Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Blu-ray Disc (Patricia Rozema, 2008)

Warner (USA)
1.78:1 1080p
100 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English
Extras: previews for other movies; Digital Copy

Released: 28 October 2008
Blu-ray case

Most movies targeted at young viewers are so inoffensively clean that they become offensive. They’re offensive because they suck all the life out of any given situation. At most, there’s a boogeyman (whether a bad person or a bad ghost) who’s so stupid that little kids can outwit the villain.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is not milquetoast pap. It is a movie that does not shy away from economic, social, racial, and political difficulties during the Great Depression. There are moments when bourgeois burghers and policemen behave in an ugly manner towards migrant people and blacks. Scenes about financial hardship and ruin are genuinely heartbreaking. A few days ago, I read an article in The New York Times about how pet owners are giving up animals because they can’t feed their cats and dogs any more. Chillingly, this movie has a similar situation. I don’t mind admitting that I came close to tears several times during Kit Kittredge.

I should salute the actors, who are uniformly excellent. This is quite a stunning assemblage, actually, considering the production’s limited budget and potentially low appeal to viewers. Stanley Tucci and Jane Krakowski lend charm and glamour. Wallace Shawn is always welcome. Julia Ormond and Chris O’Donnell made me forget that they were so awful in movies like Legends of the Fall and Batman & Robin.

At the center of it all is Abigail Breslin, who has shown plenty of spirit in other movies but is flat-out great in Kit Kittredge. She delivers a dimensional, fully-realized performance. Not once does it feel like Breslin is simply crying on cue or relying on the perky energy that children have. Rather, she relays the pluck of a resourceful child without ever seeming programmed the way that, say, Haley Joel Osment did in Forrest Gump, The Sixth Sense, and A.I.

The overall production is quite a joy, too, from the opening credits with period music to the period costumes, from the historical lessons to the life-affirming values that are espoused without a sense of didacticism or snooty superiority. It has been a long, long time since I last enjoyed a “family movie”. Warner, Kit Kittredge is far and away the best movie you’ve released so far in 2008; it’s certainly better than the sloppy and self-important The Dark Knight.

Video:
You get a 1.78:1 1080p transfer that seems a bit sloppy. While clean and free of compression problems, some scenes look washed out compared to the movie’s general palette scheme. Also, there are some shots with noticeable grain dancing like crazy on blue backgrounds or the sky. I guess keeping grain intact is preferable to excessive DNR passes, but one or two DNR wipes would’ve benefited this particular image.

Audio:
This is a dialogue-driven movie, so the DD 5.1 English audio track doesn’t have much of a chance to shine. Most of the activity is placed in the center channel, though the bouncy music score invites the front mains to some of the action. The subwoofer wakes up for some of the scenes with automobiles, but don’t expect a lot of strong bass.

Extras:
You get previews for other “An American Girl” movies. You can also download/transfer a Digital Copy of the main feature.

In some ways, the Blu-ray is inferior to the DVD. You don’t get Spanish subtitles, and you don’t get the DVD-ROM stuff (a making-of featurette, a casting featurette, and additional scenes). I want a re-release, Warner.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (Patricia Rozema, 2008)

Region 1 Warner (USA)
NTSC, 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced and 1.33:1 Pan-&-Scan
100 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English, Spanish
Extras: previews for other movies; DVD-ROM specials (two featurettes and additional scenes); Digital Copy

Released: 28 October 2008
keepcase

Most movies targeted at young viewers are so inoffensively clean that they become offensive. They’re offensive because they suck all the life out of any given situation. At most, there’s a boogeyman (whether a bad person or a bad ghost) who’s so stupid that little kids can outwit the villain.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is not milquetoast pap. It is a movie that does not shy away from economic, social, racial, and political difficulties during the Great Depression. There are moments when bourgeois burghers and policemen behave in an ugly manner towards migrant people and blacks. Scenes about financial hardship and ruin are genuinely heartbreaking. A few days ago, I read an article in The New York Times about how pet owners are giving up animals because they can’t feed their cats and dogs any more. Chillingly, this movie has a similar situation. I don’t mind admitting that I came close to tears several times during Kit Kittredge.

I should salute the actors, who are uniformly excellent. This is quite a stunning assemblage, actually, considering the production’s limited budget and potentially low appeal to viewers. Stanley Tucci and Jane Krakowski lend charm and glamour. Wallace Shawn is always welcome. Julia Ormond and Chris O’Donnell made me forget that they were so awful in movies like Legends of the Fall and Batman & Robin.

At the center of it all is Abigail Breslin, who has shown plenty of spirit in other movies but is flat-out great in Kit Kittredge. She delivers a dimensional, fully-realized performance. Not once does it feel like Breslin is simply crying on cue or relying on the perky energy that children have. Rather, she relays the pluck of a resourceful child without ever seeming programmed the way that, say, Haley Joel Osment did in Forrest Gump, The Sixth Sense, and A.I.

The overall production is quite a joy, too, from the opening credits with period music to the period costumes, from the historical lessons to the life-affirming values that are espoused without a sense of didacticism or snooty superiority. It has been a long, long time since I last enjoyed a “family movie”. Warner, Kit Kittredge is far and away the best movie you’ve released so far in 2008; it’s certainly better than the sloppy and self-important The Dark Knight.

Video:
You get 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 Pan-&-Scan transfers on opposite sides of a disc. The transfer seems a bit sloppy. While clean and free of compression problems, some scenes look washed out compared to the movie’s general palette scheme. Also, there are some shots with noticeable grain dancing like crazy on blue backgrounds or the sky. I guess keeping grain intact is preferable to excessive DNR passes, but one or two DNR wipes would’ve benefited this particular image.

Audio:
This is a dialogue-driven movie, so the DD 5.1 English audio track doesn’t have much of a chance to shine. Most of the activity is placed in the center channel, though the bouncy music score invites the front mains to some of the action. The subwoofer wakes up for some of the scenes with automobiles, but don’t expect a lot of strong bass.

Extras:
Upon loading, the disc plays a preview for another movie. You also get previews for other “An American Girl” movies.

Here’s where the DVD gets a leg up on the Blu-ray edition. If you insert the disc in a computer drive, then you can watch a making-of featurette, a casting featurette, and additional scenes. You can also download/transfer a Digital Copy of the main feature.

Hell Ride Blu-ray Disc (Larry Bishop, 2008)

Genius/Weinstein (USA)
2.40:1 1080p
83 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Larry Bishop and DP Scott Kevan; The Making of Hell Ride; The Babes of Hell Ride; The Guys of Hell Ride; The Choppers of Hell Ride; Michael Madsen’s Video Diary; Red Band trailer

Released: 28 October 2008
Blu-ray case

Once upon a time, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez decided not just to pay homage to the 1970s grindhouse movies that they love but to make actual grindhouse movies. They even released Planet Terror and Death Proof as a double bill. This endeavor, dubbed Grindhouse, was a box-office disappointment and received so-so reviews (in large part due to Rodriguez’s Planet Terror).

I suppose the Weinstein brothers really love Tarantino and/or grindhouse movies, for it appears that they’re intent on releasing several more grindhouse-style pictures. Hell Ride is one such entry. The story is simple--river biker gangs tussle in the desert. Some women take off their clothes, some people shoot each other with guns, and one gun shoots people with steel arrows. There’s not much to see here except for shots of guys riding on motorcycles, guys cursing continuously without a sense of poetry or artistry, rapidly-edited sex scenes, and familiar effects such as slow motion, flashbacks, and switching between color and black-and-white. There’s nothing wrong with genre movies, which can be inventive and fun. Unfortunately, Hell Ride is neither.

At least the cinematography is quite enjoyable, with several interesting camera moves and symmetrically-framed shots.

Video:
This is supposed to be a grindhouse-style movie, but aside from the opening production credits, the 2.40:1 1080p image is clean and sharp. There’s a fair amount of grain (most-noticeable during black-and-white sequences), but the grain was clearly intended to be present. The image has a washed-out look (yielding bleached colors), which again was intentional. Otherwise, the image is surprisingly excellent.

Audio:
You get your choice of a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English track and a DD 5.1 English track. This is a typical competent, efficient, but undistinguished contemporary audio mix. The sonics are cleanly reproduced and carried, and you get wide separation across the front courtesy of the front and left mains. Surround use is rather spare, though the subwoofer gets plenty of action courtesy of the motorcycles and frequent gunfire.

Extras:
There’s an audio commentary by Larry Bishop and cinematographer Scott Kevan. “The Making of Hell Ride”, “The Babes of Hell Ride”, “The Guys of Hell Ride”, and “The Choppers of Hell Ride” are all self-explanatory as well as surprisingly bland. “Michael Madsen’s Video Diary” is a compilation of footage that the actor and his friends shot during the production. Finally, you also get the movie’s “Red Band” trailer. (“Red Band” trailers are shown only before R-rated movies.)

--Miscellaneous--
There’s an insert advertising other Blu-rays.

Hell Ride (Larry Bishop, 2008)

Region 1 Genius/Weinstein (USA)
NTSC, 2.40:1 16x9 enhanced
83 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Larry Bishop and DP Scott Kevan; The Making of Hell Ride; The Babes of Hell Ride; The Guys of Hell Ride; The Choppers of Hell Ride; Michael Madsen’s Video Diary; Red Band trailer; previews for other movies

Released: 28 October 2008
keepcase

Once upon a time, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez decided not just to pay homage to the 1970s grindhouse movies that they love but to make actual grindhouse movies. They even released Planet Terror and Death Proof as a double bill. This endeavor, dubbed Grindhouse, was a box-office disappointment and received so-so reviews (in large part due to Rodriguez’s Planet Terror).

I suppose the Weinstein brothers really love Tarantino and/or grindhouse movies, for it appears that they’re intent on releasing several more grindhouse-style pictures. Hell Ride is one such entry. The story is simple--river biker gangs tussle in the desert. Some women take off their clothes, some people shoot each other with guns, and one gun shoots people with steel arrows. There’s not much to see here except for shots of guys riding on motorcycles, guys cursing continuously without a sense of poetry or artistry, rapidly-edited sex scenes, and familiar effects such as slow motion, flashbacks, and switching between color and black-and-white. There's nothing wrong with genre movies, which can be inventive and fun. Unfortunately, Hell Ride is neither.

