David Fincher's controversial Fight Club has had a few incarnations on DVD. This release offers a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, while a French soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. English and Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include four different commentary tracks. David Fincher performs one of the tracks solo. He is joined by actors Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter on another track. The screenwriter Jim Uhls can be heard with the author of the original novel, Chuck Palahniuk. Lastly, a technical commentary track consists of many of the people who worked behind the camera. This is a great disc from 20th Century Fox.
Director Rawson Marshall Thurber was not only lucky enough to get first-rate comic talents Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn to star in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, he also managed to get them to take part in the commentary track recorded for the film's initial DVD release. The three are very entertaining mixing explanations of how they honed the film to be as funny as possible with humorous asides about Fox's rules on what can be said during a DVD commentary. The film itself is presented in a widescreen anamorphic transfer that fails to preserve the original theatrical aspect ratio. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Deleted scenes with optional director commentary, a blooper reel, and a featurette on how to play dodgeball are all available for viewing. The best extra, however, might be the ability to read the screenplay, which offers a valuable lesson to up and coming comic filmmakers that if it is funny on the page it is far more likely to be funny on screen.
David M. Evans family-oriented comedy The Sandlot comes to DVD with pair of transfers. The widescreen anamorphic transfer preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is preferable to the standard full-frame transfer. Closed-captioned English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Surround, while a French soundtrack has also been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. English and Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a making-of featurette, television promotional spots, and a theatrical trailer. This is a solid release from 20th Century Fox.
The film that shot Marisa Tomei to stardom comes to DVD in an excellent package. The disc boasts a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. English and French soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. English and Spanish subtitles are also accessible. Supplemental features include a commentary by director Jonathan Lynn, theatrical trailers, and television spots. Fans of the film will be thrilled with the look and sound on the disc. Tomei's Academy Award-winning performance loses nothing on the small screen.