Robin
Williams lets his darker side out to play in this taut
psychological thriller about Sy Parrish (Williams), an
unbalanced photo clerk who becomes obsessed with a
picture-perfect suburban family. Sy has watched Nina (Nielsen)
and Will Yorkin (Vartan) celebrate happy occasions through their
snapshots for years; when the flawless façade he's created for
himself starts to crumble, he takes matters into his own hands.
ONE HOUR
PHOTO appears in an aspect ratio 1.85:1 on this single-sided,
dual-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9
televisions. The video transfer was absolutely astounding. Fox
gives us a very detailed and sharp image with ONE HOUR PHOTO.
Sharpness generally looked clear and well defined. A few wider
shots displayed some mild softness.
The print
showed no signs of grain and I noticed no instances of speckles
or grit - First of I saw no signs of softness or fuzziness. The
film always came across natural and well defined. Although there
were no concerns related to jagged edges, I did notice some edge
enhancement. Colors were brilliant and wistful. Black levels
were deep and solid, while shadow detail appeared to be suitably
deep but never exceptionally thick. All in all, ONE HOUR PHOTO
presented an immaculate video presentation.
The
Audio
ONE HOUR
PHOTO is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. For the most
part, I thought the track worked well. Sound quality was very
good; dialogue was crisp and well-defined; speech showed no
signs of edginess; effects were always clear and active, plus
they displayed virtually no signs of distortion; this is a
gentle track do to its genre, but the track worked well for the
films subject matter. When all's said and done, the DD5.1 track
worked well for the material.
The
Extras
Writer/director/actor
commentary
Robin Williams on "The
Charlie Rose Show"
Cinemax featurette
Sundance channel's "Anatomy
of a Scene"
TV spot(s)
Overall
ONE HOUR
PHOTO looked stunning and I thought the film in it’s own right
worked well. ONE HOUR PHOTO has it’s own psychological
complexity about it, and for those of you who are fascinated by
the nerve-racking and abnormal neurotic thought process, then
you will truly take heart to this film. Williams manages to
terrify his fans by showing his sinister potential. For
individuals who have the brainpower and tolerance to watch this
film you may find yourself being pleasantly surprised – it’s not
bloodcurdling, it’s not sadistic, it’s simply a psychological
journey into the mind of the obsessed.
