Crash – The Complete
First Season (Anchor Bay/Starz
DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: C
Paul Haggis’ Crash (2005) was very lucky to be a
hit and win the Academy Award for Best Picture, being a watered-down version of
Robert Altman’s best work to begin with and was a one-of-a-kind success. Since then, many bad films have tried to
duplicate its success as if it were a formula film in a cycle that is still
going on. Now, the film is being remade
and very stretched out to be a TV series and the resulting Crash – The Complete First Season is an unnecessary disappointment.
For more on the original film, here is our Blu-ray
coverage:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3944/Crash+(2005/Blu-ray)
Dennis Hopper and a group of decent, unknown supporting
actors try to fill out the roles from the film, but there is some variation
throughout and it also tries to be edgy in its use of nudity and violence. However, all it can do is retread that same
ground already covered by so many better TV shows going al the way back to Hill Street Blues. Sometimes the writing is not convincing and
the actors cannot do much to save it. We
get 13 hour-long episodes (minus commercials) and there is no arc building a
storyline that makes me want to watch again.
Even Hopper is doing what he has done so often before, no
matter how good he is. Also, using Los
Angeles as a character of a dark otherworld is very tired and is overdone
here. At least the actors try, but this
version of Crash just slowly, sadly
implodes.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is on the soft
side, with stylized work that tries to make it look “urban” and is also a
cliché. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not
so good, including dialogue that is not always the most well-recorded and this
is not just about realism in audio. The
combination is trying and not so good.
Extras include an alternate ending of the final episode, character bios
and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Well enough should have been left alone. Can’t imagine the next season being any
better, but here it comes, we guess.
- Nicholas Sheffo
