Although Chen tries to protect Wallace, we quickly learn that even a cop with the best of intentions can be corrupted on Chinatown's seductive road to hell. Director James Foley wisely keeps the film focused on its characters and relationship, instead of the more action oriented aspects of the story, which serves both the film and its star. The sharp, richly detailed image is virtually perfect, again pushing the limits of the NTSC system. Color reproduction is flawless, offering realistic flesh tones and well saturated hues. Even the most intense hues that are found within some of the more difficult lighting situations are faithfully rendered without chroma noise or bleeding.
Contrast is rock solid and the black level is absolute.
Shadow detail is excellent and film grain is held in check throughout the darker sequences of the film. First rate DVD authoring conceals all traces of digital compression artifacts. There are excellent channel separations in both the forward soundstage and the highly active split surround channels. While the viewer is sonically assaulted from all sides, the mix is fully integrated to create a cohesive sound field. Dialogue reproduction is clean and precise, without being drowned out by the barrage of sound effects found in the mix.