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Scarlet Letter (1995)
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // R // June 4, 2002
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A big-budget disaster that will likely be remembered along with a couple of other films that sunk Demi Moore's promising career, "The Scarlet Letter" has a beautiful appearance, but is considerably flawed underneath the surface. I won't spend a great deal discussing the story, given the fact that many are likely familiar with the story of Hester (Moore), who has an affair with a priest (Gary Oldman) that results in a baby. Having sinned, Hester is forced to walk around with an "A".
I suppose that Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale has potential to be turned into a big-screen adaptation, but director Roland Joffe approaches it incorrectly. Instead of making a serious drama, the film instead becomes a ridiculous romantic melodrama. I said previously that Moore's career was promising and I still stand by that: I liked her performances in "G.I. Jane" and elsewhere, but I will also say that she has her limits and "Scarlet Letter" surpasses them.
Apparently understanding this, the filmmakers have surrounded Moore with a legion of talented actors - unfortunately, this still leads to mixed results. Oldman does as well as he can with the material he has; Moore at least does try her best, but she's still not convincing and certainly not the finest choice for the role. Her and Oldman certainly lack chemistry, which further hurts their "romantic" scenes together. Duvall offers one of his rare mediocre performances, overacting throughout the second half.
At 135 minutes, the film feels considerably overlong. While there will would probably be debate about what elements of the story are essential or not, the reason for the feeling that the film drags is more likely due to the fact that the filmmakers have decided to "Hollywood"-ize a film that probably would have been more effective if played as straight drama with less romance and sappiness. With little tension or compelling characters, I never gained much interest at all.
Given the fact that this is a big budget offering, however, the film at least does look remarkable. Alex Thomson's cinematography is stellar; the film captures exceptional locations and very nice lighting. Still, as gorgeous as the film looks, it finds little of interest in this dull remake.
The DVD
VIDEO: I was extremely disapointed when I recieved this DVD and noticed what the back of the box indicated. The film's original aspect ratio is 2.35:1; I'm sure that cinematographer Alex Thomson ("Alien 3", "Cliffhanger")'s scope images must look stunning - but I wouldn't know that from this presentation. Disney only offers "The Scarlet Letter" in a very cropped 1.33:1 pan & scan presentation. As many steps as the company have taken in the right direction lately (the "Vault Disney" series, for example), their release of several of their catalog titles in pan & scan only is cause for concern.
If the fact that the title is pan & scan only isn't bad enough, the presentation offers very inconsistent image quality. Sharpness and detail are lackluster, as the picture often appears crisp, but certainly never "sharp" and occasionally, the picture falls into some mild and noticable softness. However, the softness really became the least of the worries regarding this offering from the studio. Shimmering and mild edge enhancement are noticable during several occasions, causing irritation. A few traces of pixelation were also spotted. Last, but not least, print wear was often visible. Mild specks, marks and a few scratches were seen, as was some occasional slight grain. Overall, certainly more print flaws than I'd expect for a 7-year-old picture.
Colors remained decently rendered, appearing crisp and attractive for the most part, but occasionally a tad bit smeared otherwise. The studio's choice to present this title (or any other for that matter) in pan & scan is really terrible and seriously irritating. I would have loved to see a nice anamorphic widescreen presentation of this title, but that isn't available here.
SOUND: If there's one positive aspect of this DVD - and literally, there is only one - it's that the Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation is fairly decent. John Barry's score swells up whenever something moderately dramatic occurs. Still, while the score does tend to underline the dramatic moments, it's rather beautiful and sounds quite good throughout this presentation, slightly reinforced by the surrounds at times. The surrounds do get a fair amount else to do, providing some ambient sounds here and there. Audio quality is very good, as the score sounds rich and full, while dialogue comes through clearly. While certainly not a stunning soundtrack, I found it to be an enjoyable offering.
MENUS: Bare basics - no animation.
EXTRAS: Nothing whatsoever.
Final Thoughts: The studio seems to be heading in two different directions when it comes to DVD. While Disney has made positive changes and released many impressive titles over the past couple of years, it's very disapointing to see that several of their recent catalog titles have been offered pan & scan only - every title should be offered in its original aspect ratio, with no exceptions. I don't recommend "Scarlet Letter" on DVD.
