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    • WSR Detailed LaserDisc Review

    Disturbing Behavior
    Genre:Thriller

    Reviewed In Issue 31 Of Widescreen Review® Stars:
    James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Steve Railsback, Bruce Greenwood, William Sadler

    WSR Review Scores
    Picture Rating: 3.5
    Sound Rating: 4
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    Reference Systems
    Critics' Composite Score:
    Internet Links

    Supplementals

    DVD General Information
    (Studio/Distributor): MGM Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number): ML107182
    (MPAA Rating): R
    (Retail Price): $29.98
    (Running Time In Minutes): 84
    (Color Type): Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
    (Closed Captioned): Yes
    (Theatrical Release): 1998
    (LD Release Date): 2/99
    (THX® Digitally Mastered): No

    Credits Information
    (Director): David Nutter
    (Screenplay/Written By): Scott Rosenberg
    (Story): NA
    (Music): Mark Snow
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer): Nelson Coates
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor): Randy Jon Morgan, ACE
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers): C. O. Erickson & Phillip B. Goldfine
    (Co-Producers): Scott Rosenberg & Elisabeth Seldes
    (Producers): Armyan Bernstein & Jon Shestack

    DVD Picture Information
    (Principal Photography): Academy Standard Flat
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): 1.85:1
    (Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): 1.85:1

    DVD Sound Information
    (DVD Soundtrack): Dolby Digital Surround
    (Theatrical Sound): DTS Digital Sound
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (Remastered Dolby Digital): No
    (Remastered DTS Digital Surround): No
    (Additional Languages):

    WSR Narrative Review
    Story Synopsis:
    When the Clark family moves from Chicago to the island town of Cradle Bay, son Steve (James Marsden) gets the lowdown on the high school cliques from new friend Gavin (Nick Stahl) in Disturbing Behavior. In particular, Gavin is bothered by the Blue Ribbons—a club of robotic-perfect students that he thinks are too weird to be real. So when Gavin becomes one of the Blue Ribbon crowd, Steve begins a search for the truth.

    LaserDisc Picture:
    The LaserDisc is nicely rendered with fully saturated colors and slightly yellowish fleshtones. The picture seems to have a stylized look with mediocre contrast, perhaps to enhance the cold, harsh subject matter. Shadow delineation is nicely rendered, with resolution in the dark scenes. The 1.85:1 LaserDisc is often soft in appearance with minor noise apparent.

    LaserDisc Soundtrack:
    A noticeable difference between the DVD and LaserDisc Dolby® Digital 5.1 discrete soundtracks and the LaserDisc matrix PCM soundtrack is soundstage width. The slightly bright discrete soundtrack at times portrays a dramatically narrower soundstage, compared to the more enveloping sound of the matrix version. The music score is dynamic. Surround envelopment is aggressive, and the discrete’s split surrounds add greater spatial dimension. Dialogue is forward sounding. Bass extension is punctuated with .1 LFE enhancement.
    (Surround Bass Below 50Hz): Yes
    (Aggressive System Surround): Yes
    (Intense 25Hz Bass): No
    (Deep Bass Challenging): No
    (Aggressive 0.1 LFE):
    (Holosonic Soundfield): No
    (Aggressive Split Surround): Yes
    (Center Back Surround Imaging): No
    (Directionalized Dialogue): No
    Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality:
    Superb Music Score Recording Quality:
    		 Yes
    Superb Special Visual Effects Quality:
    		 No
    Superb Color Fidelity:
    		 No
    Superb Cinematography:
    		 -
    Reference LaserDisc:
    		 No
    Collector Edition:
    		 No
    DVD To LaserDisc Comparison:
    While the LaserDisc is nicely rendered with fully saturated colors and slightly yellowish fleshtones, the anamorphically enhanced DVD, when viewed in the component video output, exhibits more subtly natural fleshtones and better color balance overall. The picture seems to have a stylized look with mediocre contrast, perhaps to enhance the cold, harsh subject matter. Shadow delineation is nicely rendered, especially on the DVD which exhibits better resolution in the dark scenes. The DVD delivers sharp and detailed images, while the LaserDisc is often soft in appearance. Minor noise is apparent on the LaserDisc. While the LaserDisc is matted at 1.85; the anamorphic and letterbox DVD aspect ratios measure 1.82:1. A noticeable difference between the DVD and LaserDisc Dolby® Digital 5.1 discrete soundtracks and the LaserDisc matrix PCM soundtrack is soundstage width. The slightly bright discrete soundtrack at times portrays a dramatically narrower soundstage, compared to the more enveloping sound of the matrix version. The music score is dynamic. Surround envelopment is aggressive, and the discrete’s split surrounds add greater spatial dimension. Dialogue is forward sounding. Bass extension is punctuated with .1 LFE enhancement.