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River Wild (DTS), The
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Known as the one Meryl Streep "action" film, "The River Wild" may not always be solid in terms of action, but it does consistently deliver well-crafted sequences from director Curtis Hanson("L.A. Confidential"). The film revolves around Streep's outdoorswoman taking her family out to Montana for a river-rafting trip. Before going out to take on the river, they see that they are not alone on the river - a pair of criminals named Wade(Kevin Bacon) and Terry(John C. Reilly) are trying to make their way down the river as well.
When the two men run into trouble on their way, the family decides to let them join their party - since they aren't initially aware of who the two really are. Things quickly go South and the family is held hostage, forced to lead the two criminals down a seriously dangerous group of rapids.
The film is an ok thriller; the majority of it plays out more like a drama. The trip down much of the river plays out pretty slowly, and it's up to the actors to engage viewer - for the most part, they succeed. Streep is good with what she's given, and Bacon and Reilly make effectively menacing villians.
For every moment of suspense and tension that "The River Wild" is able to gain, there are sequences where it simply slows up and loses its suspense. More consistent pace could have helped out, but in general, it's a pretty entertaining ride at its best.
The DVD
VIDEO: Universal has offered a beautiful anamorphic transfer for "The River Wild", and the warm, stunning scenery of Montana looks beautiful on this effort - letterboxed at the film's 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Sharpness is consistently perfect throughout the presentation, offering a picture that is extremely crisp and smooth throughout, with excellent clarity and detail. Colors are strong as well, with the various colors of Montana looking gorgeous. Flesh tones are accurate and natural, and black level is solid as well.
There are some minor problems with this transfer; a little bit of shimmering does come up now and then, but it's hardly noticable and very minor. There is no pixelation apparent, and the print used is in very good condition with only a few slight marks to take away from what is otherwise a stunning image. This is really strong early work from Universal and it remains one of their better efforts. The transfer definitely does justice to the fantastic cinematography of Robert Elswit, who also filmed pictures such as "Magnolia".
SOUND: "The River Wild" is definitely not a newer film, and although the audio doesn't sound as active as the latest films, there are still some minor touches that could have been added to make this a more enveloping feature. Surrounds are pretty silent during some of the less intense sequences but are agressive during the action; they could have added more detail to the environment and space during some of the sequences. When the film does ramp up the action, the audio does become more lively and open, which makes for an entertaining experience. The rapid sequences are very intense, offering strong bass and fine envelopment from all sides.
The score from Jerry Goldsmith is impressively smooth and natural on this DTS edition; the score flows like water during some of the more quiet scenes, and gets increasingly energetic and dramatic as the film goes on. Although I haven't had the chance to listen to the Dolby Digital version of "The River Wild", I ws pleased by the presentation made by the DTS audio, which was remarkably clean and natural with good fidelity. Again, I would have liked the audio for this film to be a little more agressive at times, but for a film that's 6 years old, it is definitely an acceptable effort.
MENUS:: As with most early DTS titles from Universal, menu options and graphics are very minimal, only offering a couple of images from the film as well as a couple of options.
EXTRAS:: As with most of the Universal DTS titles that were put out early, there are no extras offered here.
Final Thoughts: I don't care for "The River Wild" too much; Universal's DVD edition offers very good picture quality and fine sound quality, but nothing else. If you're a fan of the film, you might enjoy the quality of the DTS audio presentation, but other than that, I'd recommend a rental at most.
Known as the one Meryl Streep "action" film, "The River Wild" may not always be solid in terms of action, but it does consistently deliver well-crafted sequences from director Curtis Hanson("L.A. Confidential"). The film revolves around Streep's outdoorswoman taking her family out to Montana for a river-rafting trip. Before going out to take on the river, they see that they are not alone on the river - a pair of criminals named Wade(Kevin Bacon) and Terry(John C. Reilly) are trying to make their way down the river as well.
When the two men run into trouble on their way, the family decides to let them join their party - since they aren't initially aware of who the two really are. Things quickly go South and the family is held hostage, forced to lead the two criminals down a seriously dangerous group of rapids.
The film is an ok thriller; the majority of it plays out more like a drama. The trip down much of the river plays out pretty slowly, and it's up to the actors to engage viewer - for the most part, they succeed. Streep is good with what she's given, and Bacon and Reilly make effectively menacing villians.
For every moment of suspense and tension that "The River Wild" is able to gain, there are sequences where it simply slows up and loses its suspense. More consistent pace could have helped out, but in general, it's a pretty entertaining ride at its best.
The DVD
VIDEO: Universal has offered a beautiful anamorphic transfer for "The River Wild", and the warm, stunning scenery of Montana looks beautiful on this effort - letterboxed at the film's 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Sharpness is consistently perfect throughout the presentation, offering a picture that is extremely crisp and smooth throughout, with excellent clarity and detail. Colors are strong as well, with the various colors of Montana looking gorgeous. Flesh tones are accurate and natural, and black level is solid as well.
There are some minor problems with this transfer; a little bit of shimmering does come up now and then, but it's hardly noticable and very minor. There is no pixelation apparent, and the print used is in very good condition with only a few slight marks to take away from what is otherwise a stunning image. This is really strong early work from Universal and it remains one of their better efforts. The transfer definitely does justice to the fantastic cinematography of Robert Elswit, who also filmed pictures such as "Magnolia".
SOUND: "The River Wild" is definitely not a newer film, and although the audio doesn't sound as active as the latest films, there are still some minor touches that could have been added to make this a more enveloping feature. Surrounds are pretty silent during some of the less intense sequences but are agressive during the action; they could have added more detail to the environment and space during some of the sequences. When the film does ramp up the action, the audio does become more lively and open, which makes for an entertaining experience. The rapid sequences are very intense, offering strong bass and fine envelopment from all sides.
The score from Jerry Goldsmith is impressively smooth and natural on this DTS edition; the score flows like water during some of the more quiet scenes, and gets increasingly energetic and dramatic as the film goes on. Although I haven't had the chance to listen to the Dolby Digital version of "The River Wild", I ws pleased by the presentation made by the DTS audio, which was remarkably clean and natural with good fidelity. Again, I would have liked the audio for this film to be a little more agressive at times, but for a film that's 6 years old, it is definitely an acceptable effort.
MENUS:: As with most early DTS titles from Universal, menu options and graphics are very minimal, only offering a couple of images from the film as well as a couple of options.
EXTRAS:: As with most of the Universal DTS titles that were put out early, there are no extras offered here.
Final Thoughts: I don't care for "The River Wild" too much; Universal's DVD edition offers very good picture quality and fine sound quality, but nothing else. If you're a fan of the film, you might enjoy the quality of the DTS audio presentation, but other than that, I'd recommend a rental at most.
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