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The Statement
(Universal Studios Home Entertainment)
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| DVD Release Date:
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April 27, 2004
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| Length:
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119 mins.
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| Rated:
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14A
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| Format:
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Widescreen (1.85:1)
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| Audio:
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English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
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| Subtitles:
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English, Closed Captioned
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| Extras:
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Deleted Scenes, Interviews with Director Norman Jewison and Michael Caine, Commentary with Director Norman Jewison, Featurette: The Making of The Statement
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In The Statement, Michael Caine plays Pierre Broussard, a man accused of murdering seven Jews during WWII. Although he's been pardoned, everyone is after him all these years later. First there's a judge (Tilda Swinton) with a new charge of "crimes against humanity". Then, there's a mysterious faction hell-bent on avenging the murders. They send a hit man to murder this Nazi collaborator. Hiding for close to a half-century under the protection of the Catholic Church, his cover is blown and he's a man on the run. Not only is he on the run from his pursuers, he's on the run from himself - from his past.
Before seeing this movie, I had read a few positive reviews. In fact, I don't remember reading anything really all that bad. But then, when I got the DVD and told somebody I knew that was looking forward to seeing it, they said they had seen it and that it was really bad. And this is a person who's opinion I trust. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned. In the end, what did I think? For what it was, the movie really wasn't as bad as my friend lead me to believe. Did it have problems? Sure - but what movie doesn't? Can they be forgiven? Definitely.
For a smaller film, this DVD has some decent special features. Nothing extraordinary - really just your standard fare - but they are done well and are interesting enough to make a good companion to the film itself. First, there's an audio commentary by Norman Jewison that provides a lot of insight not only into the filmmaking process, but also the history behind the story. This is great considering how much of the story relates to actual events. More extras include some deleted scenes (which could have used introductions and/or commentaries to provide some context) and some interesting and informative interviews with Caine and Jewison. Finally, there's a standard behind-the-scenes featurette. Again - these are your standard features, but they do well to serve the overall package.
I'm of the opinion that every movie has an audience. No matter how good or how bad a movie is - no matter how much some people love it or how much some people loathe it - there's bound to be an audience out there. And for the audience that this movie was made, I'm sure The Statement will satisfy.
| The Movie: |
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7/10 |
| The Extras: |
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6/10 |
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Liam Cullin - Editor
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