More surface sheen than sturdy substance, Anthony Minghella's pricey adap of Charles Frazier's bestseller attempts to juggle the intimate (Jude'n'Nicole's amorous yearnings) with the epic (the US Civil War).
It's got a mouth-watering cast, gorgeous visuals and there's a bloody great explosion near the beginning. So what's the problem? Call it the Miramax factor, that prestige-pic polish that lets refined taste win over a full, gritty flavour. Shame too, that with all the other fine thesping on offer (Natalie Portman's forlorn war widow; sinful preacher Philip Seymour Hoffman), the Oscar went to Renée Zellweger's cute-but-caricatured turn as rough-diamond farmgirl Ruby.
DVD Extras:
At review time a commentary with Minghella and editor Walter Murch was unavailable; but if it's like the other extras on this double DVD it'll be detailed, affable and a bit dull. Main doc Climbing Cold Mountain takes a 75-minute trek from pre-production to première, while Sting's Southern accent casts a pall over a concert celebration of the film's music. Throughout the disc, the word 'journey' is heard more times than in a Return Of The King acceptance speech, but there's a crop of deleted scenes, the standout featuring more Portman pathos.
