Shining Through

• Cert:
• Cat.no: 05661 DVD
• Running time: 127 minutes
• Year: 1992
• Pressing: 2001
• Region(s): 2, PAL
• Chapters: 15 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: 11 languages available
• Widescreen: 2.35:1
• 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: Yes
• Disc Format: DVD 9
• Price: £15.99
• Extras: Trailer, Featurette, Video Clips of Cast and Crew

Director:

David Seltzer

(Lucas, Punchline, Shining Through)

Producer:

Screenplay:

(based on the novel by Susan Isaacs)

Music:

Cast:

Ed Leland: Michael Douglas
Linda Voss: Melanie Griffith
Franze-Otto Dietrich: Liam Neeson
Margrete Von Eberstien: Joely Richardson
Sunflower: John Gielgud
Dietrich’s daughter: Victoria Shalet

Shining Throughis one of those cheesy thrillers, with occasional corny dialogue, that shouldn’twork but somehow does.

Set during World War II, in 1940, Ed Leland (Michael Douglas) hiresLinda Voss (Melanie Griffith) as his new secretary, but little by littleshe twigs that he’s actually a spy and persuades him to help her go undercoverin a bid to stop dastardly German official Franze-Otto Dietrich (Liam Neeson)by ingratiating herself into his family as a maid and then seeing what developsfrom there (other than the pictures taken with her spy camera).

Told in flashback, as being recorded for a BBC documentary, the wartimedepictions of life at the time seem depressingly realistic but I’m sure somehistorian would pick holes in it. The film also stars Joely Richardson,Brit child actress Victoria Shalet (The Queen’s Nose) as Neeson’sdaughter and the late John Gielgud as German spy Sunflower, completewith dodgy accent.

There’s a reasonable chemistry between Douglas and Griffith, this being theirfirst film together according to the trailer, but would you believe MelanieGriffith as a spy prying deep into places where she shouldn’t? No, neither canI but it’s two hours of entertaining fluff.

One of the corniest lines of dialogue in Shining Through comeswhen Griffith says: “I know it was on a Friday when Ed and I said goodbye,because the next day was Saturday…”. Hmm…

The film is presented in the original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio and is anamorphic.Most of the time it looks very good with the occasional print fleck and scratch,but while it has an overall feel that lacks impact, I think that’s intentionalgiven that it’s a period piece.

Soundwise, it’s thankfully been given a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Itdoesn’t get used a great deal most of the time, but Michael Kamen‘sclassical score is impressive.

There are some extras, but they are scant. Starting with a 4:3 Trailerrunning for 2 minutes, a 4-minute Featurette which blends in clips fromthe film with a few comments from the cast and crew, as well as Video Clipsof Cast and Crew, ie. more of the same soundbites in extended form, butonly lasting one or two minutes apiece for a few people.

There are only 15 chapters which isn’t enough for a 2hr+ film, menus are staticbut the main one contains a snippet of the score over the top and there aresubtitles in 11 languages: Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic,Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish and English for the hearing impaired.

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