In
my book, THE FUGITIVE ($25) scores very highly on two counts. First,
it is one of the best action movies of the 1990s. Second, it is probably
the best film adaptations of an old television series. Since THE FUGITIVE
nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, I would imagine that
many other individuals share my high opinion of the film was. Of course,
THE FUGITIVE also features another great (and sympathetic) lead
performance by Harrison Ford as the innocent man on the run, as well as
Tommy Lee Jones' Oscar winning turn as the single-minded lawman on his
trail.
As
I stated above, THE FUGITIVE is based upon the incredibly popular
(and now classic) television series starring David Janssen, which depicted
the plight of one Dr. Richard Kimble, who is convicted of murdering his
wife, despite his assertion that the true culprit was a one armed man.
After escaping from custody, Kimble spends his time in pursuit of his
wife's killer, while the authorities dog his every step. In this updated
version of the tale, Ford portrays Kimble and Jones is deputy US Marshall
Samuel Gerard, who is always a few steps behind the fugitive he is hunting.
Director Andrew Davis maintains the film's breakneck pace, which rarely
gives the audience a chance to catch their breaths. In addition Davis
also stages some pulse pounding action set pieces. The train wreck sequence
loses none of its impact on video and remains of the most thrilling moments
in all of cinema. Heck, I don't know if Hollywood will ever stage another
train wreck as good or effective as the one found in THE FUGITIVE.
In addition to Ford and Jones, The rock solid cast of THE FUGITIVE
also features Sela Ward, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas
and Jeroen Krabbe.
This
is the second time that Warner Home Video has issued THE FUGITIVE
on DVD. This new release features a brand new transfer that offers THE
FUGITIVE in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for 16:9 displays. Warner has done a great job re-mastering the film,
giving fans a pictures that is cleaner, sharper and better defined than
the first release, which appeared in the very early days of the DVD format.
In its day, the original DVD release of THE FUGITIVE was quite
good; however, the new release makes it appear murky and under-defined
by comparison. Colors are strongly rendered and the flesh tones seem more
accurate on this release than they did in the past. The intensity of many
hues stand out, yet they are reproduced with complete stability and no
signs of smearing. Blacks are dead on perfect and the image creates a
very impressive level of shadow detail, which improves the clarity of
the film's many dark sequences. Digital compression artifacts are completely
tamed by clean dual layer authoring.
THE
FUGITIVE features a great sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack
from the early days of the format. The soundtrack is engaging and high
impact, making full use of the discrete channels for both subtle sound
effects and those that are far more intense. Split surround activity is
well implemented and completely believable, while the forward soundstage
maintains a spacious presence and clean panning between channels. Dialogue
reproduction is quite good, with the voices sounding natural and maintaining
their intelligibility, even when the sound effects get fairly loud. The
bass channel adds the necessary weight to the track, making all of the
sound effects even more formidable. James Newton Howard's terrific score
is well integrated into the mix and the track's excellent frequency response
reproduces it with a completely musical sound. A French Dolby Surround
track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English and French subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the standard
scene selection and set up features, in addition to the DVD's supplemental
materials. Topping things off is and audio commentary with director Andrew
Davis and actor Tommy Lee Jones. While the commentary has some slow passages,
it does contain a lot of great information about the production. Also,
one should note that Tommy Lee Jones' comments are recorded from over
the phone line, in a synced audio/video set up, which prevents him and
Davis from interacting in a true one-to-one fashion. Also included on
the DVD are two very good featurettes, which are much better than the
standard puff pieces that accompany most releases. Clocking in at twenty-three
minutes is On the Run With The Fugitive, which includes
recent interviews with the film's star Harrison Ford, as well as members
of the production team- Jones is also represented in the program, but
in the form of an older interview from the time of the film's release.
This is a very solid program that delves into how the project came to
the screen and the contributions of the various players. The second featurette
runs nine minutes and is entitled Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck.
I would imagine that THE FUGITIVE was filmed during the last hurrah
for practical special effects because this program shows that the filmmakers
staged an actual train wreck for the movie, instead of creating it digitally.
Perhaps that is why the train wreck in THE FUGITIVE has a gritty,
gut wrenching quality that some films with digital effects can't seem
to achieve. Also included on the DVD is a somewhat half-baked introduction
to the movie, a theatrical trailer, biographies and a listing of awards
garnered by Tommy Lee Jones for his performance in the film.
THE
FUGITIVE is a well-acted and solidly staged action movie that has
since become a genre classic. Warner's new DVD edition of the film looks
and sounds terrific, so with the improved image quality and the addition
of supplements, this disc is a pretty worthwhile upgrade. For those action
fans that never purchased THE FUGITIVE, the new DVD is a must have
acquisition.
In
my book, THE FUGITIVE ($25) scores very highly on two counts. First,
it is one of the best action movies of the 1990s. Second, it is probably
the best film adaptations of an old television series. Since THE FUGITIVE
nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, I would imagine that
many other individuals share my high opinion of the film was. Of course,
THE FUGITIVE also features another great (and sympathetic) lead
performance by Harrison Ford as the innocent man on the run, as well as
Tommy Lee Jones' Oscar winning turn as the single-minded lawman on his
trail.
As
I stated above, THE FUGITIVE is based upon the incredibly popular
(and now classic) television series starring David Janssen, which depicted
the plight of one Dr. Richard Kimble, who is convicted of murdering his
wife, despite his assertion that the true culprit was a one armed man.
After escaping from custody, Kimble spends his time in pursuit of his
wife's killer, while the authorities dog his every step. In this updated
version of the tale, Ford portrays Kimble and Jones is deputy US Marshall
Samuel Gerard, who is always a few steps behind the fugitive he is hunting.
Director Andrew Davis maintains the film's breakneck pace, which rarely
gives the audience a chance to catch their breaths. In addition Davis
also stages some pulse pounding action set pieces. The train wreck sequence
loses none of its impact on video and remains of the most thrilling moments
in all of cinema. Heck, I don't know if Hollywood will ever stage another
train wreck as good or effective as the one found in THE FUGITIVE.
In addition to Ford and Jones, The rock solid cast of THE FUGITIVE
also features Sela Ward, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas
and Jeroen Krabbe.
This
is the second time that Warner Home Video has issued THE FUGITIVE
on DVD. This new release features a brand new transfer that offers THE
FUGITIVE in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for 16:9 displays. Warner has done a great job re-mastering the film,
giving fans a pictures that is cleaner, sharper and better defined than
the first release, which appeared in the very early days of the DVD format.
In its day, the original DVD release of THE FUGITIVE was quite
good; however, the new release makes it appear murky and under-defined
by comparison. Colors are strongly rendered and the flesh tones seem more
accurate on this release than they did in the past. The intensity of many
hues stand out, yet they are reproduced with complete stability and no
signs of smearing. Blacks are dead on perfect and the image creates a
very impressive level of shadow detail, which improves the clarity of
the film's many dark sequences. Digital compression artifacts are completely
tamed by clean dual layer authoring.
THE
FUGITIVE features a great sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack
from the early days of the format. The soundtrack is engaging and high
impact, making full use of the discrete channels for both subtle sound
effects and those that are far more intense. Split surround activity is
well implemented and completely believable, while the forward soundstage
maintains a spacious presence and clean panning between channels. Dialogue
reproduction is quite good, with the voices sounding natural and maintaining
their intelligibility, even when the sound effects get fairly loud. The
bass channel adds the necessary weight to the track, making all of the
sound effects even more formidable. James Newton Howard's terrific score
is well integrated into the mix and the track's excellent frequency response
reproduces it with a completely musical sound. A French Dolby Surround
track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English and French subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the standard
scene selection and set up features, in addition to the DVD's supplemental
materials. Topping things off is and audio commentary with director Andrew
Davis and actor Tommy Lee Jones. While the commentary has some slow passages,
it does contain a lot of great information about the production. Also,
one should note that Tommy Lee Jones' comments are recorded from over
the phone line, in a synced audio/video set up, which prevents him and
Davis from interacting in a true one-to-one fashion. Also included on
the DVD are two very good featurettes, which are much better than the
standard puff pieces that accompany most releases. Clocking in at twenty-three
minutes is On the Run With The Fugitive, which includes
recent interviews with the film's star Harrison Ford, as well as members
of the production team- Jones is also represented in the program, but
in the form of an older interview from the time of the film's release.
This is a very solid program that delves into how the project came to
the screen and the contributions of the various players. The second featurette
runs nine minutes and is entitled Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck.
I would imagine that THE FUGITIVE was filmed during the last hurrah
for practical special effects because this program shows that the filmmakers
staged an actual train wreck for the movie, instead of creating it digitally.
Perhaps that is why the train wreck in THE FUGITIVE has a gritty,
gut wrenching quality that some films with digital effects can't seem
to achieve. Also included on the DVD is a somewhat half-baked introduction
to the movie, a theatrical trailer, biographies and a listing of awards
garnered by Tommy Lee Jones for his performance in the film.
THE
FUGITIVE is a well-acted and solidly staged action movie that has
since become a genre classic. Warner's new DVD edition of the film looks
and sounds terrific, so with the improved image quality and the addition
of supplements, this disc is a pretty worthwhile upgrade. For those action
fans that never purchased THE FUGITIVE, the new DVD is a must have
acquisition.
