Disc Details
Special Features:	Widescreen anamorphic format. Chapter selection Commentary by Sidney Lumet and Paul Newman. Theatrical trailer. Making of Featurette.
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles:	English, Spanish.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	1-Disc Keep Case

Frank is up against a powerful team of defense lawyers lead by the ruthless Edward Concannon (James Mason). Frank is suing the hospital on behalf of Sally and Dick Doneghy (Roxanne Hart and James Handy). Sally’s sister was put into an irreversible coma by the doctors of St Elizabeth’s Hospital. Frank sees dollar signs at first. He soon realizes that this case offers him the opportunity to find moral redemption. Breaking every rule of legal ethics, Frank turns down the hospital’s generous settlement offer without consulting his clients and sets the matter for trial. This act of hubris immediately blows up in Frank’s face as his case begins to disintegrate. What follows is fine drama.

The cast is excellent throughout. Paul Newman, James Mason, Jack Warden and especially Milo O’Shea (Duran Duran from “Barbarella”) are superb. Charlotte Rampling provides the film with its only miscast performance. Her zombie-like persona was great in the twisted S&M classic “The Night Porter,” but doesn’t belong in this film. Look fast for Bruce Willis as an observer during the film’s courtroom scenes. Sidney Lumet is a fine director. His collaborations with Mr. Newman are among the best films of Paul Newman’s output. The film may be pat at times, but it is an intelligent and entertaining look into the world of a lost soul trying to find the light.

Picture Quality: 10/10
Fine use of subdued colors by Mr. Lumet. He discusses the color scheme on the commentary track. The film has a depressing autumnal look about it. The choice accents the struggles that must be overcome by Frank Galvan.

Sound Quality: 8/10
At times the soundtrack was flat and tinny. I had to increase the volume during several scenes to hear what was going on.

Menu: 7/10
OK design. Nothing special. Easy to navigate.

Extra Features: 8/10
The commentary track is 99.9% Sidney Lumet. I kept switching the audio button to see if I was missing the Paul Newman commentary. Mr. Newman comes in at the very end of the film and says that Sidney Lumet was a great director to work with. That was all he said. Mr. Lumet's comments were insightful and greatly enriched my appreciation of the film. I was just disappointed that the DVD advertised a commentary track by both men, when Paul Newman only spoke for about 30 seconds on he entire track.

I did get my Paul Newman fix on the "Making of" featurette. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew during the film's production.

The Final Word:
Good movie. Fans of courtroom dramas will love this one. I'm a huge Paul Newman fan so I consider this one a keeper. Others may want to rent first.

Rusty White