Search - The 4th Floor

A woman discovers the downside of getting to know your neighbors in this suspense thriller. Jane Emelin (Juliette Lewis) is a young interior decorator who has inherited an apartment in New York City from a relative who has passed on. While she loves the building and the price is right, she discovers that the apartment below hers is rented out by a dangerous eccentric who soon makes her life a living hell. The 4th Floor also features William Hurt, Shelley Duvall, and Austin Pendleton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Juliette Lewis - Jane Emelin
William Hurt
Shelley Duvall
Austin Pendleton
Tobin Bell
Artie Lange

A-Pix, in a move that is somewhat rare in the land of the independents, has included both the letterboxed and full-frame versions of The 4th Floor on the same disc. Also impressive is the image quality. The letterbox side is framed at 1.85:1 and holds up as well as any major studio disc. The big drawback is it's not anamorphic. The colors are subdued, but still look good. No color bleeding was evident. Blacks, which can sometimes be the downfall of an independent company, are very strong and show no blockiness or grain. The sound for the film is not nearly as good. Granted, they do offer a 5.0 Dolby Digital track, but it isn't very creative. Sound is very clear up front for dialogue, which is the most important issue, but there isn't any real use of the front or rear surrounds other than incidental noises. Another problem is this disc suffers from a soundtrack that is recorded far too low. Volume has to be turned up far beyond the normal range to hear even the regular spoken dialogue. Subtitles are offered in Spanish, but there are none in English. Another big plus for this disc is the extras. The main special feature is a commentary track from director Josh Klausner, editor Tricia Cooke, and production designer Timothy Galvin. Klausner and the others have a lot to say about low-budget filmmaking. Each adds comments that are scene-specific and anecdotal. Also included is an alternate ending (which is mentioned in the commentary) that simply goes on too long. There are also a couple of trailers that were obviously designed for the video release. Last, but not least, there are numerous trailers from other A-Pix films, including Oxygen, Six Ways To Sunday, and Around the Fire. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide

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