How Does It Look?
Columbia's anamorphic widescreen transfer is in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and comes off pretty well. The film is somewhat drab to begin with but the transfer successfully captures what the director shot. There are a few scenes film grain is noticeable but it's not so significant as to distract from what you're watching.

How Does It Sound?
Included for your listening pleasure are two soundtracks. One is the (I believe) original 2.0 Dolby Surround track and a new Dolby Digital 4.0 track. I viewed the film in the 4.0 mode as I've never heard a four channel track before. I was surprised that it worked as well as it did. The rear speakers were used for sound effects and music and provided good sound separation. At times, the music seemed a bit too loud and the dialogue a little soft. Overall the track was solid and very good directional sound stage. Extras, Extras, Extras!
Columbia/Tri-Star brings Against All Odds to us in special edition format. I'm not sure why they did it, but if the DVD is going to hang it's hat on anything, it's the extras. First up is Audio Commentary from director Taylor Hackford and writer Eric Hughes. One has to applaud the appreciation Hackford has for DVD as he has a history for supporting supplemental material for all of his works. In this track Hackford and Hughes supply a lot of good information as to story related elements and behind the scenes info on making Against All Odds. A second commentary track is available featuring Hackford again, this time joined by Jeff Bridges and James Woods. This track is much more fun as you get the sense that three guys are sitting around having fun and laughing about old times. James Woods is unexpectedly funny and the highlight of this track. Next up are seven deleted scenes, all presented full frame and with optional director commentary. Some of the scenes are more rough than others but they are all very watchable. Running time on these scenes is a surprising 24 minutes and are a great addition (I'm a sucker for deleted stuff!). Two music videos are included for your listening/viewing pleasure. First is Kid Creole and the Coconuts' "My Male Curiosity". This music must be to someone's tastes but not mine. Thankfully Phil Collins' title song "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" is also included. Personally I think this song is the best part of the movie and it's nice to have the video on the disc. Also included are theatrical trailers for Against All Odds as well as The Last Picture Show, Starman and Arlington Road, all Jeff Bridges features. Arlington Road is widescreen with DD5.1 while all the rest are full screen mono. Last up are the obligatory Talent Files that provide a little info on Hackford, Bridges, Woods and Ward. Nothing major here.

Wrap Up:
It's nice to see so much effort put into DVD and a hearty cheer should be offered for Hackford's enthusiastic support for the format. I wish other directors would take a lesson from Hackford and contribute to making DVD even better than it already is by lending their support to special edition presentation of their films. All that being said, I still can't understand why Against All Odds merits this sort of presentation. I'm sure there are fans of this film out there, and to them I say go get it! This is the presentation of the film you've been waiting for since 1984. As far as special editions go this couldn't get much better. If you've not seen the film before I'd rent it first. If nothing else, what you'll get out of this DVD is how special editions should be handled and the opportunity to see Bridges and Woods turn in pretty good performances. Sigh, if only the film was better.