John Sturges' nail-biting POW classic The Great Escape arrives on DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. English and French soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a half-hour documentary, production notes, trivia, and the original theatrical trailer. This fine package will please fans of the film and may draw some interest from people unfamiliar with it.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
The special edition of The Usual Suspects has much going for it, on both sides of the disc. Naturally there is a commentary track with director Bryan Singer and Oscar-winning writer Christopher McQuarrie. Naturally, it is very interesting and detail heavy. There is also another commentary track featuring composer John Ottman, who offers insights the other two do not. With such a dialogue-intensive script as this, the soundtrack has to be up to snuff, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround here has been designed to highlight the words without muting the ambient noise. This DVD makes the best case yet in the argument for widescreen vs. pan-and-scan because it gives you the option. Choose the 2.35:1 anamorphic letterboxed version and you'll see a digitized movie the way it was supposed to be seen, in sharp colors and remarkable clarity; choose the TV-style full-frame version and you'll see scenes where the person talking isn't on the screen, and the visual image is slightly dreary. New supplements include "Pursuing the Suspects," a documentary about the casting choices, and "Doin' Time With The Usual Suspects," which collects interviews with the cast members as they talk about the movie and their lives after. "Heisting Cannes with The Usual Suspects" goes to France with the cast and feels like an elaborate home movie. "Keyser Soze: Lie or Legend" continues the parlor game of Who Was Soze? that fans of the movie love to play. Speaking of games, an easter egg is solved if you can piece together the order the clues to Soze's identity appear in the film, with your reward being even more documentary material, one having to do with the film's composer. Less interesting is an elaborate, indulgent gag reel of outtakes introduced by Singer that is nearly a short movie in itself. It's not very interesting, but the rest of the disc is fascinating.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.