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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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A
Few Good Men: Special Edition
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Reviewed
by: |
Tom
Reynolds |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
Widescreen
anamorphic 2.35:1 |
| Audio: |
Dolby
Digital 5.1, 2.0 surround (English) |
| Language: |
English,
French, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Subtitle: |
English,
Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Thai |
| Length: |
138
mins. |
| Rating: |
R
|
| Release
Date: |
May
29, 2001 |
| Studio: |
Columbia/Tristar
|
| Commentary:
|
director
Rob Reiner |
| Documentaries:
|
"Code
of Conduct" |
| Featurettes:
|
"From
Stage to Screen" |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
Filmographies
of Reiner, Sorkin and six cast members |
|
Interviews: |
Included
in documentary and featurette |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Theatrical
trailers of "A Few Good Men," "Jerry Maguire" and "The Juror"
|
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Jack Nicholson,
Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin
Pollak, James Marshall, Wolfgang Bodison, J.T. Walsh |
| Screenplay
by: |
Aaron Sorkin
|
| Produced
by: |
David Brown, Rob Reiner,
Andrew Scheinman |
| Directed
By: |
Rob Reiner
|
| Music: |
Marc Shaiman |
| The
Review: |
There
is an code of honor to which a good Marine must adhere; a code
by which he must live and die. And it is this: Unit, Corps,
God, Country. In "A Few Good Men," director Rob Reiner examines
the parameters of that code, which to be valid must include
truth and justice; and if they do not exist, can the code stand?
When a young Private First Class named William Santiago dies
at the Marine Corps base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, two Marines
are charged with his murder. The case comes to the attention
of Navy Lieutenant Commander Jo Galloway (Moore), Special Counsel
for Internal Affairs in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in
Washington, D.C. Galloway, taking into consideration the impeccable
service records of the two Marines charged with the crime, convinces
her superiors that a thorough investigation is warranted in
this case, thought there are those in high places who would
rather see this one plea bargained and put to rest. But Galloway
persists, believing that Santiago's death may have resulted
from a "Code Red," a method of disciplinary hazing employed
in certain circles of the Corps, though illegal. And if this
was a Code Red, the real question is, who gave the order? Due
to the fact that Galloway, though a seasoned lawyer, lacks actual
courtroom experience, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Cruise) is assigned
to the case, along with Lieutenant Sam Weinberg (Pollak), with
Galloway, the ranking officer, to assist. Kaffee happens to
be the son of a legendary lawyer, and has for the most part
skated through the first nine months of his Naval career, successfully
plea bargaining forty-four cases. Outwardly upbeat and personable,
Kaffee seems more concerned with his softball game than he does
with the time he has to spend on the job. But underneath, he's
coping with living his life in the shadow of his late father's
reputation, which is an issue with which he must come to terms
if he is to successfully effect the outcome of this case. And
on this one he has a formidable opponent: Colonel Nathan R.
Jessup (Nicholson), who commands the base at Guantanamo. Nicholson
gives a commanding performance as Jessup, and once he enters
the film you can sense the subtle tension that he infuses begin
to swell immediately, and Reiner does a great job of maintaining
it through to the end. Cruise gives arguably one of his best
performances ever as Kaffee, and his confrontations with Jessup
in the courtroom, especially, are absolutely riveting. In one
of the most memorable scenes Kaffee exclaims to Jessup, "I want
the truth!" to which Jessup replies "You can't handle the truth!"
And the atmosphere fairly crackles. Moore is outstanding, as
well, and Wolfgang Bodison makes an impressive screen debut
as Lance Corporal Dawson, one of the Marines on trial for the
murder of Santiago. |
| Image
and Sound |
This is
an excellent, high quality transfer in which I detected absolutely
no signs of wear or distortion. The picture is sharp and clear,
with perfect color, which is important as well as apparent,
as this is a very "bright" film. The whites, especially, of
the dress white uniforms and the extensive white buildings in
the background shots at Guantanamo are richly textured, which
comes through extremely well in the picture. There is an interesting
use of light and shadows in this film, especially in the interior
shots, and the depth of the browns and some of the warmer colors
are vibrant, which gives the overall picture a "new" look, and
is important as it creates a background that accentuates and
brings out the colors of the actor's wardrobes. The sound is
of the highest quality, also, distinct and balanced, with great
stereo effects which are so noticeable in the opening sequence
as you hear the slap and twirl of the rifles and the thrum of
the drums as the Marines drill. The dialogue is always audible,
with a resonant clarity that makes it easy to understand what
the actors are saying. And the bass tones of Shaiman's haunting
score come through extremely well. |
| The
Extras |
The documentary,
"Code of Conduct" is a behind the scenes look at the making
of "A Few Good Men," With comments by writer Aaron Sorkin, Reiner,
Cruise and seven other members of the cast. Jack Nicholson is
conspicuously absent. In this segment, those interviewed basically
discuss the story and characters, with a single, common thread
running throughout: Everyone's outspoken admiration of Jack
Nicholson and how exciting it was to work with him. Reiner,
especially, speaks in glowing terms of Nicholson, whom he credits
with setting the tone for the other actors, and whose presence
alone was invaluable to the entire project. There are a number
of comments, from Cruise, Bacon and Pollak (just to name a few),
about how dominate Nicholson was beginning with the initial
read-through, and about what a terrific actor he really is.
