DVDown Under REVIEW - The Fugitive : Special Edition

Could there possibly be anybody who hasn’t seen this movie? The Fugitive certainly rates as one of the best suspense/chase type of movies if not the best. Originally released in 1993 into cinemas and to DVD in 1998, this current release is a special edition that includes some extra features and some improvements and minor changes to the video transfer.

Essentially the story is based around Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford) who comes home to find his wife dying after being attacked in their home. The attacker is still in the house and Richard wrestles with him and discovers he has an artificial arm. Suffice to say his story is not believed by the local Chicago police and he is sentenced to death for her murder. While being transferred to another prison some of the other prisoners stage a diversion that ignites into an incident that causes their bus to crash and career into the path of a goods train. This is a dynamic scene which certainly gets the action off to a great start.

Richard of course escapes and thus beings the great chase. His chief antagonist is US Marshall Sam Gerard (Jones) who will do anything to catch Richard. Meanwhile Richard is involved in his own personal chase, that to find the one armed man who killed his wife and to understand why he was framed.

This is one of those movies that works on a number of levels, the acting is great, the storyline is good, the action scenes are spectacular and there is enough suspense to keep the viewer on the edge until the end.

So how does this DVD Scrub Up?

VIDEO
The anamorphic widescreen video transfer lives up to the quality of the story. Colour ranges are good and representative of the various set locations, shadow detail is good and there are no transfer artefacts to cause problems. There is no evidence of grain and overall the transfer is very sharp and clear with minimal film artefacts visible.

It appears some extra attention was given to the video transfer for this release. For example in the extras section it is described how a crew member who is visible on the original version in the train wreck scene is digitally edited out from the picture.

The layer change occurs in the middle of a dialogue scene at 70:29 and there is a noticeable but brief pause in the audio and picture.

AUDIO

The English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is also of a high quality. The surround speakers are not used extensively but function when required. From an audio perspective the standout scene is definitely the train crash near the beginning which has just awesome sound effects.

Dialogue is clear and distinct throughout and there are no problems with the audio synch.

The music soundtrack complements each phase of the movie and helps add suspense throughout and provides ambience when required. Often the music is appropriately subtle and not too overpowering.

EXTRAS
There is a good selection of extras provided although none are particularly novel.

DISC 1 -

Audio Commentary :- As far as audio commentaries go this DD2.0 version is not particularly stimulating. It is left to director Andrew Davis to provide most of the insightful comments and interesting details with some input from Tommy Lee Jones.
Introduction :- This is actually a very brief introduction to the audio commentary recorded in March 2001 showing director Andrew Davis speaking with Tommy Lee Jones by phone during the recording of the commentary. There is a cut to one image of Harrison Ford speaking.
Featurette "Derailed, Anatomy of a Train Wreck" :- Essentially a behind the scenes feature of how the train crash scene was prepared and filmed. This is extremely interesting and gives much technical detail of how this spectacular footage was produced- which used a real train and bus rather than any digital special effects. It is a DD2.0 soundtrack that runs for 8:54.
Featurette "On the Run" :- This is a behind the scenes look at making the entire movie including interviews with the director and producers and with Ford and Jones giving their individual perspectives on the development of this movie. It runs for 23:06.
Theatrical Trailer :- This is an excellent theatrical trailer (1:59) presented in a surround encoded track that sets the suspense and chase tone for the movie without giving away too much.
Cast and Crew Listing :- This is only a short static list of the cast and crew and does not provide any biographical information.
Awards :- Another static list that includes the awards that this movie achieved.

A wonderful movie, presented at a high quality on a DVD that can be watched over and over and still be entertaining.

DVD Ratings

PICTURE QUALITY	9/10 A superior transfer
SOUND QUALITY - Dolby	8.5/10 Again of a high quality
5.1 WOW FACTOR	5/10 The train crash being the highlight
SOUND QUALITY - DTS	5/10
EXTRAS	5/10 A good selection but nothing unique
OVERALL	9/10 An absolute classic story with high quality video and audio

Click HERE for Kathryn's Review Equipment

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