Red Dragon: Director's Edition DVD Review

Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen the picture looks very good indeed. There is plenty of fine detail on show and the image just looks crisp and natural. The colours are solid and well saturated with strong blacks and plenty of shadow detail present. There are very few artefacts present apart from shimmering in the first few frames. The cinematography works very well and looks gorgeous with skin tones looking natural. A first class transfer.

The R1 edition comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that is crisp and dynamic and uses the soundfield very well. There are plenty of moments were the surrounds are called to give a feeling of claustrophobia in the Lecter cell area, and Danny Elfman's score is wonderfully used to build tension and give an enveloping feel.

There is a feature length commentary from the Director and writer which is detailed and informative. Danny Elfman's score is presented as an isolated track with commentary from the composer which is again interesting. There are a number of featurettes including “the mind of a serial killer” presented by FBI agent John Douglas. “How to create a crime scene” follows the special effects unit who are advised by Police on how the crime scene should look. There is also a very in depth behind the scenes featurette which follows production from beginning to end, as well as the director's first student film. And finally there are features on make up, screen tests, Deleted and Extended scenes, special effects and the burning wheelchair. Overall the discs provide hours of behind the scenes material to work through and is well presented.
The film feels familiar but works well as a thriller and the presentation on disc is very good indeed with plenty of extras.