Phone Booth
20th Century Fox (2002)
Thriller
In Collection
#1310
7*
Seen ItYes
(6/13/2011)
024543080480
IMDB   7.3
81 mins USA/English
DVD  Region 1   R
Colin Farrell Stu Shepard
Kiefer Sutherland The Caller
Forest Whitaker Captain Ramey
Radha Mitchell Kelly Shepard
Katie Holmes Pamela McFadden
Paula Jai Parker Felicia
Arian Waring Ash Corky (as Arian Ash)
Tia Texada Asia
John Enos III Leon
Richard T. Jones Sergeant Cole
Keith Nobbs Adam
Dell Yount Pizza Guy
James MacDonald Negotiator
Josh Pais Mario
Yorgo Constantine ESU Commander
John Enos Leon
Director Joel Schumacher
Louis Leterrier
Producer Gil Netter
David Zucker
Writer Larry Cohen
Cinematography Matthew Libatique
Musician Harry Gregson-Williams
Nathan Larson
DJ Shadow
Mos Def

One man's life is thrown into turmoil by picking up a telephone in this claustrophobic thriller. Stu Sheppard ( Colin Farrell ) is a brash, cynical, and self-centered public relations man who juggles a busy career with both a wife, Kelly ( Radha Mitchell ), and a mistress, Pamela ( Katie Holmes ). Stu steps into a phone booth on a busy New York street to make a call to Pamela without Kelly being the wiser, but as soon as Stu hangs up, the phone begins to ring. Curious, Stu picks it up — and a stranger on the other end (voice of Kiefer Sutherland ) informs him that if he hangs up the phone, he'll be shot. The red dot of an infrared rifle scope convinces Stu that the caller means business, and when another man tries to make his way into the booth, he's shot mere inches from Stu, calling the attention of the police. Captain Ramey ( Forest Whitaker ) naturally assumes that Stu was the killer, as Stu struggles to find a way to convince the police of what's happening before more lives are lost, without leaving the booth and putting his own life on the line. At one time proposed as a vehicle for Jim Carrey , Phone Booth was directed by Joel Schumacher , from a screenplay by exploitation icon Larry Cohen . — Mark Deming
Edition Details
Distributor 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Chapters 28
Release Date 7/8/2003
Packaging Keep Case
Screen Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles English; Spanish
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Stereo
Layers Dual Side, Single Layer
No. of Disks/Tapes 1
Personal Details
Purchase Date 7/8/2003
Owner Thomas Eisenmann
Store Best Buy
Purchase Price $15.99
Condition Excellent
Reviewed Widescreen Review
Bit Rate 448 KB
Anamophic Yes
Links IMDB
DVD Empire
Amazon US
Phone Booth at Movie Collector Connect

Features
Anamophic
Full-Length Audio Commentary by Director Joel Schumacher
Original Theatrical Trailer

Widescreen Review
Story Synopsis:
Stu Shepard (Farrell) is a self-centered New York city publicist who suddenly finds himself on the deadly end of a high-powered riflescope. When he decides to answer the ring of a public phone, the voice on the other end warns him that if he hangs up, he’s a dead man. Now it’s a real-time race against the clock as Stu must outwit a sniper in a frantic scramble from Phone Booth to safety. (Suzanne Hodges)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD picture exhibits a stylized picture of desaturated grays that visually sets the thrilling tone of the story. Vibrant red and bold blue spot colors pop through the desaturation, and blacks are deep and solid. Images are sharp and detailed, though when compared to the D-VHS® D-Theater™ picture (also framed at 2.35:1), the DVD almost has a slight soft edge. As the camera pans across the New York City, building textures are presented with a level of depth and clarity that can’t be touched by the DVD. Contrast and shadow delineation are better delineated on the D-VHS. The D-VHS D-Theater exhibits a smoothness that appears slightly pixelized on the DVD, and colors that are even more vivid. A slight amount of edge enhancement is noticed at times on the DVD, while virtually undetected on the D-VHS D-Theater. (Suzanne Hodges)

The disc also includes a modified 1.33:1 (4:3) presentation (not reviewed).

Soundtrack:
The D-VHS Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, in comparison to the DVD, sounds slightly smoother and more refined in the midrange. For whatever reason, imaging seems a bit more defined for the D-VHS audio, but there's a little more envelopment for the DVD version. The presentation has been very well-produced, but also sounds slightly prominent in terms of overall volume level. The fidelity is excellent, and is certainly reflective of the current state-of-the-art. There's an impressive perception of spatiality throughout. The music is clearly one of the most important sonic factors in the storytelling for this suspenseful, emotionally unsettling movie. With very good recording quality, the music just sweeps wide across the screen with notable depth into the surrounds, and a clean, sometimes prominent low-end presence provides for an effective undertoning as a visceral foundation. Another aspect of the sonic crafting that adds to the eeriness is the voice of the caller, which emanates from the screen and surround channels. Voices seem quite effective in spatial integration and have very good fidelity. This is a sound mix that clearly is integral to the experience of this movie. (Perry Sun)

This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Superb Music Score Recording Quality