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Three- star General Eugene Irwin (Robert Redford) has pleaded guilty to the charge of failure to obey a direct order that resulted in the deaths of eight of the men under his command. It isn't clear whether his failure to obey was a result of patriotic zeal or an ego that evolved from his lofty rank. Irwin certainly served his country well, having survived as a POW in Hanoi and who commanded with valor in the Gulf and Bosnian campaigns. He is much decorated and exceptionally well respected by both his fellow officers and the troops. He demands much of those under his command, and makes similar demands on himself, so he accepts his culpability and accepts a ten-year sentence.

The military prison is commanded by Colonel Winter (James Gandolfini). Winter is a man who's been shunted off to a less than desirable command, one that doesn't provide the esteem he seeks nor the combat experiences he craves. He collects books on warfare and military memorabilia, which he tends with loving - clearly anal - care. Winter is all spit and polish and no substance. He wishes to lead but has yet to recognize his inability to be an effective leader of men. When Irwin, a true leader and combat hero, is assigned to his prison, Winter's admiration is clear, "They should be naming a base after the man. Not sending him here."

Winter invites the new prisoner to his office, ostensibly to define the rules under which Irwin will be living for the next ten years. Actually, Winter wants Irwin to autograph a book. After Winter bashfully asks Irwin for that small favor, he rushes off to retrieve Irwin's book. Winter's aid, Captain Peretz (Steve Burton) and Irwin talk at Winter's display case. Irwin is disdainful, "Any man with a collection like this is a man who's never set foot on a battlefield." Winter overhears this snide remark and his ego is deeply wounded. Irwin has yet to make the transition from highly respected general officer to a prisoner without rank. His one casual, imperious comment establishes a hostility that ultimately will drive an escalating conflict to great violence. Winter had been a cruel warden; he will now take out his exacerbated frustration on the prisoners.

No less than three times Irwin voices his intent to be a good prisoner, do his time and go home. Having put career before his family, he now simply wants to be a good grandfather. But the prisoners' descriptions of abuse, their pleas for help, and Irwin's instinct for leadership weigh heavily upon him. And when his daughter, Rosalie Irwin (Robin Wright Penn), visits to explain that she cannot now be a supportive daughter to a man who had never been a father, Irwin realizes that he must lead again. Regardless of the offenses of the inmates, justice must prevail. Irwin will muster the troops. He has declared war.

Robert Redford and James Gandolfini are wonderful. Redford is the calm, inspirational leader who remains unbroken by Winter's brutish punishments. Gandolfini projects a different kind of calm; his is cold and calculating. While maintaining a disingenuous congeniality, Winter delights in imposing rationalized cruelty, including the "accidental" assassination of troublesome prisoners with rubber bullets to the head, fired by marksmen in guard towers. The Last Castle is involving, from the psychological sparring to the climactic action. Perhaps one can criticize the unlikely level of weapons and hardware the prisoners bring to bear on their oppressors during a violent rebellion, particularly in an environment where Winter imposes such strict control. A deleted scene - "Pruno" - helps explain where the flammables came from, but doesn't help us understand where the inmates managed to hide a still.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 is presented in anamorphic video. The palette is muted to enhance the feeling of a claustrophobic and bleak prison, yet great color fidelity shines through. Skin tones are very natural, and a few shots of the American flag demonstrate a believable red, white, and blue. Brightness and contrast track very well, providing an admirable dynamic range and a revealing shadow detail. Unfortunately, the DVD is flawed with edge halos that range from a half to a full cycle. This spoils small object detail and denies us the illusion of a film-like appearance. The image is ever so slightly soft. I noticed no blocking artifacts or mosquito noise. I can only hope that DreamWorks will re-embrace the approach that yielded a very film-like presentation on its very first DVD, Peacemaker.

Note that there is a bit of optical distortion in a scene in Winter's office that extends from 1:06:33 to 1:06:48 in which very thin bands are duplicated and displaced to the top and bottom of the frame. Interestingly, during the commentary, director Lurie explains that this particular shot was done with a split-diopter lens, so more than likely, the distortion exists in the original film elements. Not all such shots exhibit this distortion; a similar shot at 1:19:00 to 1:19:08 is fine.

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

The digital 5.1 audio tracks are excellent. There are two, one in Dolby Digital and the other in DTS. The surround channels are used judiciously but very effectively. When the film's focus deviates from dialog to action or to establish an environment, the surrounds are used aggressively. Deep bass is present, most obvious during the rebellion; explosions provided satisfying gut thumps. Jerry Goldsmith's best score in years is presented across a wide and believable soundstage and with commendable fidelity. Dialog remains clear throughout, although sharp-eared listeners might notice some distortion as Winter addresses the inmates in the tiers at the beginning of chapter fourteen. I'll speculate that this take was not looped and Gandolfini's lines, as they were recorded during the scene, were used in the theatrical release despite what sounds like subtle recorder overload. This same distortion is evident in one of the deleted scenes - an extension of the one I described - called "Shadows of Soldiers."

The two digital tracks are very similar. As sometimes occurs, after careful gain matching, the DTS arguably may have a slightly more accurate timbre and a touch more bottom end authority. The foreign language track is in French and Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio is supported by subtitles in English and Spanish; despite an indication on the box that French subtitles are available, they are not.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Rod Lurie provides a very fine director's commentary. He enjoys the commentary process and says as much. He's quite complete, describing casting, performances, plot points, and technical details (like his discussion of split-diopter optics). He seems to enjoy explaining his artistic decisions and with hindsight is quite candid about what he would have done differently. Nicely done.

The HOB First Look featurette is called Inside the Walls of The Last Castle. Slightly above the level of the typical puff piece, this fifteen-minute short introduces us to the characters, the premise, and the mutual impressions of several filmmakers and actors. We're given a glimpse of how certain scenes were filmed and we come away with a few welcome insights. Kudos to DreamWorks for its decision to present the 1.85:1 featurette in anamorphic video.

DreamWorks and director Lurie provide nine deletes scenes. They may be played individually or continuously, both with and without director's commentary, and they're presented in anamorphic video. Lurie explains that they were cut for pace and to achieve an acceptable length for theatrical distribution. I found several to be quite good, essentially character scenes that amplified the nature of specific individuals. The theatrical trailer is also shown in anamorphic video. Cast offers brief biographies and filmographies for thirteen of the players, and Filmmakers offers the same for an identical number of behind the scenes artists. Eleven pages of Production Notes fill in the remaining blanks.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts