Search - The Talented Mr. Ripley [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Adult Language Movie Release: 1999 DVD Release: 06/27/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 18 mins Studio: Paramount Total Copies: 10 Genres: Drama, Thriller, Period Film, Crime Thriller, Psychological Thriller See Also: The Talented Mr. Ripley [Widescreen]

After the Oscar-winning The English Patient, writer/director Anthony Minghella attempted another tricky literary adaptation with The Talented Mr. Ripley, which features heartthrob Matt Damon cast against type as a psychopathic bisexual murderer. Tom Ripley (Damon) is a bright and charismatic sociopath who makes his way in mid-'50s New York City as a men's room attendant and sometimes pianist, though his real skill is in impersonating other people, forging handwriting, and running second-rate scams. After being mistaken for a Princeton student, Tom meets the shipping tycoon father of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), who has traveled to the coast of Italy, where he's living a carefree life with his father's money and his beautiful girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Dickie's father will pay Ripley 1,000 dollars plus his expenses if he can persuade Dickie to return to America. As Ripley and Dickie become friends, Tom finds himself both attracted to Dickie and envious of his life of pleasure. In time, he decides that he would rather be Dickie Greenleaf than Tom Ripley, so rather than go back to his life of poverty, Ripley impulsively murders Dickie and assumes his identity. The Talented Mr. Ripley was based on the first of a series of novels featuring Tom Ripley written by Patricia Highsmith; the story was previously filmed in 1960 as Purple Noon, with Alain Delon as Ripley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Matt Damon - Tom Ripley
Gwyneth Paltrow - Marge Sherwood
Jude Law - Dickie Greenleaf
Cate Blanchett - Meredith Logue
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Freddie Miles

A well-packed DVD release of Anthony Minghella's 1999 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel (filmed previously in 1960 as Plein Soleil. The disc not only includes a director's commentary and trailers, but a short piece on the creation of the soundtrack, music videos, a making-of documentary and a separate section of cast and crew interviews.

The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen format, with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The image is beautifully crisp and clear, with accurate and rich colors as well as solid blacks. This is a particular plus for this particular movie, which was beautifully shot in some wonderful locations; the studio sequences, which often use a more stylized color scheme, fare equally well.

The audio side is slightly less impressive. The Dolby Surround track seems overdone, with levels pushed too far and tracks mushed together -- a problem that crosses over to the French Dolby Surround track, which has an additional handicap in a voice cast that seems to know few subtleties. The Dolby 5.1 track is far better in most respects, with excellent separation and balance, as well as good surround usage. It is, however, extremely muted, especially in contrast to the others. Music and ambient sounds are treated very well indeed, but there is very little call for deep, punchy bass.

Minghella's commentary is scene-specific, and essentially non-stop. He pours out details of the story, his approach to the script, the production, the cast, the characters, the music. Curiously enough, considering the amount of information he delivers, he never once sounds rushed.

The "Inside The Talented Mr. Ripley" documentary and the cast/crew interviews have some redundant information, but still provide a good further glimpse into the workings of the film. The music documentary is short, but quite interesting in terms of how it explains Minghella's through-line for the film in terms of the music -- classical, jazz, and original music by composer Gabriel Yared. The trailers are standard issue, but presented in excellent condition. The two music videos are drawn from sequences within the movie. "My Funny Valentine" takes a typical cross-cutting approach, while "Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano" is simply taken directly from the movie. Neither is overly special, but it is nice to have them on hand.

=The Talented Mr. Ripley is an excellent DVD, and certainly one of the best efforts from the direction of Paramount up to the end of 2000. ~ Steven E. McDonald, All Movie Guide