A big-budget disaster that will likely be remembered along with a couple of other films that sunk Demi Moore's promising career, "The Scarlet Letter" has a beautiful appearance, but is considerably flawed underneath the surface. I won't spend a great deal discussing the story, given the fact that many are likely familiar with the story of Hester (Moore), who has an affair with a priest (Gary Oldman) that results in a baby. Having sinned, Hester is forced to walk around with an "A".
I suppose that Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale has potential to be turned into a big-screen adaptation, but director Roland Joffe approaches it incorrectly. Instead of making a serious drama, the film instead becomes a ridiculous romantic melodrama. I said previously that Moore's career was promising and I still stand by that: I liked her performances in "G.I. Jane" and elsewhere, but I will also say that she has her limits and "Scarlet Letter" surpasses them.
Apparently understanding this, the filmmakers have surrounded Moore with a legion of talented actors - unfortunately, this still leads to mixed results. Oldman does as well as he can with the material he has; Moore at least does try her best, but she's still not convincing and certainly not the finest choice for the role. Her and Oldman certainly lack chemistry, which further hurts their "romantic" scenes together. Duvall offers one of his rare mediocre performances, overacting throughout the second half.
At 135 minutes, the film feels considerably overlong. While there will would probably be debate about what elements of the story are essential or not, the reason for the feeling that the film drags is more likely due to the fact that the filmmakers have decided to "Hollywood"-ize a film that probably would have been more effective if played as straight drama with less romance and sappiness. With little tension or compelling characters, I never gained much interest at all.
Given the fact that this is a big budget offering, however, the film at least does look remarkable. Alex Thomson's cinematography is stellar; the film captures exceptional locations and very nice lighting. Still, as gorgeous as the film looks, it finds little of interest in this dull remake.
The DVD
VIDEO: I was extremely disapointed when I recieved this DVD and noticed what the back of the box indicated. The film's original aspect ratio is 2.35:1; I'm sure that cinematographer Alex Thomson ("Alien 3", "Cliffhanger")'s scope images must look stunning - but I wouldn't know that from this presentation. Disney only offers "The Scarlet Letter" in a very cropped 1.33:1 pan & scan presentation. As many steps as the company have taken in the right direction lately (the "Vault Disney" series, for example), their release of several of their catalog titles in pan & scan only is cause for concern.
If the fact that the title is pan & scan only isn't bad enough, the presentation offers very inconsistent image quality. Sharpness and detail are lackluster, as the picture often appears crisp, but certainly never "sharp" and occasionally, the picture falls into some mild and noticable softness. However, the softness really became the least of the worries regarding this offering from the studio. Shimmering and mild edge enhancement are noticable during several occasions, causing irritation. A few traces of pixelation were also spotted. Last, but not least, print wear was often visible. Mild specks, marks and a few scratches were seen, as was some occasional slight grain. Overall, certainly more print flaws than I'd expect for a 7-year-old picture.
Colors remained decently rendered, appearing crisp and attractive for the most part, but occasionally a tad bit smeared otherwise. The studio's choice to present this title (or any other for that matter) in pan & scan is really terrible and seriously irritating. I would have loved to see a nice anamorphic widescreen presentation of this title, but that isn't available here.
SOUND: If there's one positive aspect of this DVD - and literally, there is only one - it's that the Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation is fairly decent. John Barry's score swells up whenever something moderately dramatic occurs. Still, while the score does tend to underline the dramatic moments, it's rather beautiful and sounds quite good throughout this presentation, slightly reinforced by the surrounds at times. The surrounds do get a fair amount else to do, providing some ambient sounds here and there. Audio quality is very good, as the score sounds rich and full, while dialogue comes through clearly. While certainly not a stunning soundtrack, I found it to be an enjoyable offering.
MENUS: Bare basics - no animation.
EXTRAS: Nothing whatsoever.
Final Thoughts: The studio seems to be heading in two different directions when it comes to DVD. While Disney has made positive changes and released many impressive titles over the past couple of years, it's very disapointing to see that several of their recent catalog titles have been offered pan & scan only - every title should be offered in its original aspect ratio, with no exceptions. I don't recommend "Scarlet Letter" on DVD.
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