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    WSR Detailed DVD Review
    Almost Famous


    Genre: Comedy Drama

    Reviewed In Issue 48 (May 2001) Of Widescreen Review®

    Stars:
    Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Noah Taylor & Philip Seymour Hoffman

    WSR Review Scores
    WSR Picture Rating: 4.5
    DD Sound Rating: 3.5
    DTS Sound Rating: 4
    Download WSR Review
    Reference Systems
    Critics' Composite Score: 4.5
    Internet Links
    http://www.dtsonline.com
    http://www.dreamworks.com
    http://www.almostfamous.com
    Special Features
    Includes an excellent making-of featurette, production notes, cast and crew biographies, screen reprints of seven of Crowe


     DVD General Information

    (Studio/Distributor): DreamWorks Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number): 87818
    (MPAA Rating): R
    (Rating Reason):

    		 Rated R for language, drug content, and brief nudity.
    (Retail Price): $26.99
    (DVD Type): Single Side, Dual Layer (DVD9)
    (Widescreen Edition): Yes
    (Full Screen Edition): No
    (Anamorphic Widescreen): Yes
    (Running Time In Minutes): 123
    (Color Type): Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
    (Closed Captioned): No
    (Regional Coding): 1
    (Theatrical Year): 2000
    (Theatrical Release): Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release): No
    (DVD Release Date): 03/13/01
    (THX® Digitally Mastered): No

     Credits Information

    (Director): Cameron Crowe
    (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:
    Culled from the memory of writer-director, Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous follows the exploits of young William Miller (Fugit), a 15-year-old music fan and aspiring writer in the mid-1970s. Given a chance by Creem magazine rock critic Lester Bangs (Hoffman) to write a story on Black Sabbath, William can

    DVD Picture:
    The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD exhibits a beautiful picture, with images that appear very natural, thanks to the wonderful color fidelity. Hues are rich and well balanced, with natural fleshtones and deep blacks. Contrast and shadow delineation are excellent, with superb visual information and depth in the darker scenes. Images are sharp and nicely detailed throughout, though softly focused at times. Minor pixelization is detected, and it is the ugly edge enhancement that occasionally mars what would otherwise be a pristine visual experience.(Suzanne Hodges)

    Soundtrack:
    The 5.1-channel soundtracks are entertaining, but usually limited in terms of dimension. Much of the audio presentation is driven by dialogue, and also music, which in turn should be appealing to fans of early 1970s music. Except for the instances during concert performances where the soundstage comes alive with energy, and a dramatic scene with an airplane getting caught in a turbulent thunderstorm, the soundstage is substantially balanced toward the screen. The music consists predominantly of repurposed classic rock hits, and is also characteristically screen-based, with occasionally subtle to moderate envelopment. Though this isn

    This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
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