Movie:
The War of the Roses, originally released theatrically in 1989, was directed by Danny DeVito. The film stars Michael Douglas (Oliver), Kathleen Turner (Barbara), and DeVito (Gavin).

After eighteen years of marriage, Barbara Rose has had enough, as she discovers when Oliver, her husband, almost "dies." Instead of alimony, she only wants the house and its contents, as she's spent the better part of their marriage finding, decorating, and cleaning it. Oliver's friend and fellow lawyer, Gavin, advises that he give up the house and find another, but Oliver refuses. With both of them in the same house, tensions soon escalate into a dangerous game as both try to convince the other to leave.

The War of the Roses is both dark and funny, a rare mixture for a film that at succeeds at being entertaining. Watching Douglas and Turner, who are paired perfectly in their roles, continually try to out-do the other is darkly fascinating. The movie kept my interest throughout, with only a few spots that were a bit slow.

Picture:
The War of the Roses is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is enhanced for widescreen TVs. The transfer also got THX approval. The transfer is generally sharp throughout, with a few print flaws, like small marks and specks, that pop up occasionally. There was also a slight bit of grain, as well as some very minor pixelation. Colors are vibrant and well saturated throughout, with natural flesh tones, and deep blacks.

Sound:
The War of the Roses is presented in Dolby 2.0 Surround in English and French. The track presents the material adequately, though as the film is mainly dialogue driven, there's not much in the way of surrounds. The film's score and dialogue are crisp and clean throughout. Optional subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

Extras:
The main extra on the disc is the screen-specific audio commentary with DeVito, which is probably the same track used for the laserdisc. DeVito talks about filmmaking in general, directing this film in particular, and also shares stories about working on War of the Roses. His commentary is quite entertaining and informative; I had a great time listening to it.

Next up is a montage of deleted scenes that runs for about twenty minutes and includes an introduction by DeVito. While most of them were rightly cut, a few of them were quite good and completed other parts of the film.

Also on the disc are four trailers (A, C, D, & E) and six TV spots for the film, storyboards for The Dinner Party, Dog & Cat Chase, Sauna Sequence, and Chandelier Sequence, a stills gallery divided into three sections (Production, Visual Effects Props, and Poster Gallery), 2 sketches of the Rose house, 11 director's computer sketches, the film's script, and the THX optimizer tests.

Summary:
Fox has provided a decent presentation and some great extras for the film, and this, coupled with the low $19.99 price tag, makes it a definite buy for fans. Recommended!