The Short Game [DVD] [2013]

John Malkovich's intelligent, talky and ultimately slow directorial debut The Dancer Upstairs comes to DVD. As is often the case with smaller, independent, or "arty" films, the DVD release will no doubt give this title more life than it received in the theaters. This picture, framed at 1.85:1 and anamorphic, is the strong point of the DVD. It's a very natural-looking image, and while never flashy, translates wonderfully from the original source. Flesh tones are beautiful and detail is constantly strong. The darker scenes occasionally show some breakdown, but it's never enough to be a distraction to a fine presentation. The sound, a 5.1 English Dolby Digital track, is generally centered up front, but there are moments when the surrounds jump in, primarily with the use of the music in the soundtrack and some sound effects. Overall though, this is a standard audio arrangement. Malkovich's choice to use Latin American actors who can speak English, however, means that the subtitle option sometimes comes in handy. The extras aren't extensive, but still offer a few bright moments. A four-minute Sundance Channel spot on Malkovich is too short to be noteworthy, but a far longer featurette on the making of the film, with interviews primarily from Javier Bardem and author/screenwriter Nicholas Shakespeare, fares better. Along with the theatrical trailer for this film and In America, the high point of the supplements is a scene-specific commentary track from Malkovich and Bardem filled with production information and a surprising amount of humor. Although Malkovich takes the lead, Bardem has plenty to contribute, and it's one of the better tracks.