...not so much a whodunit as it is a when's-he-gonna-do-it and how.
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As of this writing, "In the Line of Fire" was the last great "Eastwood" film Clint Eastwood made. Sure, he went on since 1993 to make some other fine films, and "Absolute Power" and "True Crime" came close to the old Eastwood mystique, but none of them featured Eastwood in the true Eastwood mode--eyes narrowed, brow furrowed, fists clenched, gun in hand. "In the Line of Fire" proves more than just another action thriller; it's a suspenseful mystery as well. And while Eastwood's character may be a Secret Service agent named Frank Horrigan, it's really a last hurrah for the misfit loner the star pioneered in the "Dirty Harry" pictures. Columbia TriStar acknowledge the film's classic status with this, their second DVD issue, a Special Edition with added features like documentaries and a director's commentary. It was the least they could do.
Extras:
Perhaps I should start by mentioning these new added features, since initially Columbia did a minimalist packaging of the film with only scene selections and a few language choices. This time we get quite a bit more for our money. Chief among the bonus items is an audio commentary by the director, Wolfgang Petersen ("Das Boot," "Air Force One," "The Perfect Storm"). I tend to like directors talking about their films more than stars because the directors often have a more universal approach to their discussions, and Petersen's comments bear this out. He is assisted in his commentary by the producer of the DVD Special Edition, so it isn't just Petersen sitting alone and rambling.
Next, there are two documentaries of about twenty minutes or so each, "In the Line of Fire: The Ultimate Sacrifice" and "Behind the Scenes With the Secret Service." Both contain the expected conversations with filmmakers and stars. Two short featurettes follow, "How'd They Do That?" and "Catching the Counterfeiters," which concentrate on special effects and the government's real-life Secret Service. Then, there are five deleted scenes of varying length and quality, some talent files, biographies and such, and brief production notes in the printed booklet insert. Twenty-eight full-motion scene selections are also included, plus three theatrical trailers (one each for this film, "Das Boot," and "Air Force One," only the latter being in widescreen) and three TV spots. As always, the Columbia folks do languages better than anyone, supplying English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, with English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai for subtitles.
Video:
The picture and sound qualities of this new edition remain about the same as they did before, meaning they are still plenty good. The image displays signs of modest grain, especially during the opening sequences, some minor line shimmering, and occasional age flecks. Colors are generally natural, although flesh tones can sometimes lean to a mild orange rather than entirely to shades of pink. The whole thing is framed in a widescreen ratio that measures 2.13:1 when played back on a regular 4:3 TV set, and the image achieves even greater clarity if one's set, like my Sony XBR400, is able to reproduce the film anamorphically.
Audio:
The sound is provided either by Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby 2.0 Surround, and it's always fun when a disc enables the user to operate the remote for instant comparisons. Distinctions are astonishing, the DD 5.1 putting one into an entirely different aural environment than the Stereo Surround, much more discrete, more directional, more precise, and more dynamic. As before, the audio remains a highlight of the disc, not only for the sound of things like cars, planes, motorcycles, crowds, and storms, but for composer Ennio Morricone's evocative musical score. Be careful, though, if you have DD 5.1 capability; the default setting is for Dolby Surround, and unless you manually change to DD 5.1, you'll miss much of the disc's sonic pleasures.
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[release]6502[/release]