At least the cinematography is quite enjoyable, with several interesting camera moves and symmetrically-framed shots.

Video:
This is supposed to be a grindhouse-style movie, but aside from the opening production credits, the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen image is clean and sharp. There’s a fair amount of grain (most-noticeable during black-and-white sequences), but the grain was clearly intended to be present. The image has a washed-out look (yielding bleached colors), which again was intentional. Otherwise, the image is surprisingly excellent.

Audio:
A DD 5.1 English track is the only primary audio track. This is a typical competent, efficient, but undistinguished contemporary audio track. The sonics are cleanly reproduced and carried, and you get wide separation across the front courtesy of the front and left mains. Surround use is rather spare, though the subwoofer gets plenty of action courtesy of the motorcycles and frequent gunfire.

Extras:
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other movies.

There’s an audio commentary by Larry Bishop and cinematographer Scott Kevan. “The Making of Hell Ride”, “The Babes of Hell Ride”, “The Guys of Hell Ride”, and “The Choppers of Hell Ride” are all self-explanatory as well as surprisingly bland. “Michael Madsen’s Video Diary” is a compilation of footage that the actor and his friends shot during the production. Finally, you also get the movie’s “Red Band” trailer. (“Red Band” trailers are shown only before R-rated movies.)

--Miscellaneous--
You also get a glossy insert advertising other Dimension Extreme titles as well as a cardboard slipcover.

Behind-the-Scenes

DVD and Blu-ray reviewers are a tight-knit lot. We're competitors, sure, but we also share the love. When a guy I met through HighDefDigest.com's Forum asked me to help him obtain screeners for his site, I gave him all the information that I could.

This is why I offered editing services to HDD's former Editor-in-Chief, Jed Rosenzweig. Like a lot of home-theatre enthusiasts, I started to rely on HDD's mix of news and reviews regarding Blu-ray and HD DVD. However, I noticed some mistakes from time to time and also saw that other readers were posting corrections in the Forum. I have some experience as a copy editor/proofreader, and I presented my credentials to Mr. Rosenzweig.

After a trial period of two weeks in September, I freelanced as a copy editor for HDD during October 2007. This was an arrangement of which the staff writers were aware. I gave direct feedback to the reviewers, and they gave me direct responses, too.

Mr. Rosenzweig sent me "unfiltered" reviews that he himself had not yet edited. Thus, I was working with what the reviewers sent directly to him. In some instances, the reviews looked like what we're used to seeing on the "live" site--polished, witty, informative, dynamic, engaging, and easily readable. In other instances, the reviews were rough, choppy, inarticulate, and flat-out wrong. I don't mean "wrong" as in I disagreed with a writer's opinion; I mean "wrong" as in factual, technical, and grammatical errors.

When I "auditioned" for Mr. Rosenzweig, I edited a few pending reviews as well as pointed out mistakes that had been "live" for months. Some examples (now fixed):

1) Mission: Impossible -- Ultimate Missions Collection and Mission: Impossible 2 (The reviews referred to trailers for MI2 that "were also on the DVD", but the DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD versions all don't have trailers for MI2.)

2) Troy (In the Audio section, Brad Pitt was described as screaming, "For Troy!" Actually, Eric Bana, who plays the Trojan Hector, utters that line.)

3) World Trade Center (Neither the Blu-ray nor the HD DVD versions has High-Def-Exclusive Extras, but the reviews stated that some of the featurettes were not available on DVD. In fact, the Blu-ray and HD DVD versions have the same substantive contents as the Two-Disc DVD edition, but they're all trumped by the Target Limited Edition Three-Disc DVD set.)

There are many other examples from both before and after October 2007; HDD's readers have catalogued them better than I can.

The past few months have been particularly eventful. Check out the review of Heroes Season 2 and the comments posted in the Forum. Apparently, the author remembers two characters appearing in Season 1 even though they were introduced in Season 2, and the author's copy has a Sneak Peek of Season 3 even though no other US Blu-ray copy does. The Sneak Peek is in the DVD set, though.

Yesterday (Friday, 24 October 2008), HDD published a review of Eric Brevig's Journey to the Center of the Earth. The review stated that the primary English audio track is encoded in Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and the reviewer described two interactive games in exacting, accurate detail. I know that the paragraph about the games is accurate because I reviewed the movie on DVD and played the games myself. Then, the stream of responses started flowing...

As was noted by HDD's readers, the Blu-ray only has Dolby Digital 5.1 English and Spanish tracks--no TrueHD. As was noted by HDD's readers, this review was the only Blu-ray review that alluded to the interactive games. Thinking that the review might be modified, I saved the "live" page sometime Friday afternoon for posterity's sake. (Yes, I'm "posters5" at HDD's Forum and at DVDTown.com.)





The aforementioned reviews have an over-riding commonality--their author, Peter Bracke. Yes, the Peter Bracke who founded DVDFile.com and who co-founded HDD.

HDD's readers are a vocal lot. They are wonderful about sharing their opinions and agrees/disagrees with the reviewers. They're also respectful of the reviewers' likes/dislikes. What you notice is that the "There's a mistake..." comments are usually about Mr. Bracke's reviews. This is not to say that other writers (including me) don't stumble from time to time. Rather, Mr. Bracke consistently, even persistently, drops the ball.

