The Ghost Writer - Special Edition, 2 DVDs

Film: An incredible amount has been written about Roman Polanski in recent months. More and more in the background stepped his achievement as a filmmaker. Fortunately, this will now change again, because with "The Ghost Writer" Polanski once again puts his versatility and especially his great talent as a director in the spotlight.

It sounds like a dream for the young ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor): he is to write the memoirs for former Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). The fact that a long-time confidant of Lang's, who actually held this task, has been found dead is of little concern to the writer. But when he arrives at the politician's secluded residence on the Atlantic island of Martha's Vinyard, he quickly discovers that the ex-premier's past holds many a secret that could also be dangerous to him. When controversial counter-terrorism decisions by Lang lead to an indictment at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the politician is increasingly caught in the crossfire of criticism, the situation seems to escalate.

"The Ghost Writer"is based on the acclaimed thriller "Ghost" by Robert Harris, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the magnificent film adaptation with Roman Polanski. While the story itself is not necessarily surprising to connoisseurs of the genre. But the great dialogues and the engaging atmosphere Polanski has created make the film a thrilling and highly entertaining political thriller until the very last second, pleasantly lightened with a surprisingly high dose of humor.

Because the director could not shoot in the USA for reasons generally known, various locations in Germany turned into Martha`s Vinyard Island and the New York region. The filming took place on Usedom, Sylt, in Berlin and the Babelsberg film studios. The fascinating thing is that this is not to be seen in the film for a moment. The set designers and outfitters really did a great job here. The ex-Prime Minister's holiday home turned out to be absolutely fascinating, offering a particularly engaging look and, in its own way, perfectly matching the mood of the story, almost becoming an actor itself.

The human actors are all great. Pierce Brosnan undoubtedly delivers one of his best performances ever and Ewan McGregor pleases with a mixture of sarcasm, curiosity and cockiness. Also particularly memorable is the brief guest appearance by a bald James Belushi, who plays a very unpleasant kind of bull-necked American in a very amusing way. Wonderful!

"The Ghost Writer"is one of the best political thrillers of recent years, as its plot is not too convoluted, the dialogue is sharp-tongued, and the production is superbly crafted. Lovers of sophisticated suspense cinema should not miss this new masterpiece by Roman Polanski in any case!

Picture + Sound: The technical realization of the DVD is absolutely satisfactory. The sound is rather decent, but thanks to the good mixing of music and ambient sounds very atmospheric. The picture, which is rather dark in many scenes, pleases with good contrast and decent overall sharpness. The cool color scheme also underlines the ominous atmosphere of the film.

Extras: The DVD is released in two variants. As a single DVD, but also as a special edition double DVD with a bonus film. Both editions are the same extras to the actual film. The focus here are two worth seeing short documentaries about the cast and about the real background of the novel. In addition, there are interviews with the main actors and the director, with Polanski's interviews still some interesting insights on the shooting and a tour of the great house set to see. TV spots, trailers and a photo gallery round out the bonus material. The Blu-ray has more extras to offer from the premiere and the Berlinale press conference.

The Special Edition also features on a second disc the great documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" (approx. 96 min.) by Marina Zenovich. The film offers a lot of exciting background information on the case against Polanski, but also paints a portrait of the director and the man Roman Polanski that is very much worth seeing. Enriched with many interviews and footage from the trial, old filming and TV appearances, this great documentary offers a truly comprehensive look at a case that continues to preoccupy the courts to this day.

There are also a few extras to the documentary: In addition to a few cut scenes, there is another documentary of just under 30 minutes with more information, especially about the judge's work. More interviews in which friends and colleagues comment on Polanski, as well as an informative audio commentary by the director on the documentary, make this second DVD a more than worthwhile addition. Absolutely recommendable!

Conclusion: "The Ghost Writer" is a noble political thriller, which can fully convince in terms of script, staging and actors. The Special Edition double DVD convinces not only with its good technical realization, but also with the bonus documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired", which alone justifies the purchase of the double DVD. Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp