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In New York City, a truck carrying gun parts is hijacked. The police round up five criminals to recite the words that the highjacker used to intimidate the driver. Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollack), and Fred Fenster (Benecio Del Toro) face a witness unseen behind one-way glass. After the lineup, as they wait to be interrogated, the talk ultimately turns to a potentially profitable job. Inadvertently, the police have just created a dangerous gang of violent sociopaths. What no one realizes is that the hidden hand of one Keyser Soze - a ruthless and brutal villain - has been at work. The gang finds its way to Los Angeles, where they would be approached by Soze's representative, a lawyer named Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite).

Kobayashi reveals that each miscreant has inadvertently interfered with a Soze operation; as a result, each owes him a debt. Soze now calls in that debt by directing the group to pull a very dangerous job. On a ship containing illegal drugs, a $91 million buy threatens Soze's drug business. The gang is to infiltrate the ship, destroy the drugs, and the survivors will be free to share the millions and be free of their debt to Soze. But all is what it seems. Revealing any more would jeopardize the twists and turns for those who have yet to see the movie.

Each of the ensemble cast offers a compelling and convincing performance, with only Del Toro's scene-stealing mumbling tending to be a bit of a distraction. To further keep the audience in a continuous state of uncertainty, the tale is told in the form of flashbacks as Verbal Kint is interviewed by Los Angeles Detective Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri). I can distinctly remember the first time I saw this film; as the filmmakers intended, I was totally surprised by the resolution. And I greatly admire films that stay ahead of the audience, and The Usual Suspects is one of hte best.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is shown in anamorphic video. This transfer is not perfect, but far superior to MGM's previous December 1999 DVD release in non-anamorphic letterbox. Laser Pacific Media Corporation did the work for this new edition and I found the transfer to be a bit schizophrenic. On the one hand, textures and sharpness are very good. Color is painted richly to the screen with no chroma noise or smearing. Brightness and contrast are first-rate with great shadow detail in the many night scenes. But while many scenes are devoid of edge halos, in others, halos intrude to the point where small object detail is adversely affected. I did not notice any compression artifacts like blocking or mosquito noise.

The second transfer is full screen and a quick check reveals that the film was shot with spherical optics and was composed and matted for widescreen presentation. The full screen version shows more information at the top and bottom of the frame with little lost at the sides.

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

A new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix was prepared for this disc, but most of the surround sounds were derived from the original Dolby Surround, so don't expect too many left and right directional cues from the surrounds. Satisfying bass is present, but does not extend to the bottom most octave. John Ottman's atmospheric score is presented across a broad soundstage with a pleasing fidelity. Sound effects are effective and suffer from little compression. The all-important dialog remains clear throughout.

The foreign language track is in French 2.0 stereo, and the audio is supported by English, French, and Spanish subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

As with release of Warner's Empire of the Sun and MGM's own Mad Max, this is a rare DVD-14 disc; side one is dual layer with two transfers of the feature film and their associated commentaries, the second side a single layer dedicated to supplements. MGM and producer Robert Meyer Burnett have put together a nice collection of goodies that should make the fans who have waited so long for this release quite happy.

On the feature side, there are two feature-length, scene-specific commentaries. The first is by director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie; the second is by editor John Ottman, who also composed the score. Singer and McQuarrie chat like old buddies, laughing over quips and anecdotes from the shoot. They enjoy pointing out continuity errors and delight in offering little stories about the interactions on the set. Some technical descriptions are mixed into the commentary that reveal cinematic and artistic decisions. Nicely done and involving. Ottman's commentary is almost entirely technical, related to both editing and the score. With the exception of Ben Burtt, I'm unaware of a similar eclectic mix of talents. This makes Ottman's commentary unusually interesting.

Up next are five newly-produced featurettes included, all are of which are presented in full screen. The first is Pursuing the Suspects (24:56), which is actually the first of two halves and features director Bryan Singer and the principal players. Each recollects the casting process and each describes his approach to the character, andI very much enjoyed the extended anecdotes that brought the ensemble cast to the show.

Doin' Time with the Suspects (26:44) is a continuation of the first short. Here we learn about director/actor relationships, the infamous lineup scene in which the actors could not stop breaking up, and Benicio Del Toro's decision to mumble his lines. This material was newly produced by MGM for this DVD and is quite entertaining.

Keyser Soze - Lie or Legend (18:35) is a lively discussion of the nature of the character, his real identity, and how the writer and director played with the perceptions of the audience. The clues were there, but the performances were honed to allow at least two interpretations. I usually recommend that such supplements should be saved for last, so that the film's surprises aren't telegraphed. But if you are aware of the final twist, you might want to consider watching these supplements first. It will provide a roadmap to the clues that run through the film.

Heisting Cannes with the Usual Suspects (4:13) is a blend of shaky handheld video and professional film as the experience of showing The Usual Suspects at Cannes is described. The adulation and attention must be hard for an actor to resist, and it does pose the threat of provoking some arrogance. Watch for Kevin Pollak's quiet little tantrum as he becomes exasperated with being asked the same questions by the press over and over again. last but not least is the film's Original Featurette (6:39) which is a puff piece that can be considered an extended trailer.

Next up we have five deleted scenes, each introduced by editor/composer John Ottman, who explains why they found their way to the cutting room floor. These are typically very short; the aggregate time for all five is under five minutes. A Gag Reel runs 7:10; this is not a random collection of flubs but an edited reel put together by director Bryan Singer for the amusement of the cast, and is pretty funny.

Last but not least are promo materials, including two Theatrical Trailers. Editor John Ottman introduces the domestic trailer, which he put together after the studio botched its efforts to create a trailer that was true to the film. The second theatrical trailer was produced for the international market. Eight 30-second TV Spots are included, edited together to play sequentially. (And don't forget to look hard for some easter eggs... you just might find a couple?)

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

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts