Hollywoodland (HD DVD)

Universal | 127 minutes | 2006 | R | Directed by: Allen Coulter |
HD DVD reviewed by: Matt Brighton

I never thought I'd type this, but it's actually good to see Ben Affleck in movies again. Granted, his absence wasn't that long and after a few of his later efforts like "Gigli" and "Paycheck" I was starting to wonder if he was just a blip on the radar. Sure, he and buddy Matt Damon took home an Oscar several years back and while Damon's career has soared, Affleck got more caught up in the tabloid circuit than making movies. Regardless, that's all in the past and perhaps the best thing a struggling actor can do is come back with a great performance. "Hollywoodland" is that movie and Affleck does a fine job portraying the ill-fated George Reeves, best known as television's Superman. While watching the film, I was reminded of 1997's "L.A. Confidential". For obvious reasons, it has the same look and feel of "Hollywoodland" but not quite the hard edge that the film did. If anything, we get a look at exactly how powerful the movie industry was back in Hollywood's golden era and how exactly corrupt things were.

The story is simultaneously told in two different timelines, the first takes place as the movie opens and we see the body of George Reeves (Ben Affleck) presumably after he has just committed suicide. We meet a rather sketchy private investigator by the name of Louis Simo (Adrian Brody), someone who can get headlines in the paper through some rather unconventional means. Simo is working with Reeves' mother (Lois Smith) to try and prove that Reeves was actually murdered and didn't commit suicide. When Louis starts to dig, he finds out that Reeves was involved with the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins) and their affair lasted for years. Naturally Toni (Diane Lane) was grief-stricken and we learn much more about their affair in the other timeline – the one where we see George and Toni meet and begin their love affair. This could be confusing if done incorrectly, but the movie manages to balance out the two different stories and intricately interweave them into a taught, fascinating thriller (I dare say Film Noir).

"Hollywoodland" has a great script that was obviously inspired by true life events and though Reeves murder was officially ruled a suicide, this movie does leave plenty of room for doubt. Affleck's portrayal of George Reeves was quite the accomplishment, and somewhat of a departure from his usual "Bahstan" accent that we've become so accustomed to over the years. Diane Lane is also great as the starved-for-attention wife of Eddie Mannix and darn it if she still isn't one of the more beautiful women in movies these days. For those that desire car chase scenes and things blowing up left and right, "Hollywoodland" might not really be for you. But for those wanting a well-crafted murder/mystery with some great performances, it's certainly worth a look.

"Hollywoodland" is presented in a 1.85:1 VC-1 HD transfer that looks pretty good. The entire color palette is muted and the off-whites and browns tend to dominate the entire movie. I couldn't detect any edge enhancement and the contrast was rock solid as well. I compared the HD side to the standard DVD side (located on the flip side of this combo disc) and it's easy to see where the errors are. Some of the nighttime scenes on the standard offering have a bit of movement to them and the colors aren't as strong as on the HD version. Both look pretty good, but given the choice, 100 out of 100 people will prefer the HD version and with good reason. The print used is obviously new and though this movie had a relatively low budget, I was amazed at how good this looks on disc.

For those that really want to crank up the volume and show off their home theater, well you might want to look elsewhere as "Hollywoodland" really isn't a film to showcase an audio system. That said, the Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack is very subdued, almost to the point where this sounds like a mono mix. Dialogue prevails as the most dominant sound and though there are a few instances where the surrounds kick in, they're not much help. This isn't a bad mix at all, it's how the movie was intended and the DVD does a faithful recreation of it. But for those expecting some amazing audio experience, think again. Both versions of the film also contain a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well.

The supplements aren't that robust, but are pertinent to the film. We start off with three fairly straight-forward featurettes. "Re-creating Old Hollywood" is an obvious short on the production design to get Tinseltown looking the way it used to be. "Behind the Headlines" focuses on the relationship between Louis Simo and George Reeves and "Hollywood Then and Now" gives us some glimpses of Hollywood "back in the day" and contrasted with how it is presently. Quite a difference, I must say. Five deleted scenes are shown and the feature commentary with director Allen Coulter is engaging, yet ultimately way too technical and dry. This was Coulter's first film to direct and I think he'll be around for a while, but I was ultimately let down by this track.