyone who has
lived in past 30 years has at least some recollection of what is perhaps the single most
debated assassination in modern history.
The world stopped on November 22 1963 when the ever-popular U.S. president was
assassinated.
While Oliver Stone is certainly not trying to pass a judgement on anyone for this
event, there is certainly some very strong elements of doubt to consider.
Shortly before watching this I had seen the recently released 13 Days so the concept of
a conspiracy theory was sticking in my mind. I am impressed with the way Oliver Stone has
approached the film in directing our attention to the many inconsistencies in the
conviction of Lee Harvey Oswald for the assassination of JFK.
There really isn’t a lot that can be said about the plot of this film as it really
is quite a well known event. What can be said though is that this is far from a tell tale
real life story, there is much more to the story in events and suggested conspiracies that
were addressed after the conviction and assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. |
So how does this transfer hold up?
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VIDEO
The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is generally very good. Keeping
in mind that a good portion of the film is or is at least intended to have a distinct aged
look to the footage. The rest of the film is generally sharp and clear.
The colour palette is muted and sometimes very dull, but at
the same time it gives a good period feel to the film, and really does feel like a
60’s based film. Shadow detail is good but not perfect unfortunately this is lent by
the muted colour scheme.
There were some very slight instances of MPEG artefacting from some camera panning
shots. Ailiasing and shimmering were occasionally a problem but these were not overly
noticeable and only attributable to problematic shots in which I would have expected them.
Film artefacts consisiting of dust marks and flecks were quite common but didn’t
detract from the overall quality of the film, most of the time they were hard to spot. |
AUDIO
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is quite impressive over
the 2.0 soundtrack from previous release. The film is very much dialogue driven and the
multitude of different languages and accents are remarkably clear and easy to understand
throughout.
While there was little call for them the surround and LFE
channels were used very effectively throughout. The surround channels supported the score
and directional sounds very well while the LFE channel gave a boost to the overall effects
track and again emphasised the score.
The score from the legendary John Williams is simple sensational. Mr Williams happens
to be my favourite film composer and is recognised widely as the greatest film composer of
all time. The score fro JFK is no exception and his theatrical/classical combination works
brilliantly here. |
EXTRAS
The big improvement from the previous release is the inclusion of some
fantastic extras.
Disc 1
- Cast and Crew Listing: Just that.
- Audio Commentary: Oliver Stone: This was really an essential
feature as you cannot really fully appreciate this film without the background and the
intentions of the director. Make sure you listen to this as some of the insights from
Oliver Stone are really quite remarkable.
- Awards Notes another very plain list of awards won by the
film.
Disc 2
- Deleted and Extended scenes: almost an hour of deleted and
extended scenes and a very interesting alternate ending. Quality is average and not these
are not anamorphic widescreen.
- Featurette: Multimedia essays: Must watch these! Some
fantastic background information from characters who inspired the film. Some of the
background information here will really have you thinking about the entire prospect of a
conspiracy theory.
- Theatrical Trailer
- DVD ROM Extras: Links to Warner web sites. (really a great
big waste of time).
Overall
Loved it, buy it, don’t miss it, enjoy it! |
| PICTURE
QUALITY |
8/10 very
good |
SOUND
- Quality
- 5.1 WOW Factor |
9/10 great!
8/10 needs a little tweaking but otherwise fantastic! |
| EXTRAS |
7/10 quality not quantity |
| EXTRAS |
9/10 entertainment plus! |
Review Equipment
TV: GE 68cm (16:9
selectable)
DVD: Pioneer 737
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V595a
Speakers:-
Fronts: B&W 602 (on a pair of custom made stands you'd KILL for)
Centre: Venturi
Rears: Wharfedale Diamond R6
Sub: M&K v75
- Reviewed 17th July 2001
* jpeg files for internet
promotion use only. Copyright© exists on all aspects of these files by Warner Home Video |
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