The Trial
by David Hugh Jones
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Hopkins, Jason Robards, Juliet Stevenson, Kyle MacLachlan, Polly WalkerDirector: David Hugh Jones
Producer: Ann Wingate
Producer: Carolyn Montagu
Producer: Geoffrey Paget
Producer: Kobi Jaeger
Producer: Louis Marks
Writer: Franz Kafka
Writer: Harold Pinter
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.0
Format: Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-03-11
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Trial
Movie Review: Great move--TERRIBLE DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
I give the movie five stars. The DVD, one (see below). I won't focus much on the merits of the film aside from saying that the story of the film is one of the most important works of the twentieth-century and is central to the modern, and post-modern, human experience. I saw this movie at the Angelika in New York when it came out. One of Hollywood's crimes was not giving it a distribution deal in the U.S. I have to admit that, the first time I saw it, I was somewhat disappointed by the portrayals in general. However, I hadn't read the novel in several years despite being a Kafka devotee. I reread it yet again and later viewed the film on video tape. The more I watched it, the more I realized what a wonderful job Harold Pinter did with the screenplay.Now, as far as the DVD itself goes, this is one of the WORST transfers I have ever seen. Thanks go to the folks at Fox Lorber for another disappointing product. I think my original VHS copy had better image quality than this. Furthermore, as another reviewer notes, this film is beautifully photographed, yet the DVD is full screen only. The principals of Fox Lorber should be locked up for not releasing this in widescreen.
As for the extras? Yeah, right. There is a chapter selection function. How's that? There's not even a general menu, no trailers, interviews, etc. Nothing. Poor ole Franz. Still not being treated properly after all these years.
Summary of The Trial
On the morning of his 30th birthday, senior bank clerk Josef K. is put under arrest by men who refuse to identify themselves. He's not taken into custody, and nobody will--or even can--tell him the charges against him. Josef refuses to take it seriously, and thus begins his descent into the mad vagaries of a court system that is as enigmatic as it is ominous. This BBC coproduction of the Franz Kafka book features a screenplay by Harold Pinter (Turtle Diary, The French Lieutenant's Woman) that starts out full of wit and menace, but loses steam in the second half and delivers a flat and confusing ending. Kyle MacLachlan is perfectly cast as a sort of yuppie Josef K. who's so self-involved and complacent that he cannot express proper outrage at the injustice. Although he's second-billed, Anthony Hopkins's role as the priest is more of a cameo. Polly Walker and Alfred Molina (a standout as the court painter, Titorelli) both seem to get Kafka's cosmic joke. Beautifully filmed in Prague. --Geof MillerSimilar DVD Movies
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