DVD Review by David Blackwell

DETAILS: 129 minutes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, two featurettes

STUDIO: Universal/ Imagine Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: 8-8-2006

INSIDE MAN is the type of film where witnessing the heist is genius and you want the criminals to get away. Clive Owen leads a group of thieves to carry out an elaborate plan to rob a safety deposit box where a determined detective (Denzel Washington) finds out everything has been planned for. The bank president (Christopher Plummer) hires a broker (Jodie Foster) to try and protect the safety deposit box, but she learns that is what the criminal mastermind is after. Out of all the Spike Lee films I have watched, this is the only one I'm truly satisfied with. INSIDE MAN is a cat and mouse game with a clever script (from a first time screenwriter) and perfect execution. It feels like a heist film from another age. I like the way the film opens with music that would fit in a Bollywood production. I want clive Owen to get away with the diamonds that the bank president got from working with the Nazis.

VIDEO: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

The transfer is nice. I didn't spot any problems.

AUDIO: English, French, Spanish 5.1 DD, English 5.1 DVS

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Dialogue is clear but sometiems you have to listen very closely. Music and sound effects are to perfection.

SPECIAL FEATURES: The best extra are the four deleted scenes (in Anamorphic Widescreen) and the complete newscasts that never made it into the film, The best one is an extended 17 minute interrogation scene.

Two ten minute featurettes are on this disc:

THE MAKING OF INSIDE MAN features intreviews with cast and crew along with behind-the-scenes footage (from the production and a script read-through).

NUMBER 4 has Denzel and Spike discuss the four films they have done together.

Then you have the director's aduio commentary with Spike Lee. He recorded it on his birthday. Extensive info on the production.

FINAL ANLYSIS: INSIDE MAN is one of the best heist films of the decade. Clive Owen steals the movie from everyone else.

this review is (c)8-11-2006 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission (except for excerpts and a link to the review). Look for additional content at http://enterlinemedia.livejournal.com and send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com