Devil's Advocate
Warner Bros. / 1997 / 138 Mins / Rated R18+


MOVIE
This one is a hard one to explain. Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) is a small time lawyer who hasn't lost a case yet. He is eyed out by a big time law firm in New York that gives it's associates anything they want. In return they are basically giving their soul to the devil, who in this case is played wonderfully by Al Pacino. 

He owns the said law firm which is one of the best in the world. For a while things are all fine for a little while until things slowly start to go wrong with himself and then finally with his beautiful wife (Charlize Theron). 

I don't want to give away too much as it ruins the story, but it is one morality tale that does get you thinking and which does have a great ending.

VIDEO

Now this movie is only 2 years old but the transfer bothers me. The color itself is quite fine but there just doesn't seem to be a lot of good video work here. The transfer is fuzzy at times, the blacks are a little milky and there is some very bad idealization & MPEG artifacts towards the end of the movie.

Devils Advocate is framed at 2:35:1 and is 16:9 enhanced.

This is a Single Sided, Dual Layer disc.

AUDIO

The sound on this disc is one of the better aspects. DD5.1 and is quite impressive. The surrounds get a light use throughout the movie and the .1 channel is also used somewhat in various parts of the movie. The ambient sounds are encoded quite well onto this disc. The music did seem very distracting and not well written on this one.

The dialog was clear all the way through.

EXTRAS
There are a few good extras on this disc. The main one is the director's commentary which is very informative and interesting and one of the better one's I have heard in a while. Also on the disc are the theatrical trailer, 2 TV. spots and your usual scene access and cast & crew menus.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A hard movie to watch but certainly one to make you think. Try renting it first.

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: 25 May 2000 00:25:19 +1100 .

DVD INFORMATION
Region Coding: Region 4
No of Discs: 1
OFLC Rating R18+
Running Time: 138 minutes
Case Type: Snapper Case
Release Date: 23/2/1999
Catalog Number: 16172
List Price: $29.95
Distributor: Warner Bros.
DISC SPECIFICATIONS
Disc Format: PAL
Disc Type: Label Only
Disc Format: SS-RSDL
Chapters: 43
Macrovision: Yes
Manufacturer: WAMO
VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS
Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Film Format: 35mm
SOUND SPECIFICATIONS
Dolby Digital:

5.1 Surround

DTS: None
PCM Stereo: None
Other: None
Languages: English
Subtitles: Yes
SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary: Yes (1)
Theatrical Trailer: Yes
Teaser Trailer: None
TV Spots: Yes (3)
Dolby Trailer: None
Documentary: None
Cast & Crew Bios: Yes
Deleted Scenes: None
Music Videos: None
DVD Rom Content: None
Collectable Booklet: None
Scene Access: Yes
Animated Menus: None
Production Notes: Yes
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