‘Interpreter’ extras short and sweet

by Lisa Roney, contributing writer

There’s nothing difficult to interpret from this DVD — it’s truly amazing.
Sydney Pollack’s “The Interpreter” DVD provides an in-depth look at everything from the making of the film to the way real-life interpreters spend their days at the United Nations, all done in a considerably small amount of special features.
Short and sweet, just the way we like it.

With the exception of Pollack’s commentary, the features total about an hour, but are still able to give the audience tons of interesting information.

The film’s alternate ending is quite good — just as good, if not better, than the one that made the final cut. It provides a powerful and emotional closure to a film that is so gripping you’re sad to see it come to an end — no matter how excellent that end may be.

The deleted scenes are ones that were not needed to advance the movie along. The DVD only provides three, two of which are less than 15 seconds. However, after you watch the movie, you may want to check out “Dot & Sylvia in Car,” to discover some more background information about Sean Penn’s character, Tobin Keller.

“Sydney Pollack: From Concept to Cutting Room” is a making-of featurette that begins with Pollack sharing his life as a director, from his first days at acting school ‘til this movie’s production. It starts out somewhat slow, but quickly picks up with Pollack talking about what it was like to make a movie that had no script when the actors signed on, and making a movie about several different races without offending anyone.

“Interpreting Pan & Scan vs. Widescreen” is a must-see feature for any DVD geek like myself. Pollack shows how widescreen format is so much better than full screen, and explains to widescreen haters why the black lines going across the top and bottom of the screen actually make the movie much better because you get to see certain settings and characters that enhance the scene. Hopefully this will convert a few full-screen junkies to the wonder of widescreen.

Audiences get an inside look at the United Nations building with the feature “The Ultimate Movie Set: The United Nations.” Some may say it’s boring, but I am the least politically minded person you could ever meet, and I found it pretty interesting. “The Interpreter” was the first movie ever allowed to be shot at the actual U.N. building, and the movie wouldn’t have been nearly as good if the U.N. was replicated on a studio stage.

The final feature, “A Day in the Life of Real Interpreters,” is a look at actual U.N. interpreters and explains how their job includes much more than simply translating words from one language to another.

All the features on this DVD are definitely worth checking out. Nicole Kidman (“Bewitched”) and Penn (“Mystic River”) give outstanding performances and everything from the script to the soundtrack is awesome. Compelling, gripping, emotional and suspenseful, “The Interpreter” is a movie that can keep anyone’s attention.