 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
WORKING GIRL
WORKING GIRL is as enjoyable today, as it was when it was released in 1988. Fans of the film will find the presentation quite pleasant and the DVD worth adding to their personal collections. |
This DVD review 
|
|||
|
DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2001 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
|||||
WORKING
GIRL ($25) is a charming screen comedy the turned out to be a favorite
with audiences and the film put actress Melanie Griffith's career on the
Hollywood radar system for a couple of brief blips. The plot of WORKING
GIRL isn't particularly original, but the story of a scrappy working
class girl making good certainly has its appeal for a broad demographic.
Because of it's popularity, WORKING GIRL even managed to garner
five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. However, Best
Original Song was the only Oscar gold to come the film's way.
In
WORKING GIRL, Griffith portrays Staten Islander Tess McGill, a
middle class gal with a secretarial job on Wall Street, who knows that
she is destined for bigger things. Unable to make any headway going through
proper channels, Tess does an end run around the system, after her devious
boss, Katherine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), is sidelined by a skiing accident.
Piecing together a corporate acquisition that no one else has thought
of, Tess takes her idea to investment banker Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford),
whose career is in serious need of a touchdown. Although Jack doesn't
know he is dealing with a secretary, he is quickly comes see things as
Tess does, and together, they put together a package that guarantees success
for everyone involved.
WORKING
GIRL gave Melanie Griffith the best role of her career- her performance
lends total credibility to the story of a lower middle class woman striving
to exceed the expectations of those around her. Harrison Ford brings the
right level of charm to the table, showing why he's been one of Hollywood's
top leading men for over twenty years. Finally, there's Sigourney Weaver,
who sexy and funny as manages to steal every scene she is in. The cast
of WORKING GIRL also includes Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack, Philip
Bosco, Nora Dunn, Oliver Platt, James Lally and Kevin Spacey.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made WORKING GIRL available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
16:9 playback. The transfer itself is very nice, offering a relatively
sharp and detailed image. WORKING GIRL isn't as crisp looking as
a brand new movie, but overall, the picture is quite pleasing. In fact,
I'd venture to say that Michael Ballhaus' fine cinematography has never
looked better in the home venue. Colors never appear over-saturated, but
are solid nonetheless, while flesh tones always appear natural. Neither
chroma noise nor bleeding diminishes picture quality. Blacks are accurately
rendered, although shadow detail is a bit less than what one would find
in a brand new movie. Digital compression artifacts are tamed by solid
dual layer authoring.
WORKING
GIRL offers a new Dolby Digital 3.0 channel mix, which omits surround
information. This is no great loss, considering that comedy mixes from
the late eighties were rather lackluster- especially in regards to the
surround channels. The forward soundstage has great definition, with the
film's music reaping the largest rewards from the new mix. There is a
great stereo presence and the music tends to leap out of the speakers.
Carly Simon's Oscar winning song, Let The River's Run sounded
especially good in this configuration. Dialogue reproduces cleanly, with
excellent intelligibility. The original matrixed stereo surround mix is
also present on the DVD, but I found myself preferring the new mix for
its livelier presentation of the film's music. A French surround soundtrack
can also be found on the DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as some modest extras. Two theatrical trailers
for WORKING GIRL are present on the DVD, as are three TV spots.
The disc also includes bonus trailers for other Fox titles that also feature
a feminine theme.
