David Cronenberg A History of Violence DVD Review David Cronenberg A History of Violence DVD Review

Directed by David Cronenberg
USA 2005

Based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, A History of Violence is the tale of Tom Stall. Tom is a loving family man and well-respected citizen of a small Indiana town. But when two savage criminals show up at his diner, Tom is forced to take action and thwart the robbery attempt. Suddenly heralded as a hero who took the courage to stand up to crime, people look up to Tom as a man of high moral regard. But all that media attention has the likes of mobsters showing up at his doorstep, charging that Tom is someone else they've been looking for. Is it a case of mistaken identity or does Tom have a history that no one knows about? Either way, someone's about to find out if there's a history of violence.

****

Though he avoids platitudes, David Cronenberg is a troubled moralist who lingers over cherished mythologies to find their dark residue: this masterpiece, an art film deftly masquerading as a thriller, seems to celebrate small-town pastoralism and critique big-city violence, but this position turns out to be double-edged. Josh Olson adapted his script from a graphic novel, yet the story develops with a subtlety that's entirely cinematic; two contrasting sex scenes between the hero (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife (Maria Bello), added by Cronenberg, are especially masterful.

Excerpt of Jonathan Rosenbaum's capsule at the Chicago Reader located HERE.

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Theatrical Release: May 16th, 2005 - Cannes Film Festival

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DVD Comparison:

New Line - Region 1 - NTSC vs. SF-Film - Region 2- PAL

Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the PAL screen captures!

(New Line - Region 1 - RIGHT vs. SF-Film - Region 2- PAL LEFT)

DVD Box Cover
Distribution	New Line Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC	SF-Film Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:35:30	1:31:45 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.81:1 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.87 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, None	English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: New Line Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.81:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by director David Cronenberg • Deleted scene with optional commentary by director David Cronenberg • "Acts of Violence" hour-long documentary divided into 8 parts • "Violence's History: U.S. vs. International Versions" featurette • "Too Commercial for Cannes" featurette • "The Unmaking of Scene 44" featurette DVD Release Date: March 14th, 2006 Keep Case Chapters: 17	Release Information: Studio: SF-Film Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by director David Cronenberg • Acts of Violence (1:06:12 / 16x9) • Scene 44 with optional commentary by Cronenberg (2:39 / 16x9) • The unmaking of scene 44 (7:05 / 16x9) • Violence vs History (1:22 / 16x9) • Too commercial for Cannes (8:53 / 16x9) • Trailer (2:26 / 16x9) DVD Release Date: March 28, 2006 Keep Case Chapters 17

Comments:

ADDITION: - SF-Film PAL - March 06': Color, sharpness, framing - all seem to be on a par or, at least, negligible difference. Extras are the same with the excellent commentary. PAL and NTSC appear to be treated quite equally on this under-recognized masterpiece - probably Cronenberg's best film.

NOTE: the extra ‘Violence’s History’ details the differences between the UK version and the MPAA-approved US edition; it actually comes down to the volume of blood and any specific cuts. Cronenberg felt the differences were too negligible to get upset about..

****

A very decent package from New Line - a strong and acceptable anamorphic and progressive image if not exceedingly stellar (but appears un-manipulated), a very adept and detailed director commentary, and many relevant and well-thought-out extra features. On the negative the image has a slim black border surrounding it slightly limiting horizontal resolution and I find the subtitles (at least thankfully white as opposed to bright yellow) very large and a bit intrusive. Not much to complain about and for such a stacked DVD it makes our recommended purchase quite enticing. I strongly suggest it for the detailed featurette and commentary analyses of the film alone.

I may have a few issues with the film but overall I quite enjoyed it - I see it as having some true ability to extend beyond many of the current, fickle, flavors-of-the-month from Hollywood. It has some profound depth and this alone makes it a worthwhile viewing - the included supplements add to the appeal.

Gary W. Tooze

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(New Line - Region 1 - RIGHT vs. SF-Film - Region 2- PAL LEFT)