Gulliver’s Travels:
Special Edition (1996/Genius/RHI DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: B-
There
have been several various interpretations over the course of cinematic history
regarding the character of Lemuel Gulliver, the Englishman who returns home
with wild stories of his travels, which are small allegories about the real
world. One of the better interpretations
is the 1996 made-for-TV version starring Ted Danson along with other talents like
Mary Steenburgen, Ned Beatty, and even Peter O’ Toole. One of the reasons that this version works
well is that it’s detailed enough with its nearly 3-hour runtime that it
absorbs the viewer into its ‘world’ long enough for the payoff. The production here is also quite good for
television standard and this has become one of the better Hallmark films to be
released, especially for the entire family.
While
this film was already previously released onto DVD a few years ago, Genius is
reissuing the film in a ‘special’ edition, but one has to wonder what is so
‘special’ about it. Is it the technical
specs? Well, not really as it would seem
that things have just been recycled here with a average 1.33 X 1 full frame transfer
that appears to be from the previous release, although here it has been matted
in order to maintain a widescreen appearance, so that means less picture
information. Same is true for the Dolby
Stereo 2.0 mix, which seems to be the same as the previous release and while
there is nothing wrong per se with these, it doesn’t necessarily warrant superb
praise. So then what…the special
features? Well, not really either as
this release only has a ‘making of’ and an interview with Omar Sharif. The ‘making of’ was on the previous release
of the film.
I’d say
it’s fair that if you already own that previous copy, you can probably hold off
on this one for now and upgrade when the title arrives to Blu-ray, in the
meantime if you don’t own this and really really
have to have it, this version might be the one to own, but no guarantees there
either.
- Nate Goss
