The movie is frothy and light and hasn't a brain in its head, but it's so beautiful to look at and so positive and uplifting, it's hard not to like.
I was reminded of the Italian coastline in Norman Jewison's romantic comedy "Only You," which was funnier and more romantic than "Under the Tuscan Sun," and of the sweetness in Mike Newell's "Enchanted April," which was more touching than "Tuscan Sun." But that shouldn't take away from one's enjoyment of the splendid photography or Ms. Lane's performance. Despite my misgivings about the weightlessness of the plot, subplots, and themes, overall I found "Under the Tuscan Sun" a pleasure.
Video:
The colors on the screen may seem odd at first, but they are meant to emulate pastel paintings, the hues leaning to oranges and yellows primarily, the colors of the sunflowers so prominently on display in the Tuscan landscape. However, while a viewer can easily adjust to the brightness of the pastels, the colors themselves do not show up perfectly well in the transfer. The delineation is slightly rough, slightly blurred and jagged, with a small degree of color bleed-through. There is little or no grain to speak of, yet there are occasional moiré effects than can be annoying. The screen size is a 1.74:1 ratio, enhanced for 16x9 televisions, and that helps, I'm sure.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound reproduction is a little better represented here than the picture quality. It is clean and quiet, of course, but it also exhibits a good dynamic range and a strong sense of surround ambiance in things like rain storms, wind, thunder, and traffic. Even birds chirping behind the listener add to the naturalism of the situations. For a movie largely dialogue driven, the audio's added realism is helpful.
Extras:
The bonus items are of the usual kind. There's the audio commentary with the director, Audrey Wells. There are the deleted scenes, three of them, including "Discovering the Fresco" and a montage of brief shots. There are the Sneak Peeks, trailers, for this film and three other Buena Vista releases. And there is the making-of featurette, the promotional, this one nine minutes long called "Tuscany 101," wherein the director and star explain what the film means and why it's so wonderful. There are a meager fourteen scene selections offered; English and French spoken languages; Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Thoughts:
No, "Under the Tuscan Sun" is not very believable. It's more like a modern fairy tale, and its main character is a Cinderella beset with initial hardships but finding a "happily ever after" life in the end. Live with it. The story is meant to be a metaphor, anyway, not reality, and it's a very beautiful metaphor at that. Life can be happy if you let it and unhappy if you don't. Fair enough. I say look at the movie as you would an attractive painting on the wall. Let it speak to you as an individual, and if you like it, enjoy it, no matter what others may think. "Under the Tuscan Sun" is clearly gorgeous to watch. That can be enough.
Video:
The colors on the screen may seem odd at first, but they are meant to emulate pastel paintings, the hues leaning to oranges and yellows primarily, the colors of the sunflowers so prominently on display in the Tuscan landscape. However, while a viewer can easily adjust to the brightness of the pastels, the colors themselves do not show up perfectly well in the transfer. The delineation is slightly rough, slightly blurred and jagged, with a small degree of color bleed-through. There is little or no grain to speak of, yet there are occasional moiré effects than can be annoying. The screen size is a 1.74:1 ratio, enhanced for 16x9 televisions, and that helps, I'm sure.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound reproduction is a little better represented here than the picture quality. It is clean and quiet, of course, but it also exhibits a good dynamic range and a strong sense of surround ambiance in things like rain storms, wind, thunder, and traffic. Even birds chirping behind the listener add to the naturalism of the situations. For a movie largely dialogue driven, the audio's added realism is helpful.
Extras:
The bonus items are of the usual kind. There's the audio commentary with the director, Audrey Wells. There are the deleted scenes, three of them, including "Discovering the Fresco" and a montage of brief shots. There are the Sneak Peeks, trailers, for this film and three other Buena Vista releases. And there is the making-of featurette, the promotional, this one nine minutes long called "Tuscany 101," wherein the director and star explain what the film means and why it's so wonderful. There are a meager fourteen scene selections offered; English and French spoken languages; Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Thoughts:
No, "Under the Tuscan Sun" is not very believable. It's more like a modern fairy tale, and its main character is a Cinderella beset with initial hardships but finding a "happily ever after" life in the end. Live with it. The story is meant to be a metaphor, anyway, not reality, and it's a very beautiful metaphor at that. Life can be happy if you let it and unhappy if you don't. Fair enough. I say look at the movie as you would an attractive painting on the wall. Let it speak to you as an individual, and if you like it, enjoy it, no matter what others may think. "Under the Tuscan Sun" is clearly gorgeous to watch. That can be enough.
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[release]11487[/release]