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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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Erin
Brockovich
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Reviewed
by: |
Rachel
Hughes |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
Anamorphic
1.85:1 Widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby
Digital 5.1 |
| Language: |
English,
French |
| Subtitle: |
English
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| Length: |
2hrs
16min |
| Rating: |
R |
| Release
Date: |
August
15, 2000 |
| Studio: |
Universal |
| Commentary:
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None |
| Documentaries:
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None |
| Featurettes:
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Spotlight
On Location Erin Brockovich |
| Filmography/Biography:
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Yes |
|
Interviews: |
Yes
with Erin Brockovich |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Notting
Hill and Out of Sight |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
Yes |
| Music
Video: |
No |
| Other:
|
Production
Notes and Coming Soon Attractions featuring Jurassic Park |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Julia Roberts,
Albert Finney and Aaron Eckhart |
| Screenplay
by: |
Written By
Susannah Grant |
| Produced
by: |
Danny DeVito, Michael
Shamberg, and Stacey Sher |
| Directed
By: |
Steven Soderbergh |
| Music: |
Thomas Newman |
| The
Review: |
Erin Brockovich
is a classic story we have heard many times before. A woman
no one has faith in energies a group of people to take on a
massive challenge, and through her personality and persistence
wins the good fight. Brockovich, portrayed wonderfully by Julia
Roberts, is an out of work single mother of three who convinces
a lawyer to give her job. In the course of her job she discovers
a giant corporation is poisoning a small town. Erin doesn't
care that the odds are stacked against them, and everyone tells
herm they will lose. She convinces the entire town to come together
and fight for what is right This is a touching true story that
is superbly acted by all involved. Soderbergh does an excellent
job in evenly treating both subjects. Brockovich is not portrayed
as a saint and perfect mother, and PG&E are not overly portrayed
as hideous monsters. What they actually did didn't require anything
extra to make you angry with them. They were simply part of
the backdrop. The story is as close to real life as you can
get in the feature film format. |
| Image
and Sound |
The movie
is oddly light and this carries through on the DVD. There are
a lot of outdoor scenes that are in the middle of the desert.
These shots appear extra dry and washed out. There is a lot
of orange and browns. This adds so much to the look of the film
and was transferred well. It goes along with the death and dying
that is going on in the town of Hinkly. The sound is wonderful
and naturalistic. The voices during the dialogue scene are all
natural. The score adds to the movie with out detracting from
the dialogue. |
| The
Extras |
This movie
is so packed with extra materials I was surprised it was not
classified as a special edition. First there is the Spotlight
on Location. This features interviews with Julia, Albert Finney
and the real Erin and Ed Masry. It tells how the story came
to the ears of Hollywood. It runs for about 15mins. There is
also a short interview of about four minutes featuring Erin
by herself. The gem of the extras though are the deleted scenes.
There are almost 30 mins of deleted material including entire
subplots. There are no menus and the scenes play straight through.
There is also a directory commentary available for the deleted
scenes in which he tells why he decided to cut them as well
as more information on the movie in general. As with most DVD's
this one features the trailer for the movie as well as production
notes that detail how the film got started and the lengths those
involved went to to make it real. There are also the Cast and
Filmmakers section that contains bios and a list of films for
Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart and Steven Soderbergh.
In Julia Roberts's list you can access a preview for "Notting
Hill" and in Steven Soderbergh's there is a trailer for "Out
of Sight". Under other recommendations is the preview for the
new "Jurassic Park" and "Lost World" special collectors' edition.
Finally as with most Universal Films there is the web address
to sign up for the Universal DVD newsletter. |
| Commentary |
None |
| Final
Words: |
This was
one of the early big money makers in the movie year. It is not
hard to see why. Julia Roberts does an excellent job. When the
movie first debuted there was great Oscar buzz surrounding her
performance, and I can see why. If you enjoyed the movie then
you must own this DVD. The deleted scenes are wonderful and
add a whole new dimension to the film. The comments made by
the director also add depth to the movie. This DVD is highly
recommended. |
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