Search - Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1990 DVD Release: 04/27/1999 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 44 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Drama, Psychological Drama, Crime Drama, Prison Film

Based on Doug Magee's novel -Slow Coming Dark, the made-for-cable Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture is about a photojournalist (Roy Scheider) who is hired by a man (Arliss Howard) convicted of killing a policeman to photograph his execution. As the execution grows nearer, the photographer uncovers evidence that suggests the convicted man is actually innocent, and he tries to save him before it's too late. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Arliss Howard - Raymond Eames
Roy Scheider - Paul Marish

Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture is a fairly standard disc from Goodtimes, but that's not necessarily bad. As with the majority of their titles, this one has a very good picture that is free of any distracting elements. At times the age of the film shows, but it's far from glaring. This "small" company should be given a lot of credit for continually producing sharp-looking images. Since the film was made for cable, it's shown in a full-screen format. It was never made wide. Also, as with most of their discs, they use a four-channel surround soundtrack, though they never really take advantage of it. There's little use of any surround sound, but considering the source, it still sounds clean. The disc has an English language track and subtitles for English, French, and Spanish. For a DVD that has such a low retail price, one can't expect a lot of extra material. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide