Review of 8MM

Video

You have all come to expect a superior picture quality from DVDs I am sure, it makes sense that the newer the movie the better the print right? Well guess again. As this film is mainly concerned with the seedy underworld of the Hollywood sex scene many shots are in darkness. These sorts of scenes really test any media but DVD usually comes through fine. In this instance it falls short of the mark in several areas. Dark scenes are often fuzzy and grainy, reminding me too much of VHS. The lighter scenes are handled well with clear colours however some of these are spoiled by graining and, to be honest, I expect more from a movie this recent.

Audio

Audio is generally very well done, nice 5.1 ambient sounds throughout. It is hard to really say too much about the sound as movies like this are about the story but the sounds are well used. This was made by the makers of Seven and this is evident in allot of the incidental music. Not for me personally but it goes well with the subject matter.

Features

The usual stuff here, nothing too fancy. The menu screens are static but well designed, a little more effort and the subject matter could have provided some of the best animated menu screens of any DVD yet. Still, this isn`t badged as a special addition so I can forgive them that lack of effort. The making of featurette is just too short and acts as nothing more than an elongated trailer, again more effort would have been nice. A plus point is the Director`s commentary. Joel Schumacher talks very frankly about the subject matter and reveals some interesting facts along the way. As I write this review I am listening to the commentary (something I don`t often do) and I am quite enthralled. I am going to have to make more of an effort to listen to all the other commentaries. The insight they afford into the film making process is fascinating.

Conclusion

The story confronts the seedy underworld of illegal pornography head on. This will shock some of the more sensitive people out there, and I would be lying if I didn`t think it was pushing the boundaries a little (but it is probably my sheltered upbringing). Nicholas Cage is a great actor however I found his portrayal of the character of Tom Wells too hard to read. I was never really sure where he was coming from or exactly what he was thinking. There were times that I wasn`t sure whether he was disgusted by certain sights or aroused by them. He does come into his own towards the end when the pace hots up though. It is this inability to read Cage`s character properly that spoilt the film somewhat for me. Again it is only towards the end that I was clear on certain points of motivation for his character. There were a few missed production opportunities as well so when you couple all the elements together and this disc doesn`t stand out as a must have. The movie is good in itself but be warned that it may take you somewhere that you don`t want to go.