One Hour Photo DVD Review:


Synopsis

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.

The Video

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.

Film Rating: 2 out of 4

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