WSR Detailed LaserDisc Review

Face/Off
Genre:Action Adventure

Reviewed In Issue 27 Of Widescreen Review® Stars:
John Travolta, Nicholas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon, Dominique Swain, Nick Cassavetes, Harve Presnell, Colm Feore, John Carroll Lynch & CCH Pounder

WSR Review Scores
Picture Rating: 5
Sound Rating: 5
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Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score:
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Supplementals

DVD General Information
(Studio/Distributor): Paramount Home Video
(Catalog Number): LV330553-WS
(MPAA Rating): R
(Retail Price): $39.98
(Running Time In Minutes): 140
(Color Type): Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): Yes
(Theatrical Release): 1997
(LD Release Date): 12/97
(THX® Digitally Mastered): Yes

Credits Information
(Director): John Woo
(Screenplay/Written By): Mike Werb & Michael Colleary
(Story): NA
(Music): John Powell
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer): Neil Spisak
(Visual Effects): VIFX/Cinesite, Animal Logic & Pixel Dynamics
(Costume Designer): Ellen Mirojnick
(Editor): Christian Wagner & Steven Kemper
(Supervising Sound Editors): Mark P. Stoeckinger
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers): Michael Douglas, Steven Reuther & Jonathan D. Krane
(Co-Producers): Mike Werb & Michael Colleary
(Producers): David Permut, Barrie Osbourne, Terence Chang & Christopher Godsick

DVD Picture Information
(Principal Photography): Panavision
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio): 2.35:1
(Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): 2.30:1

DVD Sound Information
(DVD Soundtrack): Dolby Digital Surround
(Theatrical Sound): DTS & Dolby Digital
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(Remastered Dolby Digital): No
(Remastered DTS Digital Surround): No
(Additional Languages):

WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
Face/Off is an explosive action thrill ride that stars John Travolta as FBI agent Sean Archer, who, after six years of chasing Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage)—at the price of several other agents’ lives—finally tastes revenge. Archer then undergoes a futuristic surgery, transforming the comatose Castor’s face onto his in order to find and stop a bomb Troy has planted. But Archer faces a shattering nightmare—the awakened Castor has taken on Archer’s face and moved in with his family.

LaserDisc Picture:
The 2.30:1 picture exhibits exemplary quality in all aspects of visual presentation.

LaserDisc Soundtrack:
The soundtrack is explosive with the Dolby® Digital 5.1 discrete version delivering an aggressive split surround presence that is preferred to the otherwise excellent PCM matrix version. Dialogue is superb, though there are typical abberations created by ADR-production. The music score is slightly wider in the discrete, with better directional effects throughout.
(Surround Bass Below 50Hz): Yes
(Aggressive System Surround): Yes
(Intense 25Hz Bass): No
(Deep Bass Challenging): No
(Aggressive 0.1 LFE):
(Holosonic Soundfield): Yes
(Aggressive Split Surround): Yes
(Center Back Surround Imaging): Yes
(Directionalized Dialogue): Yes
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality:
Superb Music Score Recording Quality:
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality:
Superb Color Fidelity:
Superb Cinematography:
Reference LaserDisc:
Collector Edition: