Far and Away (UK)

When you think of "Tom Cruise" movies you might think of action, American heroes, cocktails + lots of speed, but this time things are different. The movie is called Far And Away, directed by Ron Howard who made "the great Willow movie" and because I`m Tom Cruise collector, I had to get this Far and Away dvd. The short plot info: story goes to Ireland in year 1892 and Tom Cruise decides to leave his country and travel into America to find some free land (with Nicole Kidman ofcourse).The new world ain`t as easy and free as they thought, but it`s a world of survival, business & money.As the adventure goes on, they face many troubles.In the end they start the race of free land and so on, the plot is ok and I enjoyed the unusual performance of Tom.There were also some good / funny scenes from Nicole "This is not my destiny".The video transfer is ok, but sometimes the sharpness ain`t as good as I thought, but instead the saturation of colors is good.The audio is quite nice Dolby Digital 5.1 and maybe better than I expected.Features include some cast & crew info (Tom, Nicole and Ron info), boring trailer and production notes.If you like adventure, farmers, horses, Ireland + American mixture then you better get this one.

28llimaH[at]moc.liamtoh

Tom Cruise, the most versatile and probably finest actor in hollywood stars in this romantic drama. Tom plays Joseph, an Irish peasant farmer who dreams of owning his own land one day. He has a chance to fulfil this dream when the daughter of a wealthy landlord, Nicole Kidman, plots to runaway to America and needs some protection. He reluctantly agrees but neither of them knew what they were in for. Robbed at the station, they are left penniless in Boston. They both are then stuck with each other and so begins our romance story.

The movie blew away all my expectations. I respect Tom as an actor but never thought this movie, from the plotline, could be so engaging and captivating. The scenery is fantastic as are Tom and Nicole. These two are made for each other and I hope they realise this and get back again.

The visuals are breathtaking at times, colourful and sharp. However, there are some occaisions, especially in dark scenes, where definition and sharpness is very lacking. This could have been done better but as it is, I am satisfied with this decent picture.

The sound is also pretty great. The movie doesnt really have anything spectacular about its sound. Having said that, there is nothing really wrong about the sound either, it is clear and consistent.

The movie was really lacking in extras. There is a trailer, bios and some production notes. I really would have liked to see a making of at the very least. Maybe some interviews and a commentary by Ron Howard as well.

This is a great movie on an average disc. There certainly is room for improvement and a special edition is warranted. Whether one is due to come out or not is up to Universal. If you are a fan of the movie, it is worth getting this. If not, its worth a rental at the very least.