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White Oleander (2002)
Starring:
Alison Lohman,
Robin Wright Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, Billy
Connolly, Patrick Fugit
Director: Peter
Kosminsky
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Warner Bros.
Review
Posted: 4.02.03
Spoilers: None
Reviewed by
John Teves
Ingrid Magnussen (Michelle
Pfeiffer), a feminist poet, poisons her ex-boyfriend in a fit of
jealousy and is sentenced to life in prison, forcing her
orphaned daughter, Astrid (Alison Lohman), to live in a series
of foster homes with five very different women. As she
experiences forbidden love, religion, near-death experiences,
drugs and starvation -- and, eventually, true love -- Astrid
keeps in touch with her mother via letters to prison.
>Read
Harvey S. Karten's Film Review!
WHITE OLEANDER is presented
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 transfer was outstanding. The presentation
was sharp, detailed and sparkling. During certain scenes I did
detect a few signs of grain and speckles but it’s not enough to
merit any major concerns. The color pallet was nothing more than
brilliant. Colors were vivid and accurate giving us a very
natural palette. Black levels were deep and rich, and shadow
detail was clean without any unnecessary dullness. By and
large, Warner Brothers has done another outstanding video
transfer, WHITE OLEANDER looked absolutely superb.
WHITE OLEANDER is presented
in a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The audio exhibited excellent. The
rear surrounds were only used for general ambience; the front
surrounds got the greater part of the forward channels. The
elements moved decently in those speakers, but they didn’t blend
to the rears with the expected level of vividness that most
would expect on a 5.1 track. Audio quality seemed fine. Speech
came across natural, and I noticed no signs of edginess. There
wasn’t much else to talk about regarding music score or effects,
the soundtrack displayed an unexciting presentation for the most
part, in it’s own right, the soundtrack worked generally well
for this type of film.
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Feature-Length Commentary By
Director Peter Kosminsky, Producer John Wells and Original Novel
Author Janet Fitch.
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Enthralling Additional Scenes
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2 Behind-the-Scenes Visits With
the Cast and Creators: The Journey of White Oleander and
The Making of White Oleander
WHITE OLEANDER is a gripping,
brilliant and hauntingly beautiful film. There’s a certain
quality and grace about this film. WHITE OLEANDER is a
well-acted Soap Opera. The film focuses on one young woman's
struggle to fight that destructive cycle. With an exceptional
video transfer, a decent audio track and some a sizeable roster
of extras; WHITE OLEANDER is a straightforward purchase for fans
of the book and/or the film. The DVD comes highly recommended.
Film Rating: 4 out of 4
Review originally appeared on
DVDFreak.net
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