Veronica Guerin DVD Review

Written by Matt Paprocki
Published March 08, 2005
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Overkill is the word for the audio. This is not a film that needs a DTS mix in any form, but it got one. Both the 5.1 and DTS tracks are solid, though there's not very much to listen to besides dialogue. There are a few pieces of the soundtrack that hammer home some bass and crowded areas offer some nice immersion, but that's it. It's no fault of the mix; it's just not a movie that needs major digital audio to work. (***)

The extras here are solid, just not incredible. "Public Mask. Private Fears" leads the way as a decent making-of. It doesn't focus on the movie completely, branching off to the real people in Veronica's life, including co-workers and her brother. The interviews are obviously taken from a different documentary. Still, those segments are brief and most of it is filled with interviews from Schumacher, Jerry Bruckheimer and Blanchett. In a smart move, they spend more time talking about the real woman then the movie version. The entire thing runs about thirteen minutes.

"A Conversation with Jerry Bruckheimer" isn't so much a conversation as it is a scene specific commentary. Clips of the movie play while he discusses his personal thoughts and some questions posed to him. In total, there are around twenty minutes of scenes.

There are two audio commentaries that run through the whole movie. Joel Schumacher leads the first one by himself while his writers, Carol Doyle and Mary Donoghue, take over the second. There is one deleted scene, an award ceremony from the Committee to Protect Journalists. If only having one deleted scene sounds odd, it has a purpose.

The actual video of the real event is the next feature. Blanchett copied the real life Guerin perfectly, almost word for word. Why the scene was cut from the film doesn't make much sense considering a little more running time would have been nice. The final extra is a "Producer's Photo Gallery," something Bruckheimer does with every film he works on. He narrates each one. It runs for seven minutes. The one thing missing from this disc is a documentary dedicated solely to Guerin herself. It's a shame one wasn't included. (***)

Though trying to find information on the real Guerin is tough since the movie came out and the internet is filled reviews for it, it's worth tracking it down if you're interested. Here's a nice link to a brief biography. It's probably better heading off to the library though. There's far more information on the movie out there and it's just easier to pick up a book.


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Matt Paprocki is the former reviews editor for Digital Press. The deep game collection, which spans nearly 30 systems and 2,000 games, lines his walls for research purposes. Matt strives to bring credibility to video game journalism, and to aid the industry in becoming respected with all forms of entertainment media. He currently freelances for GameArgus.com and MultiPlayerGames.com.
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Veronica Guerin DVD Review
Published: March 08, 2005
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Section: Video
Filed Under: Video: Drama, Video: Suspense and Mystery, Video: Thriller
Writer: Matt Paprocki
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