Of
all Clint Eastwood’s various roles, the character he plays in TIGHTROPE
($20) is probably the most out of the ordinary. Sure, Eastwood has played
cops in other films, but the character of Wes Block is the most human, or
certainly the one with the most human foibles. Wes is divorced New Orleans
detective, raising two young daughters, who is emotionally closed to
women, due to the fact that his ex-wife deserted him and their children.
While Wes is emotionally shut down, he is still a man with needs, which
are usually met in the red light district. The plot of TIGHTROPE
finds Wes investigating a series of murders perpetrated by a sexual
predator, who has been strangling his victims. As the bodies begin piling
up, Wes begins to see a connection between him and the killer, who has
decided to make adversarial relationship personal. The cast of TIGHTROPE
also features Geneviève Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood, Jenny Beck,
Marco St. John, Rebecca Perle, Regina Richardson, Randi Brooks and Jamie
Rose.
Warner
Home Video has made TIGHTROPE available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. Overall, Warner has produced a very nice presentation for DVD,
with the disc producing a fairly sharp and nicely defined image. There is
some slight softness in some of the shots, but it isn’t particularly
bothersome. Much of TIGHTROPE takes place at night or in low
lighting, so a good portion of the film is purposely a bit shadowy and
nondescript. Colors are generally rendered at a natural level of
saturation and flesh tones are pretty appealing. Blacks appear accurate,
whites are stable and contrast is just fine. The film element used for the
transfer displays some minor blemishes, and very slight grain in some of
the darker scenes. Digital compression artifacts maintained a low profile
throughout the presentation.
For
this release, TIGHTROPE has been upgraded to a Dolby Digital 5.1
channel soundtrack. This is actually a rather nice upgrade, with clean
channel separation across the front and effective use of the rear
channels. Sure, no one will mistake this mid-eighties track for a newly
fully discrete digital mix, but for its age, it is rather impressive.
Fidelity is good and Lennie Niehaus’ jazzy New Orleans influenced score
has a very nice sense of presence. Dialogue is always completely
understandable and the actors’ voices are reproduced with a fairly
natural timbre. A French language track is also encoded onto the DVD, as
are English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Thai
subtitles. Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a
theatrical trailer, cast listing and Clint Eastwood filmography.
TIGHTROPE
is a solid and entertaining Eastwood thriller, which allows him to portray
something other than the usual hard nosed cop- ala Dirty Harry. Warner has
produced another fine looking and sounding DVD that will keep fans happy.
If you fall into that category, then you’ll be picking up a copy of TIGHTROPE,
if you’ve never seen the film then the DVD is the best way to get
acquainted with this other side of Clint. Recommended.
Of
all Clint Eastwood’s various roles, the character he plays in TIGHTROPE
($20) is probably the most out of the ordinary. Sure, Eastwood has played
cops in other films, but the character of Wes Block is the most human, or
certainly the one with the most human foibles. Wes is divorced New Orleans
detective, raising two young daughters, who is emotionally closed to
women, due to the fact that his ex-wife deserted him and their children.
While Wes is emotionally shut down, he is still a man with needs, which
are usually met in the red light district. The plot of TIGHTROPE
finds Wes investigating a series of murders perpetrated by a sexual
predator, who has been strangling his victims. As the bodies begin piling
up, Wes begins to see a connection between him and the killer, who has
decided to make adversarial relationship personal. The cast of TIGHTROPE
also features Geneviève Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood, Jenny Beck,
Marco St. John, Rebecca Perle, Regina Richardson, Randi Brooks and Jamie
Rose.
Warner
Home Video has made TIGHTROPE available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. Overall, Warner has produced a very nice presentation for DVD,
with the disc producing a fairly sharp and nicely defined image. There is
some slight softness in some of the shots, but it isn’t particularly
bothersome. Much of TIGHTROPE takes place at night or in low
lighting, so a good portion of the film is purposely a bit shadowy and
nondescript. Colors are generally rendered at a natural level of
saturation and flesh tones are pretty appealing. Blacks appear accurate,
whites are stable and contrast is just fine. The film element used for the
transfer displays some minor blemishes, and very slight grain in some of
the darker scenes. Digital compression artifacts maintained a low profile
throughout the presentation.
For
this release, TIGHTROPE has been upgraded to a Dolby Digital 5.1
channel soundtrack. This is actually a rather nice upgrade, with clean
channel separation across the front and effective use of the rear
channels. Sure, no one will mistake this mid-eighties track for a newly
fully discrete digital mix, but for its age, it is rather impressive.
Fidelity is good and Lennie Niehaus’ jazzy New Orleans influenced score
has a very nice sense of presence. Dialogue is always completely
understandable and the actors’ voices are reproduced with a fairly
natural timbre. A French language track is also encoded onto the DVD, as
are English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Thai
subtitles. Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a
theatrical trailer, cast listing and Clint Eastwood filmography.
TIGHTROPE
is a solid and entertaining Eastwood thriller, which allows him to portray
something other than the usual hard nosed cop- ala Dirty Harry. Warner has
produced another fine looking and sounding DVD that will keep fans happy.
If you fall into that category, then you’ll be picking up a copy of TIGHTROPE,
if you’ve never seen the film then the DVD is the best way to get
acquainted with this other side of Clint. Recommended.
