Writers:
David Veloz and Zak Penn
Based
On A Story By: James Thomas and John Thomas
Director:
John Moore
Feature
length: 105 minutes
Extras:
Feature Length Audio Commentary By Director John Moore and Editor Martin Smith,
Feature Length Audio Commentary By Producers John Davis and Wyck Godfrey,
Extended/Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary, Behind-The-Scenes Featurette,
“Minority Report” Teaser Trailer
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English DTS Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Surround
2.0
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Subtitles
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 28
Sound:
DTS Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and Stereo
Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2001/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Home
Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
I
am not one to buy into the glossy patriotic combat pictures because I prefer the
more gritty dramas like “Saving Private Ryan” or “The Thin Red Line,”
but I have to admit that “Behind Enemy Lines” got me into the film from the
moment it started till the moment the ending credits came up. It passes my
entertainment test as well, which is if I do not look at my watch or pause it to
take a break or grab a snack then for me this film has got me hooked. That
doesn’t mean that films in any media where I have paused it or looked at my
watch and whatnot are bad. It just means that I really enjoyed the movie so much
that before I knew it was over. “Behind Enemy Lines” cinematically speaking
is a clever piece of work. The film feels like a glossy Michael Bay film, but
with more substance. I am not into the military. I respect what they do and have
uncles and cousins who have served in the army and marines, but I was more
interested in watching “Star Wars” than “The Big Red One” when I was a
kid. However after viewing “Behind Enemy Lines” I have to admit that I felt
good about America’s armed forces even though I find the current global
situation emotionally troubling.
Based
loosely on actual events, Owen Wilson is a navigator whose plane is shot down
while doing a recon mission over Bosnia. He witnesses the execution of his pilot
and becomes a hunted man. Aboard the naval air carrier, his commanding officer
(Genre Hackman) has his hands tied because the commanding NATO Admiral feels a
rescue mission could jeopardize the United Nations peace treaty. However as the
lost navigator communicates with his commander and survives against great odds,
it is clear that to not attempt a rescue could be more foolhardy. The stakes are
raised a notch higher to as the navigator attempts to recover digital
photography from the eject seat that will expose war crimes against humanity.
The
attention to detail is meticulous because the filmmakers were given access and
support by the U.S. armed forces and the exteriors were actually shot on a
functioning carrier while the interiors were replicated on a set. The effects
are pretty exciting too. For the eye candy and outstanding soundtrack alone,
“Behind Enemy Lines” makes for a great demo DVD.
Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment presents “Behind Enemy Lines” on DVD-Video
with a beautiful anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio. The various
filming styles and techniques look positively gorgeous. The English DTS Digital
5.1 Surround Soundtrack rocks with full atmospheric use of all the channels to
reproduce a clear theatrical quality sound that completely draws the viewer into
the action. An English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack as well as a
Spanish Language Dolby Surround Soundtrack is also included along with English
Captions and English Closed Captions that can be activated directly from the DVD
remote instead of the television, giving the hearing impaired two ways to
activate Closed Captioning for the film. In addition it appears that Spanish
Language Subtitles were indeed encoded on to the DVD despite the fact the
packaging does not mention them. I am curious to know if this will be the same
when the DVD debuts later this month.
There
are two-feature length audio commentary tracks included within the DVD extra
features as well. The first one with Director John Moore and Editor Martin Smith
is extremely screen specific, articulate, and in depth. The other commentary,
which focuses more on the production and development aspects of the film with
Producers John Davis and Wyck Godfrey compliments the other track very well and
gives a fuller understanding of the making of the film as a whole.
Director
John Moore and Editor Martin Smith also provide optional audio commentary for
some animatics under the subtitle “Previs Ejection Sequence” and for five
extended and two deleted scenes. The quality of the dailies used to present the
extended and deleted scenes is quite good with a (2.35:1) aspect ratio. The
scenes can only be viewed individually and one cannot switch between the
commentary track and the soundtrack without going back to the appropriate
interactive DVD menu. The extended and deleted scenes include alternate opening
and ending credits sequences. The average extended scene runs between two and
five minutes while the deleted scenes are almost a minute and a half each. There
is a promotional behind-the-scenes featurette with videotaped cast and crew
interview segments and the featurette has an approximate running length of six
minutes. A (1.85:1) teaser trailer for the upcoming Fox and DreamWorks
adaptation of Science Fiction Author Philip K. Dick’s “Minority Report,”
which stars Tom Cruise and was directed by Steven Spielberg, wraps up the extra
features included on this DVD.
The
menus features an animated interactive main menu with animated transitions to
standard interactive still frames complete with excerpts from the soundtrack
music and all of the interactive menus on this DVD are easy to navigate.
“Behind
Enemy Lines” will debut on DVD-Video day and date with a priced for rental VHS
counterpart on Tuesday, April 23, 2002 from Twentieth Century Fox Home
Entertainment and it is definitely worth a look.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.