Ceasar (To Corky) - What did you do to her?? (To Violet) - What did she do to you??

VIOLET (Spitefully) Everything you couldn't!!

Ouch!!! That's just a taste of what you can expect from BOUND, and when you think you know what it's about, the plot changes. The Wachowksi brothers have come up with a film that could have only been matched (maybe) by the Coen Brothers and many comparisons have actually been made between them as film makers. It's pretty scary to think that for a directorial debut this is what Larry and Andy came up with 'cause it's the sort of film that you'll never forget. They've thrown everything but the kitchen sink into this film....no wait that's in there too..sorry about that. The only problem with this film is whether you can place it within a single genre. It's Film Noir, Psychological Thriller, Action, a bit of a porn, and it's bloody funny, in a twisted way.

Ceasar (Joe Pantoliano) works for the Mafia, or the business as he calls it, he lives with Violet (Jennifer Tilly). Corky (Gina Gershon) a recent ex-con is renovating the apartments for Ceasar's boss. Violet takes a liking to Corky, an takes it upon herself to pursue Corky,(this is where the porn but comes into it...is it getting hot in here!! Okay so it's not REALLY porn but it certainly warranted the R-Rating for it's Australian release, which is actually the same as the Unrated version on review here).

During their bedroom romps, Ceasar "takes care" of an inside job where a fellow mob employee has stolen over 2 million dollars from the mob. This allows for some rather gratuitous violence (you'll never look at toilet bowl the same way again) resulting in Ceasar having to clean a paper grocery bag full of blood soaked money and at the same time gives Violet an idea. She and Corky co-conspire to steal the money, blame Ceasar, and run off to start a new life together. But remember this is a mafia movie created by the Wachowksi Brothers so things don't go quite according to plan...Don't you just love it. Saying anymore would ruin the experience of seeing this eye-popping movie (okay so I lied, that's probably the only thing that ISN'T in this film).

Okay, so how does this DVD transfer hold up?
I loved this movie in every way, shape and form. This transfer is terrific, even if not 16:9 Enhanced.
Unlike Republic's DVD release of Highlander, this THX approved (laser disc) transfer holds up very well indeed. The movie contains what could have been some very difficult images to transfer from film, but succeeded despite this. The interior walls of Ceasar's apartment are a very deep reds and greens, with rich coloured timbers. The only time it stands out is, well, through the whole movie, the colours are so strong you can't help but look intensely, while the colours are rock solid, there is a very slight Pixilation, that really only rears its' ugly head when not the area in focus, so for that I can forgive...and seeing as this is complemented by a DD5.1 soundtrack this movie has a lot to offer.

There is an extremely good sound mix for this film and rear channels are used very well. The sounds that you would and should expect to be there, are. For instance, In one scene where Corky is standing outside about to enter the apartment, the sound of an elevated train, can be heard out the RHS rear channel and it come across so naturally that you may not realise it as at first, initally for me it sounded as though it was coming from outside. But after watching this movie a few times you pick up even more of these subtleties, and it is definitely the sort of film that deserves many viewings. The only niggle I have about this soundtrack is that it has been recorded far to low. I set my Volume at -10dB rather than the usual -20 or -18bD, but once at this level you can do nothing but enjoy the wonderful integration of this sound and visual feast.

The movie also contains a pretty simple picture based menu, a trailer which is a bit of fun, and a Running Commentary featuring The Brothers, Jennifer Tilly, and Gina Gershon that is a real humm-dinger.

PICTURE QUALITY (3.5/5...great, but not enhanced)
SOUND QUALITY (4/5...a very nice mix, but recorded too low)

Features: Unrated, Letterbox, AC-3 Languages: English (DD5.1), French (DD5.1), Subtitles: Spanish, Region Code: 1, Chapters: 33, Running Time: 109 minutes.

Review Equipment: TV: Mitsubishi DIVA 68cm TV, DVD: Samsung DVD905, Receiver: Marantz SR870, Speakers: B&W 602's (front), Sony (rears). Cinema Chairs (Gilberton Recliners....okay so there not REALLY cinema chairs but they're very comfy..)