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Snow Falling On Cedars
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Delayed from release for quite some time by Universal, "Snow Falling On Cedars" was released in late 1999 and quickly left theaters. It's unfortunate that it was released in this fashion, because it's a fine film that may have gotten lost in the late-year crowd. I've never read the best-selling novel, but I found this story to be a powerful and well-acted one.
The movie revolves around Ishmael(Ethan Hawke) a reporter who finds himself covering a murder trial, with the accused being the husband of the Japanese girl he loved when he was younger. Their history, told in the time of World War 2, is told in a set of layers; flashback after flashback tell the story, occasionally then bringing the tale back to the courtroom. These flashbacks are wonderfully edited; there are fragments, almost memories, that appear and dissapear quickly throughout the movie, and yet, we're never lost.
There are some elements that work better than others; Robert Richardson("Casino")'s cinematography is some of the best I've seen in quite some time, putting together a number of stunning compositions in the wide 2.35:1 frame, making for rich, beautiful images. The device of flashbacks and even fragments of memory works here, because of the almost flowing nature of the story, and simply, because the editing of these elements makes sense and enhances the film.
The performances tend to go underemotional, but not enough so that we are too distant from the characters. Both Hawke, and Youki Kodoh(who plays Ishmael's former love interest) are very enjoyable. There are a few slow moments in director Scott Hicks's film, but there are enough highlights throughout the picture to carry through the well-written tale.
The DVD
VIDEO: Robert Richardson has become one of my favorite cinematographers, and his work in "Snow Falling On Cedars" is phenomenal; every shot is well-composed and frequently, beautiful. With his work on "Bringing Out The Dead", "Horse Whisperer" and "Nixon", he really is one of the best in his field, I think. Universal has given his work a wonderful presentation, with a sharp, clear image that retains very good clarity. Detail is fine, as well.
Colors are pretty subdued for much of the picture, but occasionally, they will jump out with a little more authority during certain scenes. Either way, they look accurate and never show any signs of problems. Flesh tones are natural and accurate, as well. Problems are very minor; a slight mark or two on the print used is just about the total of the flaws that are noticable. An excellent job from Universal.
SOUND: "Snow Falling On Cedars" does a subtle job of covering the different sequences that go on during the film. Many scenes, such as the ones in the courtroom, are dialogue driven. The audio for these scenes does a fine job at simply bringing the dialogue through clearly. During a number of other scenes though, the movie moves outside and the sound opens up nicely to render the space of these scenes, although the audio still never becomes agressive in any way. The music by James Newton Howard maintains a soft, enjoyable presence and is well integrated into the overall audio experience.
MENUS:: The cover art is essentially used for the main menu, but with its simple beauty along with the score playing in the background, it makes for an effective opening.
EXTRAS: .
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Scott Hicks, who you may remember from his last film, "Shine". Frequently, directors will simply fall back to telling the audience what is on-screen during a commentary - I hate that. But a number of commentaries during recent times have gone one step further; they tell us what is going on on-screen, but then provide both analysis of the story and stories from the set. Being a co-screenwriter, he can easily cover the themes and ideas that go into the movie.
It's a little slow going at times, with a couple of pauses, but I still think that Hicks is able to cover much of the process that went into this production. Mainly discussing the film's story and how the flashbacks fit into the overall tale, the commentary mainly focuses on the story, with the occasional comment on a technical matter, such as the cinematography or other production detail. I liked the analysis that the director was able to provide, and in this commentary, he unravels the layers that are put together to form this tale, and helps the audience understand a little better how they were built.
Trailers: In an odd pairing, the trailer for "The Adventures Of Rocky and Bullwinkle"(which looks too strange to even begin to explain) is included in the "Universal Showcase" section. There's also the theatrical trailer for "Snow Falling On Cedars".
Text Notes: Production notes, cast/crew bios, as well as "Manzanar", which tells the history of one of the first detainment camps during the war.
Deleted Scenes: This is, enjoyably, an instance where it seems like much of what was deleted from the film has been put together to view on the DVD. Taken from an early cut, this set of deleted scenes include both alternate takes as well as scenes that were completely taken out of the final cut. About 22 minutes in running time, the scenes play out one after another. In terms of the deleted scenes, some of them are quite good and enjoyable to view, probably taken out because of concerns over running time.
Spotlight On Location: As with many Universal DVDs, this edition also includes one of the studio's "Spotlight On Location" documentaries; this one includes interviews with many of the cast and crew members, who shed light on the history of the book as well as the production of the film. It's one of Universal's better documentaries, showing many of the scenes being filmed, as well as covering a number of production issues that had to be solved along the way.
Also: Recommendations and web links.
Final Thoughts: Definitely worth a look, at least as a rental; I thought it was a well-acted drama, and Universal has put together a fine special edition.
