Wag The Dog
(New Line Platinum Series)
review by Zach B.
Rated R
Studio: New Line
Running Time: 96 minutes
Starring: Robert DiNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Anne Heche,
Willie Nelson, Kirsten Dunst
Adapted by David Mamet and Hilary Henkin
Directed by Barry Levinson
Retail Price: $24.98
Features: Commentary with Barry Levinson and Dustin
Hoffman, Production Notes, Interviews, Cast and Crew Bios,
Essay, Theatrical Trailer
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.33:1 Pan and
Scan, 5.1 Dolby Digital English, English Subtitles, French
Subtitles, Chapter Search (22 Chapters)
Brining some excellent acting and behind-the-scenes
talent together, "Wag The Dog" is a hilarious and well put
together satire based on the book "American Hero". The film
follows two White House spin doctors, Conrad Brean and
Winifred Ames as they must figure out a solution to detract
the public from a presidential scandal, weeks before the big
election. They decide to stage a war, with help from
Hollywood mogul Stanley Motss. Nothing can go wrong if no
one suspects anything, right?
"Wag The Dog" is an excellent movie, as it was showered
with some major nominations at the Golden Globes and Academy
Awards®. However, the movie gathered an incredible
amount of attention shortly after its release because of the
whole President Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, and how some
elements hit pretty close to home. The two are not exactly
alike, but still.
The film is really well done. Barry Levinson gives
wonderful direction to this vision, working from David
Mamet's script (with some shared writing credit from Hilary
Henkin), and the performances are excellent. Robert DiNiro
is surprsingly good as Conrad, Anne Heche is wonderful and
striking, but Dustin Hoffman steals the show as producer
Stanley Motss.
"Wag The Dog" is a good and entertaining satire, and once
again, New Line has given us a disc which really shines.
Once again New Line delivers a wonder transfer for each
viewing format. The pan and scan and anamorphic widescreen
look identical in picture, and that's a good thing. Colors
are incredibly well saturated and flesh tones look really
nice. Detail is good as well, and I didn't notice any grain,
blemishes or dirt. Another superior New Line transfer.
I wasn't expecting too much with the 5.1 Dolby Digital,
and while it was what I expected pretty much, it wasn't as
bad as I thought it could have been. This movie is dialogue
driven, and surrounds aren't used at all. Music helps at
points, but the whole movie basically revolves around the
center channels.
Another great Platinum Series disc features some great
supplements. Probably the highlight of the disc is the
Audio Commentary with Barry Levinson and Dustin
Hoffman. I found this to be one of the most insightful
tracks I ever heard, as the two discuss some aspects of the
production and inspirations. The film was shot in a short
four weeks, and Levinson talks about David Mamet's
disappointment with how he had to share writing credit,
though most of the script is Mamet's own. Hoffman talks
about how he based his character, and said it is sort of
based on his own father, but you may notice some of producer
Robert Evans in there...
Some lengthy Production Notes are a good read, but
what I found to be really interesting was the Essay on
Hollywood and Politics, which is a MUST read.
Rounding out the disc are some Interviews, Cast
and Crew Bios, and the Theatrical Trailer.
The menus are nicely done too and are presented with much
ease, and I found them to fit really well with the film. I
know I don't mention menus so often, but I found these worth
pointing out.
Great movie, great presentation, great features. Need I
say more? If you missed "Wag The Dog", be sure to pick up
this disc.
 (4/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
 (3.5/5)
 (3/5)
(3.5/5, NOT an average)
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