...this is a top quality HD-DVD title and one of the true gems for the format.
I have always looked at "Inside Man" as being one of the more mainstream efforts from Spike Lee. The director does make some references to the social climate after 9-11. He shows a Middle Eastern man being roughed up and treated unfairly as if he is a terrorist. A few other minor social statements are made by Lee and the cultural cornucopia of hostages hints at the social makeup of Lee´s beloved New York City. He makes statements about the ´dumb´ nature of gangster rap and violent video games. Lee is a man concerned with the state of affairs in the world and "Inside Man" makes some statement about what he believes is ailing our world. With the number of actors and references to "Dog Day Afternoon," it seems Lee set out to pay homage to that film and was heavily influenced by the early Al Pacino movie. The interrogation scenes were typically impromptu and provided a non-linear feel to the film, but helps provide some social stereotypes.
Spike Lee is a great director and I´ve enjoyed a large number of his films. He always surrounds himself with talented actors, but "Inside Man" has some of the best actors he has yet had take part in one of this films. This intelligent film keeps the audience guessing and nicely blends a little social commentary with fine acting, direction and storytelling. This is not an action film, but its non-linear story and plot twists keep the viewer easily engrossed in the film as everybody waits to see what is going to happen next. I look forward to watching "Inside Man" again after knowing the identity of the bank robbers and see how they handled the interviews. It makes for an intricate puzzle that is not easy to solve in just one viewing. This fine film is one of Denzel Washington´s finer pictures in the past couple of years and if the rumors are true that a sequel is in the works, I´ll be standing in line to watch it.
Video:
On HD-DVD, "Inside Man" is presented with a very good looking 2.35:1 picture. As is typical with Universal releases, the film is encoded with VC-1 and has the complete 1080p resolution available. The film is a colorful and detailed picture that brings the streets of New York to life and while it doesn´t have the same ´hot day´ appeal as "Dog Day Afternoon," the filmmaker´s affinity and knowledge of his hometown are apparent as many little touches of New York life are conveyed through imagery. Colors are ever-so-slightly desaturated and a preference to blue hues is apparent. Actors´ fleshtones are spot-on. Detail is very strong and the individual stubble hairs on Clive Owen´s face can be counted. So many different textures come through crisp and clear. In the audio commentary, Spike Lee points out the beauty of Jody Foster´s legs and they too look spectacular in the film. Black levels and shadow detail are both strong. There is a minor amount of film grain and one or two instances of color banding that keeps this transfer from being perfect, but it is awfully close.
Sound:
I continue to love the fact that Universal seems to be buying into the Dolby TrueHD revolution and "Inside Man" contains a very good Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack that emphasizes the mood and intensity of the film. The level of detail of this soundtrack is so fine that I was continually impressed with the ´little´ sounds that I could pick up coming through the speakers. The film was never silent and there was always something going on in the background and this multi-channel mix brings them all to life. The rear surrounds are used throughout the picture and help bring the streets of New York City to the viewer´s room. The sound moves cleanly from each speaker and I never felt as if the sounds were being forced upon me. Being primarily a dialogue driven film, "Inside Man" features perfect vocals that never leave the viewer wondering what was just said. The musical score by Terence Blanchard sounds very good and Spike Lee´s enjoyment of music finds many different musical disciplines coming through the speaker. Indian music, Jazz and hip-hop all nicely compliment the film´s theatrical score. This is a very impressive TrueHD mix.
Extras:
The least impressive aspect of "Inside Man" on HD-DVD was the supplemental materials. Culled from the previous standard definition offering, these supplements are less than an hour in length and come equipped with a spotty commentary track by the affable, intelligent and entertaining director. The five Deleted Scenes (24:37) contain some very good additional materials not included in the film. The alternate takes of the interrogations add more the story and are quite entertaining. The interrogations certainly helped "Inside Man" entertain its audience and the deleted scenes contain more of these. The Number 4 (10:08) short featurette finds Spike Lee and Denzel Washington sitting back and talking about making a fourth film together. These two men have respect for each other and a strong friendship and it shows. The Making of Inside Man (10:20) is depressingly short and really needed to be longer. Spike is one of the better directors when it comes to discussing his films and the short length of this nice feature makes me feel cheated. Finally, the Feature Commentary with Director Spike Lee is a good commentary, but cannot be called great because Lee takes a number of long breaks during the length of the film. Lee is a man who always has something to say and when he does talk, it is usually worth listening to.
Closing Comments:
"Inside Man" is another high quality film from director Spike Lee and features the fourth collaboration with one of today´s finest actors, Denzel Washington. Willem Dafoe, Clive Owen and Jody Foster are also involved and the film does not lack in talented actors. The story in engaging and intelligent and gives the audience plenty to think about as it mixes flash-forward interrogations with the storyline. This is a good film and well worth watching. The HD-DVD contains a stunning video presentation and one of the finer Dolby TrueHD soundtracks that I have heard. I was not expecting a lot from "Inside Man" on HD-DVD, but it showed that even a dialogue-driven film can be very impressive in the technical sense. The features are short, but good and I have always enjoyed when Spike Lee shares some time to discuss his films. The commentary was recorded on the opening day of the film and it was interesting to hear a ´fresh´ take on a film by the director. All-in-all, this is a top quality HD-DVD title and one of the true gems for the format.
Spike Lee is a great director and I´ve enjoyed a large number of his films. He always surrounds himself with talented actors, but "Inside Man" has some of the best actors he has yet had take part in one of this films. This intelligent film keeps the audience guessing and nicely blends a little social commentary with fine acting, direction and storytelling. This is not an action film, but its non-linear story and plot twists keep the viewer easily engrossed in the film as everybody waits to see what is going to happen next. I look forward to watching "Inside Man" again after knowing the identity of the bank robbers and see how they handled the interviews. It makes for an intricate puzzle that is not easy to solve in just one viewing. This fine film is one of Denzel Washington´s finer pictures in the past couple of years and if the rumors are true that a sequel is in the works, I´ll be standing in line to watch it.
Video:
On HD-DVD, "Inside Man" is presented with a very good looking 2.35:1 picture. As is typical with Universal releases, the film is encoded with VC-1 and has the complete 1080p resolution available. The film is a colorful and detailed picture that brings the streets of New York to life and while it doesn´t have the same ´hot day´ appeal as "Dog Day Afternoon," the filmmaker´s affinity and knowledge of his hometown are apparent as many little touches of New York life are conveyed through imagery. Colors are ever-so-slightly desaturated and a preference to blue hues is apparent. Actors´ fleshtones are spot-on. Detail is very strong and the individual stubble hairs on Clive Owen´s face can be counted. So many different textures come through crisp and clear. In the audio commentary, Spike Lee points out the beauty of Jody Foster´s legs and they too look spectacular in the film. Black levels and shadow detail are both strong. There is a minor amount of film grain and one or two instances of color banding that keeps this transfer from being perfect, but it is awfully close.
Sound:
I continue to love the fact that Universal seems to be buying into the Dolby TrueHD revolution and "Inside Man" contains a very good Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack that emphasizes the mood and intensity of the film. The level of detail of this soundtrack is so fine that I was continually impressed with the ´little´ sounds that I could pick up coming through the speakers. The film was never silent and there was always something going on in the background and this multi-channel mix brings them all to life. The rear surrounds are used throughout the picture and help bring the streets of New York City to the viewer´s room. The sound moves cleanly from each speaker and I never felt as if the sounds were being forced upon me. Being primarily a dialogue driven film, "Inside Man" features perfect vocals that never leave the viewer wondering what was just said. The musical score by Terence Blanchard sounds very good and Spike Lee´s enjoyment of music finds many different musical disciplines coming through the speaker. Indian music, Jazz and hip-hop all nicely compliment the film´s theatrical score. This is a very impressive TrueHD mix.
Extras:
The least impressive aspect of "Inside Man" on HD-DVD was the supplemental materials. Culled from the previous standard definition offering, these supplements are less than an hour in length and come equipped with a spotty commentary track by the affable, intelligent and entertaining director. The five Deleted Scenes (24:37) contain some very good additional materials not included in the film. The alternate takes of the interrogations add more the story and are quite entertaining. The interrogations certainly helped "Inside Man" entertain its audience and the deleted scenes contain more of these. The Number 4 (10:08) short featurette finds Spike Lee and Denzel Washington sitting back and talking about making a fourth film together. These two men have respect for each other and a strong friendship and it shows. The Making of Inside Man (10:20) is depressingly short and really needed to be longer. Spike is one of the better directors when it comes to discussing his films and the short length of this nice feature makes me feel cheated. Finally, the Feature Commentary with Director Spike Lee is a good commentary, but cannot be called great because Lee takes a number of long breaks during the length of the film. Lee is a man who always has something to say and when he does talk, it is usually worth listening to.
Closing Comments:
"Inside Man" is another high quality film from director Spike Lee and features the fourth collaboration with one of today´s finest actors, Denzel Washington. Willem Dafoe, Clive Owen and Jody Foster are also involved and the film does not lack in talented actors. The story in engaging and intelligent and gives the audience plenty to think about as it mixes flash-forward interrogations with the storyline. This is a good film and well worth watching. The HD-DVD contains a stunning video presentation and one of the finer Dolby TrueHD soundtracks that I have heard. I was not expecting a lot from "Inside Man" on HD-DVD, but it showed that even a dialogue-driven film can be very impressive in the technical sense. The features are short, but good and I have always enjoyed when Spike Lee shares some time to discuss his films. The commentary was recorded on the opening day of the film and it was interesting to hear a ´fresh´ take on a film by the director. All-in-all, this is a top quality HD-DVD title and one of the true gems for the format.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]21869[/release]