Search - Catch Me If You Can [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Watch With Your Teen Movie Release: 2002 DVD Release: 05/06/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 2 hrs 21 mins Studio: DreamWorks Total Copies: 176 Genres: Crime, Chase Movie, Biopic [feature] See Also: Catch Me If You Can [Fullscreen]

A gifted forger and confidence man attempts to stay one step ahead of the lawman determined to bring him to justice in this comedy-drama from Steven Spielberg, based on a true story. Frank W. Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds himself emotionally cut adrift when his mother, Paula (Nathalie Baye), leaves his father, Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), after Frank Sr. falls into arrears with the Internal Revenue Service. One day at school, Frank Jr. attempts to pass himself off as a substitute teacher, and easily makes the subterfuge work. His small-scale success gives Frank some ideas, and he soon discovers bigger and more profitable ways of hoaxing others, passing himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney. Along the way, Frank learns how to become a master forger, and uses his talent and charm to pass over 2.5 million dollars in phony checks. Frank's increasingly audacious work soon attracts the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI agent who is determined to put Frank behind bars. Frank seems to enjoy being pursued by Carl, and even goes so far as to call Carl on the phone to chat every once in a while. While posing as a doctor, Frank falls in love with Brenda Strong (Amy Adams), a sweet girl working as a candy striper. When Frank asks Brenda to marry him, he decides to assume a new identity to impress her father, Roger (Martin Sheen) -- who happens to be the District Attorney of New Orleans, LA. Catch Me If You Can was based on the autobiography of the real Frank W. Abagnale Jr., who has a cameo in the film and today works on the side of the law as a top consultant on preventing forgery and designing secure checking systems. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Leonardo DiCaprio - Frank Abagnale, Jr.
Tom Hanks - Carl Hanratty
Christopher Walken - Frank Abagnale, Sr.
Martin Sheen - Roger Strong
Nathalie Baye - Paula Abagnale

Dreamworks continues to produce fine DVDs, with this one being no exception. The image, framed at 1.85:1 and anamorphic (of course, a full-frame version is available separately) is a wonderful translation from the theaters. Colors are warm and detail is exact. The transfer looks a bit soft at times, but it's far from a distraction and seems suited to the light nature of the film. As for sound, both 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS tracks are offered. Each is a fine compliment to the visuals, and each especially highlights John Williams' breezy jazz score. The surrounds aren't used to any great degree, but overall these tracks are top-quality all the way. Certainly nothing less would be expected. While the first disc is devoid of supplemental material (sorry, don't expect the first Spielberg commentary), the second disc in this set has a number of interesting tidbits, though they do look like more as a whole than the individual parts. Laurent Bouzereau, a frequent documentarian for Spielberg's films, has put together an 80-minute documentary which is broken up into a number of separate pieces, so it can't be played through in it's entirety. Still, each segment is quite nice. The first, "Behind the Camera" is just that: a 17-minute featurette on making the film. Next, at around 30 minutes, is "Cast Me if You Can," a look at the main players. Shorter (six minutes), is "Scoring Catch Me if You Can," which obviously discusses John Williams' work on this film. "Frank Abagnale: Between Reality and Fiction" is a multi-part segment as Abagnale further discusses his incredible story. Finally, "The FBI Perspective" briefly looks at the realist nature of the FBI as portrayed in this film and "In Closing" (four minutes) sums up the experience from the main cast and crew. As a whole, these featurettes make a fine documentary, but it all seems a bit light for such a high-profile film. On the other hand, the film itself is rather lightweight, so maybe it's the perfect accompaniment. Beyond this is an archive section with numerous photos, cast and crew biographies, and production notes, much of which was covered in the documentary. Spielberg has repeatedly called this his "bonbon of a movie." It's a very enjoyable, but insubstantial film, and in many ways, this disc echoes that sentiment. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide