Born Rich (DVD)

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Ultimately, while coming in I wasn´t too curious about the lives of those born into wealth; "Born Rich" was able to bring some sympathy into their story. Johnson paints a picture of humanity on a group that are often seen on a pedestal and stereotyped. While many of those preconceptions are supported, like the subjects´ lack of attachment to how the majority sees the world, we find they are human. A neat diversion but ultimately forgettable.

Video:
Johnson takes his camera to a wide variety of locations to capture his subjects and this DVD does a fine job of recreating the experience. The interior shots are well-lit and the definition of color and shadow are perfectly serviceable. The exterior shots, from the stables to the shops of Times Square, are richly reproduced. Grain isn´t a problem and there aren´t any instances of print damage that I noticed. The short feature doesn´t have a problem with compression, either.

Audio:
The 2.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack is, much like the video, excellent. The nature of this documentary is very controlled and that is reflected in the quality of the reproduction, from the external shots to the on-the-fly recordings in cars and bars. Everything comes through clean with no noticeable distortion.

Extras:
"Born Rich" doesn´t feature a wealth of extras but what is present is worth its weight in gold. The disc features a pair of commentaries with the filmmakers. The first is a solo track of the director Jamie Johnson that is enlightening and interesting. His regular speaking voice is so much more pleasant than his narration voice, and the information he imparts really expands the topics of the movie. He´s a bit of a perfectionist in his dialogue delivery so he´ll stop and restart a few times but the points he brings across are interesting and appropriate. The second track is more conversational (and descriptive) between Johnson, subject Cody Franchetti, and producer Dirk Wittenborn. The three talk about a lot of background information and very little is duplicated from the solo Johnson commentary, though Wittenborn casts Johnson in a similar light to his contemporaries, something I felt he avoided in the movie proper.

The set also contains some deleted scenes that are more outtakes than anything. S.I. Newhouse gives a tour of his father´s house and you get a real sense of his family interactions and how he feels about his lineage, even though they aren´t present. A somewhat intoxicated man named Gavin make jokes about an African safari and international travel. If this material were included it would have pandered to the preconceived notions that everyone brought in about excessive decadence. The deleted scenes run about 15 minutes in total.

Film Value:
A slice of life that most people would otherwise never be privy to, "Born Rich" is a great counter to the excessive publicity poured on pseudo-celebrities like Paris Hilton and VH1 specials on her ilk. It humanizes a group that is a walking dichotomy, though few have ever thought to look at them any deeper than at a surface level. A slice of life to be sure, but it will have little impact on your daily life and will hardly affect your worldview, though you may look at wealth and those who possess it a little differently.

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