The script from David Mamet tries to raise this "wit vs. testosterone in the wilderness" tale from mediocrity, and for the most part it succeeds!  There's real impressive survival tidbits throughout the film, a sexy girl(Elle McPherson), and great acting.  Still, the direction is uneven, and prevents the film from achieving "enthusiastic" praise status. 

The dvd transfer is an entirely different matter!  Even without 16:9 enhancement, the picture is terrific!  No artifacts present, and detail is often amazing.   The film's setting provides plenty of landscape to demonstrate the high quality transfer.  Even more impressive is the dolby digital 5.1 sound.  This reviewer didn't remember the theatrical presentation having much in the way of a sound mix.   Here, it's often startling with fully detailed directional effects.

The laserdisc version of "True Lies" was one of the first examples of   dolby digital 5.1 sound.  Well, the sound quality is just as good as the laserdisc, making this a fantastic demonstration disc!  Even more impressive, the picture, again without 16:9 enhancement is excellent!  The film's opening action sequence, set within a snow-laden mansion, looks stunning, with superb detail no matter how dark the contrast!  There's a live-animated menu included.

While this comedy/action film is better than the reviews presented during its brief theatrical release, it's not spectacular either.  Loosely following the exploits of a real crime family, "The Newton Boys" is too uneven during its second half, not knowing whether it should be serious or not. 

The transfer offers some fine atmospheric effects with a dolby digital 5.1 sound mix that's extremely active.  The picture could be sharper, with consistent fleshtones, but a general contrast that's too dark at times.

While we're extremely pleased with this title to come out from FOX on dvd, we're a little disappointed in the lack of 16:9 enhancement.  The transfer is sharp, with consistent fleshtones, and fine contrast.  Still, it doesn't look that much better than the last widescreen laserdisc transfer, and the anamorphic enhancement surely would've made the detail even sharper.  The dolby surround sound mix is exactly the same as the laserdisc, with atmospheric effects, but little else in way of directional effects.

The sequel to "Romancing the Stone", "Jewel of the Nile" lacks the wit of the original, but the transfer is more of an improvement over its widescreen laserdisc counterpart.  The dvd picture offers much more detail in practically every sequence and the dolby digital surround sound appears to have more depth, though not offering 5.1 sound!