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DVD Review: THE FUGITIVE (1993)

2009-04-11 03:34:58

"The Fugitive" DVD Review. 8.5/10.
By Alex DeMattia. ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.
Directed by Andrew Davis
Starring Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Jeroen Krabbe

Click here for the original review at All About Movies.net.

FILM REVIEW:
“The Fugitive” reminds you of a film seldom made now in the digital era which relied solely on standout performances, well crafted set pieces and a thrilling story with no hint of computer assistance whatsoever. The simple, yet highly effective premise sees Harrison Ford’s innocent Dr Richard Kimble on the run after a chance, but almost deadly escape from his prison bus, giving him the opportunity to find out who set him up and killed his wife. The film is set apart from the usual who-dun-it stories by putting its hero on the run; he has the added pressure of a highly determined U.S. Marshal on his tail, Sam Gerard, played with zeal by Tommy Lee Jones. As Kimble sets about finding out who is responsible, he also has to duck and weave his way around Gerard, which leads to some exhilirating chase sequences where time and again, Kimble just manages to slip out from under Gerard’s grasp. Director Andrew Davis has created an awesome thrill-ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat, not only with its mystery plot but its constant chase sequences which never let up until the final minute.

The film gets started relatively quickly, without any excessive expository scenes but rather a series of intercutting sequences showing the murder of Kimble’s wife, his subsequent interrogation and arrest, and eventually his escape in one of the most spectacular signature sequences in the film where Ford jumps from his prison bus just as a train smashes in to it. The sense of pace in this film is evident from the get-go with Kimble essentially on the run after only ten minutes. Gerard’s introduction is likewise brief but extremely well handled, setting the basis for this character’s determined, yet humorous quips as he sets about tracking down Kimble. The film is assisted in this way by such a simple premise and Ford’s star-power; as he tends to play sympathic and/or heroic roles, the audience will tend to be pre-disposed to sympathise with Kimble, thus an extensive setup is not necessary.

At the heart of this film is a who-dun-it storyline. As Kimble sets about finding the one-armed man, he inadvertantely opens up more than he bargained for as old friends and colleagues become his enemies in relation to a conspiracy they are running to get a drug to market which has harmful side-effects. This alone would have made the film intriguing to watch as you watch Kimble uncover the truth one piece at a time; at the end of the day, the one-armed man is almost a side show to the real bad guys who turn out to be the last people Kimble expects to be guilty.

The chase sequences put this film on another level in terms of thrills and drama. The first ambulance chase, the foot chase through a dam, the stairwell chase in the city prison, and Kimble’s dangling of evidence he discovers to Gerard in order to get him to see who the real guilty parties are lead to some very cliffhanger style moments, particularly in the city prison sequence where Kimble barely gets away with his life and Gerard has to watch in frustration as Kimble escapes through the security doors without being able to get through them.

Both Ford and Jones are at the top of their game in this film. Ford has the unenviable task of acting entirely with his face as his interactions with other characters are quite minimal. Jones manages to get all the clever one-liners, but he does not shirk away from the heart of his determined character that he will stop at nothing to get his man.

“The Fugitive” is an excellent film that will grip you right from the outset and take you through its fantastic thrill ride of a chase, with both Ford and Jones providing strong performances and director Davis punctuating the film in all the right places to provide an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride.

TECHNICAL REVIEW:
The video transfer is very reasonable, and is for the most part quite clear and clean. The image does have some noticeable film grain and a softness which detract from the experience somewhat. The audio transfer is excellent, making full use of the surrounds to create an awesome sound experience, particularly in the chase sequences and the use of the musical score. A decent transfer overall that perhaps could have had a better video transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW:
The extras package on this DVD is quite good, offerring a balanced approach with a nice audio commentary from director Andrew Davis and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as a few featurettes which provide some interesting insights in to the production. The audio commentary is mostly dominated by Davis with his detailed, scene-specific comments although Jones interjects at some points to hilarious effect; in the opening scene he asks “which movie are we talking about again Andy?”. Davis offers some interesting tidbits including how the studio was worried about Ford’s beard and how the opening police interrogation scene was unscripted and totally improvised. The two major featurettes on offer cover the making of the production and an examination of the train crash sequence. The former is quite detailed with great cast/crew interviews that offer an insight in to how this production was initially a difficult one to get off the ground, and even went in to production without a completed script and was essentially made by committee between director, producers and stars. The latter is a standard action featurette which shows how much effort went in to capturing the one-take only train crash scene where Ford jumps from the train at the beginning of the film; a fascinating side-note is when co-producer Peter MacGregor-Scott says that he removed a shot from the DVD because no one at any point until the DVD release had picked up in this shot that one of the crew had stuck his head in the frame. The extras are rounded out by a trailer, selection of languages and subtitles and award listing. Overall, a very good collection of extras that complement the film rather well.

BOTTOM LINE:
Worth having in the collection.

Click here for the original review at All About Movies.net.
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Alex DeMattia is the lead DVD reviewer at ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.