DVD Review- THE RECKONING

DETAILS: 110 minutes, trailer, previews
STUDIO: PARAMOUNT CLASSICS
RELEASE DATE: 8-3-2004

VIDEO: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors and blacks are good. Image detail is good enough even though the transfer does looka little soft.

AUDIO: You can hear the movie in English 5.1 Dolby Digital or English 2.0 Dolby Surround with the option of English subtitles. No foreign audio or foreign subtitle tracks at all. Dialogue comes through clearly. Music and sound effects are OK and not stellar.

EXTRAS: The only extras are the theatrical trailer for THE RECKONING and previews for I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD, THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND, LOVE ME IF YOU DARE, AND NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, and NORTHFORK.

THE MOVIE: It is your basic Middle Ages Murder Mystery movie that just happens to be interesting. A priest on the run (Paul bettany) falls in with a group of traveling actors in 1380 England. He makes friends with the leader of the actors (Willem Dafoe). The actors and the priest come across an unnamed village and they soon get involved in looking into the mystery behind the death of a boy. A mute woman is accused of the crime, but the truth is being covered up. I became absorbed into the atmosphere of this mystery as oen finds out how Church and State can work together at the cost of true justice. The People in the village know the mute woman didn't do it, but they submit to the lie by remaining quiet and passive. The attention to the sets and costumes is amazing. Paul McGuigan directs this interesting period mystery that is researched to what times were like during the late 14th Century. If you're looking for an alternative to the usual movies or movies taking place in other time periods, go rent the DVD.