Reiner also speaks of Cruise as being one of the most talented,
professional actors he's ever worked with, and says that Cruise
was so enthusiastic that he would literally run to the set in
the morning, then stay late to work on lines and character even
after everyone else had gone home. Reiner and Sorkin comment
on Pollak's significant contributions, as well, and point out
how his rhythm and timing as a comedian helped his co-stars,
especially Cruise. Reiner also feels that Demi Moore gave one
of the best performances of her career in this film. This is
an interesting feature, though Reiner covers much of the same
ground as he does in his feature commentary. In the featurette,
"From Stage to Screen," writer Aaron Sorkin discusses what it
was like to be able to adapt his own play to the screen. He
had written twenty-three drafts of the play before it debuted
on Broadway, and he was thankful for the challenge of being
able to write it again for the screen, though he had not only
never written a screenplay, but had never even read one. He
tells an amusing story of struggling for days and only coming
up with about a half a page because he was so concerned about
using the right format, until veteran screenwriter William Goldman
took him aside one day and said to him "Don't worry about it,
just write it." After that it seemed to come together for him.
Sorkin also reveals that this story, which his sister--a lawyer
in the JAG-- brought to his attention, is based on a true incident
with which she was professionally involved. He also mentions
that most of the scenes in the movie were taken directly from
the play. Reiner brings up the point that a couple of scenes
had to be added to plug plot holes that you can get away with
on stage, with live actors, but not in a film. One was particularly
pivotal, in which Kaffee suddenly realizes something that has
a significant impact on his case, while looking through Santiago's
closet full of clothes at Guantanamo. It's an interesting segment,
which points out the differences between the way certain information
can be conveyed on stage, as compared to the way it has to be
done on film. |
| Commentary |
This commentary
track, which features Rob Reiner, though somewhat sparse is
one of the best I've heard. Reiner succinctly sets up each scene,
then allows it to play through without interruption, reserving
his comments for the end and then setting up the next one. It's
wonderfully done, and lets you assimilate the information given
you in the set-up as you watch the scene. Reiner has a pleasant,
conversational tone, and though it may not be as entertaining
as some, it is focused and free of the distractions often incurred
by multiple-voice commentary tracks. Reiner is outspoken about
the quality of the actors in this film, from the leading roles
to the smaller parts that when done well can add so much to
a movie. And, of course, he can't say enough about Nicholson's
performance and his influence on the other actors, and compares
him to Tracy and Bogart. He also has an amusing comment about
Nicholson being able to say a certain word on screen better
than anyone else, with the possible exception of Robert De Niro.
So he calls it a tie between the two. One of the things Reiner
liked about this story was the fact that there is such sexual
tension, but that it doesn't turn into a romance, which he felt
made it a much stronger film. He points out some of the locations,
like the abandoned army barracks in Los Angeles that served
as the base at Guantanamo. He talks of some of the technical
aspects, as well, such as the use of an anamorphic lens which
added depth to the film, and the interesting use of light by
cinematographer Robert Richardson, citing some examples of how
he will light an actor's chin, for example, while leaving the
rest of the face and especially the eyes in shadow, to enhance
the dramatic effect of the shot. And-- for movie buffs, especially--
that's what makes a commentary track like this so valuable.
After a while, you begin to pick up many of these things naturally
as you watch a movie, which can add significantly to your overall
enjoyment of the film. |
| Final
Words: |
Demi Moore,
I think, has one of the most telling lines in the movie; when
she is asked why she likes these guys so much (the Marines they're
defending), she replies: "Because they stand on a wall, and
they say nothing is going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch--"
And that about sums up what this movie is really all about.
It's a powerful drama, extremely well acted, directed and filmed,
that makes you take a step back to just pause and reflect for
a moment. The DVD itself is excellent quality, with enough extras
to make this a welcome addition to anyone's library. And when
a movie is this good to begin with, you just can't go wrong.
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