Minghella is a master film constructionist and this is another of his fascinating, intelligent and complex stories woven together with foreshadowing dialogue and strong performances. A very entertaining and emotionally probing film though a notch below some of his previous work.

Beautiful anamorphic and progressive transfer in the impressive 2.35 scope ratio with a very strong film-like appearance. The image quality is exceptionally sharp supported by pristine contrast and muted colors. There are no flaws whatsoever in this dual-layered DVD's appearance. It would seem to be close to HD quality in my opinion (reference the screen captures below). There is a largely untested 5.1 track (and similar French DUB) with optional English (CC) or Spanish subtitles.

There are some good supplements starting with an evenly paced commentary by director/writer Minghella. He has a gentle voice that expands on many details of the film that only someone in his position of creation could relate - including alternative directions in which the story never evolved. He praises many of the performances and remarks at his own good fortune being able to work with such a competent cast. I found it well-worth listening to and it improved my appreciation of both the man and his film. There is a 12 minute featurette entitled Lie. Cheat. Steal. Love. The Making of Breaking and Entering. It gives a nice overview in lieu of Minghella's more articulating commentary. There are also 6 deleted scenes (about 8 minutes worth) with optional Minghella commentary - they are mostly part of the discussion of alternate directions and inclusions of the storyline - perhaps a bit of overkill for the complex plot. Overall this is a superb DVD - fabulous transfer of an emotionally rewarding film chock-full of relevant extras. I recommend this DVD as it has excellent value in my opinion.  

Gary W. Tooze