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Few Good Men: Special Edition, A
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Writer Aaron Sorkin has gained a great deal of popularity over recent years, building up his reputation via writing films like "A Few Good Men" and "The American President" (I believe he was also an uncredited writer on Warren Beatty's "Bulworth"), but he's hit a peak recently with the popularity of the TV drama "West Wing". "Men" begins as officer William T. Santiago is killed in a hazing ritual at his Guantanamo, Cuba base. The two Marines who did it are found and put on trial - a Navy ace (Moore) finds a rather smirky, low-key lower in Kaffee(Cruise) to defend them - she's annoyed by him, but he's the best and has friends in high places, making it impossible for him to get thrown off the case.
It seems like a case with few variables, but in steps CO Jessup (Jack Nicholson), who has a rather mild-mannered exterior, but can suddenly change and become much, much darker. Soon enough, it becomes apparent that he might have had a role in the proceedings. Meanwhile, the duo (along with another officer played well by Kevin Pollack) also have to face Jessup's other officers and the prosecutor on the case - played by J. T. Walsh, Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon.
The film is pure Hollywood formula adapted from Sorkin's play, but at least it's well acted enough to really take many scenes places. It also suprisingly skips the obvious cliche of having the Cruise and Moore characters have a romantic fling. Moore's role is definitely the least interesting as she has to bicker with Kaffee, but Cruise and especially Nicholson are at their very best. Sorkin's screenplay is a bit too talkative at times - there are moments when characters simply spend a few paragraphs now and then talking about what they're going to do next - it's a problem many movies do have, and it does spoil the suprises along the way, and this film does have a few up its sleeve.
The film could also use a little bit of additional editing. At 138 minutes, "A Few Good Men" goes on a few minutes too long. Still, the performances (especially the smaller one from Nicholson) are highly entertaining and overcome the film's faults.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is a very good 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer from Tristar. Although I have not seen the original release, I would guess that the studio is re-using the same transfer as their original effort - something that they've done with all of the re-releases so far. Sharpness and detail are both excellent, especially in some of the outdoor sequences, although interiors are similarly well-defined.
There are a couple of flaws that remind that it's an earlier work from the studio. Some pixelation and light edge enhancement does appear, but there are hardly any print flaws - a couple of minor speckles and marks do appear, but overall, there's really nothing in terms of that area to be concerned about.
Colors appeared nicely rendered, although the movie doesn't offer a varied color palette. Colors seemed mostly warm and reddish in the office interiors, but were visibly natural and bright during the exteriors. It's not one of the best transfers from the studio, but it's pretty solid throughout and good for one of the early titles from Tristar. Subtitles in English/French/Spanish/Portuguese/Chinese/Korean/Thai. The layer change was spotted at about 1:22:45.
SOUND: "A Few Good Men" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 here, but apparently, that wasn't the case with the original DVD, which was offered in only Dolby 2.0. Still, this is a courtroom drama and even though this is now in Dolby Digital 5.1, there still isn't really anything in the way of activity throughout much of the movie. Almost all of it is dialogue-driven, with the exception of Marc Shaiman's score, which occasionally extends to the surrounds. Audio quality in terms of both music, dialogue and the occasional sound effects seemed fine across the board, with no complaints. The audio really doesn't deliver more than I would expect, although it's nice that the studio provided the audio in 5.1 this time around.
MENUS:: Menus are animated with the score in the background; the scene selection menu also provides chapter clips.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Rob Reiner, who has done several tracks in the past couple of years. He's never been a heavy talker (I believe his commentary for "When Harry Met Sally" had him talking for 1/3 of the picture with the rest being silence), but he does seem to enjoy doing these tracks. Although his commentary for "A Few Good Men" is still filled with gaps of silence, he does offer some interesting information when he does choose to speak up - mainly chatting about the behind-the-scenes stories involved in certain scenes or discussing working with the actors. Those who are very interested in finding out more about the movie may want to take a listen to the track, but they should be prepared to sit through quite a lot of silence - at least the film audio does play when Reiner isn't talking. In the future, I'd like to hear more tracks from the director - but not without him being paired up with another participant. Or, as Disney has done with some recent discs, separate certain scenes that the director would like to talk about, rather than having to search through the movie for discussion.
Code Of Conduct: This is a new 34 minute documentary exclusive to this DVD. It follows the arc of the production, from the generation of the idea as Sorkin was inspired by a true event to production to the final product. The cew and many members of the cast are on-hand to offer memories of working with each other as well as some stories about the production in general. A few moments become a little too story-heavy as they simply discuss what's going on next in the tale, but I was kept interested for the majority of the 34 minute running time.
Stage To Screen: This is a 13 minute documentary that mainly offers Sorkin the chance to discuss his memories about coming from a theater background to work on his first major film production, as well as never before having wrote a screenplay. Reiner also contributes his thoughts on first reading the screenplay and assisting Sorkin in taking it to the screen.
Trailers: Trailers for "Few Good Men", "Juror" and "Jerry Maguire".
Also: Filmographies.
Final Thoughts: "A Few Good Men" is a well-acted although somewhat predictable film from director Reiner and writer Sorkin. Tristar's disc offers solid features across the board, with satisfying audio/video quality and a couple of good documentaries as well as a very limited commentary from Reiner. Recommended.
