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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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“Man on
Fire”
|
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Action |
| Video: |
2.40:1 |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
Surround 5.1 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
146 minutes
|
| Rating |
R for violence
and language |
| Release Date |
9/14/04 |
| Studio |
20th Century
Fox Home Video |
| Commentary:
|
Director
Tony Scott, co-star Dakota Fanning, Producer Lucas Foster, Screenwriter
Brian Helgeland |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Previews of “Taxi”, “Hide
& Seek” |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Denzel Washington,
Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Gianini, Radha
Mitchell, Marc Anthony, Rachel Ticotin and Mickey Rourke |
| Written
By: |
Brian Helgeland
based on the novel by A. J. Quinnell |
| Produced
By: |
Lucas Poster,
Tony Scott, Arnon Milchan |
| Directed
By: |
Tony Scott
|
| Music:
|
Harry Gregson-Williams |
| The
Review: |
At the heart of Tony Scott’s “Man
on Fire” is Creasy (Denzel Washington) a tortured alcoholic
and emotionally scarred former Marine and CIA agent who’s
haunted by his past. Creasy finds work guarding nine-year-old
Pita (Dakota Fanning) of rich Mexican industrialist Samuel
(Marc Anthony) and his American-born wife Lisa (Radha Mitchell)
at the recommendation of one of his old collegues (Christopher
Walken). With so many family members disappeared south of
the border and a major deal pending to manufacture cars, there’s
concern that Pita might be a target of kidnappers. Creasy
expresses no interest in bonding with the girl because it
reminds him to much of an incident from his past but Pita
breaks through Creasy’s hardened exterior reminding him of
his humanity. When Pita is taken, the wounded Creasy makes
it his business to find her before she’s killed. ***
This is the second time “Man on
Fire” has been adapted for the big screen. The first adaptation
in 1987 featuring Scott Glenn, Jonathan Pryce, Joe Pesci,
Brooke Adams and Jade Malle and directed by Elie Chouraqui
disappeared without a trace when it was released. Since Tony
Scott was originally on tap to direct the 1987 version, he
looked to the past when looking for his next project after
the well received “Spy Game”. With Marlon Brando completely
out of the picture for the role (he was considered for Scott’s
planned version in 1987), Bruce Willis, Will Smith and Robert
De Niro all taking passes on the role, Denzel Washington stepped
into the role after a chance meeting with director Scott.
Washington plays the role to perfection. His Creasy,although
a burned out husk of a man, has just enough spark of humanity
left so that he can be touched by Pita. Fanning once again
gives an incandescent performance and the other members of
the supporting cast including Radha Mitchell (“Pitch Black”),
singer Marc Anthony, Christopher Walken and Mickey Rourke
all give marvelously detailed performances.
Although Scott becomes a bit obsessed
with technique over story once the abduction occurs, his showy
directorial style doesn’t overwhelm the strong emotional material
at the core of the story. Although it runs about 20 minutes
too long, “Man on Fire” is a perfect action thriller and compliments
Scott’s best work (“Crimson Tide”, “The Hunger”, “True Romance”)
avoiding the cliches of his hack work (“Beverly Hills Cop
II”, “Top Gun”, “The Last Boy Scout”). I'll admit to not always
being a fan of Scott's films. They frequently lack soul and
emotional substance but I found "Man on Fire" to be an exception
to this rule. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
Another
top notch transfer from Fox, “Man on Fire” looks very good on
DVD with most of its disc space devoted to the feature itself.
The grainy look of the film, unusual textures and the muted
colors that represent Creasy’s emotional state are all captured
remarkably well. The explosive 5.1 sound mix also grabs your
attention. Scott and his sound mixer do a stellar job at reproducing
the atmosphere of Mexico City in the detailed surround mix.
There’s a considerable amount of texture and detail that’s well
reproduced for the DVD. |
| The
Extras: |
When it
comes to extras “Man on Fire” runs cold. We only get a Fox
advertisement “Inside Look” that gives us a glimpse at the
trailer for the forthcoming thriller “Hide and Seek” and a
brief behind-the-scenes promo for “Taxi”. ---
|
| Commentary:
|
We get two
wonderful commentary tracks. The first features director Tony
Scott solo discussing what attracted him to the story in the
first place both in 1986 and in 2002 when he chose to direct
screenwriter Brian Helgeland’s (“Mystic River”, “L.A. Confidential”,
“The Order” and “A Knight’s Tale”). Writer Helgeland, producer
Foster (“Walking Tall”, “Crimson Tide”) and actress Fanning
all vie for your attention on a second audio commentary track.
All three discuss Scott’s edgy direction, the performances and
the changes the script when through from inception to production.
Surprisingly, Fanning more than holds her own with these two
seasoned veterans. Hearing these three discuss Scott’s approach
to the film and their candid assessment of what works and doesn’t
is also a highlight. --- |
| Final
Words: |
taunt,
well directed thriller “Man on Fire” provides Denzel Washington
to investigate the haunted world of Creasy. Filled with a number
of marvelous performances, edgy direction and a well written
script, “Man on Fire” received an undeserved critical drubbing
by many critics (probably because of Scott’s association with
the project). Seeing it on home video makes the over-the-top
production and visual style less of an issue because the emotional
aspect of the film becomes more powerful |
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