Aside from text-based concerns, the community of reviewers have also been bothered by Mr. Bracke's rush to be first when posting reviews. Look, we all want to be first so that we can see readership numbers spike. However, review copies of DVDs and Blu-rays are sent to/received by U.S.-based writers at the same time, give or take 24 hours. Even Bill Hunt of TheDigitalBits.com gets screeners at the same time as the rest of us do, and he certainly has more access to Hollywood than the average online reviewer.

As the first sentence of this blog entry states, "DVD and Blu-ray reviewers are a tight-knit lot." Whenever we see a review of a title that we haven't received yet, we e-mail each other. If someone else got a screener--fine. If no one got a screener directly from Public Relations contacts...

There are ways of getting DVDs and Blu-ray Discs prior to street date. Some retailers break street date, which is an industry no-no. If you know a buddy who works in a videostore or if you yourself work in a videostore, then you tend to receive products anywhere between two to five weeks in advance so that you can put price stickers on the covers and prep them for rental. It's understood that employees of video rental stores can borrow movies prior to street date to watch so that they can inform customers about what to rent.

Breaking business street dates is generally not an editorial problem as street dates are supposed to be enforced by media companies' retail divisions. However, there are some online reviewers who have access to videostore inventories, via friends or via their own jobs. When these people post reviews before screeners are even sent to reviewers, they violate Review Embargoes. Review Embargos are not as restrictive as the term sounds. Generally, reviews should be posted within two weeks before or after street dates, even if you get a screener several weeks in advance.

What happens when reviewers don't follow the rules? The major Hollywood studios consider shutting down the supply of screeners to all reviewers, which would make life a little harder for those of us without a lot of disposable income. Unlike theatrical releases, which are sometimes not shown to critics before their commercial bows, the major Hollywood studios oblige requests for just about any and every title. We are never pressured by PR reps to write positive reviews. In return for screener loans, we just have to make sure that we don't post reviews too early/late and that we send links to our reviews once they're published. This is accomodating and fair. Unfortunately, the over-eager abuse the system.

Mr. Bracke's history of factual, technical, and grammatical errors as well as disregard for industry guidelines suggest one or more of the following, in order of increasing seriousness:

1) Ineptitude. He doesn't know what he's doing.

2) Overloading. He's trying to juggle too many things in life.

3) Laziness/Apathy. He just doesn't care (which makes you wonder why he even bothers posting reviews before street date or writing reviews at all).

4) Plagiarism. He reads other people's reviews and re-fashions them for his own reviews.

5) Fraud. Either he reviews Blu-ray Discs based on a theatrical viewing and reading information in a Press Release, or he writes a review based on a DVD and pretends that he "reviewed" the Blu-ray version.

Numbers 1, 2, and 3 are understandable, even forgivable. Numbers 4 and 5...give me pause.

The dam has broken, Mr. Bracke.

--------------------

I found a thread from 2003 that relates to the above post.

http://forums.dvdfile.com/standard-definition-software/33380-dvd-files-review-hours-error-filled.html

Journey to the Center of the Earth Blu-ray (Eric Brevig, 2008)

Warner (USA)
1.85:1 1080p
92 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Eric Brevig and Brendan Fraser; A World Within Our World; Being Josh; How to Make Dinosaur Drool; Digital Copy

Released: 28 October 2008
slim double Blu-ray case

Brendan Fraser is a likable performer. He has a charming comedic persona and is quite winning in The Mummy from a few years ago and Blast From the Past. However, he seems intent on building a career based on schlocky kiddie pleasers populated by CGI or animated co-stars. I guess this is Fraser’s way of paying tribute to zilch-grade serials from yesteryear as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas did with Indiana Jones and Star Wars.

The Mummy was the poor man’s Indiana Jones, and Journey to the Center of the Earth is the poor man’s Spielberg. Once again, Fraser plays an archeologist-type who goes exploring where he shouldn’t. The movie veers into Temple of Doom territory with an adolescent boy for a sidekick and a roller-coaster mine car sequence. Next up is a stop in Jurassic Park land when dinosaurs chase our heroes. Since the sights and sounds are so obviously fake, the movie feels like a ride at an amusement park (for all the bad, cheesy reasons) not unlike the Disney and Universal Studios rides based on Spielberg’s movies. I was kinda expecting aliens from outer space to appear. Finally, the romance between the hero and the heroine is so chaste that you wonder how the human race ever learned about procreation.

Combined, Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor could not outgross Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the box office.

The movie is really nothing more than an excuse for 3-D effects, such as having Fraser spit water at the camera after gargling and having a variety of objects appear to fly off the screen and at the viewer. In fact, New Line planned on releasing the movie only in 3-D, but logistical problems (such as the number of available prints and 3-D glasses that could be shipped to theatres) caused the movie to be released in 2-D on most of its screens. This is just as well since the characterizations are as flat as cardboard.

Video:
The 1.85:1 1080p video transfer is sunnily bright and cheery, which suits the family-friendly atmosphere. The source master is clean and free of artifacts, as is the compression. However, the image looks a bit soft compared to other recent movies, even if the resolution is obviously much higher than what you get with the DVD version.

The 3-D version is amusing for a few minutes but eventually becomes tedious because the image looks terrible, all blurred and purplish.

