...essentially a sentimental musical comedy, with the barest rudiments of a story lingering in the background.
Madsen never looked more stunningly beautiful, having the looks, the glamour, and the allure of a classic, 1940s' movie star. Harrelson and Reilly are easygoing and easy to believe. A commercial for duct tape is one of the funnier parts of the show; and Kline's reserved comic performance is another highlight. He is the last one, for instance, to notice that the script girl (Maya Rudolph) is pregnant. Why in the world didn't Kline play the part of Inspector Clouseau in the latest "Pink Panther" movie instead of Steve Martin?
"A Prairie Home Companion" is essentially a sentimental musical comedy, with the barest rudiments of a story lingering in the background. It has enough going for it to catch some interest, but I wouldn't count on every viewer being able to stick it out for its entire 106-minute running time.
Video:
The keep case says the disc is "presented in a format that preserves the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition," except that the film measures a ratio of about 2.15:1 across my widescreen television. The Internet Movie Database says the movie's original camera ratio was 1.78:1 but adjusted for theatrical showing at 2.35:1.
The movie was made using a Sony HDW-F900 digital video camera, shooting at 1080p/24, which, combined with an ordinary bit rate, may explain why the DVD picture looks less than perfect. The colors are glowing golden tones, running big to yellows, browns, and reds, presented in somewhat soft definition, often more than a little dim and obscure, actually. Darker areas of the screen can be downright murky, but, thankfully, grain is at a minimum with the digital photography.
Audio:
The sound is offered up in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0, the DD 5.1 faring far better than the video does. The bass, when needed, can be deep and loud, and the midrange is clear and precise. The surrounds are used for crowd noises, microphone announcements, musical ambience enhancement, and such. When the songs come on, the soundtrack comes to life.
Extras:
The extras are almost as long as the film, so pay attention. Things begin with "Onstage at the Fitzgerald," a music companion featuring extended performances of musical numbers and fake advertisements from the film. There are twenty-four minutes of songs, ten in all, and five minutes of ads, six in all, that can be played all at once or individually. Next is a forty-nine-minute making-of documentary, "Come Play With Us," divided into six chapters, that again can be played all at once or individually. After that is an audio commentary with director Robert Altman and star Kevin Kline, followed by a soundtrack preview with a full sixteen preview cuts from the album.
Finally, there is an anamorphic widescreen theatrical trailer (1.78:1); twenty-five scene selections (with a keep-case insert but no chapters printed on it); Sneak Peeks at other New Line releases; English as the only spoken language; and English and Spanish subtitles. The keep case also promises "Additional scenes," but if they were there they may have been among the other features because I couldn't find them on their own.
Parting Shots:
There is really not much to "A Prairie Home Companion." Take away the music, and you haven't got a lot of movie left. Yet much of it is endearing, so it's hard to really dislike it. I can certainly imagine some viewers thinking the whole movie is a boring waste, the way it ambles along in its own good time. I can also see how some viewers might think it takes itself too seriously, its simple life lessons not nearly so profound as it would like us to believe. Good points, which I will not attempt to counter. I can only say that in the long run, parts of the movie touched me. I just wish more of it had.
"A Prairie Home Companion" is essentially a sentimental musical comedy, with the barest rudiments of a story lingering in the background. It has enough going for it to catch some interest, but I wouldn't count on every viewer being able to stick it out for its entire 106-minute running time.
Video:
The keep case says the disc is "presented in a format that preserves the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition," except that the film measures a ratio of about 2.15:1 across my widescreen television. The Internet Movie Database says the movie's original camera ratio was 1.78:1 but adjusted for theatrical showing at 2.35:1.
The movie was made using a Sony HDW-F900 digital video camera, shooting at 1080p/24, which, combined with an ordinary bit rate, may explain why the DVD picture looks less than perfect. The colors are glowing golden tones, running big to yellows, browns, and reds, presented in somewhat soft definition, often more than a little dim and obscure, actually. Darker areas of the screen can be downright murky, but, thankfully, grain is at a minimum with the digital photography.
Audio:
The sound is offered up in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0, the DD 5.1 faring far better than the video does. The bass, when needed, can be deep and loud, and the midrange is clear and precise. The surrounds are used for crowd noises, microphone announcements, musical ambience enhancement, and such. When the songs come on, the soundtrack comes to life.
Extras:
The extras are almost as long as the film, so pay attention. Things begin with "Onstage at the Fitzgerald," a music companion featuring extended performances of musical numbers and fake advertisements from the film. There are twenty-four minutes of songs, ten in all, and five minutes of ads, six in all, that can be played all at once or individually. Next is a forty-nine-minute making-of documentary, "Come Play With Us," divided into six chapters, that again can be played all at once or individually. After that is an audio commentary with director Robert Altman and star Kevin Kline, followed by a soundtrack preview with a full sixteen preview cuts from the album.
Finally, there is an anamorphic widescreen theatrical trailer (1.78:1); twenty-five scene selections (with a keep-case insert but no chapters printed on it); Sneak Peeks at other New Line releases; English as the only spoken language; and English and Spanish subtitles. The keep case also promises "Additional scenes," but if they were there they may have been among the other features because I couldn't find them on their own.
Parting Shots:
There is really not much to "A Prairie Home Companion." Take away the music, and you haven't got a lot of movie left. Yet much of it is endearing, so it's hard to really dislike it. I can certainly imagine some viewers thinking the whole movie is a boring waste, the way it ambles along in its own good time. I can also see how some viewers might think it takes itself too seriously, its simple life lessons not nearly so profound as it would like us to believe. Good points, which I will not attempt to counter. I can only say that in the long run, parts of the movie touched me. I just wish more of it had.
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[release]20095[/release]