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Stars:
Matt Damon, Franka Potene, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, and Adewale
Akinnodyle-Agbaji
Writers:
Tony Gilroy and William Blade Herron
Based
On The Novel By: Robert Ludlum
Director:
Doug Liman
Feature
length: 119 minutes
Extras:
Alternate Beginning and Ending, Deleted Scenes, Extended Scenes, Featurettes,
Music Video, Production Notes, Cast & Crew Biographies and Highlights
Languages:
English, French, and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 20
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2004
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Video
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
A
body of a man is found floating in the ocean. He has two bullet holes in his
back and an implant in his hip with the number to a Swiss bank account. The man
miraculously comes back to consciousness with no memory of who he is, but he
does posses innate language, fighting, weapons, and incredible memory and
observation skills for anything he encounters now. When he arrives at the Swiss
bank he discovers a safety deposit box with various passports, money, a gun, and
more. However his arrival at the bank triggers an alert back to the CIA, which
is in a bit of hot water over a failed attempt to assassinate a deposed African
national living abroad. Going under the name Jason Bourne, our fugitive manages
to escape with the help of a gypsy like expatriated young woman, who
participates in his odyssey of danger and intrigue in Paris as Jason Bourne
slowly discovers who he really is.
“The
Bourne Identity” is one of the best espionage thrillers I have seen in a long
time. What I liked about it the most was the pacing and Damon’s ability to
draw us into his character so that we are sympathetic to him even once we
understand exactly what his profession is. The choreography of the fight scenes
is without a doubt top shelf. Universal Studios Home Video has revisited “The
Bourne Identity” on DVD with their “Extended Edition” DVD release to
tie-in to the exciting sequel “The Bourne Supremacy,” which is playing in
theaters now. This release more or less contains many of the extra value
features the “Collector’s Edition” contained, but it also omits a few
features that I really liked about the “Collector’s Edition” DVD. Gone are
the English DTS Soundtrack, the Director’s Commentary, and the theatrical
trailer. What viewers get in this new release is the option to view “The
Bourne Identity” with an alternate beginning and ending that serves as
bookends for the rest of the film’s action. Unfortunately the quality of these
scenes does not match the rest of the film’s presentation and rather than have
the extended edition play as one complete film, what consumers get is a
branching option so that when one chooses to view this alternate presentation,
one has to be mindful to press the ENTER key on their remote control when the
image of a target viewfinder appears on the lower right hand corner of their TV
screen. It would have been better just to have those scenes remastered and
presented with equal quality and no need for branching, but fortunately this
alternate version does feature the option to view the extended beginning and
closing individually or with an introduction by Producer Frank Marshall and
Screenwriter Tony Gilroy with the extended footage following as one whole
(10:46). The theatrical version can be viewed unhindered on this DVD too.
“The
Bourne Identity: Extended Edition” is presented with a beautiful anamorphic
widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio that has solid colors and no anomalies
whatsoever. The alternate opening and closing are presented in a letterboxed
(2.35:1) aspect ratio and as noted above, their picture quality is below the
high standard set by the rest of the film. The English Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Soundtrack is fantastic with a completely enveloping discreet use of
the channels so that no effect overshadows anything unintentionally and yet the
sound just jumps out when it is necessary so the action truly feels real. French
and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks are also provided
along with English Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish
Language Subtitles encoded on to the DVD as options.
The
featurette, deleted scenes, and extended scenes all feature optional English
Captions for the hearing impaired as well as French and Spanish Language
Subtitles. All of the deleted, alternate, and extended scenes are presented in a
letterboxed (2.35:1) aspect ratio with English Stereo Sound. They include the
alternate ending (2:05), an extended “Farm House” scene (: 59), and deleted
scenes that are comprised of “Wombosi On Private Jet” (1:00), “Bourne And
Marie By The Side Of The Road” (2:31), “Psychologist Discusses Bourne”
(1:48), and “Bourne And Marie Practice On The Subway” (1:43).
Exclusive
to this DVD release is a featurette on Author Robert Ludlum (5:44), an interview
with screenwriter Tony Gilroy (4:03), A featurette on bridging both “The
Bourne Identity” and “The Bourne Supremacy” together (3:37), a clinical
examination into the psychology of the character (3:26), a real world analysis
of some of the qualities and talents it takes to be a super-spy for the CIA
(5:31), as well as Cast, Screenwriters, and Director Biographies and Film
Highlights and on screen production notes. The (1.85:1) music video for
“Extreme Ways” by Moby (3:39) and preview trailers for Universal Studios
Home Video’s upcoming DVD releases for the 2004 remake of “Dawn Of The
Dead,” “Ned Kelly,” and “Magnum PI” precede the opening main menu
screen too.
The
main menu is animated with motion transitions to standard interactive still
frames and all of the menus are easy to navigate. “ The Bourne Identity:
Extended Edition: Widescreen” is available on DVD-Video now from Universal
Studios Home Video.
©
Copyright 2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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