Writer Aaron Sorkin has gained a great deal of popularity over recent years, building up his reputation via writing films like "A Few Good Men" and "The American President" (I believe he was also an uncredited writer on Warren Beatty's "Bulworth"), but he's hit a peak recently with the popularity of the TV drama "West Wing". "Men" begins as officer William T. Santiago is killed in a hazing ritual at his Guantanamo, Cuba base. The two Marines who did it are found and put on trial - a Navy ace (Moore) finds a rather smirky, low-key lower in Kaffee(Cruise) to defend them - she's annoyed by him, but he's the best and has friends in high places, making it impossible for him to get thrown off the case.
It seems like a case with few variables, but in steps CO Jessup (Jack Nicholson), who has a rather mild-mannered exterior, but can suddenly change and become much, much darker. Soon enough, it becomes apparent that he might have had a role in the proceedings. Meanwhile, the duo (along with another officer played well by Kevin Pollack) also have to face Jessup's other officers and the prosecutor on the case - played by J. T. Walsh, Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon.
The film is pure Hollywood formula adapted from Sorkin's play, but at least it's well acted enough to really take many scenes places. It also suprisingly skips the obvious cliche of having the Cruise and Moore characters have a romantic fling. Moore's role is definitely the least interesting as she has to bicker with Kaffee, but Cruise and especially Nicholson are at their very best. Sorkin's screenplay is a bit too talkative at times - there are moments when characters simply spend a few paragraphs now and then talking about what they're going to do next - it's a problem many movies do have, and it does spoil the suprises along the way, and this film does have a few up its sleeve.
The film could also use a little bit of additional editing. At 138 minutes, "A Few Good Men" goes on a few minutes too long. Still, the performances (especially the smaller one from Nicholson) are highly entertaining and overcome the film's faults.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is a very good 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer from Tristar. Although I have not seen the original release, I would guess that the studio is re-using the same transfer as their original effort - something that they've done with all of the re-releases so far. Sharpness and detail are both excellent, especially in some of the outdoor sequences, although interiors are similarly well-defined.
There are a couple of flaws that remind that it's an earlier work from the studio. Some pixelation and light edge enhancement does appear, but there are hardly any print flaws - a couple of minor speckles and marks do appear, but overall, there's really nothing in terms of that area to be concerned about.
Colors appeared nicely rendered, although the movie doesn't offer a varied color palette. Colors seemed mostly warm and reddish in the office interiors, but were visibly natural and bright during the exteriors. It's not one of the best transfers from the studio, but it's pretty solid throughout and good for one of the early titles from Tristar. Subtitles in English/French/Spanish/Portuguese/Chinese/Korean/Thai. The layer change was spotted at about 1:22:45.
SOUND: "A Few Good Men" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 here, but apparently, that wasn't the case with the original DVD, which was offered in only Dolby 2.0. Still, this is a courtroom drama and even though this is now in Dolby Digital 5.1, there still isn't really anything in the way of activity throughout much of the movie. Almost all of it is dialogue-driven, with the exception of Marc Shaiman's score, which occasionally extends to the surrounds. Audio quality in terms of both music, dialogue and the occasional sound effects seemed fine across the board, with no complaints. The audio really doesn't deliver more than I would expect, although it's nice that the studio provided the audio in 5.1 this time around.
MENUS:: Menus are animated with the score in the background; the scene selection menu also provides chapter clips.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Rob Reiner, who has done several tracks in the past couple of years. He's never been a heavy talker (I believe his commentary for "When Harry Met Sally" had him talking for 1/3 of the picture with the rest being silence), but he does seem to enjoy doing these tracks. Although his commentary for "A Few Good Men" is still filled with gaps of silence, he does offer some interesting information when he does choose to speak up - mainly chatting about the behind-the-scenes stories involved in certain scenes or discussing working with the actors. Those who are very interested in finding out more about the movie may want to take a listen to the track, but they should be prepared to sit through quite a lot of silence - at least the film audio does play when Reiner isn't talking. In the future, I'd like to hear more tracks from the director - but not without him being paired up with another participant. Or, as Disney has done with some recent discs, separate certain scenes that the director would like to talk about, rather than having to search through the movie for discussion.
Code Of Conduct: This is a new 34 minute documentary exclusive to this DVD. It follows the arc of the production, from the generation of the idea as Sorkin was inspired by a true event to production to the final product. The cew and many members of the cast are on-hand to offer memories of working with each other as well as some stories about the production in general. A few moments become a little too story-heavy as they simply discuss what's going on next in the tale, but I was kept interested for the majority of the 34 minute running time.
Stage To Screen: This is a 13 minute documentary that mainly offers Sorkin the chance to discuss his memories about coming from a theater background to work on his first major film production, as well as never before having wrote a screenplay. Reiner also contributes his thoughts on first reading the screenplay and assisting Sorkin in taking it to the screen.
Trailers: Trailers for "Few Good Men", "Juror" and "Jerry Maguire".
Also: Filmographies.
Final Thoughts: "A Few Good Men" is a well-acted although somewhat predictable film from director Reiner and writer Sorkin. Tristar's disc offers solid features across the board, with satisfying audio/video quality and a couple of good documentaries as well as a very limited commentary from Reiner. Recommended.
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