Audio:
The DD 5.1 English audio track is essentially indistinguishable from the DVD version’s sonic offerings. The sound mix is filled with rumbling bass and surround-sound effects. Music cues tend to be front-biased, though this isn’t really a problem or a distraction. However, although the track is very active and aggressive, it tends to lack the presence that we’ve come to associate with high-res Dolby Digital Plus or lossless audio.

Extras:
There’s an audio commentary by the director and Brendan Fraser. Eric Brevig has a background in visual effects, so he focuses on the technical challenges of making a 3-D feature. The good-natured Fraser appears to be enjoying the movie’s (meager) pleasures and laughing at himself, which he does in other audio commentaries, too.

“A World Within Our World” discusses some of the “Hollow Earth Theories” (really tall tales) that captivated people in the past. “Being Josh” is a profile of the actor who plays the young sidekick. “How to Make Dinosaur Drool” is meant to amuse kids who grew up watching people getting slimed on the Nickelodeon TV channel. (The featurettes are presented in high-def video.)

Finally, there’s a code that can be used to download a Digital Copy.

--Miscellaneous--
It appears that the 3-D version is being included only on initial pressings. Eventually, Warner will manufacture discs without the 3-D version. You also get a cardboard slipcover with a holographic cover.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (Eric Brevig, 2008)

Region 1 Warner (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced and 1.33:1 Pan-&-Scan
92 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Eric Brevig and Brendan Fraser; A World Within Our World; Being Josh; How to Make Dinosaur Drool; interactive games; previews for other movies; Digital Copy

Released: 28 October 2008
keepcase

Brendan Fraser is a likable performer. He has a charming comedic persona and is quite winning in The Mummy from a few years ago and Blast From the Past. However, he seems intent on building a career based on schlocky kiddie pleasers populated by CGI or animated co-stars. I guess this is Fraser’s way of paying tribute to zilch-grade serials from yesteryear as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas did with Indiana Jones and Star Wars.

The Mummy was the poor man’s Indiana Jones, and Journey to the Center of the Earth is the poor man’s Spielberg. Once again, Fraser plays an archeologist-type who goes exploring where he shouldn’t. The movie veers into Temple of Doom territory with an adolescent boy for a sidekick and a roller-coaster mine car sequence. Next up is a stop in Jurassic Park land when dinosaurs chase our heroes. Since the sights and sounds are so obviously fake, the movie feels like a ride at an amusement park (for all the bad, cheesy reasons) not unlike the Disney and Universal Studios rides based on Spielberg’s movies. I was kinda expecting aliens from outer space to appear. Finally, the romance between the hero and the heroine is so chaste that you wonder how the human race ever learned about procreation.

Combined, Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor could not outgross Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the box office.

The movie is really nothing more than an excuse for 3-D effects, such as having Fraser spit water at the camera after gargling and having a variety of objects appear to fly off the screen and at the viewer. In fact, New Line planned on releasing the movie only in 3-D, but logistical problems (such as the number of available prints and 3-D glasses that could be shipped to theatres) caused the movie to be released in 2-D on most of its screens. This is just as well since the characterizations are as flat as cardboard.

Video:
Warner crammed a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image and a 1.33:1 Pan-&-Scan hatchet job onto the same side of a DVD. The lack of breathing room obviously affected the picture quality, which is sorely lacking in detail. Objects (even human flesh) look glassy and overexposed. Colors are frequently muddled, perhaps a result of the processes that were used to create 3-D effects.

The 3-D version, which is on Side B, is amusing for a few minutes but eventually becomes tedious because the image looks terrible, all blurred and purplish.

Audio:
The DD 5.1 English audio track is quite robust for the DVD format, filled with rumbling bass and surround-sound effects. Music cues tend to be front-biased, though this isn’t really a problem or a distraction. However, although the track is very active and aggressive, it tends to lack the presence that we’ve come to associate with lossless audio available with Blu-ray.

Extras:
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other movies.

There’s an audio commentary by the director and Brendan Fraser. Eric Brevig has a background in visual effects, so he focuses on the technical challenges of making a 3-D feature. The good-natured Fraser appears to be enjoying the movie’s (meager) pleasures and laughing at himself, which he does in other audio commentaries, too.

“A World Within Our World” discusses some of the “Hollow Earth Theories” (really tall tales) that captivated people in the past. “Being Josh” is a profile of the actor who plays the young sidekick. “How to Make Dinosaur Drool” is meant to amuse kids who grew up watching people getting slimed on the Nickelodeon TV channel. You can also play two interactive games.

Finally, there’s a code that can be used to download a Digital Copy.

--Miscellaneous--
The 3-D version is being included only on initial pressings. Eventually, Warner will manufacture discs without the 3-D version. You also get a cardboard slipcover with a holographic cover.

Kiss of the Spider Woman (Hector Babenco, 1985)

Region 1 City Lights (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced
120 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 2.0 mono English; DD 2.0 mono French; DD 2.0 mono Spanish
Subtitles: Optional French, Spanish
Extras: Trivia Track (in English or Spanish); Tangled Web: Making Kiss of the Spider Woman; The Submissive Woman’s Role; Spider Woman on Broadway; Transition from Novel to Film; photo galleries; theatrical trailers

Released: 21 October 2008
slim transparent double keepcase

Originally available only at Amazon.com since June 2008, Kiss of the Spider Woman is now being sold everywhere on DVD and Blu-ray.

