Magnolia is a spectacular film which details the
lives of around ten people over a few days. The basis of the film is to demonstrate the
relationships shared between these people.
Although it would be almost impossible to give an outline of the film plot I can say I
am impressed by the character portrayal and the fine array of acting on offer here. A
standout performance is given by Tom Cruise, who plays the controversial self exteen
mentor T.J. Mackey.
T.J. Mackeys male conferences titled "Seduce and Destroy" are the basis of
any real comedy in the film.
I can also commend the performances from Julianne Moore, William H Macy, and Phillip
Seymour Hoffman. Although at the same time I have to say that the entire cast is an
incredible array of talent.
The climax of the film is certainly something you will not forget. The bringing
together of the characters in so many different and touching ways was certainly a
masterpiece from P.T.Anderson.
So how does this transfer hold up?
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VIDEO
To top off a brilliant script is an almost flawless 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
transfer. Image detail is nothing short of perfect. Sharp concise images with
deep dark shadows that lose no detail whatsoever.
The colour pallette is perfect for this film where some sublte and effective colouring
is needed for emotional effect this is delivered. There are no extremely bright scenes in
the film so the colour pallette is predominantly dark deep and rich colours which blend
beautifully with the on screen action.
There are no film or MPEG artefacts, and no grain.
The only criticism I have of this transfer is some minor ailiasing and some almost
nonexistent edge enhancement. With the sharpness and quality of this transfer it is to be
expected to at least get some slight ailiasing.
Overall thoughthis is a spectacular transfer.
AUDIO
Also a fantastic Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track.
The film is predominantly dialogue based and this is sharp clear and easy to understand
at all times. The audio seems to be recorded a little louder than usual and gave me a bit
of a scare when it first started.
The soundtrack from Jon Brion and Aimee Mann, is a quality collection of Jazz/Blues
style Background Music and songs from Aimee Mann give a bit of a push to the score when
needed to get an overall feeling to the lives of all the characters in the film.
The surround channels are used quite frequently to support the score and enhance sound
effects. The Base channel is a little quiet at times but when it kicks in you’ll know
about it!
A great score and a great audio transfer.
EXTRAS
This is a big list of features but really not much substance to speak of.
- Theatrical Trailer
- Teaser
- The full T.J. Mackey infomercial, which I must say is very tactless.
- The full T.J Mackey seminar which has been cut from the film.
- T.V Spots, 9 promo’s squeezed into less than 5 minutes.
- Music Video : Save Me (Aimee Man)
- Making of Documentary, While this is quite a long doc it falls short in explaining any
of the sequences or footage shown. It is basically left for the viewer to determine what
is going on here. This could have been better presented with a voice over from the
director which gives some sort of insight into the making of the film.
- Colour Bars (ffwd about 1 minute into them :)
In all I can highly recommend this film for a great transfer bothe video and audio and
a masterpiece of a script.
| PICTURE
QUALITY |
9.5/10 excellent |
SOUND
- Quality
- 5.1 WOW Factor |
8.5/10 basically dialogue driven
7.5/10 you’ll know it when it kicks in |
| EXTRAS |
7/10 not too shabby |
| OVERALL |
9/10 prized in my collection |
Review Equipment
TV: GE 68cm (16:9 selectable)
DVD: Samsung DVD909 (via S-Video)
Receiver: Yamaha DTS RX-V595a (Sweeeeet)
Speakers:-
Fronts: Wharfdale Diamond R6 (on a pair of custom made stands you'd KILL for)
Centre: Venturi
Rears: Sony bookshelf
- Reviewed 6th December 2000
* Magnolia jpeg files for
internet promotion use only. Copyright© exists on all aspects of these files by Roadshow
Entertainment
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