Domestic Disturbance
Paramount Home Video
Cast: John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Steve Buscemi, Teri Polo
Extras: Commentary Track, Deleted Scenes, Storyboards, Trailer
Rating:
Every once in a while a film comes along that makes you wonder why anyone would ever greenlight such a project. Paramount’s John Travolta vehicle ’Domestic Disturbance’ is clearly such an example. Sadly so, I have to admit, because the trailer to the movie was exciting and thrilling, creating the illusion of a premise and movie that’s nail-biting suspenseful. Sadly an amateurish script and clueless direction make this movie about as suspenseful as a trip to your local post office. From the first minutes the film exhibits logical flaws that never stop up to the final frame. The film is so predictable, it truly hurts, and throws one genre cliché after another in your face, adding the most irrational behaviors, poor acting and illogical elements into the mix. In a word, ’Domestic Disturbance’ is the most boring and hackneyed thriller I have seen in years.
Nonetheless, Paramount Home Video gives it a great presentation on this DVD. The video presentation is pristine with a print that is devoid of any blemishes. Colors are very strong and faithful, creating natural looking pictures with good blacks and fine shadow definition. The level of detail is very good and the presentation is free of compression artifacts.
On he audio side, the presentation is also convincing with a rock solid 5.1 channel mix that makes aggressive use of the surround channels. Frequency response is wide with a very good bass extension and clear, undistorted high ends. The dynamic range also suits the subject matter and makes for an energetic presentation.
The DVD comes with a commentary track by director Harold Becker. I won’t comment much on the gloating self-appreciation exhibited in this commentary. Suffice it to say that I think the film is an insult to viewers’ intelligence, while he thinks it’s a really good movie. Opinions couldn’t be further apart. The DVD also contains a number of deleted scenes, storyboards and the movie’s trailer.
I had high hopes for ’Domestic Disturbance’ and I am still puzzled how a film like this gets made, and not even John Travolta, who puts in a solid performance, can’t save this stinker. At least the release has some technical merits and looks great, for those of you , who are interested nonetheless.
