Three Kings
Warner Bros. / 1999 / 111 Mins / Rated R18+

MOVIE
1991, The gulf war is over. A group of marines find a map containing the location of a stash of gold that Sadam Hussain had stolen from Kuwait.

They decide to steal the gold and make for the border and become very, very rich. After a view of the civilian life for Iraq nationals this heist turns into more than they bargained for.

VIDEO
This is a reference quality transfer. Some people have said to me that this movie's picture quality sucks. Okay, so this movie has a hard transfer that changes throughout which makes the transfer look bad but this is intentional and considering that you can't fault the transfer. It is very sharp with very good detail. There were no film or MPEG artifacts seen.

Three Kings  is framed at 2:35:1 and is 16:9 enhanced.

This is a single-sided, dual-layer disc.

The layer change occurs at the 73:03.
AUDIO

Sadly the same cannot be said for the audio. Three Kings is encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1 but it is very sub par. With a lot of bad ADR work. Dialog was difficult to hear at times and the front soundstage also seemed flat. The surrounds and .1 channel seemed effective though with great sound effects surrounding me. The .1 channel was also well used

EXTRAS

Yet again Village have delivered the goods extras wise.

Theatrical Trailer - DD2.0 sound framed at 1:85:1. This trailer sounds and looks okay but it is not the best I have seen. 

TV Spot - There is also a TV spot hidden within the menus with DD2.0 sound in 4:3 format.

Interviews - This is an interview segment with the director of photography. Of limited interest.

Making Of Documentary - Under The Bunker, this is a good making of spot that is quite informative with a lot of good interviews. 

Featurette - Tour Of An Iraqi Village. This shows some of the sets constructed for the movie and the work that went into designing them. Quite interesting. 

Featurette - A Look At The Acting Process. This is of limited value, featuring Ice Cube.

Video Diary - This is a video diary showing all the behind the scenes work the director went though while preparing for the movie.

Deleted Scenes - These are scene extensions that you can watch with or without commentary.

2 Audio Commentaries - 2 great commentaries the first with the director and the second with the producers. The commentary with the director is more enjoyable, but both still are of great quality.

DVD ROM - The entire Three Kings site shucked onto the disc. A great extra which has a whole heap of info about the Gulf war.

Photo Gallery - A lot of still images from the set.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While not a movie for everyone, this is a sensational disc worthy of near classic status in R4. 
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: 26 Jun 2000 20:19:05 +1100 .

DVD INFORMATION
Region Coding: Region 4
No of Discs: 1
OFLC Rating R18+
Running Time: 111 Mins
Case Type: Clip Case
Release Date: 21/6/2000
Catalog Number: 1025269
List Price: $34.95
Distributor: Village Roadshow
DISC SPECIFICATIONS
Disc Format: PAL
Disc Type: Picture Disc
Disc Format: SS-RSDL
Chapters: 31
Macrovision: Yes
Manufacturer: DVM
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 (2)
Theatrical Trailer: Yes
Teaser Trailer: None
TV Spots: Yes
Dolby Trailer: Rain Trailer
Documentary: Yes
Cast & Crew Bios: Yes
Deleted Scenes: Yes
Music Videos: None
DVD Rom Content: Yes
Collectable Booklet: None
Scene Access: Yes
Animated Menus: Yes
Production Notes: Yes
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INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE INFO
OFFICIAL WEB SITE
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