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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

THE OXFORD MURDERS
DVD Review by David Blackwell

DETAILS:  109 minutes, featurettes, previews
VIDEO:  2.35:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)
AUDIO:  English 5.1, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Surround
Subtitles:  Spanish

STUDIO:  Magnolia Home Entertainment
RELEASE DATE:  10-5-2010

THE OXFORD MURDERS takes place in Oxford, England in 1993 where a young man (Elijah Wood) comes to get Professor Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) as his mentor as he writes his thesis for his doctorate.   He stays in a house of an old woman tended by her daughter Beth (Julie Cox) and falls for the sexy Lorna (Leonor Watling).  He and Seldom soon get involved in a game with a series of murders that are supposedly logical and follow mathematical symbols.   THE OXFORD MURDERS is full of twists and turns as it mixes math, philosophy, murder,and even a game of CLUE.   It is based on the novel Los Crimenes De Oxford written by Guillermo Martinez.   Alex De La Iglesia directs a wonderful cast while balancing the elements they felt were the most central to the movie (with weaving in a few subplots from the book including the mad math genius Kalman who took a nail gun to his own brain).   THE OXFORD MURDERS keeps you guessing while marveling at the scenery chewing that John Hurt does in each scene while Elijah Wood is a passive hero.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
the DVD has previews for other Magnolia Home Entertainment releases and several featurttes that look into the making of the film along with interviews and some promo fluff material which are a combination of English, Spanish (with English subs), and film clips in Spanish and English.

MAKING THE OXFORD MURDERS
CRIMINAL MATH OF OXFORD-  a look at the math used in the film and novel
THE OXFORD MURDERS: INTERVIEWS
THE OXFORD MURDERS AT ABBEY ROAD- recording the music
THE OXFORD MURDERS: WAITING FOR ALEX- one of the better featurettes as the author of the book and the screenplay writer discuss the book and what was changed for the movie (and deciding what to retain).
THE OXFORD MURDERS: SET DESIGN
THE OXFORD MURDERS: KALMAN'S MAKE-UP
HDNET: A LOOK AT THE OXFORD MURDERS
BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE OXFORD MURDERS- six mini-featurttes that may have been on the net first due to the fact each one is about two minutes or less in length

FINAL ANALYSIS:  THE OXFORD MURDERS is a thinking complex thriller with plenty of bonus material.

this DVD review is (c)10-18-2010 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com