The Dominator reviews

Distributed by
Odyssey Video

Cat.no: ODL 104

Cert: PG

Running time: 99 minutes

Year: 1990

Sides 2 (CLV)

Pressing : 1996

Chapters : 35 (17/18)

Sound: Dolby Surround

Widescreen : 1.70:1

Price: £29.99

Extras : Original Theatrical Trailer

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Director:

Chris Columbus (Home Alone 2, Mrs Doubtfire)

Producer:

John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club)

Screenplay:

John Hughes

Music:

John Williams (E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial)

Cast:

Kevin : Macauley Culkin (Home Alone 2, My Girl, Jacob's Ladder)
Harry : Joe Pesci (Home Alone 2, Goodfellas, Casino)
Marv : Daniel Stern (Home Alone 2, Rookie of the Year)
Peter : John Heard (Home Alone 2, Deceived, After Hours)
Kate : Catherine O'Hara (Home Alone 2, Wyatt Earp, After Hours)
Marley : Roberts Blossom (Escape From Alcatraz, The Quick and The Dead)

If you haven't heard of Home Alone then where have you been living all these years? It's the comedy which brought pint-sized child actor Macauley Culkin to the world's attention, and went on to become the biggest grossing comedy of all time.

It's Christmas time, and the McCallister's extended family are preparing to go to Paris for the holidays. The night before they set off, an incident in the kitchen leaves young Kevin anything but flavour of the month, and he gets sent to bed with no dinner. The last words he shouts are "Families suck! I wish they would all just disappear!", and disappear they do as they mistakenly leave without him the next day leaving him home alone...

At first Kevin thinks that he's in heaven having the house to himself, being able to eat what he likes, watch whatever he wants to on TV, and make a mess of the house with no recourse. However, in the district are two burglars, Harry and Marv, aka the Wet Bandits, who are intent on stealing from all the houses, especially Kevin's as they think an 8-year-old will be a pushover, but Kevin's got not so much a few tricks up his sleeve, more a full arsenal of household items to be used in whichever way he can find to deter the bandits.

Picture quality is very good, and colours are vibrant, something important for this film as many of the scenes are full of various colours, setting the scene for the Christmas season. Sound is also clear with its use best coming into action for music-filled scenes, and most of side 2 as Kevin does his best to stop Harry and Marv coming in.

As per usual for an Odyssey release, chapters are plentiful and evenly spread across the disc with one for the Odyssey logo, one for the original theatrical trailer, and 33 for the film. Also, the gatefold sleeve contains a number of stills from the film, along with an insight into the film, and how it became the biggest grossing comedy of all time, from Philip Kemp.

The film is rated PG for a few pieces of mild language and a fair bit of cartoon-style violence towards the end as Kevin fights off the unwanted guests. Home Alone is the sort of comedy that can be enjoyed by both children and adults alike, and I'll be looking forward to the release of Home Alone 2 - Lost In New York.

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.