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WSR Detailed DVD Review
Five Heartbeats, The
15th Anniversary Edition
Genre: Drama

Reviewed In Issue 105 (Feb 2006) Of Widescreen Review®

Stars:
Robert Townsend, Michael Wright, Leon, Harry J. Lennix, Tico Wells, Harold Nicholas, Troy Beyer, Tressa Thomas & Diahann Carroll

WSR Review Scores
WSR Picture Rating: 4
DD Sound Rating: 3.5
DTS Sound Rating: NR
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Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score: 4
Internet Links


Special Features
Special features include a 10 minute Meet The Five Heartbeats featurette, a five-minute look In The Studio, five minutes dedicated to The Look of the film, an 11 minutes with director Robert Townsend on making the film, a two-minute album highlight, three TV spots, the theatrical trailer, a profile on the director, an original five-minute featurette, and four deleted scenes that can be viewed separately or within the film via an interactive pop-up icon.


 DVD General Information

(Studio/Distributor): 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number): 2232529
(MPAA Rating): R
(Rating Reason):

For language
(Retail Price): $19.98
(DVD Type): Single Side, Dual Layer (DVD9)
(Widescreen Edition): Yes
(Full Screen Edition): No
(Anamorphic Widescreen): Yes
(Running Time In Minutes): 121
(Color Type): Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): Yes
(Regional Coding): 1
(Theatrical Year): 1991
(Theatrical Release): Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release): No
(DVD Release Date): 01/10/06
(THX® Digitally Mastered): No

 Credits Information

(Director): Robert Townsend
(Screenplay/Written By): Subscribe Now!
(Story): Subscribe Now!
(Music): Subscribe Now!
(Director Of Photography): Subscribe Now!
(Production Designer): Subscribe Now!
(Visual Effects): Subscribe Now!
(Costume Designer): Subscribe Now!
(Editor): Subscribe Now!
(Supervising Sound Editors): Subscribe Now!
(Re-Recording Mixers): Subscribe Now!
(Executive Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Co-Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Producers): Subscribe Now!
(Academy Awards): Subscribe Now!

  DVD Picture Information

(Principal Photography): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!
(Measured DVD Anamorphic Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!
(Measured DVD Letterbox Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!

  DVD Sound Information

(DVD Soundtrack): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Sound): Subscribe Now!
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack): Subscribe Now!
(DTS Bit Rate): Subscribe Now!
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate): Subscribe Now!
(Additional Languages): Subscribe Now!
(Subtitles): Subscribe Now!
(WSR Superb Sound Qualities): Subscribe Now!

  WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
Get ready to be rocked to your soul by The Five Heartbeats! This Motown-flavored drama (loosely based on the successes and tribulations of several R&B favorites) is the story of five young friends drawn together by music. Their dream of success takes them from amateur nights in ghetto clubs to the pinnacle of show business success and personal tragedy. (Suzanne Hodges)

DVD Picture:
This new anamorphically enhanced 1.82:1 DVD picture looks much better than the previously released DVD. While images appeared smeared and soft on the previous disc, this new version is much better delineated, with finer details and definition. Colors are nicely saturated and well balanced. Minor edge halos and some pixelization can be detected on occasion. Still, the picture can look a bit dated at times, with minor film grain noticed in the source element. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
Just like the previously released DVD, the Dolby