"The Shipping News" slips out onto a low-key DVD with extra features little deeper than the film they represent.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture The bleak watery colours of the Newfoundland settings transfer solidly to disc, although the detail is occasionally a little bleary.
Sound A highly atmospheric 5.1 mix does a lot to enhance the isolation of the central location, with some good rear effects that wrap you into the mood of the movie.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary Director Lasse Hallström, writer Robert Nelson Jacobs, and producers Leslie Holleran and Linda Goldstein Knowlton all contribute to this moderately interesting commentary track. It's a bit like an open-top bus tour. The information you get is never more than a rough guide to what you're seeing, rather than revealing anything of significance.
The focus of the chat is on locations, days that were good to shoot on, and other such trivialities. In amongst this, there are comments about how the book was adapted into the film and how various elements were compressed to let the love story through.
Dive Beneath the Surface of "The Shipping News" The title of this 23-minute featurette sure seems promising, but it's the usual cast and crew chat about the plot and characters they play. There's plenty of behind-the-scenes footage, and a little look at the location scouting, but otherwise this is a 'once only' feature.
As is common with any new DVD featuring Judi Dench, part of the featurette is devoted to people singing her praises. Not that she doesn't deserve it, but you do start to wonder if there's a competition to see who can produce the most nauseating sycophancy.
Photo Archive Here you'll find the following image galleries: Behind-the-Scenes, Portrait, and Scenic Views.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Region: 2
Chapters: 20
Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Tracks: English and Italian
Subtitles: English and Italian
Captions: English
Menus: Animated, with music
Special Features Subtitles: The featurette comes with Italian subtitles, otherwise there are no English titles for any of the special features.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.
