| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Siege(DTS), The
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Director Edward Zwick has directed quite a few impressive movies over the span of his career. "Courage Under Fire" was a strong, well-written drama, as was "Glory". "Legends Of The Fall" was even pretty good. "The Siege" is only part complete; working again with Denzel Washington, the performances are quite solid, but the screenplay is shaky at times and is sort of rumbles towards a decent end.
Washington plays Anthony Hubbard, the leader of an anti-terrorist part of the FBI in New York. When terrorist attacks start happening across the city, the level of action taken to stop the terrorists goes further and further. Eventually, the army is called in, and under the lead of General Devereaux (Bruce Willis), martial law is enforced. As Arab terrorists are suspected, Arab-Americans are rounded up into camps in an attempt to find the terrorists.
Willis is not a bad actor, but the performance takes the character in a poor direction - as he yells cliched speeches again and again, the movie begins to spin out of control into a more uninteresting thriller rather than a drama. Annette Benning is decent as a CIA operative who may have ties to the terrorists; she and Washington have decent spark as they go back and forth. Washington's performance is often stunning; he takes some so-so material and absolutely gives it his all. Tony Shalhoub also turns in a very good performance as Washington's partner.
The film starts off promisingly; it simply stumbles aas it goes from being a drama to a thriller; it gets more cliche as Willis' character gets more screen-time. Although we get to know Washington's character well, the other characters in "The Siege" aren't terribly well-defined, especially Benning's vague character. Technically though, "The Siege" is well done, with strong editing and often remarkable cinematography by the great Roger Deakins ("The Big Lebowski"). As a film though, it gets less interesting as it goes along - especially when Willis' character enters.
The DVD
VIDEO: Fox's original presentation of "The Siege" was non-anamorphic but still good - this new presentation is anamorphic and excellent. The movie is presented in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and continues Fox's recent streak of fine work. Sharpness and detail are both fantastic throughout the movie. Cinematography by Roger Deakins ("Fargo") is outstanding, and it looks impressive here. The depth to some of the scenes on the city streets is also pleasing to see.
As for flaws, there really aren't very many. Pixelation isn't visible, and and shimmering and other problems aren't seen, either. I did spot a couple of minor speckles on the print used, but that's about all there was to the complaints. The color palette often remains cold, with a blue tone that washes over some scenes. Otherwise though, colors remain crisp and vivid, with no problems. This is nice work by Fox; although it's not without a few minor bumps, I found it to be a smoother, better looking presentation than the first release.
SOUND: This is another of Fox's first wave of re-releases that include both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. Zwick's films have always seemed to have good audio presentations. The war scenes in "Courage Under Fire" were stunning examples of surround sound, and the battle scenes in "Legends" even impressed.
"The Siege" is not a constantly agressive presentation, but I liked the details of it. Even in quieter scenes there are some ambient background sounds that at least attempt to make the sense of space seem more realistic. There are also some additional action sequences throughout the film that put the surrounds to more agressive use and provide strong, deep bass.
Grame Revell's score is very dynamic, consistently booming during the action scenes, providing a good deal of tension to the scenes. Dialogue is clear, clean and easily understood. An above average audio presentation; differences between Dolby Digital and DTS are pretty minor.
MENUS:: Menus are awfully bland, with large type for the selections going across the screen and slight pictures from the film in the background.
EXTRAS: The trailer. I'm suprised, as director Edward Zwick seems to be providing new audio commentaries for most of his movies, such as "Courage Under Fire", which was released on DVD the same week as this disc is.
Final Thoughts: If you like "The Siege" and haven't already purchased it, this is certainly the recommended version. The picture quality is improved and there is the choice between Dolby or DTS - but the only extra still remains the trailer.
Director Edward Zwick has directed quite a few impressive movies over the span of his career. "Courage Under Fire" was a strong, well-written drama, as was "Glory". "Legends Of The Fall" was even pretty good. "The Siege" is only part complete; working again with Denzel Washington, the performances are quite solid, but the screenplay is shaky at times and is sort of rumbles towards a decent end.
Washington plays Anthony Hubbard, the leader of an anti-terrorist part of the FBI in New York. When terrorist attacks start happening across the city, the level of action taken to stop the terrorists goes further and further. Eventually, the army is called in, and under the lead of General Devereaux (Bruce Willis), martial law is enforced. As Arab terrorists are suspected, Arab-Americans are rounded up into camps in an attempt to find the terrorists.
Willis is not a bad actor, but the performance takes the character in a poor direction - as he yells cliched speeches again and again, the movie begins to spin out of control into a more uninteresting thriller rather than a drama. Annette Benning is decent as a CIA operative who may have ties to the terrorists; she and Washington have decent spark as they go back and forth. Washington's performance is often stunning; he takes some so-so material and absolutely gives it his all. Tony Shalhoub also turns in a very good performance as Washington's partner.
The film starts off promisingly; it simply stumbles aas it goes from being a drama to a thriller; it gets more cliche as Willis' character gets more screen-time. Although we get to know Washington's character well, the other characters in "The Siege" aren't terribly well-defined, especially Benning's vague character. Technically though, "The Siege" is well done, with strong editing and often remarkable cinematography by the great Roger Deakins ("The Big Lebowski"). As a film though, it gets less interesting as it goes along - especially when Willis' character enters.
The DVD
VIDEO: Fox's original presentation of "The Siege" was non-anamorphic but still good - this new presentation is anamorphic and excellent. The movie is presented in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and continues Fox's recent streak of fine work. Sharpness and detail are both fantastic throughout the movie. Cinematography by Roger Deakins ("Fargo") is outstanding, and it looks impressive here. The depth to some of the scenes on the city streets is also pleasing to see.
As for flaws, there really aren't very many. Pixelation isn't visible, and and shimmering and other problems aren't seen, either. I did spot a couple of minor speckles on the print used, but that's about all there was to the complaints. The color palette often remains cold, with a blue tone that washes over some scenes. Otherwise though, colors remain crisp and vivid, with no problems. This is nice work by Fox; although it's not without a few minor bumps, I found it to be a smoother, better looking presentation than the first release.
SOUND: This is another of Fox's first wave of re-releases that include both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. Zwick's films have always seemed to have good audio presentations. The war scenes in "Courage Under Fire" were stunning examples of surround sound, and the battle scenes in "Legends" even impressed.
"The Siege" is not a constantly agressive presentation, but I liked the details of it. Even in quieter scenes there are some ambient background sounds that at least attempt to make the sense of space seem more realistic. There are also some additional action sequences throughout the film that put the surrounds to more agressive use and provide strong, deep bass.
Grame Revell's score is very dynamic, consistently booming during the action scenes, providing a good deal of tension to the scenes. Dialogue is clear, clean and easily understood. An above average audio presentation; differences between Dolby Digital and DTS are pretty minor.
MENUS:: Menus are awfully bland, with large type for the selections going across the screen and slight pictures from the film in the background.
EXTRAS: The trailer. I'm suprised, as director Edward Zwick seems to be providing new audio commentaries for most of his movies, such as "Courage Under Fire", which was released on DVD the same week as this disc is.
Final Thoughts: If you like "The Siege" and haven't already purchased it, this is certainly the recommended version. The picture quality is improved and there is the choice between Dolby or DTS - but the only extra still remains the trailer.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||