Before
I go any further, I have to admit that I’ve always been in favor of nude
scenes in the cinema, but ABOUT SCHMIDT ($20) contains a bit of
nudity that I could have lived without. Getting back to the film at hand, ABOUT
SCHMIDT is a film that serves an interesting character study,
featuring a brilliant performance by Jack Nicholson. In ABOUT SCHMIDT,
Nicholson portrays Warren R. Schmidt- a recently retired man who discovers
that his existence was defined by his job. Suddenly widowed, Schmidt
undertakes an oftentimes-amusing and oftentimes melancholy journey of
self-discovery to bring some meaning into his life. Trying to reconnect
with his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis), Schmidt travels to Colorado for
her wedding, but almost completely alienates Jeannie when he tries to
convince her that her fiancé Randall (Dermot Mulroney) isn’t quite good
enough for her. ABOUT SCHMIDT also features a spirited performance
from Kathy Bates as a future in-law, as well as some fine support from
June Squibb, Howard Hesseman, Harry Groener, Connie Ray and Len Cariou.
New
Line Home Entertainment has made of ABOUT SCHMIDT available on DVD
in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic
enhancement for 16:9 displays. As a New Line title, ABOUT SCHMIDT
has been given a terrific looking transfer, even if the film’s
cinematography is purposely flat and subdued looking. The image usually
appears sharp and offers as much visual detail as the original photography
will allow. Colors tend to be fairly bland and uninspired, although flesh
tones do come across in a realistic and natural fashion. There is no
chroma noise or smearing to mar the reproduction of even the strongest
hues. Blacks are solid, whites are crisp and the picture produces a good
level of shadow detail. The film element used for the transfer appears
virtually pristine and whatever grain is present, is rather minute.
Digital compression artifacts are completely concealed.
ABOUT
SCHMIDT features 5.1 channel soundtracks in the flavors of Dolby
Digital and DTS. Given the dialogue driven nature of the material, DTS is
probably overkill, but it is still nice that New Line chose to include it
on the DVD. The forward soundstage is where much of the film lives and
breathes, but the surrounds to add a spatial quality to the mix. Fidelity
is excellent, with the track creating convincing sonic environments, as
well as smoothly rendering the musical component. The bass channel imparts
just enough lows to get the job done. Dialogue is completely
understandable and the voices are rendered with a nicely natural timbre.
DTS has a bit more sonic warmth than Dolby Digital, but otherwise the
soundtracks are pretty much the same. An English Dolby Surround track is
also encoded onto the DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a few extras. There are nine deleted/extended
scenes on the disc, each of which contain a text explanation from director
Alexander Payne, as to why it was removed/shortened from the theatrical
release version of ABOUT SCHMIDT. There are also five different Woodmen
Tower Sequences on the disc; these are culled from the extensive
amount of footage shot for the film’s opening, which was turned over to
the assistant editors for their own unique "take" on the
material. A theatrical trailer, plus bonus trailers close out the extras.
ABOUT
SCHMIDT is a rather unique and enjoyable film that features great
performances from Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates. As expected, New Line
provides a great DVD presentation for the film, as well as some
interesting extras. If you are a Nicholson fan, ABOUT SCHMIDT is
definitely a DVD to investigate. Recommended.
Before
I go any further, I have to admit that I’ve always been in favor of nude
scenes in the cinema, but ABOUT SCHMIDT ($20) contains a bit of
nudity that I could have lived without. Getting back to the film at hand, ABOUT
SCHMIDT is a film that serves an interesting character study,
featuring a brilliant performance by Jack Nicholson. In ABOUT SCHMIDT,
Nicholson portrays Warren R. Schmidt- a recently retired man who discovers
that his existence was defined by his job. Suddenly widowed, Schmidt
undertakes an oftentimes-amusing and oftentimes melancholy journey of
self-discovery to bring some meaning into his life. Trying to reconnect
with his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis), Schmidt travels to Colorado for
her wedding, but almost completely alienates Jeannie when he tries to
convince her that her fiancé Randall (Dermot Mulroney) isn’t quite good
enough for her. ABOUT SCHMIDT also features a spirited performance
from Kathy Bates as a future in-law, as well as some fine support from
June Squibb, Howard Hesseman, Harry Groener, Connie Ray and Len Cariou.
New
Line Home Entertainment has made of ABOUT SCHMIDT available on DVD
in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic
enhancement for 16:9 displays. As a New Line title, ABOUT SCHMIDT
has been given a terrific looking transfer, even if the film’s
cinematography is purposely flat and subdued looking. The image usually
appears sharp and offers as much visual detail as the original photography
will allow. Colors tend to be fairly bland and uninspired, although flesh
tones do come across in a realistic and natural fashion. There is no
chroma noise or smearing to mar the reproduction of even the strongest
hues. Blacks are solid, whites are crisp and the picture produces a good
level of shadow detail. The film element used for the transfer appears
virtually pristine and whatever grain is present, is rather minute.
Digital compression artifacts are completely concealed.
ABOUT
SCHMIDT features 5.1 channel soundtracks in the flavors of Dolby
Digital and DTS. Given the dialogue driven nature of the material, DTS is
probably overkill, but it is still nice that New Line chose to include it
on the DVD. The forward soundstage is where much of the film lives and
breathes, but the surrounds to add a spatial quality to the mix. Fidelity
is excellent, with the track creating convincing sonic environments, as
well as smoothly rendering the musical component. The bass channel imparts
just enough lows to get the job done. Dialogue is completely
understandable and the voices are rendered with a nicely natural timbre.
DTS has a bit more sonic warmth than Dolby Digital, but otherwise the
soundtracks are pretty much the same. An English Dolby Surround track is
also encoded onto the DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a few extras. There are nine deleted/extended
scenes on the disc, each of which contain a text explanation from director
Alexander Payne, as to why it was removed/shortened from the theatrical
release version of ABOUT SCHMIDT. There are also five different Woodmen
Tower Sequences on the disc; these are culled from the extensive
amount of footage shot for the film’s opening, which was turned over to
the assistant editors for their own unique "take" on the
material. A theatrical trailer, plus bonus trailers close out the extras.
ABOUT
SCHMIDT is a rather unique and enjoyable film that features great
performances from Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates. As expected, New Line
provides a great DVD presentation for the film, as well as some
interesting extras. If you are a Nicholson fan, ABOUT SCHMIDT is
definitely a DVD to investigate. Recommended.
