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Born an unremarkable Charles Hirsch Barris (played here with eerie verisimilitude by Sam Rockwell), this one-time NBC page turned an "obsession with pussy" into a decades-long odyssey into network television. This fast-talker sold the suits on such outlandish ideas The Dating Game and the infamous Gong Show, presaging the Reality TV boom by a good thirty years. With his long-suffering girlfriend Penny (Drew Barrymore) always by his side, Barris suffered career setbacks, addiction and, seemingly, schizophrenia. Does anyone really believe that Barris was also a CIA operative who "killed 33 people?"

George Clooney chose an unusual screenplay for his directorial debut. Penned by Being John Malkovich scribe Charlie Kaufman, this is no ordinary biopic. Clooney delivers his share of cinematic bravura and has a playful way with composition, staging and theatrics. Depending on your point of view, the film veers in and out of "surreality," and the inventive uses of foreground and background, explosive colors, quick crosscutting and complex, minutes-long mastershots help to gloss up what is often a scattershot narrative. Kaufman's script is nothing if not challenging; we track Barris across multiple time periods and scenes that sometimes feel truncated. The juxtaposition of situations, scenes and lines of dialogue is often more important than what is said. Clooney and Kaufman seem to be suggesting that if all the pieces aren't there - and as based on Barris' own unauthorized biography, this is likely the case - that matters less than our own interpretation.

If not all of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind works, it succeeds more often than not in large part because of Rockwell's revelatory performance. Not so much imitating Barris as filtering his essence through inflection and mannerism, he excels despite a script that sometimes gives him little to do. Unfortunately, Clooney's penchant for star cameos distracts rather than enhances. Drew Barrymore is her usual bundle of energy, but how come whenever they put her in a period piece she's always still dressed like it is 1998? Also popping up are (look hard) Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, and the obligatory turn by Julia Roberts, who seems to be acting these days like she's paying the camera a favor. Also packing no emotional weight are brief real-life testimonials, sprinkled throughout, by various friends and collaborators of Barris, including Dick Clark, Jaye P. Morgan, Gene Gene and the Unknown Comic. None shed much light on the story and feel grafted in from a different movie.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind has its virtues, and is worth seeing if only for the performance by Rockwell. And Clooney acquits himself admirably in his first directorial outing. Yet against all odds, it manages to take the remarkable life of a remarkable character and make it seem rather...unremarkable. Not as dangerous as it should have been.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Shot in Super 35 and presented here in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind looks great. Dark and rich, here is a transfer that requires that your television be set up properly. The print is pristine but much of the film seems to exist in the shadows. Colors are very bold and in many sequences, blown out and highly stylized. Mix this with striking contrast but low light levels, and proper calibration is essential to make out all the detail. Sharpness and shadow delineation are very good, which gives the transfer and heightened if still film-like presentation. There is a bit of graininess to some of the darkest shots but no noticeable edge enhancement and only a slight bit of compression artifacting noticeable. All in all, a great transfer.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, this is a solid, impeccably produced soundtrack that suits the material just fine. Frequency response is very good, with a very clean and warm sound and excellent dialogue reproduction. Channel separation is pretty good if a bit subdued, which is appropriate to the material. Surround use is fairly aggressive in spots if inconsistent, but when it is delivered it is forceful. Low end is also punchy but not overpowering.

Also included is a French Dolby 5.1 dub, English captions encoded as subtitles and true English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Buena Vista has put together a very nice assortment of extras for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. First up is an excellent screen-specific audio commentary with director George Clooney and director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel. Sometimes the duo seems to be whispering, so keep the volume level handy, but it almost feels like we're eavesdropping on a private conversation. While a bit technical given the presence of Sigel, Clooney is passionate, articulate and even-handed about his directorial debut. Liberally borrowing elements of his visual style from masters of the past, as well as trying to integrate the more fanciful aspects of Barris' life story, it is a unique movie and makes for an intriguing track. Worth a listen.

Next up are two featurettes. Despite its unimaginative title, the 22-minute Making Of is a solid behind-the-scenes peek, cut up into seven parts and much better if you hit "Play All." We visit with the real Barris, the actors, Clooney smack in the middle of his directorial debut and get a peek at the costume design. Most notable here is the nice little moments and recollections of all involved - more intimate than we usually get in these types of making-ofs. Alas, The Real Chuck Barris should have been the showstopper of this set - new interviews with Barris and big- name luminaries like Dick Clark, Jaye P. Morgan, Gene Gene and the Unknown Comic were interspersed throughout the film, but only six minutes has been assembled here. Why so short? This one is over just when it was getting started.

More goodies include some alternated, deleted and extended material. No less than 12 deleted scenes totaling 22 minutes reveal some very good moments strangely cut from the finished film - and Clooney provides optional commentary for each. Rockwell again shines, and there is a disturbing subplot about one of Barris' alleged CIA hits that might have really added to the film. Worth a look. Also included are 6 minutes of Gong Show Acts recreated for the film and seen here in their entirety, five in all. (The "Baby Lady" is particularly disturbing.) And last but not lest is 6 minutes of Sam Rockwell Screen Tests, which only underscore what a great performance it was. All of the above video- based material is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen with no subtitle options.

Rounding out the set is a brief still gallery with some onset and publicity stills, about 40 in all. There is also a 3-minute easter egg of behind- the-scenes tomfoolery and a sneak peeks gallery, although no actual trailer for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

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

No real extras here...just a custom Buena Vista skin with basic DVD controls, weblinks and the ability to register your DVD.

Parting Thoughts