Air Force One

Before screenwriter Andrew Marlowe gave us the dreadful "END OF DAYS", he gave us the
exciting, original "AIR FORCE ONE". One of the last great action/dramas in
recent years, "AIR FORCE ONE" is that rare script in which characters act in
ways that we are intrigued by, yet are completely believable, at least while
we're reading it. Thanks to Director Wolfgang Petersen, the finished film
was magnificent as well. On the previously available dvd from COLUMBIA
TRISTAR, Petersen provided a great audio commentary that's absent on this
"SUPERBITS" release, but there are enough enhancements to make this the
"one" to choose!

The "SUPERBIT" process of increasing the bitrate, allowing for improved
picture quality, benefits an action film with a great production design
tremendously. Through the act of compression, there are decisions and
sacrifices made on a regular basis, so that artifacts and other visual
defects are minimized. With 7.95 gigabits now being offered instead of
roughly 4, there's substantially more room for the compressionist to play
with, allowing the freedom for better imagery with fewer sacrifices.

To get a fair comparison between the "SUPERBIT" and standard presentation of
the film's visual quality, COLUMBIA TRISTAR graciously provided this
reviewer specific timecodes to compare. While the differences are sometimes
only subtle, they can also be quite noticeable too. In most instances,
there is clearly much more level to detail available on the "SUPERBITS"
release. There is also far less "noise" and speckling as well, offering a
viewing experience that's less distracting.

The only "minor" drawback with the increased definition of this "SUPERBIT"
presentation, lies in some scenes appearing more grainy. This is only
apparent in some scenes, and the overall improvement of the image far
exceeds the minor drawback of infrequent grain.

The biggest advantage of this "SUPERBITS" release is the soundmix. COLUMBIA
TRISTAR has provided both a Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 mix. While the
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is the same flawless one available on the previous
version, the DTS one is noticeably superior, with better bass, and greater
clarity to the surround effects in almost every instance. A great mix