Random Hearts was a rare critical and commercial failure for Harrison Ford, despite an intriguing premise and the experienced directorial presence of Sydney Pollack. It is surprising, then, that Columbia TriStar has gone to such extraordinary lengths with this DVD package, which in terms of content and value would befit a far better movie than Random Hearts. With an anamorphic widescreen picture and Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio, the film could not look or sound any better, and the overall audio-visual sharpness does make it infinitely more enjoyable than it could ever be on videocassette or television. The disc also includes several special features, most of which merit full attention. No less than three versions of the original theatrical trailer are provided, and though the differences between them are relatively slight, they are interesting for highlighting what is perhaps the film's main problem, which is that it doesn't really know if it's a thriller or a romance. The HBO First Look 22-minute featurette is another compelling oddity; although it purports to be "The Making of Random Hearts," it offers absolutely no background whatsoever beyond character analysis, although this aspect is at least discussed in detail by Ford, co-star Kristin Scott Thomas, and others. The "Talent Profiles" are basic filmographies, but it is worth mentioning that the three deleted scenes each have a commentary by Pollack, who explains clearly exactly why the scenes were omitted. Pollack's feature commentary is equally lucid, detailing everything from casting issues and logistical shooting problems to the use of sound and lighting to shape the film's mood. In fact, Pollack may even convince viewers that Random Hearts is a very good film after all. Such is the superb quality of this disc that an otherwise ordinary movie will seem vastly improved to even its harshest critics.
Customer Rating
5
Random Hearts - DVD
on December 14, 2009
Posted by: DeAnna1210
from Indianapolis, IN
This picture is breathe taking, if you love Harrison Ford. He will still your heart with this tear jerker. I have searched everwhere for this movie and the best price and location was Best Buy.