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Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones star in Entrapment, an edge-of-your-seat techno-thriller with plot twists around every corner. After the theft of a high-profile piece of artwork, Gin, an insurance agent, convinces her employers that it is the work of an old but very experienced art thief, Mac. So Gin goes undercover offering an irresistible proposition to Mac, the theft of an exquisite mask. But Mac is not one to trust another thief lightly and insists on rigorous training. Their deepening distrust threatens to destroy the partnership, but the promise of an even bigger take – a phenomenal 8 billion dollars – keeps them working together. But who’s playing who? Director Jon Amiel has had a checkered past with some of his films, but Entrapment flows effortlessly and works well with good casting, a fun story and more than enough action and suspense to keep you enthralled until the end.
Entrapment SE’s video quality is excellent and is one of the major differences between the standard and Special Editions. A new 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer was created which has superb detail and clarity with almost no film grain or chroma noise. Object edges are smooth and pleasing without visible aliasing, while color graduations are even and rich. Black levels are well calibrated while dirt and lint are practically non-existent. Overall I felt the transfer was a little dark, though that could have been intentional. The dual-layered discs contains 24 chapters with the layer change occurring at 2 minutes into chapter 8, or 0:44.19 into the movie. 7.9 gigabytes of data is stored on the DVD.
The 5.1 audio on this disc is a mixed bag. While the orchestral score is crisp and clear with good dynamic range throughout, I found dialogue track to be very inconsistent during the first half of the film. Some recordings appeared to be sampled at a very low rate or had noticeable background noise, while most others appeared to be poorly mastered overdubs or takes where the original quality level was not maintained. Almost as if they decided to rewrite the story after it was filmed. This is one DVD you will not want to use as an audio reference or for demonstrations. In addition to the Dolby Digital 5.1 track the disc also includes both English and French 2.0 Surround versions, plus English and Spanish subtitles.
As a special edition disc, Entrapment includes a number of extras. First is a full-length director’s commentary with Jon Amiel. It’s quite interesting and provides a lot of technical details and humor for anyone interested in the integral workings of producing a movie. Next is a 13 minute featurette in full-screen video and 2.0 audio which delves behind the scenes, but ends all too quickly. Continuing are three deleted scenes, including an extended car chase, hotel room break-in and a much shorter ending. All have optional director’s commentary, which is a good thing since they otherwise play with nothing more than sound effects. Also included is one of the most complete theatrical trailer and TV spot archives I’ve seen, with two trailers and five TV spots, all in 2.0 audio and 1.85:1 video. Finally, you’ll find cast and crew biographies, text production notes, static scene selection screens and some pretty nifty animated menus which you can navigate in "normal", "nightvision" or "wireframe" modes.
Although this is the second release of Entrapment on DVD, not enough special features are included to make it a worthwhile upgrade from the standard edition. However, the anamorphic video transfer is a beautiful thing and certainly makes this a worthwhile purchase over the older release if you have not yet purchased.
- Reviewed by Daniel Tonks on May 29, 2000.
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System Equipment
Sony DVP-S500D DVD Player
Sony STR-GA8ES 5.1 Receiver
Sony 32" XBR250 WEGA TV using Component
Nuance Spatial Baby Grand 3E & StarSat
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