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    WSR Detailed DVD Review
    Up At The Villa


    Genre: Drama

    Reviewed In Issue 48 (May 2001) Of Widescreen Review®

    Stars:
    Kristin Scott Thomas, Sean Penn, Anne Bancroft, James Fox, Jeremy Davies, Derek Jacobi & Massimo Ghini

    WSR Review Scores
    WSR Picture Rating: 3
    DD Sound Rating: 3.5
    DTS Sound Rating: NA
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    Reference Systems
    Critics' Composite Score: 3
    Internet Links


    Special Features
    Includes the theatrical trailer, production notes booklet, and biographies.


     DVD General Information

    (Studio/Distributor): USA Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number): 963060101-2
    (MPAA Rating): PG13
    (Rating Reason):
    (Retail Price): $24.95
    (DVD Type): Single Side, Dual Layer (DVD9)
    (Widescreen Edition): Yes
    (Full Screen Edition): No
    (Anamorphic Widescreen): Yes
    (Running Time In Minutes): 115
    (Color Type): Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
    (Closed Captioned): Yes
    (Regional Coding): 1
    (Theatrical Year): 1999
    (Theatrical Release): Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release): No
    (DVD Release Date): 10/24/00
    (THX® Digitally Mastered): No

     Credits Information

    (Director): Philip Haas
    (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!
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      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!
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      WSR Narrative Review
    Story Synopsis:
    Based on the novella by W. Somerset Maugham, Up At The Villa is set in late-1930s Italy where a young widow (Thomas) is contemplating her future. Almost broke, she must consider the proposal of marriage from a man she does not love. After a party, the widow involves herself with a musician, but determines that she must not prolong the affair. The musician, thinking himself madly in love with the widow, kills himself, and she turns to a dashing American expatriot for help. (Laurie Sevano)

    DVD Picture:
    The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD exhibits a picture that is often nicely rendered, and is stylized with warm hues that compliment the late-1930s setting. Though some scenes are rich, with nicely balanced colors, the picture is a bit dark and muddy at times. Due to the dark character of many scenes, shadow delineation is slightly undefined. Edge enhancement is noticed, as is minor pixelization. While the deeply saturated hues provide a lovely style to the picture, image quality is mediocre due to the

    Soundtrack:
    The soundtrack has a nice, laid-back nature that is appropriate to the quiescent nature of the movie. This Dolby

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