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This is the remarkable story of the man who pulled off one of the biggest literacy cons of the 20th century. In 1972, charismatic author Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) convinces major publishing house McGraw Hill that Howard Hughes, the bigger-than-life billionaire recluse, has asked Irving to pen his authorized autobiography. Irving concocts an elaborate scheme to prove his fake manuscript is real. Inspired by Irving’s tell-all book, The Hoax, and directed by Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat, Casanova), this tensely comedic story of deception, international intrigue, powerful corporate empires, and beautiful women is a wild ride down the slippery slope of a lie run amuck.

Succulent sins can beget glorious achievements. But the question remains, when is the house of cards is going to fall? Bluffs and intricate lies don’t come easy. But Irving isn’t a completely reckless liar; he does his homework. Irving lacked financial success, but with two critically acclaimed novels under his belt, On a Darkling Plain and The Losers, he certainly knew how to gather material for his craft. He absorbed everything he could about Howard Hughes, paying particularly close attention to Hughes’ most recent antisocial behavior. He leveraged that to his advantage.

Irving’s cross- country research and some genuinely exclusive discoveries actually equip him with a rich amount of information to deceive McGraw-Hill and convince them that his unique contact with the reclusive Hughes is on schedule. McGraw-Hill unquestionably hungers for a massive best seller, which this book would certainly be, and reluctantly bows to some of Irving’s demands including lucrative advances. But Irving’s charm is shallow and McGraw-Hill demands answers to emerging inconsistencies.

Watching Clifford Irving caught in the crossfire of his mischievous schemes, staying on his toes and responding quickly, is a large part of this film’s entertainment quota. But the sacrifices, near-hallucinations, and obsessions in which Irving engages to whet his lust for fame highlights an element of the human condition, for which so many filmmakers strive. William Wheeler’s screenplay adaptation of the book achieves this realization and Hallstrom’s conscientious direction doesn’t miss a beat.

Gere is terrific in this role and is well cast; his appearance is even very similar to Irving’s. Alfred Molina is great as the buckle-under-pressure attorney and Irving’s friend. The awesome Stanley Tucci steals nearly every scene. Actors Zeljko Ivanek as a head honcho at Life Magazine and Marcia Gay Harden as Irving’s wife didn’t work for me. Overall, this is indeed a strong film that deserves the critical praise it received.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Colors are very saturated, with some primary colors appearing almost exaggerated at times. However, skin tones look very natural. Much of the film has a soft presence; finely grained textures, even in static close ups, aren’t as sharp as one might expect for such a recent film. Nevertheless, images are reasonably clear given the impressively clean and blemish-free transfer print. Small object detail looks decent in well-lighted compositions, but it certainly wanes in darker scenes. Grain is very minimal. Whites are clean and bright. Edge halos can flare up. Blacks are very deep and match the letterbox bars, but black crush is present and can make images in the foreground appear flatter than normal. Despite some imperfections, the transfer is fairly solid.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The disc includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Front stereo imaging with the effects and atmosphere are average but reasonable. The score exhibits the best dynamic range. Dialogue is clear and essentially locked into the center speaker for this talky film. The film is noticeably front heavy with mild use of the surrounds that exhibit no noticeable discrete activities. Bass is adequately low within the mix, but never brings direct attention to its self. The audio mix is fair and doesn’t necessarily have highlights or deficiencies. Perhaps, the surrounds could have been used more aggressively, but for the most part the mix respects the overall film.

A Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish audio track is included. English Closed Captions, and English, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

First up is an audio commentary by director Lasse Hallstrom (in the right speaker) and writer William Wheeler (in the left speaker). Each talks about the treatment of the original material and how impressed they were with the characters. Film making techniques and fawning over the actors is included, though the commentators get frequently caught up into actions on screen.

Next is another audio commentary with producers Leslie Holleran (in the left speaker) and Joshua D. Maurer (in the right speaker). Both are very articulate. Maurer had wanted to make the story into a film since 1994. The producers talk about activities on the screen with some background info that sometimes echoes the prior commentary. The producers can be quite detail oriented with lighting, post-production, and limitations they tried to overcome. They fade out during the last third of the film.

The featurette Stranger than Fiction (9:04) includes interview with Mike Wallace, Lassee Hallstrom, and other principal cast and producers. Each person weighs in with their thoughts about Irving’s multi- layered compromises regarding fame, recognition, power, and the literary world. The cast and crew also fawn over themselves. The featurette is peppered with behind-the-scenes footage.

In the next featurette Mike Wallace: Reflections on a Con (4:33), Wallace talks about the excitement of the story and the seemingly solid credibility and huge money involved. Wallace talks about the charming Clifford Irving and his hoaxing adventures. Wallace is very forthright about his failure to discern Irving.

An extended scene titled Business as Pleasure (6:28) certainly adds more nuances and ad-lib from the performers in the scene, but it clearly doesn’t propel the plot forward.  Regardless, it remains an interesting.

Six deleted scenes (13:16) include Dick is Indecisive, Plotting the Story, Nina in the Park, Friendship is complicated, Just a Typist, and The Phone Call. A convenient Play All feature is included as is optional commentary by director Lassee Hallstrom and writer William Wheeler. All are fairly interesting and give the film a slightly richer undertone, but it’s fairly clear that they don’t support the pace of the film. The audience isn’t going to be lost without them.

The 115-minute film is organized into thirteen chapters.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.