Rating: Summary: Good film, Bad DVD, shame on Warner Review: This review is more about the DVD transfer than the movie. Some friends brought this DVD to our house and we all watched it. I liked the movie, and because I liked it, (4 stars) I am disappointed that the transfer to DVD (2 stars) is so grainy, and that it is only in Pan and Scan, not widescreen. I have many VHS tapes which are sharper looking and sound better (I have Dolby Surround). I have many DVD's that offer both aspect ratios. If only one aspect is offered on DVD, it should be the widescreen theatrical version, IMHO, not Pan and Scan. I have learned that there is a great deal of variation in the quality of DVDs that are available, and this DVD proves that recent vintage films don't guarantee a good transfer. In my opinion this type of budget purchase can only be enjoyed on a small screen tv, so I will not buy until this film is properly re-mastered and offered on DVD in widescreen. Warner should do better! The film deserves it.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely perfect renditon of a super script!!!! Review: This movie is the ultimate sequel to Chinatown. Aa a "Hitchcock" film noir sequel to Polanski's Chinatown this movie is is absolutely perfect and is only surpassed by "Rear Window" and "Chinatown"
Rating: Summary: Polanski lost some tempo in the movie Review: At some point I felt the movie was turning into a detective story with elements of action. I was quite dissappointed with the finale - again Arab terrorist, US national security at stake, dumb US embassy agents. Multiple deja vu. Desole. I excpected something more original and kinkier, smth darker and deeper. Overall, it's always a pleasure to see smth different from mainstream simplified ugliness.
Rating: Summary: Excellent film. Atotal suspense from the beginning. Review: The Ford performance is wonderful
Rating: Summary: Good film Review: On the plus side - this is a fine film with another good performance from Harrison Ford (why doesn't he do more films like this nowadays?) There are touches of humour in this film in addition to the tension. Good performances all round.There are 3 black marks against this DVD though. 1) No extra features - not even subtitles or alternative languages. 2) Poor transfer - the film is watchable but for a lot of the film the picture quality is poor. 3) The end titles slip into 1.85:1, proof that this is a widescreen film - making sense of the various scenes with half faces. I had always thought this was a full screen film so I was annoyed to find out otherwise.
Rating: Summary: edge of your seat suspense Review: Harrison Ford as always, is spectacular! Not a dull moment throughout the movie and a soundtrack that is a must have!
Rating: Summary: Very entertaining, underrated movie Review: This is a lot of fun - a must for any fans of Ford, Polanski, Paris, etc. Special kudos to the Grace Jones song which recurs throughout the picture - it is haunting, beautiful and hypnotic, like Paris itself.
Rating: Summary: Superb! Review: This is one of my very favorite Harrison Ford movies. The action keeps moving and H.F. is, as always, right on the mark. I also enjoyed the Parisian location shots and the great soundtrack, which includes music by Grace Jones. I wish the soundtrack was still in production! This is a great film!
Rating: Summary: Frantic?!? Review: Frantic? Hardly! This poorly-directed and produced film really rides on the back of Harrison Ford and a few, albeit short, scenes of fast action, none of which really amount to creating much suspense. The character of Sondra is poorly depicted by Betty Buckley, an actress whose small part should have served the role of building sympathy for her plight. Instead her brief moments at the beginning of the film tend to disengage the audience. There is never any great compassion developed for her as Buckley unwittingly portrays her character as snobbish, difficult, and unloveable to some degree. In terms of directing, Polanski misses the mark as there is rarely any sense of urgency or parallel understanding transferred over to the audience; the movie is disjointed at times. It would be easy to become as ambivalent about the whole thing as the French police. I would recommend a strong pot of coffee for this one.
Rating: Summary: Frantic needs better Review: Great movie, but what's with the pan and scan dvd? Polanski is a great director and his movie needs a better treatment on dvd. How about widescreen please? This is a great film and it would be nice to see all of the image as the director intended. Thanks in advance.
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