The Fugitive
Warner Bros. / 1993 / 125 Mins / Rated M15+


MOVIE

The Fugitive is the story of Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) a doctor who has been found guilty of the murder of his wife, although he claims to the police that the murder was committed by a one armed man, but he is not believed and is shafted by the coppers and sent up the river to be executed. 

On route to a maximum security prison the bus he is traveling in has an accident and then crashes onto a train line and surprise, surprise along comes a train which makes for one of the most spectacular crashes ever seen on film, but of course not before Kimble manages to save a guard and escape. 

So where was I oh yes, Kimble escapes and we have enter stage right Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) in one of the best performances I have seen in quite a while, who is called in to hunt down Kimble and bring him in. 

While being hunted by Gerard, Kimble takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of his wife's murder and clear his name, in any way possible. I won't give away the rest of the movie for those of you who haven't seen it, you are in for a fun movie and a great thriller that will keep you watching till the very end.

VIDEO
This is the first of the Region 4 Warner Brothers movies I have seen and I must say that I am very impressed. This transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, 16:9 enhanced.
The movie was razor sharp at all times. Shadow detail was superb with clear shadow details and not a trace of noise. This is yet another movie with a lot of dark scenes - these movies really benefit from DVD's lack of low level noise. The color is perfectly rendered throughout the transfer.

NOTE: There has been quite a few stories on the net these last days about a little fault around the 80 minute mark in the movie, but from the copy that I have seen this fault is not even in the version I own, so I don't think it is a mastering problem, maybe just a few bad copies.

The Fugitive is Framed at 1:85:1 and is 16:9 enhanced.

This is a single sided, single layer disc.

AUDIO
This disc is encoded in one sound format only, which is English Dolby Digital 5.1 which is a great thing. The sound was very clear and dialog easy to understand, except the were a few scenes with a lot of ambient noise that caused some difficulties for a second or so. The music was immersive and well mixed and certainly adds to the total sound package and the surround speakers and .1 channel received a frequent workout.
EXTRAS
The only extras on this disc are cast & production notes and there are no trailers whatsoever which makes the disc lose a few points in my book.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The disc is a good buy for it's picture, sound and movie quality. Although the extras are a bit lacking it's a great transfer and a very promising start for the old WB in the DVD market in Australia.

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 5.1 speaker system.

Copyright © 2000 by [Roger Ward].
Revised: 25 May 2000 14:32:19 +1100 .

DVD INFORMATION
Region Coding: Region 4
No of Discs: 1
OFLC Rating M15+
Running Time: 125 minutes
Case Type: Snapper Case
Release Date: 7/10/98
Catalog Number: 21000
List Price: $29.95
Distributor: Warner Bros.
DISC SPECIFICATIONS
Disc Format: PAL
Disc Type: Label Only
Disc Format: SS-SL
Chapters: 42
Macrovision: Yes
Manufacturer: WAMO
VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS
Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1
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: None
Theatrical Trailer: None
Teaser Trailer: None
TV Spots: None
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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INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE INFO
OFFICIAL WEB SITE
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VIEW TRAILER
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