British feelgood comedy "Bend it Like Beckham" comes to a DVD that's every bit as warm and witty - from the hilarious animated menus to the content on the disc.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

Picture Director Gurinder Chadha has captured a Britain that's alive with colour, rather than bleak and depressing. The fresh tones transfer well to DVD, although on occasion the picture is a little soft.

Sound The 5.1 mix really kicks into effect for football crowd scenes, and the music tracks get plenty of bass support, including the hilarious Indian version of "Take my Breath Away".

SPECIAL FEATURES

Audio Commentary Gurinder Chadha is joined by co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges for a highly chatty commentary that's punctuated with Chadha getting a good chuckle out of many of the scenes. In particular, she remembers with fondness getting the lads in the park to take their tops off for the kick-about scenes when it was freezing outside.

It turns out that Gary Lineker, John Barnes, and Alan Hansen needed multiple takes to get their lines right, and Hansen refused to laugh because it wasn't true to him in real life! Gurinder also recalls the reactions of the Beckhams on seeing the film - David thought Parminder Nagra did indeed bend the ball well, and Victoria thought it was much funnier than "East is East", which makes Chadha laugh.

Behind-the-Scenes Featurette There's some good footage on offer here, along with some light cast and crew interviews that seem to reflect a good-natured shoot. Kulvinder Ghir welcomes his role in the film (he plays Teetu) as a fresh challenge after getting somewhat typecast for the past 15 years.

On the football side of things, you can see the girls at work and learn just how passionate the England vs Germany match became.

Deleted Scenes At 112 minutes the film runs quite long for a light comedy, but it must have been tough to cut down as the ten deleted scenes here are all good material. A particular highlight is the scene "Why doesn't that spicy girl do something about his hair", referring, of course, to Posh'n'Becks.

Who Wants to Cook Aloo Gobi? Take a look at the recipe on the DVD to stock-up with the ingredients you'll need, and then watch this 15-minute demonstration of how to make an Aloo Gobi by Gurinder Chadha. This is conducted under the careful supervision of her mother who helpfully suggests she "might do something wrong".

Additional Extra Features Also on the DVD are music videos and trailers.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Region: 2
Chapters: 20
Ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Tracks: English
Subtitles: English
Captions: English
Menus: Animated, with music
Special Features Subtitles: None of the special features come with subtitles.

The "Bend it Like Beckham" DVD is out to buy from Monday 18th November 2002.

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.