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Review added January 13, 2005.                            Speed :: DVD Review  

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Studio: 20th Century Fox >> Review Equipment
Video: 2.35:1 (Enhanced for 16:9) Length: 111 Minutes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 (384kbps) En Subtitles: En/Por/Heb/Cz/Ice/Sv/No
Video Format: PAL Fin/Dan/Pol/Hu
Layer Change: 76:17   Disc Format: RSDL DVD-9
Average Bit-Rate (A+V): X.XXMbps Disc Capacity Utilised: X.XXGB
  Region Coding: 4
     
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:: The Film ::

 
 

>> Skip to Audio/Video Details

Speed is an unusual film, being one of the few action films I can think of that received almost unanimously positive reviews from both viewers and critics. I have to admit I felt physically exhausted by the time Speed's end credits started to roll; to say the film's action was intense would be an understatement. Jan de Bont, Speed's director, certainly knows how to put the viewer in the heart of the action, something he confirmed with the action-packed but plot-shy blockbuster Twister.

Keanu Reeves stars as Jack Draven, an officer with the LAPD and SWAT team member specialising in bomb disposal. Draven and his partner (played by Jeff Daniels) open the film with a dramatic rescue from a booby-trapped elevator. The man responsible for the rigged elevator is one Howard Payne (played by Dennis Hopper repeating his tried-and-true psychopath role).




As it turns out, Payne is a former bomb-squad member forced to retire after losing a thumb defusing a bomb. Fobbed off with a cheap imitation gold watch, Payne feels the city owes him much more and plans to extort the city using the skills he acquired on the job. Understandably, he isn't exactly happy with Draven's elevator intervention, forcing him to move to 'Plan B': a bomb on a bus set to detonate should the vehicle slow below 50MPH.

Keanu Reeves has never been my idea of an action hero, but he's perfectly acceptable in his role here, while Dennis Hopper chews at the scenery admirably. As a side note, this is also the film that introduced the world to Sandra Bullock, after failing to make a splash in 'Demolition Man'. If you haven't seen Speed yet, I can heartily recommend it. It's one hell of a ride!
 

  :: Video ::
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20th Century Fox have brought us another fine disc. This anamorphically-enhanced 2.35:1 transfer is very nice indeed, with a sharp picture and deeply saturated colours. Colours on the THX-certified LaserDisc of Speed were notoriously oversaturated, but the DVD seems to have rectified this problem, with colours often approaching but never actually reaching the point of oversaturation. Skin tones are well rendered, and aliasing is kept to a minimum, appearing mainly in the first 20 minutes.

I didn't detect any use of edge enhancement or any digital compression artefacts, and the transfer was admirably free from film artefacts (apart from a few speckles, and some inexplicable flaws around the 103 minute mark, in which the top of some frames seem damaged). While this transfer isn't quite as sharp as the best I've seen, I have a feeling that this is more a matter of filming style than a problem with the transfer.

Unfortunately, things were not all positive; a few scenes looked a little soft, and grain occasionally made its presence known. Fine detail was also lost in some darker scenes, and I felt the transfer's contrast was sometimes a little high. However, none of these flaws were significant and the end result is still a very pleasant image, earning it four stars.
 

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  :: Audio ::
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Speed's Dolby Digital 5.0 soundtrack is impressive, putting many newer films to shame. Although encoded on the disc as a 5.1-channel soundtrack, there is no information recorded in the LFE channel. This omission of LFE information is deliberate, much like Waterworld and Tarzan, and not a mastering flaw.

Despite the lack of an LFE channel, there is no shortage of bass, with both front channels containing deep bass to well below 30Hz. Only occasionally is the LFE channel's 10dB of additional headroom missed, most notably toward the end of the film during a spectacular scene involving a parked plane. The surround channels are used effectively throughout, containing numerous dramatic discrete split-surround effects, and fully immersing the listener. Dialogue remains clear and distinct at all times. This is a very nice soundtrack, with impressive dynamic range and overall fidelity, earning it four and a half stars. Recommended. 
 

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All material in this site copyright Adam Barratt

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