Kate & Leopold

Starring: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, etc.
Director: Tony Scott

Rating: R

Review Posted: 7.19.02

By John Teves

Kate McKay (Meg Ryan) is a modern-day executive, a 21st century woman driven to succeed in the corporate world. Leopold, (Hugh Jackman) the Third Duke of Albany, is a charming 19th century bachelor. Each has grown weary of waiting for love. But when a dramatic twist of fate lands Leopold in present-day New York, they must confront the prospect of a love affair 100 years in the making.

Kate and Leopold was a delightful film. This was charming merrymaking at it’s finest, especially with two energetic actors like Ryan and Jackman. Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman execute there acting abilities with a spark. Their performances perfectly compliment each other and steer the film gracefully.

Kate and Leopold is unmistakably a “chic flick”, but Jackman mixes class and parody, delivering a fully enjoyable presentation for both male and female audiences. This film may not be Oscar material, but it is without fail a charming and cheerfully entertaining film.

>Read Sara's Film Review!

Kate and Leopold appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The film offered a distinct picture. Sharpness was outstanding and distinct throughout the film. No major problems with jagged edges with the exceptional flickering at times; there was some minor edge enhancement; random examples of grit, grain and speckles appeared, but not a major concern. Colors was genuine; clean and natural, and they appeared brilliant. Black levels were rich and deep, while shadow detail looked thick.

The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Its sound seemed surprisingly active and pleasant. Music presented fair stereo presence as sound effects sounded reasonable and realistic for the rear speakers, and they mixed well. Speech sounded customary and sharp; while the dialogue, for the most part, sounded refined. Effects offered substantial distinctness and accuracy.

A nice set of features:

• Commentary by director James Mangold

• Original Theatrical Version and Director's Cut

• Deleted Scenes With Commentary

• "On The Set" Featurette

• Sting "Until" Music Video

• Photo Gallery

• Costume Featurette

Should you buy it or rent it? I found Kate and Leopold offered a pretty energetic and engaging shred of work. It’s an entertaining film but it's fairly predictable and nothing that will break new ground. The DVD featured admirable picture with very good sound and includes a pretty positive table of extras. I recommend purchasing the DVD for fans of the film. For everyone else, you'd need to really have some regard for this type of film to thoroughly enjoy it.

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