Fox has released The Commitments on DVD in a two-disc special edition.

Video:

The Commitments is (finally!) presented in its original widescreen theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and the video has been anamorphically enhanced for your widescreen-viewing pleasure. This is a great looking transfer throughout. I was especially impressed by its effective use of colors and contrasts. Alan Parker enjoys drenching his films in the types of shadows, gritty textures, and an overall earthy tone that tend to make many transfers appear murky and lifeless. This definitely isn't the case for The Commitments; the prevailing "grittiness" is wonderfully complemented by vibrant splashes of color, deep earth tones, strong black levels, and warm, natural flesh tones. Contrast levels are beautifully rendered, adding more depth and vibrancy to the image. Sharpness is pleasing, with only a handful of scenes demonstrating softness and exhibiting only a moderate degree of fine detail. The transfer was struck from an extremely clean print, resulting in a video presentation that lacks dirt, debris, or wear. There is no noticeable compression noise, pixellation, edge-enhancement, or haloing.

Audio:

I was so overjoyed that The Commitments was finally released in its original aspect ratio that I was completely unprepared for the joyous six-channel audio mix included on this DVD (there are also French and Spanish channels, both in Dolby Digital 2.0). The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack gives the presentation an expansive, engaging presence, especially in a movie that hinges so much upon both its music and its dialog. Dialog and vocal levels are bright, loud, and clean without seeming distorted, overbearing, or clipped. The soundtrack makes extended use of the expanded soundstage, with appropriate and sometimes aggressive utilization of the surrounds that engagingly highlights background and ambient noise, while also lending the musical presentation the right amount of potency. Frontstage spatiality is broad and enveloping, and LFE activity adds the entire affair the right amount of thundering bass.

Extras:

Disc One contains a feature-length audio commentary with director Alan Parker. Parker's delivery is slightly dry and monotone, and his commentary does contain some gaps, but overall he provides a host of interesting, behind-the-scenes information. His affection towards the film is very apparent, and fans of the film will quite enjoy it.

Disc Two contains the bulk of the supplements. First out of the gate is The Making of Alan Parker's Film: The Commitments, a twenty-two minute "behind-the-scenes" featurette that was filmed during the production of The Commitments. Most of the cast and crew, including Alan Parker and author Roddy Doyle, are interviewed throughout the piece, and presents a reasonably informative look at the creation of the film.

Bookending that feature is "The Commitments": Looking Back, an forty-seven minute retrospective that reunites the cast and crew, as they offer their thoughts on the making of the film. Most of the band as well as various members of the production crew are given the opportunity to reflect upon their experience with The Commitments. The documentary features a number of entertaining and often humorous takes on the project – the entire section devoted to Irish profanity is brilliant – and it feels a little exhausting in its running length, it still remains grandly entertaining.

Dublin Soul: The Working Class and Changing Face of Dublin runs for fifteen minutes, and provides a fascinating look into the social development and class strata of Dublin over the decades. The filmmakers used many of the working-class neighborhoods extensively throughout the film, giving the movie an extra level of depth and realism.

The aptly-titled Making-Of Featurette runs eight-minutes in length, and seems to be little more than a truncated and slightly edited version of the earlier, more substantive twenty-two minute feature. Rounding out the supplements is the "Treat Her Right" music video (with an introduction by Alan Parker and Robert Arkins), two Original Songs by Cast Members (We May Be Down (But We're Not Out) by Andrew Strong and Taking On The World by Robert Arkins), the film's theatrical trailer, six TV spots, four radio spots, and a still gallery consisting of nineteen photographs.

Final Thoughts

If you're already a fan of The Commitments, then you don't need conversion, as you are already aware of what a wonderful film it is. If you are a neophyte, with this DVD you can definitively find out what the entire buzz is about. In either case, after years of marred, fullframe releases, we can finally enjoy the film in its original widescreen aspect ratio. The presentation of the film cannot be faulted: both the audio and the video are beautifully delivered. However, it's the wealth of supplemental material that elevates this set. Between the commentary, over an hour and a half of documentaries, trailers, TV and radio spots, and more, this is an exhaustive set that will satiate the ravenous hunger of any Commitments fan. It's been thirteen years, but at long last Fox has delivered The Commitments done right.