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A DVD Review of...
 
Images (C) New Line Cinema |
Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Shawn Doyle, Elizabeth Mitchell, Andre Braugher, Noah Emmerich
Synopsis: A stellar phenomenon enables a police officer to communicate back to 1969 with his dead father. Through these unique conversations between a long lost father and son, the son attempts to prevent his father's death and track down his mother's killer.
Film Review: An engaging and intelligent drama/thriller, "Frequency" proves to be one of the more interesting flicks of the season. Don't be fooled, even though there's time travel elements involved they are only a small part of it and the conversation never delves into coming up with mathematical/scientific explanations for it (the characters just assume its sunspots and move on from there). Nor is it full of hokey sentimal shit like that "I love you too Dad" crap in the preview, sure its an element but only a minor one. Actually its a good dose of skepticism, clever logic and an unusual murder mystery which ties everything together to become quite engaging movie. The script and directing keeps things focussed and flowing and while the laws of 'cause and effect' are strained at times (especially toward the end), it nevertheless remains interesting. Top that off with some nice FX which are never too overt and you've got a very good flick deserving of the praise it gets.
"Frequency: Platinum Series"
DVD Details In Brief (Region 1)
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 119mins
Versions: 16:9 Enhanced Widescreen, 4:3 Letterboxed
Aspect Ratio: 2.35: 1
Sound: Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby 2.0 Surround
Language & Sub-Titles: English
Audio: Commentary Track 1 by Director Gregory Hobit. Commentary Track 2 by actor Noah Emmerich and writer/producer Toby Emmerich. Isolated Score Track with Composer Michael Kamen's commentary.
Documentary: Five "The Science Beind Frequency" vignettes
Deleted Scenes: Four Deleted Scenes
Clips: Full Theatrical Trailer
Other: Biographies, Animated Solar Galleries
DVD-Rom: Web Site, Script-to-Screen Feature, "Lord of the Rings" multimedia, "Ground Control" Demo
Region 1 vs. Region 4: Region 4 misses out on Emmerich Brothers commentary track, an isolated Score Track & DVD Rom Features. Standard NTSC/PAL Differences |
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DVD Review: Much like every CD in the Platinum Series range, "Frequency" comes with a great cover - some really cool animated menus and a reference quality print of the film. In fact the print transfer for this movie is EXTREMELY good - this was a movie with lots of darkly lit interiors which were broken on occasion with bursts of colour and the disc handles it even better than it looked on the big screen. Combine that with the fact the tone of film is also more suited for the small screen, and you'll find yourself enjoying this more at home than you would at the movies. In terms of extras there's a surprisingly large amount. Commentary may be pretty standard these days, though these tracks are good with the Emmerich brothers proving the most fun - the rest are more for informative sound bites. What's not regular though is a 'fact and trivia' track with bits of info popping up during the film about various actual historical and scientific events that helped to make the movie. The deleted scenes were understandably cut - just lots of talk with little or no reference to the story. One feature I really like is the 'Animated Solar Gallery' which basically gives you the option to watch the FX filled opening at four different levels of animation. Five short vignettes about the concepts used in the film - none particularly interesting but still OK. There's a standard filmmography gallery, the trailer looks great despite the very hokey ending. Finally some Lord of the Rings and other Internet stuff that's a great collectible for any fan. The DVD version is much like the film itself, its nothing spectacular but it sure is a good and solid story which some will appreciate more than others (this harkens back to an older style of filmmaking) and those who do should definitely get this. - Garth Franklin
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