Kiss of the Spider Woman started life as a novel by Manuel Puig, an Argentine who lived in Brazil due to the oppressive political conditions in his native country. Argentina saw a succession of military dictators who “disappeared” dissidents and took the dissidents’ children, giving the orphans to members of the elite. Such events have been dramatized in movies like The Official Story.

Kiss of the Spider Woman is about two political prisoners in an unnamed South American country. Luis Molina (William Hurt) is a homosexual accused of molesting a child, and Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia) is a journalist. In order to “escape” from the confines of their cell walls, Luis talks about a Nazi propaganda movie that he’s seen. Valentin argues against creature comforts, such as movies and fresh non-prison food that Luis somehow manages to obtain from time to time. As the two men talk and talk, they discover that political and sexual activism are not only closely related but possibly the same thing in a politically-oppressive environment.

Perhaps there is too much talking. Luis talks so much that he got on my nerves, just as he gets on Valentin’s nerves. William Hurt won an Oscar for his performance, which is noteworthy because this was the first openly “gay” performance to be acknowledged in such manner. However, Hurt mostly just chatters and chatters about nonsense, and he was certainly better in Children of a Lesser God (for which he was nominated again the following year).

Raul Julia is the standout aspect of this movie. Julia is charismatic and forceful, and although the movie doesn’t really discuss what kind of political views the character has, you get the sense that his political movement is purposeful and just. That he was able to do so much with less material than Hurt shows how great of an actor Raul Julia was.

Video:
The title sequence of this movie (presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen) is filled with print damage. There are nicks, scratches, and dust all over the place. These problems persist at least through the first ten minutes, which is understandable since the first reel of a film is usually the most-heavily-used (sometimes, people don’t want to watch the rest of a movie after the first reel). Therefore, the picture quality improves after the first reel, but you will still see print damage from time to time. Also, the “movie within a movie” and dream scenarios are very blurry as a result of being shot with soft focus and being processed for color tinting, but this may be attributed to artistic intent.

Maybe the Blu-ray version rectifies these problems...

Audio:
On DVD, the movie gets an audio upgrade to DD 5.1 English, though what you get is a glorified mono track. There is some separation across the front soundstage, but the rears are almost completely silent. Thunder and gunshots sound thin and hollow, so your subwoofer won’t get much play time. Also, I feel that the mix was created poorly. The music and sound effects are louder than the actors’ voices, so I had to struggle to understand what both William Hurt and Raul Julia were saying. This difficulty is worsened by the lack of English subtitles.

You can also watch the movie with the original DD 2.0 mono English track as well as DD 2.0 mono French and DD 2.0 mono Spanish dubs. Optional French and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other movies.

You can watch the movie with a subtitle Trivia Track in either English or Spanish. The Trivia Track is quite informative and provides a lot of valuable background information.

You can also watch one of the movie’s theatrical trailers.

--Disc 2--
First up is “Tangled Web: Making Kiss of the Spider Woman”, a feature-length retrospective detailing of the production. Since this is a look back in time, the participants don’t shy away from telling stories about difficult moments or difficult people, such as Burt Lancaster’s extensive involvement that was ultimately unproductive. The interviewees insist on claiming that the movie was the start of independent cinema being recognized at the Oscars, though this is just another instance of people stumbling over themselves to be the “first” at some thing or another.

“The Submissive Woman’s Role” is a featurette with substantial narration by Manuel Puig, whose voiceovers were created from audio recordings as the author died several years ago. This featurette describes social conditions in South America during the 1960s and 1970s as well as Puig’s response to artistic representations of women in his own literature.

“Spider Woman on Broadway” discusses the story’s transition from novel and movie forms into a musical.

“Transition From Novel to Film” explains the arduous process of adapting the book for the screen since Manuel Puig basically only wrote dialogue and didn’t describe the main characters’ surroundings or clothes.

There are several photo galleries with more than 150 images.

Finally, you get some of the movie’s theatrical trailers (including the one already included on Disc 1) as well as excerpts from movie reviews.

--Miscellaneous--
The transparent keepcase allows you to see pictures of Sonia Braga printed on the inside of the cover art insert. You also get a cardboard slipcover.

Madagascar Blu-ray Disc (Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath, 2005)

Paramount/DreamWorks Animation (USA)
1.78:1 1080p
86 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish, DD 5.1 Portuguese
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: pop-up trivia track; audio commentary by the directors; A Christmas Caper; Behind the Crates; Meet the Wild Cast; The Tech of Madagascar; Enchanted Islands; Penguin Chat; Mad Mishaps; “I Like to Move It, Move It” music video; Drawing Tutorial; DreamWorks Animation Jukebox

Released: 23 September 2008
Blu-ray case

I remember reading a revelatory article in Wired! magazine (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.06/dreamworks.html) about Jeffrey Katzenberg and DreamWorks Animation a few years ago. Basically, Katzenberg admitted that he had ceded the “quality” ground to Pixar in the computer animation derby. After the uber-serious Prince of Egypt grossed a respectable-but-underwhelming $218 million worldwide, Katzenberg changed tack with a string of silly cel-animation movies that lost money. This was around the time that Disney’s Treasure Planet, a computer-animation movie drawn to look like cel animation, bombed big time at the box office. Katzenberg changed tack again, abandoning cel animation for computer animation.

