Hosted by former New Line Cinema president Mike De Luca, The Dialogue is an ongoing series of feature-length conversations with prominent screenwriters. Obviously geared towards young hopefuls, The Dialogue is still fairly slim on focused educational content; in other words, this isn't quite "film school in a box". Instead, these sessions primarily offer viewers a glimpse into the screenwriters' personal history: their early years, their first major breaks and a few unsavory tales from the darker side of the film industry. It's a lightweight but potent formula, but is it strong enough to stand on its own two feet?

The premiere installment in the series features screenwriter Paul Haggis, perhaps best-known for Oscar winners Crash and Million Dollar Baby, not to mention his long-standing work in television. He speaks briefly about his frustrating earlier years in construction…and, of course, his transition to the work that would make him famous. Though the Canadian-born Haggis was more of a late bloomer in the writing world---having not become comfortable with the profession until later in his 40s---he remains humble during the interview, though it seems to have been recorded prior to his second Oscar win for Crash. The latter film gets plenty of focus during the earlier part of the session, including an interesting story about how a piece of hate mail during his TV years evolved into Matt Dillon's character.

No matter if you're a fan of Haggis or not, the honesty he displays during this 90-minute interview is fairly refreshing. He makes no effort to hide his own self-criticisms, citing humility as a helpful mask for his temperamental nature. As host, Mike De Luca often drifts into the background and simply lets Haggis spill his guts, revealing several interesting anecdotes and glimpses at the writer's personal style. The interview is far less technical than it is story-driven, so this installment of The Dialogue is, unfortunately, geared more towards fans of Haggis than aspiring screenwriters.

Presented on DVD in a relatively simple fashion, The Dialogue: An Interview With Screenwriter Paul Haggis is a lightweight release but still deserves a closer look. The technical presentation isn't perfect but gets the job done, but those looking for meaty bonus features will be sorely disappointed. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

The menu screens (seen above), presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, are simply designed and easy enough to navigate. The 90-minute main feature has been divided into 14 chapters; no layer changes were detected during playback, though each chapter break triggered a slight pause. The packaging for The Dialogue is simple but nicely designed, as this one-disc release is housed in an attractive slim digipak case. No inserts are included, but a chapter listing is printed on the inside of the case.

Unfortunately, no bonus features were included with this release, save for an Index of other titles in the series; incidentally, these include chats with writers like Jim Uhls (Fight Club), Stuart Beattie (Collateral), David Goyer (The Blade Trilogy) and several others.

Though An Interview With Screenwriter Paul Haggis is entertaining enough, it's tough to recommend a title that would seem more at home as part of a larger release (for example, as an extra for Crash: The Director's Cut). While fans of Haggis' work will undoubtedly want to check this disc out, it's still a bit too lightweight to stand on its own two feet. The DVD presentation includes a solid technical treatment, though the lack of extras doesn't help matters any. While its target audience should certainly enjoy The Dialogue as a weekend rental, it's a tough sell for everyone else. Rent It.