THE MEXICAN
DreamWorks Home Entertainment
Widescreen Edition DVD
$26.95

Jerry (Brad Pitt) is involved in a traffic accident that leaves him indebted to a local crime boss.  To finally square this debt, Jerry must travel to Mexico to retrieve an antique pistol called The Mexican.  Unbeknownst to Jerry, there is more than one party interested in possession of this pistol and his girlfriend Samantha (Julia Roberts) is being held hostage by one of them.  With both he and Samantha's lives hanging in the balance, Jerry must determine whom he can trust to help him get the pistol to the proper party.  The Mexican also stars James Gandolfini and is rated R with a feature running time of 124 minutes.              

DreamWorks has presented this DVD in an anamorphic widescreen version (2.35:1).  The overall quality of the transfer is truly excellent.  Images are razor sharp, displaying an almost 3-D look.  The film is shot in a stylized version with varying brightness levels and color schemes.  Colors, however, remain accurate and vivid with fully saturated hues.  There are solid contrast levels with deep black levels.  Picture defect mastering is perfect with no major flaws or digital compression artifacts.

Video Rating: 10 out of 10

The following spoken language options are available on this disc: English DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and 2.0 surround.  Optional English captioning and subtitles are also available.  The English DTS 5.1 track is the basis for this review.  Dialogue is properly positioned and natural sounding.  The surround channels are used aggressively for both sound effects and the upbeat music soundtrack.  Discrete channel effects can be found in all five channels and they are used throughout the picture.  Although it is by no means explosive, the LFE channel pumps out clean, tight bass.

Audio Rating: 8 out of 10

The tactile sound effects for this disc are very good, but don't approach the kind of levels found in a full-blown action film.  They are at times quite potent and are present in a majority of the movie's chapters.  Some good examples of tactile information come in Chapters 3 and 4, with the rumbling of the El Camino engine, Jerry's drive through the tunnel, and the festive street celebration. 

Tactile Sound Effects Rating: 7 out of 10

Bonus features include an audio commentary with director Gore Verbinski and other filmmakers; eight deleted scenes with filmmakers' commentary; HBO's The Making of The Mexican behind-the-scenes featurette; cast & crew biographies; production notes; teaser trailer; theatrical trailer; interactive menus and scene access.

Bonus Features Rating: 6 out of 10