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Inside Man
R1 - America - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (22nd August 2006). |
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The Film
 Spike Lee is known for making films that deal with social and political issues, his landmark 1989 film "Do The Right Thing" dealt with race issues between African Americans and Italians, 1991's "Jungle Fever" was about the social implications faced by an interracial couple, 1992's "Malcolm X" is self explanatory, then there's "Clockers" (1995) and "Bamboozled" (2000), the list goes on and on. Lee has been an active voice for African American issues in films for the last 20 years, he freely speaks his mind and his attitudes and beliefs are transferred to his films. He has crafted a unique style and reputation to the point where the film ceases to be just a film, it's 'A Spike Lee Joint'. It's an experience and Lee tries to fill it with as much social commentary as he can get away with. In recent times the subjects of his films have moved on from racial issues to 'New York' stories, stories that are told in the post 9/11 climate, "The 25th Hour" (2002) is a prime example of this, it's not a typical Lee film but his brand is all over it, he has matured as a storyteller over the years and perhaps age has calmed his 'power to the people' engine or perhaps he's said all that there needs to be said over the years and it's time to make something fun, which leads the gates open for something such as "Inside Man", written about as the most commercial of his films, and it's true this is more mainstream fair than what we've been used to from Lee but despite this it's still a very good bank heist film that is not only smart, it's well written, well acted and shot with a slick eye that Lee is also known for. "Inside Man" tells the story of three characters that are thrust together around the robbery of a high profile bank. Detective Frazier (Denzel Washington) is the cop caught on the outside trying to bring a peaceful end to a hostage situation, while clever bank robber Dalton (Clive Owen) is constantly one step ahead and amidst the confusion and chaos is in control as these two professionals play a cat-and-mouse game for control. It soon becomes evident that not everything is as it seems and the bank holds a secret that certain people would kill to keep that way. Enter power broker Madaline (Jodie Foster), whose job it is to safeguard that dangerous information. Lee has always been a filmmaker with something to say and this film certainly has its moments, such contemporary issues as the treatment of Arabs after 9/11 is one of the topics he chose to highlight the race related issue (another Lee staple) also makes an appearance in another scene, but this film is first and foremost a bank heist film and it rarely deviates. The tension is built around the heist and the true motivations of the people responsible, which becomes clear as the film progresses. The film hides its secrets cleverly until it's time to reveal them to the audience, this is supported by the word play these characters involve themselves in that not only adds another level to the film but is also just a pleasure to watch heavyweights such as Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe tear up the screen. "Inside Man" is a refreshing change of pace for Lee and also makes for a good night on the couch, this film comes highly recommended.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1, for the most part this image is sharp, however some exterior scenes appear softer, I also noticed some edge-enhancement in a number of scenes. The colors are all true to the look the filmmakers intended especially the flash-forward scenes of the interrogations which are high contrast and add a unique feel to the film. Blacks are bold and shadow detail is consistent for the majority of the film although due to the look of the flash-forward scenes shadow detail does suffer. Otherwise it's a fine transfer but could have been much better.
Audio
Three audio tracks are also included on this film, all of which are in Dolby Digital 5.1, we have English, French and Spanish tracks. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its original English track. I found this soundtrack to be of an excellent quality, the dialogue was clear and distortion free but also presented the film as an experience, the 5.1 channels are put to work right from the start and the unique music used to open the film. The directional effects and environmental surrounds felt natural and real, the track gets an added workout with the 'fantasy' raid on the bank. Optional subtitles are also included in both French and Spanish.
Extras
First up we have a feature-length audio commentary by director Spike Lee. Lee is very much the filmmaker's filmmaker, he has an adventurous and electric quality when it comes to his films and that is loosely translated here in this track, he's quite toned down here and carries the track at a slow pace but still manages to remain engaging and informative. He shares his director's vision and process in setting scenes and shots up. He remains mainly screen-specific but deviates occasionally. He remains focused on mainly the techniques employed during the course of production, especially in regards to camera moves and framing. He currently tells us what his favorite shots are and doesn't go into too much specifics in regards to what it takes to actually achieve these shots. Although I was engaged for the entire duration I couldn't help but feel a little cheated considering he didn't expose any detail or allowed the viewer in getting into his mind set when making films. A series of 5 deleted scenes follow next and can be viewed individually or with the option of a Play All function. The scenes included are: - Frazier Goes to Work runs for 17 minutes 19 seconds. This is a series of extended scenes from the interrogation of the bank hostages. We also get some addition shots of Frazier over looking the photographs trying to work out who the inside man is. - No Woman, No Cry runs for 54 seconds. Frazier and Mitchell chat outside the bank about the meaning behind Bob Marley's lyrics. - Darius Compliments Frazier runs for 1 minutes 24 seconds. While inside the bank after the raid, Darius and Frazier chat while in the men's bathroom. - News Reports runs for 4 minutes 8 seconds. These are a series of unused news clips with reporters on the scene. - Dalton Speaks of Case's Sins runs for 51 seconds, this is an alternate scene where instead of speaking of Case's sins to Madeline White (like in the finished film) it's a voice over. "The Making-of Inside Man" is a production featurette which runs for 10 minutes 20 seconds. This centers around the script reading and includes interviews with the key player son the film. They discuss what attracted them to the project, the script, working with each other and includes some behind-the-scene footage taken during the production. This is basically an EPK clip but includes less of the superficial back-patting seen in most EPKs. "Number 4" is an interview featuring Spike Lee and Denzel Washington which runs for 10 minutes 8 seconds. The two talk about the previous films they made with each other leading up this film being their fourth collaboration. They also talk about films each of them have made that were significant milestones in their careers. This is easily the best extra on the disc, it's a shame that it's entirely too brief. Rounding out the extras are a collection of bonus trailers that play prior to the menu screen. These can be skipped by pressing the Menu button and include: - House MD Season 1 and 2 which runs for 1 minute 5 seconds. - United 93 which runs for 31 seconds. - Kidnapped which runs for 31 seconds.
Overall
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