Road to Perdition (DTS Widescreen)
Picture: A- Sound: A Extras: B Film: A-
There is a moment in the
last half hour of Road to Perdition that sums of the entire film. The entire structure of this film is built
around this core moment when Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) and his son Michael
Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) have a chat after the boy had a bad dream. His father is a professional hitman, who has
done numerous jobs for the crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman). Although John was always a father figure for
Michael, there is always a small amount of betrayal when it comes to family
loyalty. Michael and Michael Jr. are on
the run, but at the same time they are seeking revenge. Their talk involves why Michael Jr. always
seemed to be the neglected son versus Michaels other boy, Peter. Michael explains that he never meant to
choose favorites, but saw that this boy was becoming just like him. Because he was a lot like him, he distances
himself from the boy because he did not want him to be anything like him. He did not want him to follow in his
footsteps, but rather wanted a bright future for his boy.
This father/son bond is
always a subplot in most gangster-genre films, but is never quite explored in
the same way it is here in Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition. Mendes became a top director after his
Academy Award Winning debut film American Beauty (1999). Since then he went on to do the show Six
Feet Under for HBO, which also became a hit. It would seem that Mendes is quite capable of
doing projects like this despite not having near the credentials as some other
top directors in the field. More
importantly is the fact that this film has so many things going for it that it
cannot fail. The story is based on the
graphic novel from Max Allan Collins, who wrote and directed the Mommy
and Mommy II films from the mid 90’s.
Collins has an amazing talent for writing sharp stories that penetrate
the viewer with excitement around every corner.
One underlying theme from
this film though, which is quite articulate is that even bad men, or men who do
bad things, still have some sense or morals when it comes to their family. They see the evil that they do; yet they try
to interfere with passing that tradition on.
In most cases gangster films turn into pointless bloodbaths, which only
swell the viewer’s interpretation that these bad men are heroes. This is the biggest problem with De Palma’s Scarface
(1983). Michael Sullivan is more like an
anti-hero, who attempts to make a brighter future for his son. What is so brilliant about this film is that
there is very little back-story given and it immediately jumps into a funeral
scene, where lots of family and guests are gathered. Without much dialogue we quickly gain an understanding
of what is going on in a way that is comparable to the opening scene from The
Godfather, in which most of the characters are introduced from the
beginning during a wedding. With quick
direction in both of Road to Perdition and The Godfather we sense
what is going on and we recognize through the acting the relationships. This will be a benefiting factor later in the
film as we see these characters unravel.
Not only do we have a
strong storyline built already, but add to that the acting skills of Tom Hanks,
who received a lot of slack for taking on a gangster instead of his typical
lovable characters. Indeed, this is one
of Hanks more serious roles, but he plays the part to perfection. Despite being older and not really getting
many roles in his later years, Paul Newman was a perfect candidate for the
aging crime boss. Jude Law plays
Maguire, a photographer/hitman, who also happens to have a real thirst for
shooting people…with his gun and camera!
This is certainly a good role to get him back on track after being
involved with a project like Spielberg’s A.I. Even some of the more minor characters
such as Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Daniel Craig offer fine
performances that only make this entire production more valuable.
Fox/DreamWorks decided to
release Road to Perdition in two separate versions. One with Dolby Digital 5.1 only, while the
other would include Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1, which was not a smart move
on their behalf. Why they felt that two
separate versions had to be made is beyond ones imagination. The only other difference between these two
is that the DTS version lacks the HBO “making of” supplement. This was most likely rejected from this
version in order to concentrate more information on the disc to the higher bit
rate DTS. What would have been the ideal
situation though would have been to release this film as a 2-disc edition,
rather than two separate versions (three if you consider the full-frame
version). A nice 2 disc edition could
present the film both widescreen and full-frame, as
well as both Dolby Digital and DTS.
Unfortunately that
decision was not made, so we are left deciding to buy either the DTS version or
the Dolby Digital version. Hands down
the DTS version is the winner, despite not including that HBO extra. Those really interested can rent the Dolby
version and watch the brief segment and get it out of their system. What you cannot shake from your system though
is this amazing DTS soundtrack that makes this a must-have! Since we have both the Dolby and the DTS on
this disc we can make an A/B comparison to demonstrate the difference between
the two. Even when the Dolby is turned
up in order to try and compensate some of the signal loss, it nowhere near
matches the amount of fullness, richness, and fidelity of the DTS track. The refinement within this mix is one of the
best to date! The music is casually
spread through the multi-channel sound field, with a large amount of low-end
aggression that comes sweeping from below during
intense moments.
