Never saw this in theaters, and rented it last night with my better half who really wanted to see this....the Hollywood Video chain we rented from only offered copies of this in widescreen, which appeared to be properly framed at 2:35:1; I dont have to get into the plot, because many of you have probably already seen this.....except for the fact that I didnt really know what to make of this film --- it won two Oscars, with Sean Penn getting an award that year for lead and Tim Robbins winning best supporting, and I believe the acting was the only thing that carried this Clint Eastwood directed crime docu-thriller based on a novel of the same name. I dont care for anything Eastwood directs, but thats my opinion.

Unfortunately, Warner has delivered yet another terribly mixed drama on DVD; only two instances of surround usage were noted by me and my better half......but forget all that and forget the fact that I know this was not a reference disc for 5.1 algorithms, but even in its OWN CONTEXT, this DVD had horribly low recorded dialogue....perhaps the worse I have experienced since the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the so-called "new" DiviMax version of Dawn of the Dead (in DTS no less)....my receiver needed to be CRANKED way up just to hear the whisper soft replies from Tim Robbins and Sean Penn.....I mean WAY up....the overall sound of this DVD was muted, allowing me and my better half to speak over the film during its entire duration....horribly low power levels.

At the end of the viewing, my better half mentioned to me that we would have been better off just watching this DVD through my TV's speakers because it sounded that weak.....very disheartening.

On a positive note for Warner Bros, I recently finally purchased the T3 DVD so I can enjoy that absolutely BREATHTAKING Dolby 5.1 track any time I want....the T3 Dolby Digital track is surely the best Dolby 5.1 track I have ever heard....besting many DTS mixes, in fact.