The Mexican [2001] - Region 2 DVD

Like a good magic act, JH Wyman's original screenplay distracts you from its gaps of logic, using unexpected revelations to fuel its strategic vitality. It also provides a wealth of character development, and director Gore Verbinski (Mouse Hunt) gives his stellar cast equal time to shine. It hardly matters that Pitt and Roberts spend most of the film apart; their time together is worth waiting for, and the machinations that separate them play out like a cross between vintage Peckinpah and Romancing the Stone. And why is the accursed pistola so valuable? That's just another surprise, setting the stage for the arrival of yet another big-name star, whose motivations are pure in a film full of double-crosses and darkly shaded humour. With a giddy plot such as this, star power is just icing on the cake.--Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD: The "making of" featurette is a fast-paced look behind the scenes of the film complete with a humorous American voiceover, which enhances the impression that this is a made-for-TV marketing feature. More interesting are the many deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Gore Verbinski (Director), Craig Wood (Editor) and John Wyman (Writer), who do a great job in explaining why the cuts were made and offer an insight into the difficulty of making these decisions. The full-length feature commentary, with the same group, is lively, amusing and enlightening. The film itself is nicely presented in16:9 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby 5.1. --Nikki Disney