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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • English: DTS 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English
  Extras
  • Deleted scenes
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Audio commentary
  • Music video
  • 2 Documentaries

15 Minutes

New Line/Roadshow Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 116 mins . MA15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

When two ex-crims come to the land of the free to finally pick up their uncollected job money from a so called friend, a killing spree begins that will take them on a rollercoaster ride as America's latest fetish for violence and notoriety. You see, Oleg has just stolen a Sony TRV-900 camcorder (Ed: Drool, 3CCD semi-pro bundle of video fun) to film his first amateur movie, something that he has wanted to do ever since seeing Frank Capra's Christmas on 34th Street. The problem is, when they visit their friend for the money, Oleg inadvertently films Emil murdering him, after it is revealed their share of the money has been spent. But someone has witnessed the murder and gotten away. In an attempt to find this witness, Oleg and Emil do their worst to find her and in the process kill a few more people. Thus begins their 15 minutes of infamy as they become America's latest ratings hit.

What the two of them realise is that no matter what anyone does, they don't seem to be held responsible. The American legal system is full of loop holes, such as the ability for somebody to plead insanity and thus not be responsible for the murders they've just committed.

Detective Eddie Fleming has already had his 15 minutes of fame and uses news host Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Gammar) and his show to help promote the NYPD. Eddie and Arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns) team up in the usual buddy cop style to track down these so called celebrities. We are soon thrown into a social commentary of the current state of American society, whereby the media begins a feeding frenzy that starves and feeds itself. Recent saturation of the September 11th terrorist attacks can attest to over-eating on occasion but in comparison, this little morsel of violence by two migrants is just the snack the viewers crave for.

It's not long before this movie treads the blurry line between serious actioner and black satire. That's the beauty of it. It doesn't go where Natural Born Killers takes us, even where director Oliver Stone would place us, but it still provides an entertaining few hours in front of the box.

  Video
Contract

When you're on a good thing, stick to it - and that is exactly what Village Roadshow have done here. It is no secret that New Line Cinema is producing some of the best telecine work to come out of the US and with Roadshow having access to these transfers for the PAL market, there is a lot they would need to do to botch the video.

Thankfully, their DVDs are in good hands and this is yet another shining example of just how good DVD can look. The one thing that strikes you about the transfer is the crisp look of the image. Every scene seems to be filled with solid line structures that are very sharp and render exceptionally well. The level of detail this affords the image is evident from scene to scene.

Color saturation is very rich and vibrant throughout. Every shot, no matter the location, in combination with the excellent black levels and vibrant white levels, provides a dynamic picture to rival the best we've seen so far. The shots filmed with the Sony TRV900 handycam also render well considering the semi-pro nature of the camera with the presence of a fly screened type gauze over the image.

This is a very good looking DVD indeed.

  Audio
Contract

Audio-wise this is another suitably adept soundtrack that is encoded in both the 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS formats. In direct comparison there is not much difference between the two of them, if any difference at all, but Roadshow have yet again gone the effort of providing us with the DTS soundtrack that is not available in the US.

Although not a true action movie, 15 Minutes has a few moments throughout to provide a truly encompassing sound field that accurately represents the onscreen drama. Dialogue is presented beautifully with nary a hint of anything lacking in that department. Surround channel activity is mainly based around the ambience of the movie, with the city details rendered all around you. In times of faster paced chases, the surrounds come alive a little more. Bass response is somewhat subdued but kicks in when called upon for emphasisis.

  Extras
Contract

As with any decent Roadshow release, this disc is packed with extras starting off with two documentaries - True Tabloid stars & Does Crime Pay?. The former looks at actual tabloid stars on American television today such as Sally Jesse Rafael, with the latter being a room with some lawyers and reporters talking about the movie itself.

Oleg's Video is a collection of all the footage that Oleg filmed using the TRV-900 handycam. The rehearsal scenes show, well, rehearsals the cast did on location for some scenes throughout the movie. The audio commentary, provided by director John Hertzfeld, is of pretty good interest with some nice insights into his technique and how he went about treating the satire, but sometimes degenerates into just describing the movie as it plays on screen.

A collection of six deleted scenes with optional director's commentary is included, and these are mainly proper deleted scenes rather than extended ones. The commentary reveals why the director chose to excise them. A music video - Fame God Lives Underwater is the last of the main video-based features and is of decent quality. Of note are the fact track subtitles, whereby subtitles appear throughout the movie giving interesting Discovery Channel type facts about America.

The usual suspects round out the remaining list of extras with cast/crew biographies and a theatrical trailer. Ahh, my favorite Dolby train trailer is included as well as the simple yet effective DTS piano trailer

From all reports, the lack of the infinifilm setup is not really a loss as all of the features are included on this release, barring the DVD-ROM content. Having a DTS soundtrack gives us the one up over our cousins abroad.

  Overall  
Contract

Whilst not everyone's cup of tea, Reality TV has that certain air of voyeurism about it that keeps the ratings high, even if the content is sub-par. Where 15 Minutes works is in its serious look at the consequences of its actions. A play on words, a stab at popular culture or just a movie telling it how it is?

This DVD scrubs up pretty well, looking as good as it can be, sounding as good as it needs to be and featuring the extras that round off a nice package.


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      And I quote...
    "This DVD scrubs up pretty well... a nice package."
    - Steve Koukoulas
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Philips DVDR-1000
    • TV:
          Hitachi CMT2979 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Onkyo TX-DS777 THX Select
    • Speakers:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Centre Speaker:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Surrounds:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Subwoofer:
          VAF LFE-07
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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