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Specifications: - Region 1 - Run time: approx. 165 min. - Subtitle: English, French - Scene selection: full motion - Package: Keep case
Video Features: - Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 widescreen
Audio Features: - English: Dolby Digital 5.1 - French: Dolby Surround
Bonus Materials: -
Director Roland Emmerich, - Visual effects interactive featurette - "The Art of War" featurette - "The True Patriots" featurette - Photo galleries
- Web links**
Theatrical Release: 06/28/00 DVD Release: 10/24/00 Review Date: 10/09/00
List price: $ 27.96 On-line price: $ 19.49 Pre-order price was: $ 19.49
*DVD-ROM features require DVD-ROM drive on your PC with certain minimum system requirements
**web links require internet access
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| The
Patriot Special Edition |
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Starring:
Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson,
MPAA Rating: R Studio: Centropolis Entertainment & Columbia Pictures |
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Movie: A+ Video: A Audio: A Extras: B+
Summary:
"The
Patriot" is a gripping and emotionally charged movie about
the
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The Story
Retired Captain Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) is a war hero from the French and Indian war. Though he made himself a hero in the battle of Fort Wilderness by doing the unspeakable, he feels shame as expressed in his words in the opening credits: "I have long feared... that my sins would return to visit me. And the cost is more than I can bear."
The story begins years later at Martin's South Carolina home at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. He is raising seven children by himself since he lost his wife years before. Called to attend a colony meeting, he refuses to fight in a war that he would threaten his family's safety. When asked about his principles, he replies "I'm a parent. I haven't got the luxury of principles." However, when South Carolina votes in favor of joining the other colonies in the war against the British, his oldest son Gabriel (Heath Ledger) enlists in the Continental army, even though Martin tries to stop his son from doing so.
Two years later, the battles continue to rage on and one is literally fought in front of his home. While taking care of the wounded soldiers from both sides of the conflict, a cruel British Colonel flips Martin's world upside-down with his cold, brutal actions. After the tragic incidence at his home. Martin realizes that the only way to protect his family is to join the war effort to win America's freedom. He leads a small team of Militia, comprised of his fellow farmer neighbors and attempts to hold the British off until the French soldier comes to our aid.
The
battle scenes are well orchestrated and realistically portrayed, though
it got pretty gory at times. Though the movie is 2 hours and 45
minutes long, its gripping and emotionally charged plot makes the
viewing experience very enjoyable. Mel Gibson delivers another
awesome performance, as good as his performance in "Braveheart".
Heath Ledger, playing the idealistic patriot's son, gave an excellent
performance.
The audio commentary is fairly interesting, though the director and producers was somewhat silly during the beginning of the movie. Once they got past their initial silliness, their commentary is very informative and interesting. The visual effects featurette shows "how a patriot loses his head" and "recruiting a digital army" with audio commentary by Stuart Robertson, visual effects supervisor. Though the visual effects are intriguing, this featurette does not show how these visual effects scenes were actually created. It would have been interesting had they gotten into the details.
The nine-minute featurette "The Art of War" is a historically accurate and insightful look at the battlefield tactics during the American Revolutionary War, as well as re-counts of the challenges in filming the battle scenes. The ten-minute featurette "The True Patriots" discusses the historical research that went into making the "The Patriot" historically accurate. The Smithsonian Institute played a crucial role in accurately re-creating the period through detailed costume design, along with the musket and helmet. It also explains the real-world people that comprises the various principal characters and personalities in the movie. Finally, the photo gallery shows a number of still photos during the making of the feature film.
Video & Audio
The image quality is top notch, paying tribute to the beautiful cinematography of on-location scenes around South Carolina. The colors are accurate and saturated, while shadow details are excellent. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is very well balanced, with good use of the surround channels. For example, you can hear the horse hooves pounding all around you as the postrider arrives during the opening credits. The soundtrack makes ample use of the low frequency effects (LFE) channel as well.
Recommendation
It's
amazing that "The Patriot" DVD debuts only less than four
months after its theatrical release on June 28, 2000. As fans of
DVD, we wish this happens more often.
Buy "The Patriot" Special Edition DVD at:
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Rent
it at NetFlix.com
(Sign up for
NetFlix.com "Unlimited" DVD Rental Service Visit "The Patriot" movie web site and the Columbia TriStar Home Video web site.
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"The Patriot" is a gripping, emotionally charged drama about
the sacrifices made by our patriots to win the freedom that each of us
enjoys today. The story is very emotionally charged and you can't
help but be engaged in this movie. I highly recommended this DVD
for fans of epic dramas. This is a movie DVD that is a worthy
addition for your collection. If you like "
