Herb Kane
Screenwriter
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- May 7, 2001
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Memoirs Of An Invisible Man
Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 1992
Rated: PG 13
Film Length: 99 Mins
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Enhanced Letterbox Widescreen
Audio: DD Surround Stereo
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish
The Feature:
Ever wonder what it would be like to be invisible…? I’m sure there’s times when we’d like to give it a shot! It would be great don’t you think? You could do anything you wanted and not be seen. However, there is a flipside to that. No one can see you so it’s not going to be easy taking your kids to the park or doing the other daily things we take for granted. Ok, well maybe I’d still like to try it for just a day…….
Directed by John Carpenter, Memoirs Of An Invisible Man is the story of Nick Halloway (Chevy Chase) who is a financial analyst and who becomes invisible due to a freak accident at a nuclear facility while taking a brief nap in a sauna while nursing a nasty hangover.
The story begins with Nick who is in the process of videotaping his story wanting it documented, while doing so, he takes us back through the story giving us an account of the events as they transpired.
After the CIA become aware of the incident, Agent David Jenkins (played by Sam Neill) is in hot pursuit of Halloway wanting to get their hands on him as a study or is it recruitment…? Alice Monroe (played by Daryl Hannah) is a documentary filmmaker and also plays the part of Nick’s love interest.
Having never seen the movie prior to my review, I was expecting a total comedy (Chase typecast, I guess). However, I was pleasantly surprised with a somewhat dramatic role played by Chase… with an occasional laugh. Special effects here are most impressive – especially considering the film is 11 years old.
Video:
In a word… WOW! This transfer looks like something that was released from a 2003 film -- never mind one from 11 years ago. The image was incredibly detailed and sharp. Black levels were exceptional and contrast was excellent.
Colors and skin tones are a big issue for me personally when viewing (probably my main viewing criteria – so you’ll always hear a comment or two about colors). Colors in this movie were exceptional, they were very vibrant however, not “digital or video” looking… just right. Skin tones looked perfect. There were a couple of beach scenes throughout the movie which were breathtaking.
I could find no evidence of any EE, dirt or noise.
My only criticisms and they are very minute…during the opening scene, when Nick starts to tell his story from San Francisco, the image appeared to be slightly grainy – very slight. I don’t know why but it seems more and more common for newer releases that the first couple of opening scenes are dirty or grainy… this one is very slight.
Very impressive.
Audio:
Although the listing is “DD Surround Stereo”, I checked the surrounds during several of the action scenes and much of the surround info was discrete. There was no LFE info but it was as close to a 5.0 track (without being called 5.0), than you can get. Having said that, it wasn’t an overly active surround track. There are several action scenes during the chase with helicopters etc, and the surround info is added tactfully. There is even a helicopter scene at the end where we get an almost 360 degree pan.
Dialogue was exceptionally clear with no signs of any hiss or noise whatsoever. Directionality was used on a frequent basis (with Nick trying to prove his “invisibleness”) and there are several scenes where clearly the right or left side is dominant.
This is by no means a reference track – not even close. I was simply impressed by getting more than I bargained for with a listing of a “DD Surround” track.
Special Features:
Unfortunately there isn’t much in the way of extras on this disc. The three included are:
How To Become Invisible – This is a short documentary with those involved from ILM discussing the optical/digital techniques used for the special effects on this film. It is rather short but is informative. Duration: 4 mins. I’ll take a commentary with substance (even if it is only 4 minutes long) over one that’s 60 minutes of fluff, any day of the week.
Outtakes – Merely 5 outtakes which add very little to the disc. Duration: 4 mins.
Cast & Crew – Simply a text listing of all the major characters and their role in the film.
Final Thoughts:
I often recall reading Ron’s reviews and remembering him commenting about reviewing movies and it allowing him the opportunity to see a movie that he might otherwise not have seen. I find myself in that situation with this movie. I have never seen it and probably would not have picked it, but I’m glad I did. It was an entertaining movie and proved that Chevy Chase didn’t need a station wagon filled with luggage to be successful. The video is top shelf and the audio is, well… interesting.
Although the extras are rather sparse, if you’re a fan of Chevy or the film, I would certainly give this one a shot.
Release Date: August 19th, 2003
