Michael Curtiz's The Comancheros will prove something of a disappointment on DVD, at least for those of us who owned or have seen the laserdisc of the movie. The latter, also produced by Fox, contained a very enjoyable and rewarding commentary track by movie co-star Stuart Whitman that is nowhere to be found on this digital disc. The movie itself is transferred well enough here, at least by the standards of the early 21st century, though there are limits to the resolution of both the source print and the transfer technology. One longs to see how a high-definition transfer, even bumped down to NTSC, would look on this movie; between the expansive outdoor locales and the fact that Curtiz filled just about every corner of the Cinemascope screen with something worth seeing, it will probably be mighty impressive. Until then, we have this more modest effort, proportioned in letterboxed format to fit the 'Scope image (2.35:1), fairly sharp and reasonably crisp, even if the reds bleed a bit and the finest printing on the opening titles blurs slightly. The bonus features include the original American trailer and one in Spanish as well; a brief Fox Movietone newsreel clip of singer Claude King and composer Tillman Franks, who wrote the song "The Comancheros" (which was never used in the movie) accepting an award; and trailers for two other John Wayne movies released by Fox. It's not much of a supplement compared to the laserdisc, but at least the two-layer menu accessing all of it -- which opens automatically on start-up -- is easy to use.
Terrence Malick's return to filmmaking after a two decades long layoff, The Thin Red Line comes to DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It would be a waste of time to watch any of Malick's films without a widescreen image. Closed-captioned English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Surround. English and Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include music from the movie. The lack of extras is a let down due to the historic aspects of the film production and content, but this is a solid release from 20th Century Fox as it is.
While You Were Sleeping unfortunately suggests what Hollywood Pictures was doing when its home video department released this DVD. With no extras on it beyond the original theatrical trailer, the Sandra Bullock romantic comedy is the only component of the disc. At least the film is available in its 1:85 widescreen and the transfer is well done. The audio is Dolby Surround, but it's neither digitally encoded nor 5:1. Such a commercially successful film warranted production notes or perhaps commentary by director Jon Turteltaub. Unfortunately, the DVD was released below the radar of the studio and even Sandra Bullock fans. The film has a French language track and a Spanish subtitle option.
Natural Born Killers was criticized for its violence when released in theaters, and this director's cut release restores even more graphic content. Only huge fans of the film are likely to be interested in these additional scenes, but for those interested in learning how Oliver Stone ticks, it's a great study of the mind of the director. Also included are several surreal deleted scenes, including two featuring Ashley Judd and Denis Leary, as well as an alternate ending. Stone's commentary, which is prefaced with a Trimark Pictures disclaimer as not reflecting the company's views, proves he really does have a grasp of the medium, and the "making of" featurette with the cast and crew reinforces the idea that this film was made in an "inmates running the asylum" manner. For those interested in the controversy or looking for an education in violent experimental filmmaking, this disc is loaded with goodies.