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Dating goes democratic in this Aaron Sorkin-penned, Rob Reiner-directed romantic drama, which also happens to be lit up like Independence Day with its all-star cast of Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, and many others. The film’s inaugural appearance on Blu-ray is less than auspicious though, sporting what looks like a dated master and negligible bonus material.
The American President
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Studio: Warner Home Video
Packaging/Materials: Blu-ray EcoBox
Year: 1995
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1:53:23
MSRP: $19.98
THE FEATURE
SPECIAL FEATURES
Video
AVC: 1080p high definition 2.40:1
Standard definition
Audio
DTS-HD Master Audio: English 5.1 / Dolby Digital: Spanish 2.0
Stereo
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish
N/A
The Feature: 4/5
The Leader of the Free World and the most powerful man in America Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) wants to date. Specifically, he wants to date Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), a vocal and passionate lobbyist recently hired by an environmental group to get a critical energy bill through Congress. This despite a sizable gaffe during her first meeting with the President’s Chief of Staff, A.J. MacInerney (Martin Sheen); but it’s that very passion and candor that intrigues the President, who, besides being the Executive in Chief, is a widower and single father, now three years running.
While the President dating someone is not unprecedented, in an image-conscious election year it creates a number of challenges. Initially the press, public and even the White House staff seem charmed by the idea, but as partisan politics begin to take hold, with the vitriolic Senator Rumsen (Richard Dreyfuss) leading the charge as the Republican Presidential candidate, things turn decidedly ugly. Questionable dirt gets dug up on Sydney, the President’s character gets called into question, and the polls begin to show a precipitous decline. Though the new couple manages to rise above it on a personal level, there’s no avoiding the taint on their highly public work, and eventually something has to give.
Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner, the charms of “The American President” are unavoidable. With nearly seamless shifts from endearing romantic humor to thought-provoking, political drama, it’s no wonder Sorkin would later adapt his own script into the successful TV series “The West Wing.” If there’s one flaw, it’s the story’s central conflict – the objection by the Right Wing and eventually the public to President Shepherd’s personal life. Though I don’t doubt there’d be real world, partisan attacks over the situation, I’m skeptical they would reach such a fever pitch, making the events in the film ring hollow, as it's basically an answer to a straw man argument. Maybe that’s political naivete on my part, but it’s a nagging distraction as the story moves toward an otherwise inspiring and touching conclusion.
Video Quality: 3/5
Presented in 1080p with the AVC codec, the transfer is accurately framed at 2.40:1 and features strong color and inky black levels. Contrast is reasonably consistent, though at times it suffers from compression that gives the image an unappealing heaviness. Some shots are noticeably soft (like the shots of Sydney during her first phone conversation with the President), and wide shots show a notable loss of detail. Areas of noise, mixed with grain, also pop up from time-to-time, generating a distracting stew. The image has also been subjected to mild to moderate edge enhancement, giving it a hard, very non-film appearance. While the transfer is no doubt an improvement on the non-anamorphic DVD edition from 1999, the transfer still looks like it’s sourced from an old master, which ultimately doesn’t hold up well on the Blu-ray format.
Audio Quality: 4/5
While the video presentation falters, the edition’s audio fares much better with a great 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Dialogue is consistently clear, detailed and intelligible, especially with both Douglas and Sheen’s distinctive, gravelly vocals. Surround activity is negligible outside of fine support for the orchestral score, though a key helicopter fly-by and a couple instances of crowd noise are both seamless and balanced. LFE is non-existent, but the track exhibits excellent depth and dynamic range throughout.
Special Features: 0.5/5
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:58, SD)
Recap
The Film: 4/5
Video Quality: 3/5
Audio Quality: 4/5
Special Features: 0.5/5
Overall Score (not an average): 3/5
Warner Home Video’s Blu-ray edition of Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner’s politically infused romantic drama gets a middling approval rating due to its problematic video transfer. The bonus material is limited to just the theatrical trailer, making the Blu-ray one to avoid as a new release in favor of its eventual arrival in the budget section.
