How can you not like Ron Howard? Here we have a guy that grew up in an acting family and already had a career at an age when most of us are just starting kindergarten. Hollywood is a place that usually chews up and spits out child actors, yet Howard was able to grow up in the business without being tainted by it. As Opie, on “The Andy Griffith Show”, he created a cultural icon that is still popular to this day. As he grew up, he showed his mettle in a handful of movies, and then created a second cultural icon of Richie Cunningham in “Happy Days.” Unlike many child actors, Howard did not just rest on his laurels and expect the world to be handed to him. He understood that fame was fleeting and that it was necessary to learn everything he could about the business. Little did we know back in those days of watching him on TV that he would grow up to have a successful directing career, let alone one that has lasted over 20 years. Though it would be impossible to say that every movie Howard has directed has been a great film, certainly there’s not a bad one in the bunch.

As much as I’d like touch on them all, I really need to limit myself to talking about one. Let’s focus a little on “Ransom” shall we?

“Ransom” stars Mel Gibson as Tom Mullen, a self-made millionaire who is in control of every aspect of his life. That is, until one day when his son is kidnapped in broad daylight, almost from right under his nose. Feeling as though the rug has been pulled out from under him, his only focus in life is to get his son back, at any cost. When the FBI gets involved, they suggest paying the ransom but only so they can get there hands on the kidnappers. When the plan backfires, Mullen takes matters into his own hands and turns to the media to get his son back, and make life a living hell for the perpetrators.

This film marked a major turning point in Howard’s career as it was much more brutal and violent than anything he had done up to that point. “Ransom” moves at a breakneck speed, and is full of some extremely surprising twists and turns. It is a film where many things are not what they seem, most surprisingly the protagonist, Mullen himself. On the surface, he seems every bit the family man and nice guy extraordinaire. But as we get deeper and deeper into the film we find out that he is so much more. And this isn’t just true of his character. We learn the hard lesson that, as in life, few people can really be taken at face value.

“Ransom” is not a perfect movie by any means, as there are the occasional plot holes and implausible situations. But the combination of the cast’s earnest performances and Howard’s sharp direction redeem any of these little imperfections. Aside from Gibson’s multi-dimensional take on Mullen, we also have Gary Sinise as a cop trying to help him find his son. (Hmmm….?)

Touchstone Home Entertainment is giving “Ransom” the special edition treatment with a new DVD release that includes some nice extras. First, there is a commentary by Ron Howard that is a must listen. I usually ride the fence on commentaries, generally because they vary from director to director. Some guys can really chat it up and make it a worthwhile listen, while others can be dreadfully boring. Howard falls into the former category. He is quite relaxed in his commentary and has a lot of information to share. Next up are four deleted scenes, which are fairly interesting, but it’s pretty obvious why they were cut.

Coming in just under 15 minutes, the featurette “What Would You Do?” was produced at the same time as the film and offers the cast and crew the opportunity to talk a bit about the film and its subject matter. According to the extras listing on the DVD case, there is a behind the scenes special included here, but as some of the characters in the film are not what they seem, neither is this extra feature. As it turns out, it is actually a 4 minute look in between the scenes of the cast and crew goofing around, which is actually a bit better.

Not that this is necessarily a negative, but I noticed that the movie itself seems to be the same version that was previously released on DVD. There have been no enhancements; most notably that it is not an anamorphic version. Again, this isn’t really a knock as the transfer is very clean and sharp. But if you already have the earlier DVD release, the only reason to replace it with this one is to get the extra features.

I do recommend grabbing a copy of this disc however, if you don’t already have one. Despite some of the minor flaws in the plot, I really liked “Ransom” when I first saw it, and watching it again the other day only reinforces my original feelings for it.

Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo, Lili Taylor
Extras: Extensive Deleted Scenes, “What Would You Do?” Featurette with Cast & Crew, Commentary by Director Ron Howard, Behind the Scenes Special with Cast & Crew, International Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Touchstone
Release Date: 3/23/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (For Graphic Bloody Violence and Strong Language)
Website

We'll give Ransom: Special Edition an B+.