BLU-RAY REVIEW

Matador, The

Featured In Issue 117, February 2007

Picture	4
Sound	NR
WSR Score	4

Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.

(Studio/Distributor):

Miramax Home Entertainment

(Catalog Number):

79707

(MPAA Rating):

R

(Rating Reason):

For strong sexual content and language

(Retail Price):

$29.95

(Disc Type):

Single Side, Dual Layer (HD-30)

(Widescreen Edition):

Yes

(Full Screen Edition):

No

(Running Time In Minutes):

97

(Color Type):

Color

(Chaptered/Scene Access):

Yes

(Closed Captioned):

Yes

(Regional Coding):

Not Indicated

(Theatrical Year):

2004

(Theatrical Release):

Yes

(Direct-To-Video Release):

No

(Disc Release Date):

12/19/06

(THX® Digitally Mastered):

No

(Director):

Richard Shepard

(Screenplay/Written By):

(Story):

(Music):

(Director Of Photography):

(Production Designer):

(Visual Effects):

(Costume Designer):

(Editor):

(Supervising Sound Editors):

(Re-Recording Mixers):

(Executive Producers):

(Co-Producers):

(Producers):

(Academy Awards):

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(Principal Photography):

(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):

(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):

(Disc Soundtrack):

Dolby Digital+ 5.1

(Theatrical Sound):

(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):

(DTS Bit Rate):

(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):

(Additional Languages):

(French Language):

(Spanish Language):

(Chinese Language):

(Subtitles):

(Cantonese Language):

(Mandarin Language):

(Japanese Language):

(Italian Language):

(German Language):

(Portuguese Language):

Danny Wright (Kinnear) is a happily-married salesman who's on a business trip in Mexico City. While sitting at a hotel bar he makes the acquaintance of obnoxious guy Julian Noble (Brosnan), but Danny eventually does warm up to him. The following day the two of them go to a bullfight and as "The Matador" is doing his thing, Julian divulges his little secret�he's a facilitator of fatalities. Six months later Danny is home with his wife Bean (Davis) when Julian shows up unannounced and wanting some help with one more job�a job that involves the by-the-book straight arrow Danny. (Tricia Spears)

Special features are the same as those found on the DVD: a seven-minute "Making The Matador" featurette; commentary with Director Richard Shepard; commentary with Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, and Shepard; 11 deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary by Shepard; two Radio Spots with director Richard Shepard; the theatrical trailer; a TV Spot; and up-front ads.

The H.264 AVC-encoded 2.35:1 HD DVD exhibits well-rendered colors, deep blacks, and accurate fleshtones. Details are resolved nicely, although fine textures are somewhat soft. Some source element artifacts can be seen from time to time. (Danny Richelieu)

The Dolby� Digital Plus 5.1-channel encoding is not much different from the Dolby encoding with the DVD, although there is a slight increase in overall fidelity, especially in the bass. The soundtrack is very reliant on the front three screen channels, with the surrounds all but ignored in some scenes. (Danny Richelieu)

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