DVD Review - Snake Eyes

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Site created 12/15/97.

review added: 4/29/99

Snake Eyes
1998 (1999) - Paramount Home Video

review by Todd Doogan, special to The Digital Bits

Film Rating: D

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B, A-, D

Specs and Features

98 mins, R, letterboxed widescreen (2.35:1), single-sided, single-layered, Amaray keep case packaging, theatrical trailer, film-themed menu screens, scene access (12 chapters), languages: English (DD 5.1 and 2.0), French (DD 2.0), subtitles: English, Closed Captioned

The camera work is in-frickin'-credible, the acting isn't half-bad and the storyline is a really good one. So how come Snake Eyes sucks? I dunno. I can't put my finger on it. My first guess is they give away too much too soon -- how can you really be enthralled when you know "who did it" at the one hour mark? After that it's anybody's guess as to why. I think Nic Cage got a raw deal from his fellow actors on his choice of roles of late, but movies like this don't help.

As for the disc, the picture is all right, but nothing to write home about. It looks fine on the surface, but if you really try, you can see some hints of artifacting. The colors are solid, as are the blacks -- but a few scenes looked a bit off -- like the conversation between Nic and the "redhead" in the stairwell at the beginning of chapter 8. It seemed a little blurred to me. The sound is really nice, and Paramount gives us two English DD choices 5.1 or 2.0 (along with French).

The extras, aside from a trailer, are zip. I would have liked a commentary from De Palma - it would have been really good to hear what he had to say, plus it would be neat to hear the set-ups for some of the incredible camera work in this flick. Check out the opening shot, and the birds-eye track in chapter 7. Snake Eyes is a fine movie to add to your De Palma library, but for any other reason, I think the title speaks for itself.

Todd Doogan
todddoogan@thedigitalbits.com