Movie:
Shadow of Doubt, originally released in 1998, was directed by Randal Kleiser, and stars Melanie Griffith (Kitt Devereaux), Tom Berenger (Jack Campioni), Craig Sheffer (Laird Atkins), Huey Lewis (Al Gordon), and Wade Dominguez (Bobby Medina). Available on video for a while now, Columbia Tristar has just recently released this suspense thriller on DVD.

Kitt Devereaux is a high profile defense attorney who has yet to lose a case, but is surrounded in controversy after she successfully defended accused rapist Laird Atkins, and then subsequently pressed charges against him for assault. Now, fresh off another case, she's called by a recording label to represent one of their up and coming artists, Bobby Medina, who is accused of sexually assaulting and murdering Jana Calloway, the daughter of billionaire Norman Calloway. Due to the pressure put on the force to find the person responsible, Kitt believes the police arrested Bobby on circumstantial evidence and believes he is innocent of the charges against him. It won't be easy to prove, however, as Jack Compioni, the assistant district attorney and her ex, leads the prosecution. With only days before the trial starts, Kitt and Al, her investigative partner, must find evidence to prove her client's innocence and discover the real guilty party before they run out of time.

I really enjoyed Shadow of Doubt when I first saw it a bit over a year ago on VHS; I work in a video store and it was one of two new suspense films at the time that I recommended to anyone interested in the genre, the other being Murder of Crows. I was excited about seeing it again, but unfortunately, the film isn't as interesting when you already know how it ends and who killed whom. For people who have yet to see it, however, it's really a finely crafted suspense film that keeps you on edge and constantly guessing. The acting is terrific by all, and it is especially unfortunate that Wade Dominguez died of respiratory failure the same year that the film was released.

Picture:
Shadow of Doubt is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and for the most part, the transfer is excellent. Colors are vibrant and well saturated with accurate flesh tones. Blacks, mostly, are deep and rich, however, occasionally, they seemed faded and showed some grain. There was some minimal edge enhancement that I detected in a few scenes, but that's it.

Sound:
Shadow of Doubt is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 in English and Dolby Surround 2.0 in English and French. Surrounds aren't as aggressive as I would've liked; the back speakers are mainly for ambient noises and the score, which does sound terrific. The front speakers have some decent directionality to them, mainly with voices. Dialogue throughout the film is crisp and clean and easy to understand. Optional subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.

Extras:
Extras include talent files for Griffith, Berenger, Lewis, Sheffer, and Kleiser, and trailers for Shadow of Doubt, Juror, Few Good Men, and Absence of Malice.

Summary:
Shadow of Doubt is an excellent suspense thriller that all fans of the genre should at least rent; Columbia Tristar's DVD edition is short on extras, but does deliver strong video and above average audio. Recommended!