Jerry Maguire (1996) [LLD-26093]

The Movie:
There are few movies that can convince me to give a damn about the wide world of sports, whether it be football, hockey, or even baseball. Rudy couldn't do it, Remember the Titans couldn't do it, nor could the Blind Side do it. The tale of sports agent Jerry Maguire however, is a captivating and enjoying movie that truly made me care for the people who dwell in the realm of sports.
The movie tells the story of one of Tom Cruise's finest characters (right up there with Maverick and Ethan Hunt) who, through an unfortunately timed turn around in terms of how his industry should be reformed, gets fired and thrown to the bottom wrung of the sports world. With the help of his only colleague(Renee Zellweger) to join him in his exile, he strives to form a new sports agency centered around personal connections with clients. The only thing stopping him is the only client that stayed along with him, Rod Tiddwell(Cuba Gooding Jr.) He just so happens to be one of the most abrasive, unlikable characters that I've ever come across in my 400 large collection of movies. The rest of the movie details an intense romantic intertwining with Jerry and Dorothy, and Jerry's initially futile attempts to break the bad attitude of Rod Tidwell.
The film may fall into a few of the ruts that romantic comedies tend to push themselves into - cheesy romantic one liners (You complete me, anyone?), and tends to play to stereotypical characters a bit too heavily, but does that detract from how entertaining it is? Hell no!
Jerry Maguire is easily one of my favorite films of the 1990's, and stands out due to excellent performances from all three lead actors, as well as Jonathan Lipnicki as Ray. These characters create a world that was capable of drawing even me, the sports resistant - romantic comedy hating cyncic that I am within its deeply enveloping innards. This films easily nets a 9/10 in my books, and it should come as no surprise that I heartily recommend this film, whether it comes in the domestic US Laserdisc release, or the Japanese import flavor that I am currently talking about.

The Video:
Jerry Maguire hits Japanese laserdisc with an excellent video transfer handled by Columbia Tri Star home video. Colors are warm, film grain is non intrusive and video noise is noticeable, but doesn't detract from the overall presentation of the movie.
Having seen both the US DVD, original VHS presentation, and several cable broadcasts, this version holds up incredibly well in terms of detail and quality.
The Japanese release viewed for review here has Japanese subtitles burned into the image within the 1:85:1 framed widescreen picture, for those who are irked by subtitle presence within the viewable area of the movie.

The Audio:
For this review, the LPCM Dolby-Surround encoded stereo track was heard by the reviewer. The disc also features a serviceable AC-3 track, and while I haven't listened to it yet, I can only assume it features qualities comparable to the stereo track.
The digital audio track is rather excellent for a romantic comedy, with excellent dialogue presence and enveloping sound during the more busy sports filled scenes with a myriad of people on screen. Other than that, there's not too much to say about the digital track included on this disc.

Overall:
With an excellent video presentation and a serviceable audio track, Jerry Maguire commands a strong presence on Japanese or domestic Laserdisc. For those like me who prefer their discs with a side of AC-3 audio, side with the Japanese Import, if not stick with the other releases.
8/10 Overall Grade.

Thanks for this review, well done, reminded me in it´s full length of the good old days I will look forward to get a copy of the movie.

Thanks. I might do another write up tonight depending on if I watch a notable disc or not

I remember all the hype and publicity surrounding the release of Jerry Maguire.
I didn't actually get round to seeing it myself until a few years after it was originally released in the cinema.
I generally don't go for the big Hollywood type movies but I gave this one a shot and I was pleasantly surprised.
It is a great movie - perhaps the best Tom Cruise has made to date. I've watched it numerous times since then and always enjoyed it.

If laserdisc production had ended in 1996, I think Jerry Maguire would have been a very fitting end to the format.
As it was we got Mission Impossible 2 instead which was a bit of a let down in my opinion.
Jerry Maguire is destined to never be a valuable laserdisc but at least we can celebrate that it was one of the highlights of the 90's and definitely worth owning on laserdisc which is more than can said for quite a few other films!

Jerry Maguire didn't come out till I was a year old, so I didn't get in on it till about 4 years ago. It's one of my all time favorite 90s films.

Just wanted to add another reason for watching this movie is it contains a beautiful composition by The Durutti Column called Requiem Again that was originally included on their 1989 album 'Vini Reilly'. It is featured at several key points in the movie so is very memorable. You'll instantly think of the movie as soon as you hear this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kM90i0dTW4

It occurs 5 mins into the movie when Cruise thinks to himself has he become 'just another shark in a suit' and this leads to the dream sequence and his idea for the mission statement. It then occurs again at 9 mins, 10 secs into the movie after he has delivered his mission statement to his colleagues and is arriving at work to see their reaction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDbV2-tZgbg

There is no other guitar player in the world who sounds quite like Vini Reilly so it is very recognisable piece of music.

Sadly the Original Soundtrack CD for the movie omits many key tracks used in the movie such as this one so this is another reason for owning the movie or better still buying some Durutti Column albums.

The greatest memory of this film I have is that I used to work at a Photography Company when I was younger in Sales as one of my jobs....and every morning as I got ready I would watch Jerry Maguire to get me in the selling mood....I did sell loads,and it was the first DVD I acquired,so when I got the laserdisc and watched it, it reminded me of the good old days as Jerry's mentour gives us his recollections from his life throughout the film......The great Dicky Fox.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyxWWYeXKBw&feature=kp