Contents
Reviews
How
Discs Are Rated
#
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
News
Archives
DVD
Guide
Contest
Video
Game Reviews
About
DVDlaunch
Meet
The Staff
Contact
|
Good Will Hunting
(Alliance)
review by Zach B.
Studio: Alliance
Rated R
Running Time: 126 Minutes
Starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver,
Ben Affleck
Written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Features: Theatrical Trailer, Audio Commentary with Gus
Van Sant, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, 12 Deleted Scenes with
Commentary, TV Commercials, Production Featurette, Academy
Award® Best Picture Montage, "Miss Misery" Music Video,
Behind the Scenes Footage, Theatrical Trailers
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English 5.1 Dolby
Digital, French Dolby Digital 5.1, English Captions, French
Captions, Chapter Search (21 Chapters)
The movie which literally made Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
overnight stars, "Good Will Hunting" is a very entertaining
and moving character study which the duo also wrote. The
film gave them Oscars® for Best Original Screenplay,
while Robin Williams won for Best Supporting Actor (in a
very good and dramatic performance). It was also nominated
for seven other awards, which included Best Picture and Best
Director for Gus Van Sant.
Will Hunting is a tempermental janitor, scrubbing and
washing the floors of M.I.T. He hangs out with his pals,
gets drunk, and gets in one too many run-ins with the law.
Yet one thing makes Will different from everything around
him. He can solve any math problem with ease that frusturate
many and he can use his photographic memories to recall just
about anything. Simply, Will is a genius.
An M.I.T. professor (an outstanding Stellan Skarsgard)
leaves a very complex on the board outside his room, hoping
a student can solve it. Will solves it, and keeps solving
more and more of them, and no one knows who is getting them
correct. Until the professor catches will, accusing him of
ruining someone else's work. Yet the professor soon realizes
that Will solved them all. Will is also in trouble with the
law for a big fight, among other things. The professor
offers Will a deal, instead of a jail sentence (which the
judge said was okay). He works with him and sees a
psychologist. Will, at first, is reluctant, but soon joins
in this deal. However, he seems to be scaring away every
psychologist who meets with him. Yet he soon meets his match
with Sean, an old friend of the professor. As Sean and Will
talk about anything and everything, Will is soon
deconstructed and must realize what he has, and what he can
do, while conquering his inner demons of the past.
"Good Will Hunting" is one of my favorite films ever, all
because it's an incredibly strong movie. The script by Damon
and Affleck is very impressive and solid. There is never a
dull piece of dialogue, and it's all true to the bone and
core. They capture the whole Boston feel perfectly. They
really develop the characters, their thoughts and
insecurities. They set up great situations for them to deal
with, and while you laugh, your also tugs. It's a great
premise and the way the story unfolds and how characters
come to terms is simply remarkable.
The direction from Gus Van Sant is lean and perfect. Van
Sant hacks into the script and really sets it up with a
great pace and great visual shots of Boston. The editing is
good, and the way he shoots it you won't miss a beat or any
of the action. It has a very natural feel to it and I think
it's Van Sant's best directing outing.
What also really makes the movie is how every performance
is so true and believable. Williams is incredibly strong as
the widowed psychologist, and Damon is perfectly tense and
angry as young Will Hunting. They play off one another so,
so well. The supporting cast, which includes Skarsgard,
Affleck and Minnie Driver all hold their own and also play
well against Damon. They get a great feel and handle on the
characters too. Top it off with a great score from Danny
Elfman and great songs, and you have yourself a wonderful
movie.
"Good Will Hunting" is a film that I could watch again
and again. It has a lot of depth, and there are many lessons
which can be learned from it. It's a fine effort, and
deserves every acclaim and award it got - perhaps even more.
Don't miss it. They don't make them like this anymore. Like
Will himself, it's brilliant.
This version, of course, is the Alliance version that is
ONLY available to purchase in Canada. It has an anamorphic
transfer and an extra deleted scene and is the best version
to get out of the three versions that are in region 1.
The back of the box says it's letterbox, but "Good Will
Hunting" is indeed anamorphic in 1.85:1 widescreen and looks
better than the US Disney version. This is probably the main
selling point of the film. Everything looks so much richer
and not as dull when you compare it to that transfer. The
movie was shot low budget, but it still looks great. Colors
are rich and well saturated. Blemishes, shimmering and
pieces of dirt pop up here and there, but nothing major.
This is one clean and sharp transfer. Very well done and
quite an improvment over the non-anamorphic Disney version.
It's worth getting this version just for this.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is well done. Though the
movie is really dialogue driven, when music plays it brings
a lot more life to the film, and there are some action
packed moments which make good use of rear channels and the
subwoofer. A French 5.1 track is also on the disc, plus
English and French captions.
Based on the
Miramax
Collector's Series version, this disc contains more and
less. It is packed with some very nice supplements, sure to
please everyone who buys it. First off, there is a very
interesting and engaging Audio Commentary from Gus Van
Sant, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They explain about
making the film, their thoughts, the shoot and I found this
to be a very nice track that I loved. It's really worth
listening.
Next up, there are Twelve Deleted Scenes with Optional
Commentary from the trio. Most of these scenes are
actually very good, and could fit well back into the film,
but the commentary explains why they were cut and the shoots
for them. These scenes are a nice addition, and do give more
into the movie. Yes, there are twelve on this version while
the Miramax only had eleven. The last scene isn't much, but
it's worth the inclusion and is another selling point.
There is a Production Featurette which is mostly
fluff but there are only a few TV Spots, not the
dozens like the US version. In addition to all of this,
there is the "Miss Misery" Music Video (a great song,
which was also nominated for an Oscar®), some Behind
The Scenes Footage and the Academy Award™ Best
Picture Montage (you know, where they introduce one of
the films being nominated for Best Picture and string
together a bunch of clips). There's also an English
Theatrical Trailer and a French Theatrical
Trailer. So, you lose some TV spots but get an extra
scene.
This disc is worth importing if you can find it (try
DV-Depot). The
anamorphic transfer is terrific, the extras are basically
the same (plus an extra deleted scene) and it has a good 5.1
mix, plus a French language track. This is the definitive
version to buy. Thank you Alliance! This is a movie that
should be in everyone's library, so do check it out if you
have never seen it.
 (4.5/5, NOT included in
final score)
(4.5/5)
 (4/5)
(4/5)
(4/5,
NOT an average)
|
