Catch Me If You Can
Paramount Home Video
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Natalie Baye
Extras: Featurettes, Photo Gallery
Rating:
In 2002 Steven Spielberg turned towards a project that was rather unusual for him, creating a highly entertaining look at one of America's most notorious forgers and the chase to bring him to justice. The film was "Catch Me If You Can," teaming up Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks on the screen.
At the age of 16, Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is throne in the middle of his parents divorce. His mother a French war bride, and his father a charismatic store owner (Christopher Walken) who is being hounded and ruined by the IRS, Frank Jr. is devastated to see them split up, and runs away from home.
With no income or money of his own, Frank first gets by handing out bad checks, but when this and his colorful stories no longer work, he has to become more creative. Realizing there are serious loopholes in the banking system, he begins to forge checks and takes on a completely new identity. His transformation is so complete that everyone believes he is an airline pilot, as he travels the world for free and cashes checks he made himself. But eventually, the FBI gets wind of his activities and special agent Hanratti (Tom Hanks) is on his heels. After an uncomfortably close call, Frank decides to disappear and he begins to impersonate being a lawyer, and when that doesn't work so well anymore, he decides to become a doctor, all the while perfecting his skills of deceit, almost turning it into an art form. but will he be able to run from Hanratti forever?
Inspired by the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr, the film is a wonderfully charming mix that is deceptively funny, while also giving food for thought as it is pointing out some serious weaknesses in our society. It is too easy to forget that virtually everything Frank dos in the film is a federal offense, because he is such a likable and charismatic character, but ultimately, we all know that his run of luck has to come to an end eventually. Fortunately, even in being caught, Frank Abagnale's story has a wicked twist that speaks not only for his own character but for that of special agent Hanratti's as well.
Paramount Home Entertainment is bringing "Catch Me If You Can" to Blu-Ray for the first time with this disc, giving you the chance to behold the beauty of this film in all of its glory. With a high level of detail and incredibly rich colors, this transfer has been prepared meticulously to make sure every little bit of image information remained perfectly intact. Strong black levels give the image solid visual depth that roots the picture throughout, making the presentation natural-looking. The transfer is crisp and free of compression artifacts, making this the best presentation possible for the film.
On the audio side, Paramount is serving up a 5.1 DTS HD Master audio track. It is active in the surround channels throughout the film and has a solid bass extension for maximum impact. While the film does not contain a whole lot of true action scenes, the overall ambiance of the movie is rich and full-bodied.
Among the extras on the release you will find a number of featurettes, starting off with a behind-the-scenes look of the making of the film. Also included is a featurette about the real Frank Abagnale Jr., which I found to be the most interesting of all supplements on the release.
"Scoring Catch Me If You Can" is another featurette taking a closer look at the music, while "The FBI Perspective" takes a closer look at the legal and illegal implications of Abagnale's actions.
The selection of featurettes contains many more aspects and is definitely interesting to check out. The bonus materials are rounded out by a photo gallery.
"Catch Me If You Can" is a cool movie and one that is overlooked all to often in Steven Spielberg's big body of work. It is however ,a movie that carries his trademark through and through and will have you laugh while sitting on the edge of your seat. Get this disc if you can!
