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A DVD Review of...
  
Images (C) Sony |
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy, Famke Janssen, Sean Bean, Jennifer Esposito, Oliver Platt
Synopsis: A noted adolescent psychiatrist, racing to secure the freedom of his kidnapped daughter, must first retrieve a critical piece of information from his newest pro bono patient: a catatonic, violent but angelic-looking 18 year old girl.
Film Review: An effective and yet very simple drama/thriller, "Don't Say a Word" is a refreshing escape at the current time. The pace may be slow and the story unoriginal (and almost TV movie level in 'epicness') but the actors are solid, the writing half-decent and Fleder's direction slick and interesting. Fleder, who made the superb "Kiss the Girls", knows there's not much of a story here and does his best with what's there. Douglas is exactly like you'd expect, Janssen gets the luxury of lying in bed for most of the movie but gets some action in of her own, the daughter character is gorgeous, and Sean Bean plays his best villain character yet (much more natural in the role than in "Goldeneye"). Esposito is stuck in a very ordinary part as a cop, Platt is always fun but also doesn't get to do much, in the end this is Murphy's movie and she holds it extremely well - showing off a presence I've never seen in her earlier work like "Cherry Falls". Those looking for action will be very disappointed as there's really no suspense in this let alone big action sequences. There is a good twist or two - the use of the six digit number is clever, as is the 'prize' the crooks are after. This isn't one to rush out and see but is a nice brief escape. - Garth Franklin
"Don't Say a Word: Special Edition"
DVD Details In Brief (Region 1)
Rating: R
Runtime: 113mins
Versions: 16:9 Enhanced Widescreen, 4:3 Letterboxed
Aspect Ratio: 2.35: 1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.0, DTS 5.1
Language & Sub-Titles: English
Documentaries: "Making Of" Featurette, Set Tour Featurette, Film Scoring Featurette, Film Dailies
Clips: Deleted Scenes, Brittany Murphy Screen Test
Other: Storyboard/Film Comparisons, Biographies
Region 1 vs. Region 4: No Region 4 Available. |
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DVD Review: The surprisingly satisfying if unoriginal thriller proves the same with its DVD in terms of what to expect on this feature packed single-disc set. The transfer proves solid - no grain visible (aside from the deliberate bits in the flashbacks) whilst the shadows, contrast and colors are excellent even in the very dark lighting conditions during the final act. The sound is also excellent and while dialogue does seem to be drowned out at times, its not vey noticable whilst the score and background noises ring out with quite a power.
There's two audio commentaries on the disc, the first a full-length one from Director Gary Fleder whose clear, legible, and more importantly interesting - especially for budding directors and filmmakers as he describes various things such as set locations to colour contrast and how it can be used to increase tension. The second is scene-specific commentary with all the major cast doing short talks about why they chose to be involved in this film and play their characters, along with some interesting facts such as the script was circling around Hollywood for over seven years before it got picked up. Douglas and Bean seem to talk in very cold & stilted terms, Platt's surprisingly serious, Janssen is more relaxed though speaks hyper fast, Murphy proves the best as she speaks at a good pace and despite a hint of nervousness at first seems quite natural.
The extras start with a short 'making of' 8-minute featurette which reveals too much and has pure sound bytes rather than interesting interviews. Also included is a 6-minute, one take screen test of Brittany Murphy doing the second meeting scene with Douglas where he talks to her about Jessie, its a surprisingly tough emotional scene and Murphy carries it off extremely well. Also included is a storyboard/final film comparison for the opening heist and final fight sequences, whilst 'Production Workshop' is a 7-minute talk with the Koppleson producing team talking about the differences between the types of producers and what each one does (actually the guy does 95% of the talking, the poor lady barely gets to speak).
The next stage is six featurettes, each about five minutes. "You are There" is a sort of visual version of the main commentary track by Fleder with him discussing the sets combined with on-set footage. After that is the 'Screening Room Dailies' which includes nine different angle takes on the Famke/bad guy fight scene. Then comes a 5.5 minute set tour with Production Designer Nelson Coates showing us the apartment set along with how they changed a Toronto subway into a New York one with little touches such as fake rust stains - the guy seems like great fun and has a real enthusiasm for the job even Fleder doesn't and so this is the most enjoyable of all the extras. "Conversation..." is a short interview with Fleder talking about various things such as acting and directing style, whilst in "Thriller Themes" he talks about the score and temp track. Capping this section off is an animatic of the final fight sequence.
There's three deleted scenes which were all understandably cut - Famke trying to do an e-mail for help, an extended version of Douglas & Platt's first conversation, and a bit with Douglas psychoanalysing Bean in the warehouse. Rounding out the disc is biographies and one odd extra - a trailer for "Wall Street". All up though for a one disc set this is well stocked with interesting, albeit unremarkable extras, and a solid transfer. A very good value buy. - Garth Franklin
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