听 Mike Nichols' absorbing direction of "Silkwood" is finally now available in widescreen on DVD but with a slightly over-ambitious sound mix.
While many bigger and noisier movies make do with a 2-channel Pro-Logic mix on DVD, this quiet drama is presented in a 4-channel format. It should break down into a dialogue signal for the centre speaker, individual signals of effects for the front left and right speakers, and a mono signal for the rears.
Unfortunately the separation is at times out of balance, with the rears cutting in during dialogue scenes leading to some characters taking on a slightly ethereal quality. The best way round this is to choose Dolby 3 Stereo on your amplifier and leave out the rear speakers.
It's worth doing this, as there's nothing wrong with the rest of the DVD. The picture quality is generally very good. Odd grain creeps in during darker scenes like in the bedroom in chapter six. But overall the movie looks very fresh.
Care has been taken in the DVD's presentation, with animated menus and detailed cast biographies that include trivia and quotes.
Chapters: 15
Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby Digital 4.0
Extra Features: Scene selection, production notes, cast biographies and notes, photo and poster gallery, animated menus.
