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Bringing Out The Dead
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
It's been a while since I've read Joe Connelly's novel about a medic searching for souls in the middle of New York City, so the details of the story begin to escape me, but I certainly remember the effect it had on me. It's one of those novels that you start reading and simply just can't let go of. The film by Martin Scorsese is as haunting as I remembered the novel being, a story full of shadows and sorrow.
The film is about trying to let go of the ghosts that haunt one man. Nicholas Cage stars as Frank Pierce, a NYC paramedic who is burned out on his job, and the ghosts of those he wasn't able to save seem to stare out at him from the shadows of the streets of the city. He is called, or more specifically, yelled at over the radio to follow one his partners(John Goodman, Ving Rhames or Tom Sizemore) on the next call.
Frank can't do anything but move forward to the next call, but when he reaches that goal, he finds out that the end is nowhere in sight. In the middle of the chaos is Mary(Patricia Arquette), the daughter of one of the calls he has early on in the film. She appears in and out of the film. We are not sure of an attraction or a relationship; all we know is that she seems to be the indicator of coming back to reality for Frank - that there is something out there.
People have been against Cage's choices lately in Hollywood, and some actors have been less than happy with his acting choices, and they've made their feelings known. If anything, "Bringing Out The Dead" will show those who doubt. While "Leaving Las Vegas" was really the best performance I've seen from the actor, "Bringing Out The Dead" is certainly a close second. He gets the grim tone and look of the character down perfectly. Joining him on the journey is Goodman, who is funny as a guy searching for his next meal, and Rhames and Sizemore are excellent, as well.
Scorsese perfectly pulls the viewer into the meltdown, and the dialogue (screenplay by Paul Schrader) makes us want to go along with Frank as the ambulance screams down yet another barren avenue. "Bringing Out The Dead" gets a little long at points, but with the marvelous acting and interesting story, I followed the characters at almost every step of the way. A wild ride and a very impressive movie.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount simply keeps getting better and better with each effort. Taking place in the darkness of the streets, the picture takes on an almost eerie beauty, with sharp, bright colors of the neon lights and tones. Robert Richardson("Nixon", "Casino")'s cinematography is perfect, and the anamorphic transfer does justice to it wonderfully. Sharpness is excellent, and detail is very good as well. Black level is perfect, and flesh tones are accurate and natural.
Flaws are simply nonexistent - no shimmering, no pixelation and the print used is in absolutely crystal clear condition. Richardson's camera work is marvelous, filling the 2.35:1 frame with fantastic compositions. Excellent work by Paramount.
SOUND: "Bringing Out The Dead" isn't a major film in terms of audio, but the soundtrack full of great rock hits from the Clash and other classic rock bands. The score is very well recorded and fills the room with authority and strength. Surrounds are not used terribly often, and the majority of the movie remains pretty much dialogue-driven. Still, I liked it a lot - all of the songs included are fantastic and sounded great.
MENUS:: Basic menus with images from the movie and no animation.
EXTRAS:
Cast and Crew Interviews: It's not a major section, but it's good enough that I wish that there was more to it. Martin Scorsese talks about why exactly he was attracted to doing the movie, Cage talks about what he thought of the character and the story, and writer Connelly talks about the truth behind the tale. Scorsese's comments, even in the brief featurette, give fine insight and are interesting to hear - I wish that he had done a commentary for the film. Cage is also interesting to listen to, talking about the research that he did for the film, and what it took to play the character. This featurette lasts about 11 minutes.
Trailers: 2 theatrical trailers for the film.
Final Thoughts: I liked the movie quite a lot , and although I wish that Paramount had put together a special edition for the film, I think the image quality is excellent and the sound quality is fine as well. Recommended.
It's been a while since I've read Joe Connelly's novel about a medic searching for souls in the middle of New York City, so the details of the story begin to escape me, but I certainly remember the effect it had on me. It's one of those novels that you start reading and simply just can't let go of. The film by Martin Scorsese is as haunting as I remembered the novel being, a story full of shadows and sorrow.
The film is about trying to let go of the ghosts that haunt one man. Nicholas Cage stars as Frank Pierce, a NYC paramedic who is burned out on his job, and the ghosts of those he wasn't able to save seem to stare out at him from the shadows of the streets of the city. He is called, or more specifically, yelled at over the radio to follow one his partners(John Goodman, Ving Rhames or Tom Sizemore) on the next call.
Frank can't do anything but move forward to the next call, but when he reaches that goal, he finds out that the end is nowhere in sight. In the middle of the chaos is Mary(Patricia Arquette), the daughter of one of the calls he has early on in the film. She appears in and out of the film. We are not sure of an attraction or a relationship; all we know is that she seems to be the indicator of coming back to reality for Frank - that there is something out there.
People have been against Cage's choices lately in Hollywood, and some actors have been less than happy with his acting choices, and they've made their feelings known. If anything, "Bringing Out The Dead" will show those who doubt. While "Leaving Las Vegas" was really the best performance I've seen from the actor, "Bringing Out The Dead" is certainly a close second. He gets the grim tone and look of the character down perfectly. Joining him on the journey is Goodman, who is funny as a guy searching for his next meal, and Rhames and Sizemore are excellent, as well.
Scorsese perfectly pulls the viewer into the meltdown, and the dialogue (screenplay by Paul Schrader) makes us want to go along with Frank as the ambulance screams down yet another barren avenue. "Bringing Out The Dead" gets a little long at points, but with the marvelous acting and interesting story, I followed the characters at almost every step of the way. A wild ride and a very impressive movie.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount simply keeps getting better and better with each effort. Taking place in the darkness of the streets, the picture takes on an almost eerie beauty, with sharp, bright colors of the neon lights and tones. Robert Richardson("Nixon", "Casino")'s cinematography is perfect, and the anamorphic transfer does justice to it wonderfully. Sharpness is excellent, and detail is very good as well. Black level is perfect, and flesh tones are accurate and natural.
Flaws are simply nonexistent - no shimmering, no pixelation and the print used is in absolutely crystal clear condition. Richardson's camera work is marvelous, filling the 2.35:1 frame with fantastic compositions. Excellent work by Paramount.
SOUND: "Bringing Out The Dead" isn't a major film in terms of audio, but the soundtrack full of great rock hits from the Clash and other classic rock bands. The score is very well recorded and fills the room with authority and strength. Surrounds are not used terribly often, and the majority of the movie remains pretty much dialogue-driven. Still, I liked it a lot - all of the songs included are fantastic and sounded great.
MENUS:: Basic menus with images from the movie and no animation.
EXTRAS:
Cast and Crew Interviews: It's not a major section, but it's good enough that I wish that there was more to it. Martin Scorsese talks about why exactly he was attracted to doing the movie, Cage talks about what he thought of the character and the story, and writer Connelly talks about the truth behind the tale. Scorsese's comments, even in the brief featurette, give fine insight and are interesting to hear - I wish that he had done a commentary for the film. Cage is also interesting to listen to, talking about the research that he did for the film, and what it took to play the character. This featurette lasts about 11 minutes.
Trailers: 2 theatrical trailers for the film.
Final Thoughts: I liked the movie quite a lot , and although I wish that Paramount had put together a special edition for the film, I think the image quality is excellent and the sound quality is fine as well. Recommended.
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