5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Frank Morrison is dubious when his often-deceitful son alleges that his new stepfather is a callous killer. But Frank soon begins to sense the boy is telling the truth.
Starring: John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Teri Polo, Steve Buscemi, Matt O'LearyThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Domestic bliss is upset in Domestic Disturbance, but movie formula is found to be in wedded bliss in every frame. Director Harold Becker (Sea of Love, Mercury Rising) has assembled a movie that is as by-the-book as they come, a film that could be the reference entry for "manufactured movies." The film lacks any and all sense of originality, instead content to piece together all of the well-worn Thriller motifs into a singularly, and almost grand, in a way, film of absolute unoriginality, and one so unoriginal one almost needs to stop and applaud its perfection in assembling together the stock pieces. But because it's so stock, it's also reliable. It offers no compelling reason to watch, but it's competently assembled, decently acted, and quick in its pace, at least making it a good example of why all of the cliche elements seen throughout have withstood the test of time.
Paramount releases Domestic Disturbance to Blu-ray with a baseline serviceable 1080p transfer. The image is not at all dynamic, a net result which appears to be in part due to a weak transfer and in part due to uninteresting aesthetics within the film proper. On the surface, the image looks serviceable, offering a spiky grain structure that still looks better than the alternative of scrubbing it away and leaving a plastic, unnatural residue behind. While the image never thrives in terms of its textures and clarity, it at least maintains a semblance of film-like quality, capturing essential facial, clothing, and environmental detail that might not extend far beyond a good upscaled DVD but at least has the look of HD. The colors are dreary and depressed, seemingly by design, but to be sure the colors are flat, drab, and lacking much, if any, semblance of life and vitality. Even bright, sun drenched exteriors lack anything close to vivid, popping tones, and indeed the low light elements which pervade much of the film hold the image to a very flat and dull look. Whites are not very crisp and black crush is in evidence. Skin tones often take on something of a gray appearance. At least print wear is kept to a minimum, and compression issues are not commonplace. Could look a whole lot better, could look a whole lot worse.
Paramount releases Domestic Disturbance to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Much like the video, this one is adequate, lacking the crisp and lifelike fidelity found on superior, better engineered tracks, but this one engages with enough basic goodness to please in all of the basic areas of necessity. For example, music is adequately clear and nicely spaced, lacking real oomph and lifelike transparency but finding pleasing enough width and foundational clarity to get by, especially paired with a fairly generic movie like this one. The track handles some directional effects well, such as a truck moving left to right at the 47:47 mark. Listeners will find themselves immersed in a clap of thunder and some subsequent falling rain within the 29-minute mark, but again forget about experiencing anything even approaching absolute transparency into realism. Dialogue is at least suitably clear, well prioritized, and center grounded for the duration.
This Blu-ray release of Domestic Disturbance contains an audio commentary track, deleted scenes, and a trailer. The main menu screen (which
refreshes seemingly every 30 seconds or so) features a static image with no overlaying music and only options for "Play Movie," "Extras," and
"Subtitles." No DVD or
digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.
If Domestic Disturbance is to be remembered for anything, it will be for its strict adherence to formula, its by-the-book approach to story shaping and storytelling. It's serviceable across the board, and I'll admit I was modestly entertained for the duration, even as the film never pushes any boundaries. It was mostly the acting that kept the film going, certainly with no award-worthy efforts but there's just enough of an edge to Vaughn's character and just enough heart in Travolta's to keep the film interesting (Travolta is not great in the film, but his is not a Razzie-worthy effort, either; he was nominated for the "award" for his work in this film). Paramount's Blu-ray is very mediocre, though, offering merely passable video and audio. A few extras are included, primarily in the form of a decent commentary and a few throwaway deleted scenes. Worth a buy if it ever falls to about the $7 price point.
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