Changing Lanes
by Roger Michell
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ben Affleck, Kim Staunton, Samuel L. Jackson, Sydney Pollack, Toni ColletteDirector: Roger Michell
Brand: Paramount
Cinematographer: Salvatore Totino
Producer: Adam Schroeder
Producer: Ronald M. Bozman
Producer: Scott Aversano
Producer: Scott Rudin
Writer: Chap Taylor
Writer: Michael Tolkin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-09-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Changing Lanes
Movie Review: Blu-ray: A riveting and provocative thriller but if you own the DVD, is it worth the double dip?
Summary: 4 Stars
In 2002, "CHANGING LANES" kicked off the Summer movie lineup. Directed by Roger Michell ("Notting Hill", "Persuasion", etc.) and a screenplay/story by Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin ("The Player", "The Rapture", "Deep Impact", etc.), the film which stars Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson was a financial success and grossed over $94 million worldwide.
"CHANGING LANES" is a compelling story of two men who had normal lives and then because of this accident, their lives are changed forever. Now driven by anger and revenge, the film is a thriller that will surprise the viewer on how far these men will go to destroy the other.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"CHANGING LANES" receives its High Definition treatment with a 1080p transfer (with an aspect ration of 2:35:1). The Blu-ray release is quite solid as we see the details in the men's skin (many close up shots). The picture quality does show some presence of grain and also dust speckles but nothing that deters you from watching. The film utilizes a bluish hue during outdoor scenes and amber during indoor scenes. In fact, it seems to have been shot during overcast, so it's not a film where you would see any color vibrancy. There is a slight softness to the picture quality but found no artifacting. Overall, compared to the original DVD, this transfer of "CHANGING LANES" looks very good.
As for audio, "CHANGING LANES" sports and English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio track (and also Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital). The film is primarily a dialogue driven film but there are scenes that utilize natural ambiance during crowd scenes and sounds that get really cool use of audio during the sprinkler scene and even the car accident scene.
If anything, the film is primarily front channel driven with not much utilization of low frequency bass from the subwoofer or the rear surrounds. The good news is that the audio is clear and understandable, the disappointing news is that the soundtrack does not take advantage of all speaker channels for the action scene. So, you get an average soundtrack at best.
Subtitles are featured in English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"CHANGING LANES" features the following special features in standard definition with the exception of the theatrical trailer which is in HD:
* Audio Commentary by director Roger Michell - An interesting insight of the film from Director Roger Michell. Commentary seemed slow at times but there were a good amount of behind-the-scene tidbits on working with the various talent, deviations from the original screenplay but most of all, how they wanted to handle the scenes that featured the World Trade Center as he felt despite shooting the footage in Jan. 2001, having removed it post 9/11 but then deciding to keep the Twin Towers in the final cut. Michell is very complimentary to his cast and crew but showing how people working on the film did a wonderful job when it came to cinematography and even production design.
* The Making of Changing Lanes - A 15 minute featurette that is a making-of, with interviews with the cast and crew about the making of "CHANGING LANES". And quite interesting that you have the movie man doing voice overs at the beginning and end.
* A Writer's Perspective - A six minute featurette on the overall screenplay with interviews with screenplay writers Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin who both seem to enjoy the lunch between Gavin and his wife.
* Deleted Scenes - A total of two deleted scenes. One featuring Gavin with a student Gordon Pinella who needed to be interviewed for a job and another with Doyle meeting with his boss in regards to his performance at work. Two scenes that deserved to be cut from the film.
* Extended Scene - Featuring a single extended scene when Gavin was at the church and in the confession booth as he puts the blame on Doyle for what is happening with his life. In the film, we know how Gavin's state of mind, so I'm glad they shortened it in the film and not let it run this long.
* Original Theatrical Trailer - The original theatrical trailer in HD.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"CHANGING LANES" was a film that definitely had an interesting premise. What if these two men who feel their lives were wrecked because of their one incident, tried to one up each other and nearly destroy themselves in the process.
People who let their anger and their hatred get the best of them and while its nearly too late, just enough time to see how they let it go too far.
What Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin are able to come up with for the screenplay is to manipulate the audience into rooting for a certain side and then you just realize that these two men are just too flawed and are way over their heads.
If anything, it's the "what if" that becomes an entertaining experiment of exposing the human element of revenge. We hear and read about vindictive people getting back to each other, "CHANGING LANES" shows people of that unthinkable moral potential if one is able to go too far.
Samuel Jackson does a wonderful job of playing the character of Doyle Gipson but most of all, a man that has his own demons to contend with and in one scene, is told that he enjoys living in chaos. If anything, the interaction with Jackson's Gipson and Affleck's Gavin Banek made Affleck's performance much more believable. Sydney Pollack, Kim Staunton and Toni Collette also do well onscreen despite their short duration onscreen.
Overall, "CHANGING LANES" is one of those clever films that is enjoyable but as for owning it on Blu-ray, its left to the viewer's choice if its a film worthy of repeated viewings.
Summary of Changing Lanes
A minor traffic accident turns two perfect strangers into vicious adversaries waging an all-out war of personal destruction in this electrifying critically acclaimed psychological thriller. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/17/2006 Starring: Ben Affleck Samuel Jackson Run time: 98 minutes Rating: R Director: Roger MichellImpeccably crafted and smarter than your average thriller, Changing Lanes proves that revenge is a dish best served cold. A high-powered attorney (Ben Affleck) learns that lesson the hard way after he flees the scene of an accident involving an insurance salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) who holds a powerful advantage in his retaliatory strike against the lawyer's arrogant behavior. Affleck has everything to gain if he can retrieve a lost document from Jackson, who has everything to lose (wife, family, savings) when threatened with financial sabotage. To his versatile credit, Notting Hill director Roger Michell never plays the race card in this escalating battle of wills, focusing instead on the percolating resentments of men at opposite ends of the economic scale. As he did in Eyes Wide Shut, actor-director Sydney Pollack chillingly embodies the venal elite in a pivotal supporting role, and Changing Lanes potently illustrates the wisdom of heeding a guilty conscience. --Jeff Shannon
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