Delayed from release for quite some time by Universal, "Snow Falling On Cedars" was released in late 1999 and quickly left theaters. It's unfortunate that it was released in this fashion, because it's a fine film that may have gotten lost in the late-year crowd. I've never read the best-selling novel, but I found this story to be a powerful and well-acted one.
The movie revolves around Ishmael(Ethan Hawke) a reporter who finds himself covering a murder trial, with the accused being the husband of the Japanese girl he loved when he was younger. Their history, told in the time of World War 2, is told in a set of layers; flashback after flashback tell the story, occasionally then bringing the tale back to the courtroom. These flashbacks are wonderfully edited; there are fragments, almost memories, that appear and dissapear quickly throughout the movie, and yet, we're never lost.
There are some elements that work better than others; Robert Richardson("Casino")'s cinematography is some of the best I've seen in quite some time, putting together a number of stunning compositions in the wide 2.35:1 frame, making for rich, beautiful images. The device of flashbacks and even fragments of memory works here, because of the almost flowing nature of the story, and simply, because the editing of these elements makes sense and enhances the film.
The performances tend to go underemotional, but not enough so that we are too distant from the characters. Both Hawke, and Youki Kodoh(who plays Ishmael's former love interest) are very enjoyable. There are a few slow moments in director Scott Hicks's film, but there are enough highlights throughout the picture to carry through the well-written tale.
The DVD
VIDEO: Robert Richardson has become one of my favorite cinematographers, and his work in "Snow Falling On Cedars" is phenomenal; every shot is well-composed and frequently, beautiful. With his work on "Bringing Out The Dead", "Horse Whisperer" and "Nixon", he really is one of the best in his field, I think. Universal has given his work a wonderful presentation, with a sharp, clear image that retains very good clarity. Detail is fine, as well.
Colors are pretty subdued for much of the picture, but occasionally, they will jump out with a little more authority during certain scenes. Either way, they look accurate and never show any signs of problems. Flesh tones are natural and accurate, as well. Problems are very minor; a slight mark or two on the print used is just about the total of the flaws that are noticable. An excellent job from Universal.
SOUND: "Snow Falling On Cedars" does a subtle job of covering the different sequences that go on during the film. Many scenes, such as the ones in the courtroom, are dialogue driven. The audio for these scenes does a fine job at simply bringing the dialogue through clearly. During a number of other scenes though, the movie moves outside and the sound opens up nicely to render the space of these scenes, although the audio still never becomes agressive in any way. The music by James Newton Howard maintains a soft, enjoyable presence and is well integrated into the overall audio experience.
MENUS:: The cover art is essentially used for the main menu, but with its simple beauty along with the score playing in the background, it makes for an effective opening.
EXTRAS: .
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Scott Hicks, who you may remember from his last film, "Shine". Frequently, directors will simply fall back to telling the audience what is on-screen during a commentary - I hate that. But a number of commentaries during recent times have gone one step further; they tell us what is going on on-screen, but then provide both analysis of the story and stories from the set. Being a co-screenwriter, he can easily cover the themes and ideas that go into the movie.
It's a little slow going at times, with a couple of pauses, but I still think that Hicks is able to cover much of the process that went into this production. Mainly discussing the film's story and how the flashbacks fit into the overall tale, the commentary mainly focuses on the story, with the occasional comment on a technical matter, such as the cinematography or other production detail. I liked the analysis that the director was able to provide, and in this commentary, he unravels the layers that are put together to form this tale, and helps the audience understand a little better how they were built.
Trailers: In an odd pairing, the trailer for "The Adventures Of Rocky and Bullwinkle"(which looks too strange to even begin to explain) is included in the "Universal Showcase" section. There's also the theatrical trailer for "Snow Falling On Cedars".
Text Notes: Production notes, cast/crew bios, as well as "Manzanar", which tells the history of one of the first detainment camps during the war.
Deleted Scenes: This is, enjoyably, an instance where it seems like much of what was deleted from the film has been put together to view on the DVD. Taken from an early cut, this set of deleted scenes include both alternate takes as well as scenes that were completely taken out of the final cut. About 22 minutes in running time, the scenes play out one after another. In terms of the deleted scenes, some of them are quite good and enjoyable to view, probably taken out because of concerns over running time.
Spotlight On Location: As with many Universal DVDs, this edition also includes one of the studio's "Spotlight On Location" documentaries; this one includes interviews with many of the cast and crew members, who shed light on the history of the book as well as the production of the film. It's one of Universal's better documentaries, showing many of the scenes being filmed, as well as covering a number of production issues that had to be solved along the way.
Also: Recommendations and web links.
Final Thoughts: Definitely worth a look, at least as a rental; I thought it was a well-acted drama, and Universal has put together a fine special edition.
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