State-of-the-art sound design
only adds to the experience of a film.
Compare this film to that of the The Godfather (1971) to Once
Upon a Time in America (1984) and Millers Crossing (1990); three
films from three different decades, which all contain similar subject matter,
yet yield different results based on technologies and advancement in
sound. Road to Perdition is a
prime example of how an effective soundtrack can still be naturalistic, yet
fueled with enough punch to engage the viewer during scenes with more commotion
or activity. We are now in an era when
movies are already thinking ahead in terms of DVD and home viewing, so that the
film is designed with a multi-channel mindset.
The only problem with this is that weaker films try to overdo the sound
design in order to ‘thrill’ the viewer, but lose the focus. Or as the case with films like Fast and
the Furious, the music soundtrack is pumped up and mis-cued that it makes
little sense and is only there in an attempt to distract the viewer from a
relatively weak mise-en-scene.
Thomas Newman’s score is
certainly one of his best since Meet Joe Black (1998) followed the
following year with another great atmospheric arrangement on American Beauty. Newman has a skill for knowing when to make
his arrangements peaceful and melodic or when to be somewhat brighter and more
uplifting. His recent work on Finding
Nemo (2003) is a perfect example of how Newman captures each on screen
detail with instrumentations that are fitting and are a character unto their own. Note
for example the scene in which Michael is trying to teach his son how to drive
the car, which back then was only a clutch.
The music becomes cheery and relaxed, followed by a few well-constructed
montages of bank holdups. The soundtrack
never undermines what is taken place, nor does it try to overpower the
activity. It simply rests with the
characters.
The
anamorphically-enhanced 2.35 X 1 picture shot by the late Conrad L. Hall A.S.C.
is nothing short of a visual accomplishment in every aspect. Although his last film, this is certainly one
of Hall’s best achievements. Hall was
also responsible for the articulate work on American Beauty, which also
won for best Cinematographer, as did Road to Perdition; both films
deservedly so, even though Road to Perdition had some stiff competition
up against Gangs of New York and Chicago. What most people forget (including critics)
is that its not the set designs or the costumes that necessarily make an
authentic looking period piece, but it is the way in which the subjects are
photographed, lit, and most importantly how they are motivated
directionally. Mendes has a keen sense
of direction, which is only further enhanced by Hall’s brilliant use of lens’s
and camera angles in order to flatten out certain scenes or use more depth of
field, not to mention the intelligent color palette displayed.
Road to Perdition was shot with Panavision cameras and lenses, but
used Super 35 for the printed format, with Kodak Vision Premier, which would be
the same used on Spielberg’s Minority Report (2002). The results work much better for Road to
Perdition, and add to the mood of the film.
Hall always managed to find a new way in which to interpret a genre,
while at the same time staying with the look and feel from that genre. This can be seen in his work on Cool Hand
Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Day of
the Locust (1975), Marathon Man 1975), and even more recently with Searching
for Bobby Fischer (1993).
None of Hall’s films
involve sweeping camera moves or fancy trick photographer. They are simply shot, with a true passion for
framing characters to play before the camera and capture the essence of the
scene rather than try and make the camera do all the work. Actors should play out before the camera, not
the other way around. When you watch a
film shot by Conrad Hall you are immediately grabbed by the action. You feel the rays of the sun peaking in
through a window, or the bitter raindrops falling from the sky. You instantly can feel a certain atmosphere
and temperature of each room as the camera sneaks through as if it was not
there. Hall will surely be missed, but
ended truly on a high note.
There is very little
negative to say about a film such as this.
There is even less to say about this incredible DTS edition that simply
begs for attention. In terms of
naturalness within the soundtrack this is by far one of the best DVD’s to own
alongside Meet Joe Black: Ultimate Edition, The Patriot Superbit
Deluxe, or The Red Violin. The
commentary for Road to Perdition is provided by Mendes, who does an admirable
job keeping the viewer/listener interested in what he has to say about each
scene. It never becomes dull or dry and
is similar to the commentary he provided for American Beauty. There are a handful of deleted scenes, which
can be accessed with or without Mendes’s commentary. Unlike most deleted scenes, it appears that
all of these cut scenes were truly intended on being in the film, such as the
scene with Al Capone, who ended up never being shown in the film. Awesome film, awesome DVD, what more can be
said?
- Nate Goss
