The release of "The Golden Bowl" on DVD will fill a gap in your Merchant Ivory collection, but don't expect to learn much from the disc.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

Picture The handsome cinematography is transferred to disc with care, producing a fresh-looking result that's always pleasing to the eye.

Sound The rich music score is beautifully showcased in a 5.1 mix that's highly sympathetic to the subtle atmospherics of the movie.

SPECIAL FEATURES

30th Anniversary Produced to coincide with the release of "Howard's End", this short, curious featurette skims over 30 years of films from Merchant Ivory. Too brief to make a serious point about anything, and with emphasis placed too heavily on a few disappointments such as the terminally dull "Mr & Mrs Bridge", this is one extra feature that's best forgotten.

Making Of This 12-minute featurette offers up plenty of behind-the-scenes footage that shows the typical lavish attention to detail that does into a Merchant Ivory production. Ismail talks a little about the script, while James Ivory admits that he's looking forward to tackling the big scenes.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Region: 2
Chapters: 30
Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Tracks: English
Subtitles: English
Captions: None
Menus: Static
Special Features Subtitles: None of the special features come with subtitles.

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.