Computer animation isn’t better than cel animation “just because”. The same basic principles that apply to judging all motion pictures apply to computer animation, too. Does it have a good story? Does it have sound ideas? Does it have good performances? Does it introduce innovations in remarkable or memorable ways? Some of the biggest-grossing computer-animation movies have been among the most-overrated or worst movies of their respective years.

However, logistics and the zeitgeist had changed. In the United States, people weren’t patronizing cel-animation movies (or movies that look like cel animation) in the same numbers as they were for computer animation. Also, it is cheaper and faster to render movies by computer than by hand. Even Hayao Miyazaki at Ghibli Studios in Japan and the folks at Aardman Animation (the kings of stop-motion plasticine) are adapting to the times.

Madagascar is an excellent example of Katzenberg’s industrial model approach. In fact, the aforementioned Wired! article uses Madagascar as a case study. Producers, directors, writers, animators, etc. are all interchangeable from one project to another. Actors are hired to tell “edgy” jokes rather than to provide emotional nuance. Instead of reaching for the sublime, the character designs intentionally look like toys, all available at a Wal-Mart near you. In essence, DreamWorks Animation is a high-tech sweatshop (not because of working conditions but because of the mindless churning.

Video:
Like most other computer-animation fare on Blu-ray, Madagascar has a vibrant sheen that is sure to catch many eyes shopping for a TV. The 1.78:1 1080p exhibits vibrant colors, even during nighttime scenes. There were some moments with slight shimmering, but you won’t notice anything distracting as with the CGI effects in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Audio:
The back art states “DD 5.1 English” for the primary track, but the disc actually has a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English track. (The dubs are presented in DD 5.1.) Paramount had a September riddled with mistakes, such as the swapped Godfather bonus disks in the SD DVD box set and a first pressing of the Iron Man Blu-ray disc that wouldn’t load in some Sony and Samsung players.

This is a typical contemporary surround sound experience--boisterous, loud, gimmicky, and boomy. Sound effects zoom from side to side, though the mix is surprisingly front-oriented. Composer Hans Zimmer, who’s not known for subtlety, adds to the cacophony with busy music cues. In short, the Dolby TrueHD track will please those of you who want everything-and-the-kitchen-sink and give others a headache.

Extras:
Upon loading, the disc plays a trailer for Madagascar 2.

You can watch the movie with a pop-up trivia track that provides factoids about the movie and the animals in real life. You can also watch the movie with an audio commentary by the directors that offers the expected information about production and technical details.

“A Christmas Caper” is a new short film showing the penguins invading the apartment of the old lady who beats up on Alex the lion in the main feature. This short film is being added to a new DVD release of the movie timed to coincide with the theatrical release of the sequel.

“Behind the Crates” is a run-of-the-mill promotional featurette. “Meet the Wild Cast and “The Tech of Madagascar” are self-explanatory. “Enchanted Islands” showcases the real Madagascar. With “Penguin Chat”, the voice actors for the tuxedoed birds comment on some of their scenes as if they were the penguins watching the movie. “Mad Mishaps” is an assemblage of bloopers.

Finally, you also get the “I Like to Move It, Move It” music video, a “Drawing Tutorial”, and the “DreamWorks Animation Jukebox”, which has music clips from other movies.

When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions Blu-ray Disc (Executive Producer: Richard Dale, 2008)

Image (USA)
1.78:1 1080i
258 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 2.0 stereo English
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, Spanish
Extras: Original NASA Films; NASA Film Highlights; Interviews; Mission Clips

Released: 30 September 2008
Blu-ray case

The Discovery Channel and NASA cooperated on When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions to celebrate American achievements in space exploration. The TV mini-series, comprised of six episodes, covers the early days of “getting started” up to the first flights for the International Space Station. Some of the footage was declassified recently, so this production is the first chance for space enthusiasts to get a glimpse of once-sensitive information.

When We Left Earth is structured like a standard documentary, with the materials presented by a guiding narration. (Gary Sinise, of Forrest Gump and Apollo 13 fame, performed narrating duties.) The scripts seem to rush through the early years, compressing a lot of information in order to get to the Moon landings and the shuttle era quickly. Therefore, not much on Discs 1 and 2 seems new. “Episode 6--A Home in Space” will feel familiar to people who’ve followed the news surrounding the Hubble telescope and the International Space Station.

For me, the segments about the Challenger space shuttle (“Episode 5--The Shuttle”) were the most-revelatory. I remember watching the launch and disintegration when I was in elementary school in Hawai’i. Local news made a big deal out of the launch because Ellison Onizuka was from Hawai’i. While initial investigations noted that some of the astronauts were probably alive (but unconscious), shared cultural history seems to have forgotten this fact since we all remember the fiery accident much better than the aftermath. This documentary serves as an uncomfortable reminder that there was gross negligence on that day and that contingency measures were insufficient to have prevented the deaths of the surviving astronauts before they hit the ocean.

