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WSR Detailed DVD Review
Romeo Must Die


Genre: Action Adventure

Reviewed In Issue 42 (Oct 2000) Of Widescreen Review®

Stars:
Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, Henry O, DB Woodside, Edoardo Ballerini, Jon Kit Lee, Anthony Anderson, DMX, Delroy Lindo

WSR Review Scores
WSR Picture Rating: 5
DD Sound Rating: 5
DTS Sound Rating: NA
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Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score: 3.5
Internet Links
http://www.warnervideo.com

Special Features
Extras include 13 nifty little behind-the-scenes segments (approximately two- to five-minutes in length) with topics ranging from how fight scenes are choreographed to lots of special effects insights to sound mixing. There are also Cast and producer filmographies (actually, singer Aaliyah has a biography because this is her movie debut), two music videos:


 DVD General Information

(Studio/Distributor): Warner Home Video
(Catalog Number): 18128
(MPAA Rating): R
(Rating Reason):

Rated R for violence, some language and brief nudity.
(Retail Price): $24.98
(DVD Type): Single Side, Dual Layer (DVD9)
(Widescreen Edition): Yes
(Full Screen Edition): No
(Anamorphic Widescreen): Yes
(Running Time In Minutes): 115
(Color Type): Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): Yes
(Regional Coding): 1
(Theatrical Year): 2000
(Theatrical Release): Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release): No
(DVD Release Date): 08/01/00
(THX® Digitally Mastered): No

 Credits Information

(Director): Andrezej Bartokowiak
(Screenplay/Written By): Subscribe Now!
(Story): Subscribe Now!
(Music): Subscribe Now!
(Director Of Photography): Subscribe Now!
(Production Designer): Subscribe Now!
(Visual Effects): Subscribe Now!
(Costume Designer): Subscribe Now!
(Editor): Subscribe Now!
(Supervising Sound Editors): Subscribe Now!
(Re-Recording Mixers): Subscribe Now!
(Executive Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Co-Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Academy Awards): Subscribe Now!

  DVD Picture Information

(Principal Photography): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!
(Measured DVD Anamorphic Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!
(Measured DVD Letterbox Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!

  DVD Sound Information

(DVD Soundtrack): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Sound): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack): Subscribe Now!
(DTS Bit Rate): Subscribe Now!
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate): Subscribe Now!
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(WSR Superb Sound Qualities): Subscribe Now!

  WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
Jet Li is a tough Hong Kong cop who emigrates to the mean streets of Oakland, California and forms a relationship with girl-next-door Trish O

DVD Picture:
If you like your colors bright and vivid, this anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD will surely please you. From rich reds, to deep purples, bright blues, and endless blacks, the color scheme throughout is absolutely eye-popping

Soundtrack:
The Dolby

This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
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  WSR DVD-ROM Review
DVD-ROM Enhancements Rating:
Superb

DVD-ROM Review:
After installing the PCFriendly compatible components of this DVD-ROM title, you are brought to an introduction page, which includes a link to the DVD-ROM main title page. From this menu, you are given four new sections to explore. These are Special Events, Fight Zone, Soundtrack, and Web Site. The Special Events section is just that same Warner Brothers online events, which has still not been updated for other films. There is still a link to see the Matrix events that went on over a year ago online, but there is still nothing for any other titles. Someone over at Warner Brothers needs to start updating their Web site, or remove this Web events link from their future titles. In the Fight Zone, you can find the "Martial Arts Experience," which is a fighting genre game playable online. You must have an Internet connection established to play this, and you must also download a 2.7 megabyte file before playing. The game is pretty easy to beat just click the mouse button hundreds of times till your special meter fills up, then hold control and click the mouse. There are three guys you must attack, with the last looking very familiar to the last fight scene of the movie (coincidence?). Once you defeat all three assailants, you are given your score, and also the option to post the score on one of Warner Brothers' Web sites. I searched for awhile trying to find where the scores are posted, but to no avail. A listing of all the songs on the Romeo Must Die soundtrack can be found in the Soundtrack section. This is just a listing of these songs, and does not include clips to any of them. They did not even think to include a button linking you somewhere on the Internet where you could purchase the compact disc or tape, so this section is pretty much useless. The original Romeo Must Die Web site as of March 2000 can be found after clicking the Web Site link. This site is very well done, complete with some extremely well done Flash components. You are first shown a nice little introduction, which can be skipped, and then brought to the main page. This page looks very clean, with a theme that ties in nicely with the film. All the components are done in Flash, so if you do not have it installed, you must go to Macromedia's Web site (www.macromedia.com) and download the free trial version available there. Also on this Web site, you can find a story line, cast biographies, interviews with some of the crew, a photo gallery, and a link to Warner Brothers online message boards for Romeo Must Die. To go to the message boards, you must have an Internet connection established. When viewing the movie from the PCFriendly software, you are brought directly to the DVD Video main menu, which works well using your mouse. Romeo Must Die is very well presented, with great Flash and Shockwave throughout. I am still really disappointed a script was not included, but again, you can't have everything! The Web site really made me happy; it is one of the best I have seen anywhere. The game was also very pleasing, even though it is not very long or difficult to complete. All in all, a good title to check out. (Danny Richelieu)