听 Much of the appeal of "Legends of the Fall" lies in the superior design and technical skill used to tell the story. It's a good looking film in every sense and it shines on a DVD that also brings you all the facts you could ever need to know about it.
Lots of wide and long shots bring out the beauty of the settings and on disc they're virtually flawless. Clear and sharp throughout there's no distracting grain to spoil things.
The 5.1 sound mix is a subtle but busy affair that accommodates James Horner's music score well, without letting it overwhelm the dialogue or effects. When it needs to, there's plenty of muscle there to wrench chunks out of your sub woofer in dramatic scenes like the battle in chapter nine.
With two commentaries on the disc, there's an abundance of insider knowledge made available about the film. The first features director Edward Zwick and lead star Brad Pitt. Zwick tends to do most of the talking and is clearly delighted with what he's made. And while he is stating that he set out to emulate David Lean's style of film-making, Brad entertains with anecdotes about horse riding.
The second commentary is from cinematographer John Toll and production designer Lilly Calvert. They illustrate some interesting facts as to how various effects were achieved although a lot of the useful information is condensed into a short featurette on the DVD.
Chapters: 28
Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Extra Features: Scene selection, 'behind the scenes' featurette, production design featurette, deleted scenes, commentaries by Edward Zwick, Brad Pitt, John Toll, Lilly Kilvert, trailer, filmographies, isolated score, animated menus, multiple languages, subtitles.
