Search - How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Profanity Movie Release: 2000 DVD Release: 03/26/2002 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan - Closed Captioned Subtitles: Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 48 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Total Copies: 11 Genres: Comedy Drama, Comedy of Manners

Somewhere in L.A., Peter (Kenneth Branagh), a washed-up British playwright, struggles to duplicate his past glory as he surfs a foul-smelling tide of disenchantment. His wife, Melanie (Robin Wright Penn), manages to maintain an optimistic outlook even as she longs for the baby that her husband is hesitant to help her conceive. When Peter befriends Amy (Suzi Hofrichter), a neighborhood girl who has mild cerebral palsy, their friendship softens him to the idea of fatherhood and propels Melanie's maternal yearnings into hyperdrive. As if baby fever weren't enough, Peter is plagued by a seemingly benevolent stalker (Jared Harris), his neighbors' incessantly noisy dog, and the flighty cast and crew of his latest play. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Kenneth Branagh - Peter McGowen
Jared Harris - Pete
Lynn Redgrave - Edna
Peter Riegert - Larry

There's a lot of vintage music in How To Kill Your Neighbor's Dog, and it's displayed quite well in the Dolby Digital 2.0, with the center channel doing the bulk of the work. The full-frame aspect ratio does a disservice to several scenes -- in a movie this dialogue heavy, pan-and-scan can really wreck a shot -- but the mastering from the 35 mm print is clear and sharp, with firm, and at times, vivid colors. Besides scene selections, the only add-ons are the captions in English and Spanish and the theatrical trailer, which sounds as if it was recorded in Dolby 5.0. It's a shame there isn't more bonus material (a director's commentary, for instance) for an overlooked, intelligent film as this one. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide