Carlito's Way: Ultimate Edition
Studio: Universal Studios Home Video
Year: 1993 (2005 Release)
Rated: R
Aspect Ratio: 2.35x1, enhanced for 16x9 displays
Audio: English DD 5.1, DTS 5.1; French DD 5.1; Spanish DD 2.0
Captions/Subtitles: English SDH; French and Spanish Subtitles
Time: 2:09:04
Disc Format: DS/DL (DVD-18)
Layer Switch: 1:09:09 (Side A)
Case Style: Keep Case
Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in.
The Feature:
Okay, I realize that is the wrong movie reference, but it still applies.
In
Carlito's Way, Al Pacino (fresh from his Oscar win in
Scent of a Woman) is Carlito Brigante, a former drug dealer whose conviction is overturned on a technicality thanks to the efforts of attorney David Kleinfeld (Sean Penn, doing a coked-up version of Art Garfunkel). Carlito says that he wants to go straight. He even has a friend in the Bahamas who will go in with him on a rental car business. All Carlito needs to do is to come up with $75,000. Carlito's former associates scoff at the notion. But attorney Kleinfeld, who seems to have an angle, offers Brigante a job running a night club to help Carlito towards his goal. That's what friends are for, right? Right.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Carlito comes across the seed money for the night club venture, and is able to buy interest into the club--but he still wants to accumulate enough money to get to that island and rent those cars. It is the middle of the disco era. The nightclub scene is happening. In the club, Carlito comes across his old girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller) and meets the new breed of gangsters, including Benny Blanco (John Leguizamo), who have heard of Carlito but do not respect him (the feeling is mutual--a vicious circle that leads to problems). Carlito pursues Gail, but she is reluctant.
Kleinfeld is in over his head wiith a mobster client and his sons. The mobster wants help in escaping from prison; he also thinks that Kleinfeld stole $1 million from him. This is not a good combination. You never betray the mob.
And in the world of Carlito Brigante, you never betray your friends
Directed with great cinematic style by Brian De Palma, and with a screenplay by David Koepp,
Carlito's Way is a drama and a thriller, with well-developed characters, and great pacing despite its length (this is one of those 2.5 hour movies that feels like it is an hour shorter). While it may be hard to care for someone who kills people to survive, the brilliance of Al Pacino's acting is that you can feel sympathetic to his character without being overly judgmental. Penelope Ann Miller displays the perfect degree of vulnerability. And Sean Penn is totally believable as the drugged out attorney whose world is crumbling around him.
The Feature: 4 / 5
Video:
The video transfer of
Carlito's Way is generally pleasing, a distinct improvement over the original 1998 non-anamorphic release (I do not have the last reported anamorphic release for comparison). Colors and blacks, particularly in the night club scenes, are spectacular. There are hints of grain, and occasional edge enhancement. But they are not distracting from the excellent camerawork. Not bad.
Video: 4 / 5
Sound:
The new "Ultimate Edition" adds a half bitrate DTS track over the prior Collector's Edition.
Carlito's Way was one of the early DTS theatrical features. Although Universal has authored the disc to make it difficult to switch between the DD and DTS mixes, it is pretty clear that the DTS mix is different. It sounds good, with lots of trashy disco music and gunfire to make it exciting.
Sound: 4.5 / 5
Extras:
Supplements in this
Ultimate Edition are on the flip side of the feature, and include:
Brian De Palma on
Carlito's Way (5:27)
Deleted Scenes (8:15)
The Making of
Carlito's Way (34:35)
Photo & Poster Gallery
Original Promotional Featurette (5:14)
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:41)
For me, an ultimate edition would include a commentary track or two, and not recycle a documentary from the previous release with only a few extras over that.
Extras: 4 / 5
In Conclusion:
Carlito's Way gets better every time I see it. While this "Ultimate Edition" is little more than a tie-in to the straight-to-video sequel coming out in the next couple of weeks, it is a definite improvement over the original 1998 issue.
Overall Rating: 4 / 5
Release Date: September 13, 2005
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