The American President
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Studio: Warner Home Video
Packaging/Materials: Blu-ray EcoBox
Year: 1995
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1:53:23
MSRP: $19.98
THE FEATURE
SPECIAL FEATURES
Video
AVC: 1080p high definition 2.40:1
Standard definition
Audio
DTS-HD Master Audio: English 5.1 / Dolby Digital: Spanish 2.0
Stereo
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish
N/A
The Feature: 4/5
The Leader of the Free World and the most powerful man in America Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) wants to date. Specifically, he wants to date Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), a vocal and passionate lobbyist recently hired by an environmental group to get a critical energy bill through Congress. This despite a sizable gaffe during her first meeting with the President’s Chief of Staff, A.J. MacInerney (Martin Sheen); but it’s that very passion and candor that intrigues the President, who, besides being the Executive in Chief, is a widower and single father, now three years running.
While the President dating someone is not unprecedented, in an image-conscious election year it creates a number of challenges. Initially the press, public and even the White House staff seem charmed by the idea, but as partisan politics begin to take hold, with the vitriolic Senator Rumsen (Richard Dreyfuss) leading the charge as the Republican Presidential candidate, things turn decidedly ugly. Questionable dirt gets dug up on Sydney, the President’s character gets called into question, and the polls begin to show a precipitous decline. Though the new couple manages to rise above it on a personal level, there’s no avoiding the taint on their highly public work, and eventually something has to give.
Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Rob Reiner, the charms of “The American President” are unavoidable. With nearly seamless shifts from endearing romantic humor to thought-provoking, political drama, it’s no wonder Sorkin would later adapt his own script into the successful TV series “The West Wing.” If there’s one flaw, it’s the story’s central conflict – the objection by the Right Wing and eventually the public to President Shepherd’s personal life. Though I don’t doubt there’d be real world, partisan attacks over the situation, I’m skeptical they would reach such a fever pitch, making the events in the film ring hollow, as it's basically an answer to a straw man argument. Maybe that’s political naivete on my part, but it’s a nagging distraction as the story moves toward an otherwise inspiring and touching conclusion.
Video Quality: 3/5
Presented in 1080p with the AVC codec, the transfer is accurately framed at 2.40:1 and features strong color and inky black levels. Contrast is reasonably consistent, though at times it suffers from compression that gives the image an unappealing heaviness. Some shots are noticeably soft (like the shots of Sydney during her first phone conversation with the President), and wide shots show a notable loss of detail. Areas of noise, mixed with grain, also pop up from time-to-time, generating a distracting stew. The image has also been subjected to mild to moderate edge enhancement, giving it a hard, very non-film appearance. While the transfer is no doubt an improvement on the non-anamorphic DVD edition from 1999, the transfer still looks like it’s sourced from an old master, which ultimately doesn’t hold up well on the Blu-ray format.
Audio Quality: 4/5
While the video presentation falters, the edition’s audio fares much better with a great 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Dialogue is consistently clear, detailed and intelligible, especially with both Douglas and Sheen’s distinctive, gravelly vocals. Surround activity is negligible outside of fine support for the orchestral score, though a key helicopter fly-by and a couple instances of crowd noise are both seamless and balanced. LFE is non-existent, but the track exhibits excellent depth and dynamic range throughout.
Special Features: 0.5/5
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:58, SD)
Recap
The Film: 4/5
Video Quality: 3/5
Audio Quality: 4/5
Special Features: 0.5/5
Overall Score (not an average): 3/5
Warner Home Video’s Blu-ray edition of Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner’s politically infused romantic drama gets a middling approval rating due to its problematic video transfer. The bonus material is limited to just the theatrical trailer, making the Blu-ray one to avoid as a new release in favor of its eventual arrival in the budget section.
