Skip to content
- Cert:
- Cat.no: EDV 9042
- Running time: 115 minutes
- Year: 2000
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 32 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.0, Dolby Surround
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English
- Widescreen: 1.85:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras : Theatrical Trailer, Cast and Crew info,Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary
Director:
- Ben Younger
Producers:
- Suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd
Screenplay:
- Ben Younger
Music:
- The Angel
Cast:
- Seth Davis: Giovanni Ribisi
Chris: Vin Diesel
Abby: Nia Long
Greg: Nicky Katt
Richie: Scott Caan
Judge Marty Davis: Ron Rifkin
Adam: Jamie Kennedy
Harry Reynard: Taylor Nichols
Michael: Tom Everett Scott
Jim Young: Ben Affleck
Who wants to be a millionaire?
Everyone who comes to work in the Boiler Room at J.T. Marlin, that’s who, the firm wherestockbrokers can become a millionaire within three years and then the sky’sthe limit as far as your potential earnings can go.
That’s the attraction that gets the attention of entrepreneur Seth Davis(Giovanni Ribisi, most recently seen as Nicolas Cage’s brother inGone in 60 Seconds),who has spent some time running a casino from hisapartment and apparently getting away with this illegal gambling venture,but he has to pay the rent somehow. His father, Judge Marty Davis(Ron Rifkin), is always at odds with him and in his eyes Seth is notgoing to win the prize for ‘Son of the year’.
So, enter the world of the job that wins for everyone. J.T. Marlin is thestockbroking firm where a fortune can be made for the workers, the clientsand even the sexy secretary Abby (Nia Long) is on $80,000 per year.The staff include the good – Chris (Pitch Black‘s Vin Diesel), the bad -Greg (Nicky Katt) and the ugly – Richie (Scott Caan).
Before long though, Seth finds out that all is not fair on the trading floorand one, two or more of the employees are up to some dodgy dealings to rivalthose of “Nasty Nick”, the truth of which could bring the company crashingdown to its knees if the FBI were to get word of this.
I’ll say no more on that other than Don’t watch the trailer before yousee the film, as it will spoil everything for you.
I have to take issue with the comment from Rolling Stone on the cover thatstates “Ben Affleck has never been better”. He does put on a good show,but is (a) just repeating the spiel heard by director Ben Younger whenhe spent a year in a “Boiler Room”, (b) only appears for about five minutesin the two-hour film as he recruits and instructs the new trainees and(c) Giovanni Ribisi is the real find here.
Presented in the original 1.85:1 ratio and anamorphic, the picture lookssuperb with artifacts undetectable and the blue tinge adapted into the’boiler room’ atmosphere being rendered perfectly.The average bitrate is a fairly steady 6.37Mb/s for most of the film.
A well-constructed score aids in the atmosphere as the heat piles on for thosewho are trying to do the right thing. The back cover and theInternet Movie Databaseboth state a sound format of Dolby Digital 5,1, but the LFE channel on myamplifier (Sony STR-DB 930) isn’t highlighted, so it must be DD5.0.
Extras :We begin with the Theatrical Trailer which you shouldn’t watch beforeseeing the film and Cast and Crew info which provides filmographiesfor most main cast members and the director.
The Deleted Scenes is where the 18-cert comes in, I presume since theBBFC haven’t yet mentioned these on their website at the time of writing,for the one labelled Hotel Room Party, as the rest of the film has beenrated a 15-certificate.
Finally, we have a feature-length Audio Commentary from co-producerSuzanne Todd, writer/director Ben Younger, female composerThe Angel and actor Giovanni Ribisi.
What we are missing though is the feature-length isolated score fromThe Angel.
There’s a good number of chapters with 32 here, although, again, somestupidhead has attempted to mark the time points at which each chapterbreak occurs. Why??!
Subtitles are available in English and the menus contain music with somesubtle animation.
Overall, this is an almost-first-rate DVD from Entertainment in Video,which isn’t something that can often be said. The film lived up to all myexpectations and never lets up on the pace.
The only thing we lose out on is the isolated score, but if you’re notfussed about that then this is an absolute must-buy.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.