Monsoon Wedding [DVD] [2001]

It's love, marriage, and laughs in Monsoon Wedding. The film is presented in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen and is a bit of a disappointment. While the transfer itself is serviceable (including solid black levels and bright colors), it's a shame Universal decided not to give this film a clearly needed 16 x 9 enhancement. Overall, the picture looks decent and should please fans. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in both Hindi and English. Monsoon Wedding is not an effects-heavy film, so the need for a really aggressive soundtrack wasn't warranted. However, the directional effects kick in whenever the lush music score is heard over the ensuing action. The sound mix is clear of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English and French subtitles. This DVD features only two supplements -- a commentary track by director Mira Nair and a 12-minute featurette titled "The Making of Monsoon Wedding." The featurette is a fluffy promotional piece, while the commentary track sports a lot of wonderful production information about the film, the shoot, and what it took to bring the story to the screen. No other extras are included on this disc, not even a theatrical trailer for the movie.