This engaging comedy may be an action-adventure, but it's also a love story between Harry Tasker Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Helen Jamie Lee Curtis. True Lies incorporates spectacular special effects along with comedy and romance, and it's a winning combination. Sidekick Tom Arnold is just smart-mouthed enough to keep Harry in line and under cover. Director James Cameron has worked with Schwarzenegger in many films, and they all have a familiar feel to them. Bill Paxton as the sleazy used car salesman is also a Cameron regular and perfect for the part. A Fox release in anamorphic widescreen, the True Lies DVD includes a Dolby 5.1 Surround audio track in English and French, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish. The sound and picture are both excellent. The biggest disappointment with this DVD is the lack of special features. The only bonus footage is the original theatrical trailer. There are no bios, documentaries, or even outtakes in this release, and the absence is especially lacking in comparison to other releases that include so much extra footage. True Lies is an excellent film, but the lack of special features is a detriment to the DVD.
John Woo directs the Muscles from Brussels, Jean-Claude Van Damme, in the action film Hard Target, which comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. An English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, while a French soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. Spanish subtitles are accessible, and the English soundtrack is closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include production notes, biographies of people associated with the production, and production notes. This is a fine disc Universal that will satisfy genre enthusiasts and fans of Van Damme.