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Tense thrills and action mix in the gritty suspense drama Don't Say a Word starring Michael Douglas and Brittany Murphy. Fox has done a very good job on this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. All aspects of this transfer look very good, from the evenly saturated color schemes to the deep, dark black levels. No edge enhancement, shimmer, or digital artifacting is spotted anywhere on this disc. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 in English (as well as 2.0 in French) and DTS Surround in English. Both the DTS and Dolby 5.1 soundtracks are full and bombastic with surround sounds utilized during much of the film. All aspects of these tracks are clear and free of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English subtitles. This edition of Don't Say a Word is chock-full of extra features. Starting off the disc are two commentaries: one feature-length commentary with director Gary Felder; and a second with actors Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Oliver Platt, and Brittany Murphy. While the director's commentary is insightful and runs the length of the film, the actor's commentaries are broken up in sections so each actor can give some information about their character or thoughts on the film separately. Taken as a whole, these commentary tracks are very thorough and informative. Next up are three sections: "Preproduction," "Production," and "Post-production." In the "Preproduction" section there is a screen test for actress Brittany Murphy and two insightful storyboard-to-scene comparisons. In the "Production" section is a featurette called "You Are There" which takes a behind-the-scenes look at three separate sequences narrated by the director. Also included are some screening room dailies which show how a scene is comprised of multiple takes or shots, and a set tour with production designer Nelson Coates that features Coates walking the viewer through many of the sets used in the film. In the "Post-production" section, there is an interview with director Gary Felder discussing filmmaking and what works best as a director, "Thriller Themes" which is a short spot about the music in the film (featuring composer Mark Isham in a few brief scenes), and "Inside a Scene: Trench Sequence," a feature that looks at how the end scenes was filmed and why the use of computer graphics was necessary. Also included on this disc are some deleted scenes which don't add much to the proceedings, a short making-of featurette that includes many clips from the film, and some vital statistics on the cast and crew. Finally, there is a DVD trailer for the Michael Douglas drama Wall Street. Strangely, there is no theatrical trailer available for Don't Say a Word anywhere on this disc. This DVD is filled to the brim with special features and should leave fans speechless.
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