Search - U-Turn [Widescreen/Fullscreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1997 DVD Release: 03/31/1998 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 4 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Total Copies: 4 Genres: Comedy, Crime, Post-Noir (Modern Noir) See Also: U-Turn

Oliver Stone directed this John Ridley screenplay adapted from Ridley's novel Stray Dogs. A drifter (Sean Penn) eludes Las Vegas collection agents and arrives in a small town where he decides to linger after his car has a breakdown. Here he gets involved with the locals, including an unhappily married couple -- a businessman (Nick Nolte) and his seductive, femme-fatale wife (Jennifer Lopez). A trailer trash teen (Claire Danes) also approaches him in an effort to get away from her abusive boyfriend (Joaquin Phoenix). Tensions in the town escalate, eventually leading to murder. Stone wanted to change the title from U-Turn back to Stray Dogs but encountered a problem with Akira Kurosawa, who felt it was too similar to his detective classic, Stray Dog (1949) with Toshiro Mifune. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Sean Penn - Bobby Cooper
Nick Nolte - Jake McKenna
Jennifer Lopez - Grace McKenna
Powers Boothe - Sheriff Potter
Claire Danes - Jenny
Joaquin Phoenix - Toby N. Tucker
Jon Voight - Blind Man

This oddball combination of black comedy and pulp thriller was Oliver Stone's least controversial film in years, and also arguably his worst. Nevertheless, it does have some merit in terms of acting and visuals, and it is therefore disappointing that Columbia/TriStar has put minimal effort into this DVD. The anamorphic widescreen transfer of the film is satisfactory, even if the deliberately faded and washed-out look of the film does not benefit greatly from the process. On the other hand, U-Turn's breezy music and bizarre dialogue have been well cared for with an excellent Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, and the audio quality of this disc is consistently high from beginning to end. Regrettably, the only special feature on the disc is the original theatrical trailer, which is okay but nothing special. Stone normally seems willing to contribute to DVD editions, and his input is missed here. This is only a so-so DVD, but then Columbia TriStar might well regard it as only a so-so movie. ~ Patrick Lee, All Movie Guide