A PERFECT MURDER

Director: Andrew Davis

Starring: Michael Douglas, Viggo Mortensen, Gwyneth Paltrow

 A wealthy man hires his wife’s lover to murder her

This is a polished remake of Frederick Knott’s labyrinthine play Dial M For Murder (previously filmed under the play's title in 1954 by Alfred Hitchcock).

Warner Home Video's Region 2 DVD, despite dropping the “Special Edition” label, retains all the important features of the US version, including two full-length commentary tracks, (including contributions from director Andrew Davis, writer P.S. Kelly and Michael Douglas), and a alternative ending (with and without director’s commentary). All that seems to be missing are the production notes  -  (which are nevertheless listed on the packaging! -  which are usually the most disposable element of any DVD release anyway.

The film looks superb, (its director of photography was the masterful Dariusz Wolski, who also shot The Crow and Dark City), and is presented in 1.85:1 ratio (enhanced for 16:9 sets) on one side, and in pan and scan on the other. Perhaps the production notes were dropped to accomodate the disc's three Dolby 5.1 soundtracks (in English, French and Italian), and the usual plethora of subtitle options (including English).