Review of Fugitive, The

Introduction

If you ask any one about “The Fugitive”, they will probably remember the train crash and the jump off the damn – the two memorable sequences from the film.

Made back in 1993, the film spawned a sequel “US Marshals” which features Tommy Lee Jones chasing Wesley Snipes, and a remake of the original TV Series, called “The Fugitive – The Chase Continues”.

Starring Harrison Ford as Dr Kimble and Tommy Lee Jones as US Marshal Gerrard, the film opens with Ford wrongly convicted for the brutal murder of his wife. Whilst on the way to prison to be executed, the prison transfer bus crashes onto a railway line and Kimble manages to escape. Pursued by Gerrard, Kimble manages to make his way back to Chicago where he sets about proving his innocence at the same time as evading capture.

Video

When I bought this DVD a while back in a sale, I must confess to have foolishly not checked the back of the box to ensure that it was in widescreen – imagine my horror to find the description “Regular – suitable for all TV screens” at the bottom left. However, luckily for me, this is a packaging mistake and this disc is Anamorphic Widescreen presented in 1.85:1.

The picture is pretty good – not as crisp as DVD can offer, but still stable and error free.

Visually, the movie has plenty to offer, with the famous opening train crash sequence and jump off the dam of particular note.

Audio

Audio comes in Dolby Digital 5.1, and like the video whilst not as good as DVD can offer is still good. There’s not much channel separation from the rear speakers – which are mainly used for music – leading me to wonder if this is a simple remix of a Pro-Logic track, simply using the full frequency range without any additional steering.

Features

This is a movie-only release – with no extras apart from cast/crew information. This isn’t mentioned on the packaging, but seems to be in place of the production notes, which I couldn’t find.

The menu is an extremely dull static Warner logo with the three choices (play, scene selection, cast).

The disc is packaged in the usual Warner "snapper" case and includes details of the more-than-generous 42 chapter breaks.

Conclusion

The biggest grumble about “The Fugitive” is the misleading packaging, which I’m sure has put many potential buyers off as it implies that the movie is in full-frame.

The film itself is very enjoyable - there’s little let up in the action from start to finish and importantly there’s no tedium in sight. A superb cast goes a long way to make up for any shortcomings in the plot, with Ford and Jones both excellent, as you would expect.

The picture and sound are both good and there are no extras on offer.

Overall, “The Fugitive” is a good movie and if you’re not fussed about extras is a good buy at Warner’s £12.99 price point.