Bowfinger
Universal / 1999 / 97 Mins / Rated PG-13


MOVIE
Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is a 2nd rate B-movie producer & director. He hasn't ever made a big movie and is getting to the point of giving up when he receives a script for a new movie which he loves the sound of Chubby Rain!

Having only $2000 dollars to his name he sets out to make this movie, the only way he can do this is to get Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) to star in it! Of course there is no way he can get this to happen as Kit is the biggest star in Hollywood, so he films Kit doing he everyday things and having the stars of his movie go up to him and say there lines about the alien invasion. One problem.... Kit is very paranoid and really believes everything that is said which drives him nuts.

When Kit goes into hiding Bowfinger hires Jiff, a Kit Ramsey look-alike to film the scenes they cannot get with Jiff. Also part of the crew is Daisy (Heather Graham) who will sleep with anyone to become a star and the illegal Mexican immigrants whom he hires as the movie's crew. This is a funny movie and really has some great in jokes about the film industry.

VIDEO
This transfer from Universal seems slightly soft. Shadow detail is fine with no apparent problems. Color detail is also on the mark. It's a shame it's slightly soft.

No MPEG artifacts were present at all. The original film print is free from defects.

Bowfinger is framed at 1:85:1 and is 16:9 enhanced.

This is an RSDL disc. I couldn't detect the layer change though.

AUDIO

There are 2 sound formats on this disc, An English Dolby Digital 5.1and French Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack and an English DTS 5.1 mix. This is interesting. All this time Universal has been releasing 2 versions of some movies, One with a DTS 5.1 soundtrack and no extras and another Dolby Digital 5.1 version with tons of extras. They released them as separates because they said that there was not enough room on a disc for both. This seems to be an interesting turn around for them, maybe they were losing money releasing 2 versions??

As for the soundtrack, it is appealing and immersive but not completely in your face. The movie was primarily based towards the front of the soundstage as this is a dialog heavy movie. During scenes with a lot of ambient noise or music the surrounds get used quite extensively but the rear channels don't sound separated very much.

EXTRAS
Again another rich collection of extras on show from Universal.

Extras Include:
Theatrical Trailer:
A great trailer in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded framed at 1:85:1. Very funny, great sound.

Feature Directors Commentary: A good commentary track in Dolby Digital 2.0 from Frank Oz. He gives quite a lot of information during the first say half-hour but seems to shallow out after a while. Still better than some others.

Spotlight On Location: A very good featurette on the making of the movie with good interviews with the principal cast and crew.

Deleted Scenes: A couple of deleted scenes from the movie. The first is really an extension to the first scene where Bobby Bowfinger is pitching the movie "Chubby Rain" to his cronies. The second is a short extension of the scenes after Bowfinger pitches the movie to Robert Downey, Jnr.

Outtakes: A short collection of outtakes from the movie where primarily Steve and Eddie screw up there lines.

Universal Showcase: Another trailer from the Universal Showcase this time from "The Hurricane" 1:85:1 ratio in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Very aggressive. Very good.

Subtitles Include:
Closed Captioned

FINAL THOUGHTS
This is a great disc and is worth every penny.

16:9 ENHANCEMENT DISC RATING

VIDEO:
AUDIO:
EXTRAS:
PLOT:
OVERALL:

REVIEW EQUIPMENT

Display: 48" Sony RPTV.
DVD Player:
Panasonic A350 Player using S-Video Cables.
Receiver:
Pioneer VSX-D508 Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.
Speakers:
Accusound speaker system.

Copyright © 2000 by [Roger Ward].
Revised: 24 May 2000 23:36:30 +1100 .

DVD INFORMATION
Region Coding: Region 1
No of Discs: 1
MPAA Rating PG-13
Running Time: 97 minutes
Case Type: Alpha Pak Case
Release Date: 18/01/2000
Catalog Number: 20576
List Price: Personal Import
Distributor: Universal
DISC SPECIFICATIONS
Disc Format: NTSC
Disc Type: Label Only
Disc Format: SS-RSDL
Chapters: 18
Macrovision: Yes
Manufacturer: DVCC
VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS
Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Film Format: 35mm
SOUND SPECIFICATIONS
Dolby Digital:

5.1 Surround

DTS: 5.1 Surround
PCM Stereo: None
Other: None
Languages:

English
French
Subtitles: Yes
SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary: Yes
Theatrical Trailer: Yes
Teaser Trailer: None
TV Spots: None
Dolby Trailer: None
Documentary: Yes
Cast & Crew Bios: Yes
Deleted Scenes: Yes
Music Videos: None
DVD Rom Content: Yes
Collectable Booklet: Yes
Scene Access: Yes
Animated Menus: Yes
Production Notes: Yes
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