|
 Movie
B+ |
Video A- | Audio A-
| Extras B+
Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen
director Phillip Noyce | Miramax (Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
2002 | Political Thriller - Romance| R | 101 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9
anamorphic
widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio
|
Dolby Digital 5.1
Summary: The Quiet American is at the same
time a political thriller and a love story. From the political
perspective, it tells the story of
the early beginning of America's involvement in the Vietnam War in and
around 1952.
Michael Caine is Thomas Fowler, a British journalist for The London Times who came to Vietnam to write about the French
occupied Vietnam. There,
he forsakes his wife in England and gets involved with a beautiful and young Vietnamese woman by the name
of Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen). Her
overprotective older sister doesn't approve of their relationship on
several counts.
When Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser) comes to Vietnam to offer medical
assistance as part of the Economic Aid Commission, Thomas befriends him
and gives Alden a few pointers.
"They say whatever you're
looking for, you will find it here.
They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes,
but the rest has got to be lived."
Almost upon
their introduction, Alden falls for Phuong. He openly and
shamelessly courts her right from under Thomas's nose.
It's a rather odd love triangle. There's not much Thomas can do, for
his roman catholic wife refuses to grant him a divorce. In his
journalistic endeavors, Thomas discovers a mysterious plot centered about a new self-promoted Vietnamese
general. Everything around him suddenly explodes in chaos and
nothing is the same.
As a political thriller,
The Quiet American is thought provoking and controversial. It
portrays the Vietnam War from an entirely new angle. If you're into
political thrillers, you will find this film worthy of a rental.
While the love story puts the main characters in an interesting situation,
the "romance" is hardly worthy of fans seeking a love story.
Special Features: audio commentary by
director Phillip Noyce, producers, co-writers, and actors Michael Caine,
Brendan Fraser, and Tzi Ma; "Anatomy of a Scene" Sundance Channel
featurette; original featurette, Vietnam Timeline with brief historical
passages; original book reviews (3) of The Quiet American; Sneak
Peeks: theatrical trailers of Chicago,
Frida, Gangs of New York, Confessions of a Dangerous
Mind
DVD-ROM features (requires a computer with a
DVD-ROM drive): Enhanced Vietnam Timeline with
advanced navigation and scalable pictures; easy access to embedded
weblinks
DVD released on 7/29/2003 | Reviewed 8/12/2003
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Additional Notes: Unless we specify otherwise, the
video and audio quality are very good when their grades are "A-"
or better. Only the highest number of channels of surround sound
format is listed (e.g., Dolby Digital 5.1). If there are both Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, then both are listed. All
DVD-Video discs are backwards compatible with stereo-only playback
systems.
Let us know what you think about this DVD review, write to us at
Staff@TimeForDVD.com.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-NS725P progressive scan DVD player, Sony
KP-65WV600 65" rear projection HDTV-monitor (16:9 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable
ULT V1000 Ultra Series THX component video cable, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
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