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The focus in "Rain Man" is autism. A very serious disorder, director Barry Levinson and star Dustin Hoffman treat autism as Oscar fodder creating a film that mines every cheap emotional trick in the book. The film starts off promisingly enough when Charlie (Tom Cruise) discovers after his father's death that he has a brother. It turns out that Raymond Babbit (Hoffman) suffers from autism but has also been given a wonderful gift; he's a mathematical wizard. Charlie ends up taking Ray out of the institution he's been isolated in only because Ray inherited the bulk of his father's fortune. Charlie sees Ray's $3 million trust as a solution to his money difficulties with his import car business. He also sees Ray as a chance to make money.

The two end up on a long cross-country trek where they bond and discover a mutual affection for each other. Charlie's perception of Ray changes dramatically; he sees Ray as a fractured person one that needs him. The fact that he's needed changes Charlie in a way that all the money in the world couldn't. Suddenly, he wants to be Ray's protector. Charlie's cold, conniving businessman is redeemed while Ray inherits a brother he can trust and look to for support. While the themes in "Rain Man" are admirable and the film itself starts off well, Levinson and his screenwriters Ronald Bass and Barry Morton turn the film into a very average cable television movie full of clichés and a hammy, gimmick laden performance by Hoffman. Hoffman is an incredible talent but his role in the film is akin to that of former cast mate Lawrence Olivier in "The Boys from Brazil".

Hoffman's there to chew the scenery nothing more. I don't doubt that Hoffman's performance is genuine but it lacks subtly and is vastly overrated. Cruise in attempting to break out of the mold of leading man that Hollywood had cast him in seems like he's had too many iced coffees. The performance looks in hindsight one dimensional and transparent. In many respects, Cruise's performance is admirable as he doesn't have any gimmicks to fall back on but it ultimately reveals his limitations as an actor. "Rain Man" isn't a bad film. There are many scenes that resonate and have power to them but the whole film treats its themes and Ray has nothing more than a poster child for autism validating rather than questioning the role that society has cast them in.

The look of the film, its textures and cinematography are faithfully reproduced in this DVD transfer. The solid blacks and colors look terrific. The subtle lighting effects of cinematographer John Seale and the textured look of the film comes to life on this DVD. The minimal issues with edge enhancement are also a welcome change compared to some DVDs that have come out recently.

The sound mix and editing have a natural feel and they are captured and reproduced very well in the 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound mix. The DTS track also had a similar feel although it was a tad warmer.

The "special edition" of "Rain Man" is a special edition in name only. It comes with a minimum of extras and a commentary by the producer and director of the film. There's one deleted scene that occurs at K-Mart. The featurette is the original publicity short focusing on the making of the film.

Considering the price of the DVD, these features aren't bad but, given the film's Oscar clout, I would have expected more from MGM. Another disturbing trend duplicated here as well is the lack of a chapter booklet. While they aren't essential, a lot of film fans like to have the booklet to refer to at a quick glance to find their favorite scene.

I noticed the same omission with Paramount's recent Star Trek VI DVD and many of the Disney films as well. It seems that the marketing departments take a look at the overall market for the DVD to determine if they will include a booklet. It's a bit arbitrary in my mind. I'd like to see the booklets restored with rare pictures, essays, etc. but it's not likely to happen unless you're picking up a Criterion disc. Expect to see less booklets or chapter guides with new DVDs unless they are "special event" DVDs (such as "The Lion King 1 1/2").

While MGM's "Special Edition" could have been a lot more special, but minimum extras included here are much better than the bare bones approach taken with previous editions of this film. The commentary track is the real jewel in the crown here for fans of the film and actors Cruise and Hoffman. I'm surprised that MGM opted not to include a vintage documentary about autism specific to the character here. I'm sure that PBS produced something at roughly the same time the film was released.

MGM could have gone whole hog here and imitated the terrific Warner re-release of "The Right Stuff" (which included a PBS documentary on John Glenn as well as many vintage extras related to the film). I don't doubt that the main audience for this film would have snatched it up. As it is, I'm not sure there is enough here to justify recommending purchasing this film again for fans that have the previous DVD edition.