The Mist Blu-ray Disc (Frank Darabont, 2007)

Genius Products (USA)
1.85:1 1080p
126 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Frank Darabont; deleted scenes with optional audio commentary; A Conversation With Frank Darabont and Stephen King; When Darkness Came: The Making of The Mist; Monsters Among Us: A Look at the Creature F/X; The Horror of It All: The Visual F/X of The Mist; Taming the Beast: Shooting Scene 35; Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of an Artist; webisodes; theatrical trailers; black-and-white version with introduction by Frank Darabont

Released: 16 September 2008
Blu-ray case

The Weinstein Company and Genius Products (Weinstein’s home-video distribution partner) originally supported the HD DVD side during the high-def-optical-disc tussle, but the companies suddenly stopped releasing HD DVDs after June 2007 without making any statements about possible future HD DVD or Blu-ray plans. This happened long before Warner’s February announcement to switch from neutrality to Blu-ness. Weinstein and Genius are now releasing Blu-ray Discs, starting with August’s Lonesome Dove and continuing with September’s 1408 and The Mist.

Frank Darabont is an obviously old-fashioned moviemaker, and I make that summation without implying anything negative. I attended a screening of The Shawshank Redemption at the AMPAS theatre in Hollywood. After the movie was over, Darabont headlined a Q-&-A session, during which he talked about how nice it was to see the movie again projected on film. His exact words were, “I like plastic.” His movies are patiently paced and favor characters over plot (though without the laborious “psychology” employed by young directors like Christopher Nolan). Also, Darabont is one of the rare American directors who have managed to avoid jack-editing movies to the point of visual incomprehensibility.

The Mist is Darabont’s third dance with Stephen King, though it’s the first King adaptation that is an outright horror story. In the movie, a mist shrouds a small town in Maine. Monsters in the mist attack humans, forcing many of the townsfolk to hide in a food mart. Trapped for days, the characters face more danger from each other than from the monsters. In this regard, The Mist is sort of a prison movie like Shawshank and The Green Mile. In fact, the major villain in The Mist is a woman who spews bile cloaked in the self-righteousness of Christian fundamentalism, just like the warden in Shawshank and the racist white characters in The Green Mile.

The Mist is an intentional throwback to monster movies from the 1950s and 1960s, with goofy monster effects and the use of mood rather than gore to generate tension. (The most shocking development at the end of the movie is shown from a distance, so you don’t actually see what the protagonist does.) Since the movie is low-key and not rushed, you’ll find yourself gripped in anticipation, which is scarier than being hammered by a movie frantically trying to rattle your nerves with quick cuts and loud noise that your mind eventually filters as static.

As the monsters are purposely cheesy and fake, the movie depends heavily on its cast to sell the show. Fortunately, every actor is on his A-game. Marcia Gay Harden is gratingly scary and believable as the fundie monster, and Toby Jones made me forget his cringe-inducing turns in movies like Amazing Grace and Infamous (that other recent movie about Truman Capote). The big surprise is Thomas Jane as the lead, an Everyman who capably leads the trapped shoppers before the fundie lady creates a poisoned environment. I remembered Jane as Burt Hicks from Face/Off and a so-so Punisher, but his performance here is assured, credible, and emotionally devastating. You know, this is supposed to be a silly monster mash for whiling away long hours, but Thomas Jane’s strong presence is worth a look.

Video:
Of the ones that I watched, I wasn’t impressed with Genius and Weinstein’s HD DVDs in the video department. Here we have an impressive 1.85:1 1080p transfer for The Mist. While many of the colors are de-saturated, the color palette was intentionally drained of strong hues. Sharpness and detail are commendable. While most of the movie is set inside a small food mart, the video transfer imparts a palpable sense of the indoors physical dimensions and backgrounds.

Audio:
While the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English track has its share of loud, rattle-the-windows sound effects and booming bass, the audio is impressive for other reasons. The sound design creates a rich atmosphere with subtle ambient noises that reflect how disquieting being lost in a fog can be. The audio mix also carries the music score very well. Voice reproduction is excellent (a wonderful boon to someone like me who tires of dialogue getting drowned out in today’s action movies).

Those of you who aren’t able to enjoy lossless audio should opt for the DD 5.1 English track. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
All of the extras (except the webisodes) are presented in high-def video where applicable.

Up first is an informative and engaging audio commentary by Frank Darabont. Darabont also contributed optional audio commentaries for a couple of deleted scenes.

In the U.S., “A Conversation With Frank Darabont and Stephen King” was originally available only on rental copies in Blockbuster stores. This is a surprisingly informative and engaging sit-down with Darabont and King. You learn a lot about their history and mutual respect.

“When Darkness Came: The Making of The Mist” is a comprehensive overview of the production. While not feature length like some of the documentaries that we’ve seen on deluxe releases, it also doesn’t wear out its welcome. (The same can’t be said for documentaries that treat certain directors like infallible gods.)

“Monsters Among Us: A Look at the Creature F/X” and “The Horror of It All: The Visual F/X of The Mist” showcase the special effects. “Taming the Beast: Shooting Scene 35” is a look at the difficulties associated with capturing a specific sequence. “Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of an Artist” celebrates Drew Struzan, who’s drawn posters for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other genre favorites.

The disc also includes three webisodes from the movie’s promotional website detailing a handful of production days.

Finally, there are three theatrical trailers.

--Disc 2--
Disc 2 presents the movie in black-and-white with an optional video introduction by the director. Frank Darabont considers the black-and-white version to be the “director’s cut”, though aside from the visual differences, the movie’s substantive content remains unchanged. The primary audio options are unchanged, too. The black-and-white version is even more of a throwback to monster movies from the 1950s and 1960s than the color version, thereby heightening the nostalgia factor.

While I understand that some of the grayscale timing was adjusted for the black-and-white version, Darabont probably could’ve recorded a brief video or audio clip asking viewers to turn off their TVs’ color in order to watch the color version in black-and-white (this is a simple button switch on my Sharp Aquos, and I frequently watch my color favorites in black-and-white for “new” experiences). Still, the effort that was expended on the black-and-white version is much appreciated.

The black-and-white version comes with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English and DD 5.1 English audio options (no dubs).