DVDfever.co.uk

404: Page not found

It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search or one of the links below?

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Tags

Andy Serkis Batman Benedict Cumberbatch call of duty Calvin Harris Chris Hemsworth Dave Bautista doctor who Domhnall Gleeson doom Drake E3 2017 E3 2018 Ed Sheeran grand theft auto Grand Theft Auto V GTA gta 5 gta5 gta v Idris Elba Inside No.9 Jenna Coleman Jennifer Lawrence Jess Glynne Justin Bieber los santos Michael Fassbender Murray Gold Oscar Isaac Peter Capaldi Reece Shearsmith rockstar Sam Smith Samuel L. Jackson Scarlett Johansson Sia Stan Lee Stanley Tucci star wars Steven Moffat Steve Pemberton Taylor Swift Toby Jones Woody Harrelson

Pages

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com

Dom Robinson reviews


Pretty Woman

Special Edition Director's Cut

Distributed by
Pioneer Entertainment Europe

Pretty Woman is the romantic comedy which put Julia Roberts on the Hollywood map and features her as a "working girl" who attracts the attention of wealthy corporate mogul Richard Gere, resulting in a modern-day Cinderella fantasy which set box-offices alight on its theatrical run in 1990, with more sales to come on its video release that Christmas.

There can't be many movie lovers who haven't heard of it, but the version being reviewed here, though, is not available on video and is the Special Edition Director's Cut which has an extra five minutes of previously unseen footage including extra dialogue, extended musical sections and additional shots in some scenes. It is also the first time this film has been available in widescreen on PAL format.

The picture quality here is rather disappointing, giving it a terribly hazy look all over as if it's a below-average NTSC-to-PAL conversion or a bad pirated video tape about to break into a Macrovision-frenzy, except for the overlaid titles. I had to check my system setup as it's not the usual standard one expects from Pioneer who mostly turn out excellent transfers, but since the lettering of the credits don't suffer this problem then I know it's not my fault.

The surround soundmix is fine though. Mostly a combination of dialogue, a bit of ambience and plenty of music, but it's not particularly pushed to the limit. The soundtrack sold many a CD and the tunes on show here come from Go West (The King Of Wishful Thinking), David Bowie (Fame '90), Natalie Cole (Wild Women Do), Roy Orbison (Oh, Pretty Woman), Roxette (It Must Have Been Love) and even a piano solo written and performed by Richard Gere.

There are just 18 chapters to the film and it ought to have more. The first is labelled "Opening Credits" but those don't kick in for a while and there isn't a separate chapter for the closing credits either, not to mention the lack of a trailer or any interview material.

This film doesn't need too much explanation given its worldwide popularity. It's a mildly entertaining way to spend two hours, but is not the must-see that many people would have you believe.

Overall, one wonders what's so "special" about this edition. Yes it contains an extra five minutes of material not previously seen in the UK, plus it is in the correct 1.85:1 widescreen ratio, but with a lack of any extras and not too many chapters Pioneer should have retitled it "Pretty Woman: Director's Cut" and left it at that. Also, according to the Internet Movie Database the NTSC Director's Cut Laserdisc release contains a total of 15 minutes extra material, as well as a director's commentary, so how come UK consumers only get five minutes and it is still considered the Director's Cut?

However, for a penny under £20 it's cheaper than a night with Julia Roberts, although I prefer Shelley Michelle, the model who doubles for most, if not all, of her non-facial body shots including the front cover, also used on the cinema poster and video where the only part of Ms. Roberts on show is above Richard Gere's tie. 

FILM	 		: ***
PICTURE QUALITY		: ***
SOUND QUALITY		: ****
EXTRAS			: 0
-------------------------------
OVERALL			: **½

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1998.

Check out Pioneer's Web site.

[Up to the top of this page]

Page Not Found - DVDfever.co.uk

DVDfever.co.uk

404: Page not found

It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search or one of the links below?

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Tags

Andy Serkis Batman Benedict Cumberbatch call of duty Calvin Harris Chris Hemsworth Dave Bautista doctor who Domhnall Gleeson doom Drake E3 2017 E3 2018 Ed Sheeran grand theft auto Grand Theft Auto V GTA gta 5 gta5 gta v Idris Elba Inside No.9 Jenna Coleman Jennifer Lawrence Jess Glynne Justin Bieber los santos Michael Fassbender Murray Gold Oscar Isaac Peter Capaldi Reece Shearsmith rockstar Sam Smith Samuel L. Jackson Scarlett Johansson Sia Stan Lee Stanley Tucci star wars Steven Moffat Steve Pemberton Taylor Swift Toby Jones Woody Harrelson

Pages

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com