Disc Details
Special Features:	Widescreen anamorphic format Chapter selection Commentary by writer/director William Richert Documentary: "Who Killed Winter Kills?" Featurette: Reunion: William Richert and Jeff Bridges discuss the making of Winter Kills Featurette: Star Stories: William Richert remembers the cast of Winter Kills Theatrical trailers Production still gallery Behind-the-scenes still gallery Deleted scenes still gallery Poster and advertising art gallery Production art gallery DVD-ROM: original screenplay
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles:	English for the hearing impared.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	2-Disc Folding Case

"Winter Kills" follows Nick Kegan (Jeff Bridges) as he tries to discover who assassinated his older brother 19 years earlier. Did I mention that his big brother was the President of the United States? "Winter Kills" was Richard Condon's examination of the various conspiracy theories behind JFK's death. The film opens with Nick Kegan on one his father's oil tankers in the South Pacific. Pa Kegan (John Houston) is a rich and powerful tycoon. A helicopter arrives with a man named Keifitz (Richard Boone) and another man who is near death. Arthur Fletcher, the dying man (an unrecognizable Joe Spinell) confesses to Nick that he was the second gunman who killed the President. He tells Nick where the rifle can be found. So begins Nick's quest for the hidden truth.

"Winter Kills" boasts an incredible supporting cast: Anthony Perkins, Sterling Hayden, Eli Wallach, Elizabeth Taylor, Ralph Meeker, Toshiro Mifune and Brad Dexter. There are also several young actresses before they were famous included in the cast: Erin Gray, Tisha Farrow and 9/11 Pentagon plane crash victim Berry Berenson as a morgue attendant.

The performance by John Huston is the real reason to see this film. Houston's performance rivals his work in "Chinatown." Anthony Perkins is also mesmerizing as the shadowy John Cerutti. I would be doing you a disservice to give away any more of the plot than I have. "Winter Kills" examines as many different theories about the assassination as does Oliver Stone's "JFK." While "JFK" was somber propaganda with a purpose, Richert's "Winter Kills" sparks as much discussion with a lighter tone.

Picture Quality: 9/10
Except for a couple of artifacts, the transfer is outstanding. "Winter Kills" was shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Need I say more!?! Rich, well saturated colors. The Western White House scenes were shot in Death Valley National Monument. The movie brought back memories of when I worked there in the 70s. The vivid desert colors are captured in all their glory.

Sound Quality: 6/10
The soundtrack is the original theatrical mono track. It sounds OK. I wish the track had been remastered in stereo at least. A bit flat on the high end, but the bass lines are full and without distortion.

Menu: 9/10
Nice animated menu. Good use of military drums on the sound track. The menu has a puzzle motif that is in line with the film's plot. No Easter Eggs found. Easy to navigate.

Extra Features: 10/10
You know the commentary track is going to be interesting when director Richert tells you during the credits that one of the producers was murdered during production by a disgruntled investor and that a second producer went away to Federal prison for a very long time. Those are just two of the colorful events which make the making of "Winter Kills" more interesting than the movie itself. The commentary track and documentary, "Who Killed Winter Kills?" both cover the troubled history of bringing "Winter kills" to the screen.

As much as "Winter Kills" was jinxed, first time director William Richert was also very blessed. With no reputation to draw in big name stars, Richert was able to get some of the greatest actors in Hollywood history to come on board. The story of how he finally got the film financed is also a tale of kismet.

The documentary includes all-new interviews with writer/director William Richert, actors Jeff Bridges and Belinda Bauer, director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond, and production designer Robert Boyle. Both "Reunion" and "Star Tales" include some great anecdotes from Richert and Bridges about the making of this offbeat film.

There are trailers and numerous photo galleries. As is always the case with Anchor Bay, the galleries are extensive. The film's screenplay can also be accessed through the disk's DVD-ROM features.

The Final Word:
Anchor Bay consistently brings the rare and unusual to the consumer. "Winter Kills" is a very nice addition to their library. 70s cinephiles will want this as a permanent part of their library. At the very least, "Winter Kills" is worth renting. If you do rent, make sure you get both disks as the special features are on the second disk.

Rusty White