Starring:	Jodie Foster	144min
	Matthew McConaughey
	James Woods	1997
	John Hurt
	Tom Skerritt
	Angela Bassett
Screenplay:	James V Hart	Sci-fi
	& Michael Goldenberg
Director:	Robert Zemeckis	Colour

Region	2	Studio:	Warner Brothers
Format	Single Sided, Dual Layer	Subtitles	English
			English Closed Captions
Aspect ratio	2.35:1		Arabic
Anamorphic	Yes
Soundtracks	Dolby Digital 5.1	Extra Features	3 commentaries
			Vis-FX breakdown
			Music-only soundtrack
Case type	Cardboard		2 Trailers
			Biographies
			Production notes

The DVD * * * * *		The Movie * * * * *
Originally released here in September 1998, Contact instantly became region 2's first "must own" disc. The transfer is excellent, and on close inspection betters the region 1 version by some margin - minor artifacts disappear completely here . The layer change is at around 74 minutes and likewise betters the already very good US version for placement - mid scene in a quiet moment. The sound is simply superb - the rings of the machine in the third act are amazing. Now to the Special Edition bit. There are an overwhelming three commentaries to wade through. Jodie Foster does her acting masterclass on track 3, Robert Zemeckis and producer Steve Starkey talk through the whole film thing on 4, while the multi-Oscar winning Ken Ralston and Stephen Rosenbaum dissect the visual effects on 5. You don't gripe about the volume of material here, but maybe it would have been more practical to edit a couple of these together - this would also have alleviated some of the long periods of commentary silence. There's stacks of good stuff to enjoy here, though, even if Jodie sounds a good deal more interested than Robert. If you were wondering what's on track 2, well that'll be a region 2 exclusive - the music-only soundtrack. This would be best enjoyed by recording it straight to MiniDisc, and then all the silences removed. Hey presto - the soundtrack to the film is thrown in for free. Where we lose out are in the effects documentaries. The computer animations of set design won't have us losing any sleep, but the opening shot breakdown is sorely missed. If astronomy is your thing, the region 1 version definitely has the edge here. Also missing are the machine destruction and control ship doccos, with only the exciting sounding "high speed compositing reel" left. Better than nothing, but you can't help feeling a bit short changed here. Oh, maybe you can. There is so much else aboard that this is still a superb disc, and the music soundtrack just about evens the scores on extra material. This is one that belongs in everyone's collection.		For a five star movie, there is a lot wrong with Contact. Some of its characters are unconvincing, it is occasionally too sickly sweet and even Jodie overdoes it once or twice. But compared to the plusses, these problems pale. Contact is a rare film whose breadth of imagination is off the scale. It contains ideas and images which stay with you for days and weeks after the closing credits and, even when it doesn't quite succeed, it at least is trying be about something. Enough plot to explain up to the title and no more - Foster is a driven astronomer, endlessly looking into the endless sky for signs of little green men. Her funding is taken away, and she moves base from Pueto Rico to New Mexico, on the way falling deeply in bed with a strapping ex-priest who has none other than Bill Clinton's spiritual ear. Awkward enough to ask about her feelings towards her deceased father, Jodie promptly drops him and heads off with her science partner to listen to radio static for several more years. And then one day - it happens. She hears a radio signal from another world. Simple as that. Like Close Encounters only even more so, this is a film routed in science fact and sound science theory, but spends much time debating the spiritual implications of all this. Yet as events unfold, so much is grounded in the world with which we know so intimately, it all seems highly believable. As hinted at earlier, the Foster/McCaunaghey relationship is less than convincing, too shallow for a true bond to form. James Woods too, a government advisor, is given little to do. For the most part, the film only has room for one person - Jodie. Fortunately - for the most part - that is enough, bringing a winning combination of intellect, pain, vulnerability and, oh let's say it, damn fine looks to the screen. Scientists didn't look like her in my day... Men In Black - Contact's polar opposite - is a more rounded and stronger film on it's own terms. But there again, you'd forgotten you'd seen it before you'd finished your now watery Coke on the way out. Contact is a long film at 2 1/2 hours - but don't be surprised if the mental replays last longer than that.