 |
| Bruce
Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Troy Garity |
|
 |
Anamorphic
widescreen |
|
Dolby Digital
5.1 |
 |
DTS |
|
|
Trailer(s) |
|
Featurette(s) |
|
Documentary |
|
Audio commentary
|
|
Deleted scenes
|
|
Concept art
/ storyboards |
|
Multi-angle
feature |
|
|
|
|
Terry (Billy Bob Thornton):
You know the hardest thing about being smart?
Joe (Bruce Willis): No.
Terry: I always pretty much know what's gonna happen next.
There's no suspense.
Two bank robbers fall in love with
the woman they kidnap.
 What
we have here is an odd collection of highly disparate elements forcibly
combined into a single film. Taken individually, these accomplishments
are competent and in some cases even impressive. Dante Spinotti's
gorgeous cinematography has that combination of realism and glossiness
that are all his own, but it's ill-suited to the broad comedy presented
in the narrative. Similarly, the three stars are each quite good,
but they appear to be acting in different movies. Occasional scenes
have an energy and spontaneity that feels improvised (and probably
was), but the uneven, messy and overlong screenplay keeps the characters
shackled hands and feet to the film's tired and uninteresting central
premise. Bandits may have its moments, but they are too few
and too far between to call this anything but a sad waste of talent. |
|
 |
 |
|
|
The Region 1 release is a double-sided
disc with a fullscreen version on one side and a widescreen transfer
on the other. The Region 2 version carries only the widescreen transfer.
The anamorphic widescreen image
is framed at an aspect ratio of approx. 2.35:1. The impeccable cinematography
is beautifully rendered in a rich, highly impressive transfer.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 sound mix is also excellent, giving the well-chosen
music tracks center stage.
There are four deleted scenes, which run about ten minutes.
They can be watched individually or all at once. None of clips
deserve to be in the film, which at 123 minutes is already too
long. All the clips are anamorphic widescreen and include some
edge enhancement. Also, the clips are not color corrected, and
the mix is not final, so there is no music or sound effects. Also
included is the alternate ending. Throughout the film,
Levinson and writer Harley Payton keep us guessing as to whom
Kate will eventually wind up with. This conceit is taken to its
ultimate conclusion in the discarded ending, which has Kate pregnant
by one of the men but we don't know which one. This footage is
also part of the end credits, so its presentation here is a little
misleading. The clip can be watched as is, or with audio commentary
by Blanchett, who has nothing of interest to say.
Inside Bandits is an excellent 20-minute featurette about
the making of the film. Producer Michael Birnbaum and Harley Peyton
discuss how the film is based on a true story and that the real-life
Joe actually broke out of prison in a cement mixer, just like
in the film. All the principles are accounted for and there is
plenty of behind the scenes footage. Interviews are presented
full screen and the film clips look as good as they do in the
movie.
The next extra is a fairly interesting item called Creating
Scene 71. In it, Levinson, Willis, Blanchett and Peyton discuss
the evolution of the scene where Joe and Kate sleep in the same
bed. There are full-screen interviews with the principles and
dirty, non color-corrected footage of various takes. It runs about
6 minutes and it's not a bad example of how a scene evolves from
the page to the screen.
Finally, the theatrical trailer is on board, along with
a small image gallery containing twelve stills from the
film.Menu screens have some subtle animation
and good navigation options.
Noah
Eamon
Reviewed:
November 5, 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on Bandits.
Click here
to return to the front page.
|
|
| |
