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Dom Robinson reviews 
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 2735601000
- Running time: 114 minutes
- Year: 2004
- Pressing: 2005
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 32 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English
- Widescreen: 2.35:1 (J-D-C Scope)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Director’s commentary, Deleted scenes, Gag reel
Director:
- Bill Condon
(Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh, Dreamgirls, Kinsey)
Producer:
- Gail Mutrux
Screenplay:
- Bill Condon
Music :
- Carter Burwell
Cast :
- Alfred Kinsey: Liam Neeson
Clara McMillen: Laura Linney
Wardell Pomeroy: Chris O’Donnell
Clyde Martin: Peter Sarsgaard
Paul Gebhard: Timothy Hutton
Alfred Seguine Kinsey: John Lithgow
Thurman Rice: Tim Curry
Herman Wells: Oliver Platt
Alan Gregg: Dylan Baker
Alice Martin: Julianne Nicholson
Kenneth Braun: William Sadler
Huntingdon Hartford: John McMartin
Sara Kinsey: Veronica Cartwright
Agnes Gebhard: Dagmara Dominczyk
Huntington Hartford: John McMartin
Let’s talk about sex.
Sounds like something that’ll get your attention, right? Well, it’s the only thing that has a chance in this drama about the Professor Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson), from Indiana University, who published his study of “Sexual Behaviour in the Human Male” in 1948, following years of research asking scores of questions to as many men as he could, literally dedicating his life to the project of this, one for the women and however many other options he could think of for a society that was so repressed many believed that wanking makes you go blind (only temporarily if misdirected), that gay sex was a rarity and that sex in total only happened between married folk.
Kinsey is told in flashback while he is questioned about his own sex life, using the methods he created, by those he is trying to train in the job. We see his getting married to Clara McMillen (Laura Linney), we learn that both Kinsey and Clara are virgins and they have a problem: he’s got a big cock and her vagina’s too tight. Seeking advice on this helps him to develop his technique of establishing a person’s sexual history and give out sexual advice himself.
We see him taking a stand against his overbearing father (John Lithgow), when aged 19, and that the professor starts a study of both hetero- and homosexual behaviour and it gets to the point where Kinsey himself starts to bat for the other side, which thus affects his marriage.
One thing looks a little odd – we see Kinsey at 14 and in the ‘present day’, both times when with his father and they don’t really attempt to make Liam Neeson look any younger than we know he is (53 this year). On the one hand, this looks odd as they could be brothers in the ‘present day’, but on the other we know how old they really are so let’s just get on with it and concentrate on the content instead. Later on, he does get shown to be older, moreso for Laura Linney.
Sadly, despite the topic, there’s nothing more likely to give you a floppy than this movie. It’s a very plodding drama and really never seems to get going, but I continued to watch in the hope that something would happen. It’s a shame this film wasn’t much cop given the talent on parade from the likes of Liam Neeson, Timothy Hutton, John Lithgow, Oliver Platt, William Sadler and an underused Tim Curry.
Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, the print looks mostly spot-in, although there are a few scenes where it looks a little jerky as the camera pans across a scene. As for the sound, the only use of the 5.1 soundtrack comes in the overlapping voices just after the first hour as Kinsey’s study gets underway fully. Other than that, it’s a straight-forward drama with little else going on from the speakers.
The extras are few and far between. A director’s commentary from Bill Condon, 21 deleted and extended scenes (totalling 24 mins, albeit with an option for their own commentary) including the original ending which does nothing to titilate the senses and a 3-minute Gag Reel, or Outtakes to you and me. If I wanted to play the completist I’d say the disc also includes ‘Inside Look’ featurettes for the desert-a-thon Kingdom of Heaven and the outstanding Sideways, but they’re nothing to do with Kinsey so I won’t.
If you enjoyed this movie in the cinema, it may be worth another look, but given the lack of extras it’s not a particular keeper at full price. Bear in mind that it’s the decent picture and average sound that’s propping up the overall rating.
The main menu features a few brief clips from the movie but it’s highly repetitive. Subtitles are in English only and the dialogue is similar but with options for both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. Usually, I’d say it’s good to include both but, sadly, this isn’t a film that takes advantage of the format. There are 32 chapters to the movie.
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.