by Jason Whyte

Jan 25, 2000

At least John Travolta didn't screw up. That's a good thing. Because when I viewed many times the preview for "Mad City", it seems like the man from "Pulp Fiction" the film of the century, has finally lost it and he has sunk within the depths of bad actors in bad movies.

Well, I was wrong in both respects. "Mad City" features a strong Travolta in a surprisingly good movie. In the movie, his Sam Bailey, museum attendant, collides with news reporter Max Brackett (always engaging Dustin Hoffman) in a museum. Sort of. Sam has been laid off work, and he has returned to work to try to get his job back. Or so we think. Sam pulls out a gun on his boss, and accidentaily in front of a large number of kids he shoots his fellow worker, seriously wounding him. The funny thing is, Sam was totally serious. He just wanted her attention

Max witnesses the whole incident hiding out in the bathroom. Caught seconds later by Sam, he is willing to help the disgruntled man with settling the major conflict. By making deals for a television interview in exchange for a kid, for instance.

Which is where "Mad City" really takes off, going all out in portraying the media as cold, mean sharks, only looking for ratings and star power. The media films everything to get more people watching, and enjoying. Never mind that this so called "media" is destroying the very reason why they called themselves Media. But Not Max. He is the Real McCoy, a reporter who knows his job, which is proved in a heartbreaking newscast, actually aired on air, where Max loses it when fellow reporter Kevin (Alan Alda) almost forces him to tell in graphic detail the bodies of an airline crash. Everything portrayed of the media in "Mad City" is honest and real, a true sight for a mainstream Hollywood picture.

But the film is not perfect, far from. Directed by acclaimed Costa-Gavras, he tries to make a satire out of the film by peppering it with black comedy, which doesn't really work in all respects. Nor does trying to humanize with Travolta's Sam, who at points seems like we shouldn't be on his side, then we should be on his side minutes later.

But how the "media" destroys is purely honest, and in that case "Mad City" is by far a good film because, like "Natural Born Killers", it digs its claws into a seemingly safe power and pulls its roots out.

Grade: B

Tech Review:

Picture: 4 A good picture, although the print I viewed was really dirty, with good blacks and fair contrast. It was quite fuzzy, however.

Sound: 3 Released in all three formats, good luck finding a SDDS equipped theatre, but if you can view it in that sound format. I saw a dts mix, and the results were middling. Good split surround effects with the helicopters, but the sounds on the streets, which should be coming from all over, are all collapsed onto the front track, as is the museum, instead of an echo sound. Other than that I didn't really expect much from this mix, since this isn't exactly the film that digital was made for, unlike such films as "Starship Troopers".

Photography: 4 The surprise of the year, a super 35, 2.35:1 aspect ratio! All along on the commercials, the film looked as if it was a flat, 1.85:1 ratio, but I was wrong! The film has been matted to 2.35:1 from Super 35, and the photography is quite good at times, although there was some dumb shots with lots of air above peoples heads.

 

by George Jobson

May 14, 2003

Director Costa Gavras is known for political thrillers such as "Z." In "Mad City" a madman (Dustin Hoffman) takes a group of hostages including John Travolta. the message of the moive is how the media is treating a breaking news story about a hostage takeover. "Mad City" didn't come close. It had a few good moments, but the the film didn't work.