Eye For Film >> Movies >> Like Water For Chocolate (1992) DVD Review
Like Water For Chocolate
Reviewed by: Martin Drury
Read Angus Wolfe Murray's film review of Like Water For ChocolateThe extras on this disc should include: a documentary on the history of the period in which the film is set, a featurette exploring the novel and how the adaptation was created and a discussion about why the film dialogue was recorded in Spanish. Instead, my dear public, you are treated to a trailer and a photo gallery.
They've taken your change and sprinted down a back alley. It cost 20pence to produce a copy of the DVD you've just watched. You've spent £11.99 on the disc and they've provided you with a trailer for a movie you've already, by definition, just watched and a collection of photos, which you simply scroll through.
The picture quality is ridden with the unmistakeable graininess associated with video-to-DVD transfer. Someone recorded this movie back in the mists of time and forgot about it until someone else decided there was still money to be made. Like Water From Chocolate appeared on video in 1992 and was only taken off the shelves in 2004. Digital quality has been tossed out of the window. Someone wants to get their grubby hands on a few more bucks.
The sound quality is superb, however, which is irritating for English viewers, considering that they have to pay attention to the subtitles. For anyone who doesn't understand Spanish, this might as well have been a silent movie.
Reviewed on: 08 Sep 2005