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The Movie:
I saw "Men Of Honor" in the theater last Winter and after watching it again at home on this DVD edition, I still feel a bit frustrated with the film. There are moments in the movie that are incredibly moving and the performance from Cuba Gooding, Jr. absolutely carries the film - he engages our interest wonderfully. We want him to win. And yet, there are elements that take away from the picture and keep it from being as great as it could be.
Gooding, Jr. stars as real-life Navy diver Carl Brashear, the first African-American to join into the Navy's deep sea diving team. He runs into trouble after joining as he finds an enemy in Master Chief Billy Sunday (Robert Deniro), a racist who wants to see Carl fail no matter what the cost. The film takes us through Carl's experience rising through the ranks of the navy, attempting to study so that he won't fail the tests and fail out of school, undergoing challenges and impressing Master Chief Sunday even more. Still, although he's begining to change Sunday's view, he also has to contend with Mr. Pappy (Hal Holbrook), the commanding officer who wants Sunday to keep Carl from passing.
Again, there are some elements of "Men Of Honor" that didn't work for me. First is Sunday's unhappy wife Gwen, played by Charlize Theron. Theron is a fine actress, but not only is her relationship with Deniro's character odd, she's in the film so little that her part could have been left out of the story without really missing it. Although Deniro has been a bit "over-the-top" before, here he's over-the-top and onto the other side.
The film itself is also a bit "Hollywood" sometimes, and that is particularly evident in Mark Isham's score. Although I've enjoyed his work in other films, the score seems to be a bit "uplifting" and "sappy" at times. The film also feels a bit long occasionally, and the 128 minute running time could have been trimmed a tiny bit for the film's pace to be slightly improved.
But, Gooding's performance is an excellent one. In fact, much like his recent "Instinct", Gooding really carries the film. A very likable, believable and altogether winning performance, Gooding really makes the viewer want to see Carl succeed, especially in powerful scenes like when Carl, after spending nine hours in freezing water, still passes a test that the Navy made sure he'd fail.Gooding's performance as Carl stands out as a genuinely inspirational effort about not giving up no matter what that really makes many scenes in "Men Of Honor" succeed.
The DVD
VIDEO: 20th Century Fox presents "Men Of Honor" in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and it is anamorphic. It's also an absolutely first-rate work from the studio, with image quality that rivals the theatrical presentation that I saw during the film's release last Winter. Sharpness and detail are nothing short of remarkable, with the image remaining crystal-clear and well-defined throughout.
Literally, the only flaw that I noticed that kept the presentation from being problem-free was a couple of very slight speckles on the print used, mainly early on. Other than that, the film remained completely free of such distractions. Pixelation and shimmering, as well as any other problem that could pop up don't appear here.
Colors are perfectly displayed, looking natural and vibrant, with no problems. Flesh tones are accurate and natural, as well. This is really, really fine work from Fox and definitely one of their best recent efforts. (Layer Change: 57:58)
SOUND: "Men Of Honor" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and although there are many scenes where the film remains subtle and music/dialogue driven, there are also a few scenes in the film that are quite impressive sound-wise. There is a helicopter crash into a boat early in the film, and the scene starts with a character inside the boat. The crash impact can be felt strongly and the sound can be heard throughout the room. Another scene towards the middle of the film where a sunken ship begins to slide down a cliff underwater also provides a tremendous experience, with a very powerful, almost thunderous rumble and fantastic surround use to convince us that we're in the middle of this situation. This second scene also impressed me greatly in the theater.
I was pleased to hear that the film often maintains at least subtle sound use. During many of the outdoor scenes, slight ambient sounds such as insects and bird sounds can be heard around the room. Surrounds are not constantly used, but they at do get some very effective use during the film's more intense sequences and do occasionally offer other, slighter sounds as well as Mark Isham's score. Dialogue is also natural-sounding and clear. Overall, this an enjoyable audio presentation that really offers effective sound use during the most intense moments of the picture.
MENUS:: Fox provides nicely done animated menus for "Men Of Honor", with animation leading into a main menu that has a watery animated background. Transitions to sub-menus take us underwater to the next menu. These menus are also subtly animated, as well.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director George Tillman, Jr., producer Robert Teitel, writer Scott Smith as well as actor Cuba Gooding, Jr.. The commentary track proves to be a very enjoyable listen, both serious and respectful of the subject as well as occasionally funny, joking about stories from the production. We also learn more about the real story of Carl Brashear and how his story took a number of years before it finally made it to the screen.
Director Tillman and producer Robert Teitel do a fine job discussing the challenges that somewhat restricted the film at times, such as a low budget that didn't allow the production to do everything it wanted to. Gooding has a good deal of fun talking about what it was like to play the role and also, has quite a few amusing comments and stories. It's an entertaining commentary that gets to the point and informs, with no "filler"(simply talking about what's going on on-screen). It's definitely worth a listen. All of the participants are recorded together.
Deleted Scenes: Director George Tillman, Jr. offers an introduction to the deleted scenes before you are taken to a menu that offers 12 deleted sequences, with optional commentary by Tillman. Some of these scenes were enjoyable to watch and offered some good moments, although I still think they were rightly taken out of the film for time/pacing reasons. The last of the scenes is an alternate ending for the film.
The Making Of "Men Of Honor": Although a "promotional" documentary in nature that talks mainly about the story, it's interesting to hear the opinions about the story from nearly everyone in the cast and crew, from Gooding, Jr. to Deniro to director George Tillman. We also hear from the real Carl Brashear about his real-life experiences that were portrayed in "Men Of Honor". There's a good deal of interesting behind-the-scenes information and footage, as part-way through the documentary we hear more about how the actors had to train in diving in a very short period.
Master Chief: A Tribute To Carl Brashear: This is a documentary that goes further into detail about the life of Carl Brashear, going from his childhood into his experiences in the Navy. There is also additional interview footage with Brashear included in this documentary, and it's fascinating again to hear him discuss what happened during his life. There are some minor bits from the "making-of" that seem to be repeated here, though.
Trailers/Ads: Two trailers for the film and 2 TV spots are presented in Dolby 2.0.
Music: A short promo for the film's soundtrack as well as the music video for "Win", by Brian McKnight.
Animatic: An animated storyboard is provided for the underwater search sequence, with commentary from director George Tillman.
Final Thoughts:
Although "Men Of Honor" is not without some flaws, I actually liked it even better the second time around. Fox also gives it a wonderful presentation for this DVD release, with fantastic image quality and sound quality that is certainly very good, as well. A very fine group of quality extras complete the DVD package. Recommended.
Film Grade
The Film ***
DVD Grades
Video 97/A = (388/400 possible points)
Audio: 92/A = (368/400 possible points)
Extras: 87/B = (261/300 possible points)
Menus: 89/B+ = (178/200 possible points)
Value: 85/B = (255/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1450/1600
DVD GRADE:A-/90%
FILM GRADE: ***
DVD GRADE: A-
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