The Others DVD Synopsis:
Grace Stewart awaits her husband's return from the war. She lives in an extremely isolated world on every level. Her home is an out of the way mansion on an out of the way island. She has two young children whose very existence is threatened by possible exposure to sunlight. Shortly before the film opens, her servants desert her. As the story begins, Grace hires three new (and somewhat mysterious) servants to ease her burden of house and children. But no sooner have these servants arrived than strange things begin to happen. Curtains mysteriously open. Strange noises are heard in the attic. The piano keys won't stay covered. With a religious fervor rivaled only in "Carrie", Grace finds it impossible to accept her daughter Anne's claims that there are "others" amongst them. However, as the movie progresses, even Grace's long held religious beliefs seem to fail her. Just what is going on in her house?
The Others is a wonderfully old fashioned ghost story, and a nice throwback to the days when style mattered more than substance. Grace is beautifully portrayed by Nicole Kidman in a role that many felt should have won her the Oscar. It shouldn't have, but Kidman does give her best performance to date in a film well worth seeing.

The Others DVD Picture Quality:
The Others is presented in 1.85:1 WS, and the transfer truly does justice to the film's impressive use of light. The stark contrast between the darkness of the children's world and the brightness of the world outside is an integral part of the story and it is well captured in this presentation. Also well retained is the visual softness of the film itself, which gives the picture the feel of a slightly older film. Dimension has not lost sight of either of these mood enhancing qualities, and has presented a fine picture in its DVD release.

The Others DVD Sound:
DD 5.1 Surround Sound is used to bring to life both the dialogue and score of this film. The score, of course, is an integral part of the film, advancing both story development and revelation. Although the sound is clear (no distortion or feedback), there are moments on this disc when the sound would have been better had it been adjusted from "theatre quality" to "home viewing quality". While the sound works well with all speakers on, and cranked up at high volumes (and who would expect to do that for this type of story?), for a more normal viewing, the sound will need to be adjusted many times during this film. Striking a balance in a film that includes many screams and whispers is a delicate process, and unfortunately, it will be up to you to find that balance yourself.

The Others DVD Extras:
The Others, like most higher priced DVDs, boasts a second disc of "extras". Unfortunately, unlike many 2 disc sets, these extras are not worth the price of admission. New Dimension would have better served the public with a basic (and cheaper) one disc edition featuring just the theatrical release.
The fun actually begins on disc one, under the heading "sneak peeks" with a montage entitled "dimension Cutting Edge Films". This is the studio that brought us such classics as From Dusk Til Dawn Parts 1-3, Children of the Corn and Senseless. Don't watch it.
Disc two begins with "A Look Inside the Others". This chapter could have been more aptly titled "Let's Sing Nicole and Alejandro's Praises". This is less a look at the film than it is a (seemingly) endless parade of "Nicole is wonderful" and "Alejandro is a genius". Even Tom Cruise is caught giving his ex credit. Alejandro, we see, has not only directed this film, but has written it and composed the score as well. He is apparently considered the Second Coming, and Dimension must hope we see things this way as well, since we are obviously not going to see anything that could even remotely be considered "A Look Inside the Others". Alejandro does make a point of stating that he is proud of the fact that the film was strong enough to rely on plot and acting, and therefore did not need special effects.
The next segment of the disc is on visual effects. Having just heard the director dismiss this concept, we are treated to many stills that involve adding fog to a scene.
This is followed by a segment on a family who lives with the disease XP, the disease that struck the Stewart children in the film. While this may be an interesting topic when handled well (which it most certainly wasn't here), it felt strangely out of place on this disc.
Getting back into the participants in the film, the XP piece is followed by "An Intimate Look at Director Alejandro Amenabar". Only, once again, it isn't. Rather than speak about the man, or give information about his other films, this is basically a rehash of the first segment, minus the bits about Nicole. It even uses many of the same clips. Once again, we see how Alejandro has carefully crafted and used his music in this film. This might be interesting if he were Bernard Herrmann. He is not. There is also, of course, the almost pre-requisite still gallery and theatrical trailer (which, incidentally, makes the film appear much scarier than it is).

The Others DVD OVERALL VERDICT:
The Others is a startlingly good movie, and Nicole Kidman does a wonderful job of portraying a character that could have seemed flat in the wrong hands. It is her performance, coupled with beautiful cinematography, that make this film a "must see". Unfortunately, Dimension has done a good job at charging us extra for "extras" that are not worth while. Obviously the studio realized they needed to offer more than just the theatrical release. As with most "surprise ending" films, many feel that if you've seen it once, there's no need to see it again. These "bonus features" not only serve as an incentive to raise the price, but as an incentive for some of those nay sayers to buy the movie. By all means, if you liked the film enough to view it repeatedly, get this disc. But if you are buying it just to see the extras, save your money.

Melissa O'Neal