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Third Miracle, The
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Last fall, two (well 3, if you call "End Of Days" a movie) religious films went up against one another; "Stigmata" and "The Third Miracle" contained similar stories, but different tones. Suprisingly, "Miracle" didn't find an audience, even with fairly big names Anne Heche and Ed Harris.
The films even start off similarly, with a priest investigating a statue bleeding. The film revolves around father Frank Shore(Harris) and in the begining, his quest to find if a woman named Helen was actually a saint. To further add to the mix while his investigation continues, he meets the daughter of the woman, Roxanne O'Regan(Heche).
There's something about this film that drew me in almost instantly; the first hour moves slowly, but it has a soft nature to it that is engaging and inviting; it doesn't really push at the audience, and in turn, we are drawn further. That is certainly helped by the fact that Ed Harris is a performer that only seems to get better with every role. Anne Heche also shows that,again, in a dramatic role(such as "Return To Paradise"), she can really do fine work.
As the film goes on, Frank must face opposition from the church in his investigation and an attraction to Roxanne; I liked both halfs equally; the church scenes are dramatically strong without going too much or too little, and Harris and Heche have good chemistry in their scenes together. It's not without a few little flaws here and there, but for the most part, I was impressed with the film and found it to be an enjoyable work from director Agnieszka Holland.
The DVD
VIDEO: Yet another fine work from Tristar, with only a few tiny flaws to keep it from being perfect. I enjoyed the cinematography on this film very much; cinematographer Jerzy Zielinski("Galaxy Quest") captures both the Toronto locations and some of the great church architecture quite well. Sharpness is really never an issue; the image looked a tiny bit soft here and there, but for the most part, it looks strong, with good detail.
Colors are also enjoyable; the intent seemed to go for a natural look to the film, and colors are allowed to be strong at times. Flesh tones are fine, as well. There really aren't any instances of shimmering or pixelation, but there are a couple of very minor marks on the print used on occasion. Some scenes also look a bit on the grainy side, but I didn't find this too distracting. Again, I liked the look of this picture, and Tristar has presented the film in their usual fashion - in other words, quite well. Aspect ratio can be chosen from the main menu.
.
SOUND: "The Third Miracle" is simply all dialogue; there are sequences that could have been more active in their presentation, but in general, the sound keeps to a basic minimum. I suppose that's fine for a film like this, where nothing should really distract from the conversations at hand. I didn't find any flaws with the sound really; the score is clear and clean, and dialogue is easily understood and natural. I just felt that some scenes could be presented a little bit stronger.
MENUS:: An animated clip leads into a basic main menu with images from the film; easily navigated and film-themed.
EXTRAS:
Commentary This is a commentary track from director Agnieszka Holland. It's a good commentary from a great filmmaker, who is enjoyably enegergetic in sharing her comments on not only the film, but the filmmaking process. She takes a look in her discussion at both the performances and religion, as well. I found her comments about religion very interesting; she gives an in-depth analysis of religion that was informative and engaging.
She also talks a bit about a number of other issues; she gives a good amount of production information, such as what it was like to shoot in Toronto, as well as some other technical issues that came up during shooting. She even talks about a handful of small special effects that were added into the picture. Occasionally, there are some pauses of silence in the commentary, but for the most part, the director talks throughout the running time. I thought this was a very good commentary, and the director covers almost all aspects of the production.
Talent Files: Moderately informative talent files for the director, Ed Harris, Anne Heche and Armin Mueller-Stahl
Theatrical Trailer: The theatrical trailer, presented in full-frame and Dolby 2.0
Also: Isolated music score.
Final Thoughts: I didn't know what to expect going into "The Third Miracle" and found it to be a very enjoyable drama with good performances from the two leads. Tristar's DVD presents strong picture quality and fine audio, along with a couple of strong supplements. If you haven't seen the film yet, try it as a rental.
Last fall, two (well 3, if you call "End Of Days" a movie) religious films went up against one another; "Stigmata" and "The Third Miracle" contained similar stories, but different tones. Suprisingly, "Miracle" didn't find an audience, even with fairly big names Anne Heche and Ed Harris.
The films even start off similarly, with a priest investigating a statue bleeding. The film revolves around father Frank Shore(Harris) and in the begining, his quest to find if a woman named Helen was actually a saint. To further add to the mix while his investigation continues, he meets the daughter of the woman, Roxanne O'Regan(Heche).
There's something about this film that drew me in almost instantly; the first hour moves slowly, but it has a soft nature to it that is engaging and inviting; it doesn't really push at the audience, and in turn, we are drawn further. That is certainly helped by the fact that Ed Harris is a performer that only seems to get better with every role. Anne Heche also shows that,again, in a dramatic role(such as "Return To Paradise"), she can really do fine work.
As the film goes on, Frank must face opposition from the church in his investigation and an attraction to Roxanne; I liked both halfs equally; the church scenes are dramatically strong without going too much or too little, and Harris and Heche have good chemistry in their scenes together. It's not without a few little flaws here and there, but for the most part, I was impressed with the film and found it to be an enjoyable work from director Agnieszka Holland.
The DVD
VIDEO: Yet another fine work from Tristar, with only a few tiny flaws to keep it from being perfect. I enjoyed the cinematography on this film very much; cinematographer Jerzy Zielinski("Galaxy Quest") captures both the Toronto locations and some of the great church architecture quite well. Sharpness is really never an issue; the image looked a tiny bit soft here and there, but for the most part, it looks strong, with good detail.
Colors are also enjoyable; the intent seemed to go for a natural look to the film, and colors are allowed to be strong at times. Flesh tones are fine, as well. There really aren't any instances of shimmering or pixelation, but there are a couple of very minor marks on the print used on occasion. Some scenes also look a bit on the grainy side, but I didn't find this too distracting. Again, I liked the look of this picture, and Tristar has presented the film in their usual fashion - in other words, quite well. Aspect ratio can be chosen from the main menu.
.
SOUND: "The Third Miracle" is simply all dialogue; there are sequences that could have been more active in their presentation, but in general, the sound keeps to a basic minimum. I suppose that's fine for a film like this, where nothing should really distract from the conversations at hand. I didn't find any flaws with the sound really; the score is clear and clean, and dialogue is easily understood and natural. I just felt that some scenes could be presented a little bit stronger.
MENUS:: An animated clip leads into a basic main menu with images from the film; easily navigated and film-themed.
EXTRAS:
Commentary This is a commentary track from director Agnieszka Holland. It's a good commentary from a great filmmaker, who is enjoyably enegergetic in sharing her comments on not only the film, but the filmmaking process. She takes a look in her discussion at both the performances and religion, as well. I found her comments about religion very interesting; she gives an in-depth analysis of religion that was informative and engaging.
She also talks a bit about a number of other issues; she gives a good amount of production information, such as what it was like to shoot in Toronto, as well as some other technical issues that came up during shooting. She even talks about a handful of small special effects that were added into the picture. Occasionally, there are some pauses of silence in the commentary, but for the most part, the director talks throughout the running time. I thought this was a very good commentary, and the director covers almost all aspects of the production.
Talent Files: Moderately informative talent files for the director, Ed Harris, Anne Heche and Armin Mueller-Stahl
Theatrical Trailer: The theatrical trailer, presented in full-frame and Dolby 2.0
Also: Isolated music score.
Final Thoughts: I didn't know what to expect going into "The Third Miracle" and found it to be a very enjoyable drama with good performances from the two leads. Tristar's DVD presents strong picture quality and fine audio, along with a couple of strong supplements. If you haven't seen the film yet, try it as a rental.
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