Stars:
Bean, Damon Dash, Brother Newz, Memphis Bleak, Rashi Constantine, Robert Burke,
Derren Eventes, Tim House, Sandy Carter, Nicole Mideo, and Kynka Monet
Director:
Abdul Malik Abbott
Feature
length: 87 minutes
Extras:
Trailer, Director’s Commentary, Cast Auditions, Dancer Auditions,
Behind-The-Scenes, Deleted Scenes, and Music Videos
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Spanish Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 24
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of DVD Release: 2002
Home
Video Distributor: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
“State
Property” is a slick urban gangster action drama that distinguishes itself
with gritty realism and bloody violence coupled with a hot music soundtrack and
a strange similarity to Brian De Palma’s “Scarface.” The rise of an
African American drug lord at times borders on unintentional stereotype and it
does glorify the lifestyle of the characters and there are scenes that border on
misogyny as well as exploitation.
Lions
Gate Home Entertainment presents “State Property” with an anamorphic
widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio. The film has a nice glossy look to it that
comes off well on DVD. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack mixes
the action and dialogue well with the music soundtrack with a good use of the
bass and the elements never overshadows each other or detract from the action.
The Director’s commentary is screen specific throughout and feature length.
English Captions and Spanish Subtitles are also encoded on to the DVD as
options, but there are no Closed Captions for the hearing impaired.
There
are 7 deleted scenes are presented in an equal quality widescreen (1.85:1)
aspect ratio with English Stereo Sound and optional Director’s commentary. The
scenes run between less than a minute to nearly 2-minutes in length with a
collective running time of approximately 8 ½ minutes. Three music videos are
also included. The most interesting or perhaps entertaining extra feature is the
cast auditions, which are intercut with clips from the film. This feature has a
running time of approximately 9 ½ minutes. There is also a short dance audition
reel that looks more like stripper auditions for a soft-core porn flick than a
legitimate film. 15-minutes of behind-the-scenes videotaped footage and a
(1.85:1) trailer wrap up the extra features on this DVD release.
The
menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. “State
Property” is available for preorder now at retailers on and off line and is
coming to DVD from Lions Gate Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.