Sleeping Dictionary (DVD)

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One of the first films that came to mind after watching "The Sleeping Dictionary" was the enthralling 1986 drama "The Mission", starring Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons. Both films portray the colonization of foreign lands by Europeans, and both films condemn the maddening arrogance and hypocrisy of Europeans who think that they had "the white man´s burden" to destroy anything that did not conform to European norms. It is interesting to note that while "The Mission" featured benevolent 18th century Jesuit missionaries fighting the enslavement of natives as opposed to a scholarly 20th century English administrator fighting for a relationship with a native girl, the underlying political message that can be taken from both films is the same. One unanswered question, however, is whether the makers of "The Sleeping Dictionary" wanted deliberately to relay this message or if it was simply used as a device to further the theme of forbidden love. Unlike "The Mission", it is unfortunate that "Dictionary" does not go a step further and explore why self-proclaimed "civilized" nations (like Great Britain) dismissively considered other ethnicities (such as the Iban) as lesser beings. Several scenes with the Bullard family scratch the surface of this issue, but the film itself fails to examine these racist attitudes with much thought.

Video:
The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation of "The Sleeping Dictionary" is nearly flawless. The breathtaking cinematography gets its just due with the fantastic transfer to DVD. Beautifully filmed lush jungle vistas come through crisply and cleanly, and there are virtually no grain issues. I personally loved how the numerous dimly-lit evening scenes (which could easily have looked indistinct and muddy) came through extremely well and with vibrant colors. If there is a criticism about this DVD, it won´t be about its picture.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English audio track is good if woefully underused when it comes to anything other than the music. The tribal soundtrack´s percussion comes through nicely via the rear speakers to augment the front soundstage, and other musical cues resonate pleasantly throughout the room from all channels. Sounds of wilderness ambience, rain, and village noises are, however, very sparse when it comes to the rear speakers. Aside from a few gunshots and sounds during scattered parts of the movie, the rear satellites are wasted, and I couldn´t help but wonder why the digital surround technology wasn´t more liberally utilized for this DVD.

The soundtrack also comes in DTS 5.1 English (which might address some of my concerns about the default DD 5.1 track) and DD 2.0 surround English. Optional English subtitles and English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
Given its direct-to-video nature, "The Sleeping Dictionary" arrives on DVD with a paltry selection of bonus materials. There is a trailer for the movie, and there are trailers for four other New Line features. Other than the trailers and some basic DVD-ROM features (the likes of which can be found on most New Line DVDs), there is really nothing to see.

--Miscellaneous--
A glossy insert provides chapter listings.

Film Value:
"The Sleeping Dictionary" is one of those films that is worth a viewing, but it will never be remembered as a great production (in part because of the B-movie stigma that comes with being released straight to video). The movie is not especially bad in any major way; it sports incredible cinematography and a dependable cast of relative (primarily British) unknowns. However, the story is straightforward, formulaic, and somewhat shallow. Some viewers may find the film´s pace to be arduous even with its 109-minute runtime. Essentially, this is a by-the-numbers romantic drama, and fans of this genre (or of Jessica Alba) might want to give this movie a look.

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