You wouldn't know this movie is a success by this DVD transfer. There is something seriously wrong here. Any scene shot in slow motion has major interlacing problems. This same flaw required a voluntary recall of Monty Python discs a few years ago. The rest of the film is fine in this regard. When at full speed however, grain is overly heavy, compression artifacts litter the screen, and any fine detail is blotted out. This is almost as depressing as the film itself. (**)
There's little to the audio punch except a few shots of bass from the soundtrack. There's no rear speaker use anywhere. It's dialogue driven all the way, and it's been mixed so every line can be heard. That's usually something a 5.1 mix will fail with, but this one gets it right. (***)
Extras are sparse, possibly for the better to leave the film with the viewer to make their own calls. The commentary, with Haggis, Don Cheadle, and producer Bobby Maresco is informative without forcing their thoughts. Before that, you're probably supposed to watch the wasteful 15-second introduction from Haggis as he welcomes you to the DVD. The brief behind-the-scenes feature is generic praising of everyone involved for 10-minutes. The special features are over after some trailers and a music video. (**)
Even with some of the bigger stars involved here, Crash cost a meager $6.5 million to create. Though that hardly sounds cheap (it is though), it's amazing what a film that barely registers a blip on a Hollywood financial statement can accomplish. In a perfect world, it would change people, but that's unlikely to be the result. Still, it's a powerful, unforgettable piece, as close to perfection as it could be.
Article comments
1 - Chris Beaumont
This was an absolutely womderful movie!
Sounds like the DVD is flagged improperly to cause those issues.
2 - Triniman
Crash is one of my top ten films for the year, and there's still four more months to go. Hopefully, the director will get recognized around awards time and more people will see it.