In a way, When We Left Earth is signposting the end of a chapter in American spaceflight. The Bush Administration decided to mothball the space shuttles in favor of developing the next generation of single-use rockets. This means that NASA won’t have spaceflight capabilities until sometime after 2015. This also means that NASA will have to rely on Russia for the next few years in order to transport supplies and personnel to the International Space Station. Oddly, given the tense, bitter rivalry between the United States and Russia, we’ve placed ourselves in Russian hands with regards to the Final Frontier.

Video:
The 1.78:1 1080i picture is comprised of a mix of archival and recent footage. The recent video interviews with NASA personnel, journalists, and even President George H.W. Bush (the father, not the son) are all pristine. The archival footage varies wildly in quality depending on age and handling. Colors are usually faded, and detail can be quite poor sometimes. Those of you who’ve been buying IMAX space documentaries have already seen the “best” footage that NASA has to offer. Still, this is the real deal, so space enthusiasts shouldn’t miss this chance to see yet more rare footage taken from outer space.

Audio:
You can watch the show with DD 5.1 English or DD 2.0 stereo English tracks. Although the NASA footage was shot with sync sound, don’t expect movie-theatre quality audio for archival sequences. This is due in part to audio technologies of the past as well as the fact that movie-theatre sound is engineered to be dazzling. As such, you get flat, muffled bass for the rocket and shuttle launches, and the mixes tend to be front-heavy anyway. Most of the bass and surround activity come from the music score, which is very energetic but sometimes a bit over-dramatic.

Extras:
Discs 1, 2, and 3 include NASA Film Highlights, Interviews, and Mission Clips. Disc 4 contains five additional Original NASA Films--“Freedom 7”, “Friendship 7: John Glenn”; “Proud Conquest: Gemini 7 & 6”, “Apollo 8 Debrief”, “The Flight of Apollo 11”.

--Miscellaneous--
A glossy fold-out provides information about each disc as well as a timeline of American space exploration. You also get a cardboard slipcover.

Mongol Blu-ray Disc (Sergei Bodrov, 2007)

Warner (USA)
2.40:1 1080p
125 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 Mongolian
Subtitles: Optional English, Spanish
Extras: Digital Copy

Released: 15 October 2008
Blu-ray case

2007’s Mongol, which was nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar, is more noteworthy for its origins than for its merits as a movie. This is a Kazakh production of a story about Mongolia’s most-influential historical figure. The lead is the Japanese Asano Tadanobu, who was striking as the villain in Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi but a bit lost here. This can probably be attributed to several main parts being played by non-Mongolians while being directed by people who don’t speak Mongolian, either. Can you imagine the confusion on the set?

Mongol unfolds like an old-fashioned travelogue, complete with majestic shots of rough terrain, a myth about the founding of a civilization, and people who enjoy a rustic lifestyle. Unfortunately, Mongol also has the drawbacks of a travelogue--a thin story, broad characterizations, and generic fight choreography that pales in comparison to the coordinated beauty of Hong Kong martial-arts flicks and Hollywood war films like Saving Private Ryan. I suppose Mongol can be of interest to viewers who are totally unfamiliar with Genghis Khan, but to history enthusiasts, this movie is an unfulfilling snack.

Video:
The 2.40:1 1080p picture is a strong, clean transfer of colorful, occasionally breathtaking cinematography. The movie’s sights are its best assets. The filmmakers opted for a realistic, naturalistic look with lots of browns and grays that would’ve been prevalent in a rough-and-tumble nomadic society.

Audio:
Once again, Warner has opted for giving a recent movie lossy audio on Blu-ray. To be fair, the DD 5.1 Mongolian is rather spare and thin, so perhaps a lossless codec wouldn’t be much of an improvement over what we have. Much of the audio is front-heavy as there are only a handful of big action sequences. Therefore, the surround channels usually carry only music cues. The rear channels and the subwoofer come to life from time to time, but mostly, you get decent, undistinguished sound.

Extras:
Aside from a Digital Copy disc (which is a total waste of resources since it can be used only once), you don’t get any Extras.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Blu-ray Disc (Steven Spielberg, 2008)

Paramount (USA)
2.40:1 1080p
122 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English; DD 5.1 French; DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: Indiana Jones Timelines; The Return of a Legend; Pre-production; The Making of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Pre-visualization Sequences; Galleries; trailers

Released: 14 October 2008
slim double Blu-ray case

Film scholars tend to discourage “biographical” readings of movies as it’s too easy to fall into lazy habits of attributing anything and everything to “psychological” motivations. Yet, sometimes, movies are clearly biographical. For example, George Lucas initially wanted the eponymous hero to meet a long-lost daughter in a fourth Indiana Jones effort, but Steven Spielberg wanted a father-son relationship (again). Also, Spielberg’s recent time at Paramount after the studio bought his DreamWorks outfit was beset by general unpleasantries. Therefore, Spielberg got his payback by morphing the Paramount mountain logo into a prairie dog mound that gets run over by a car.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure why Spielberg and Lucas wanted another Indiana Jones outing. Harrison Ford has been in some duds lately, but Spielberg and Lucas have enough money to bail Iceland out of that country’s bankruptcy. What we got was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a re-tread of Raiders of the Lost Ark (when Indy packs for his trip), Temple of Doom (Indy’s relationship with a rebellious young boy), Last Crusade (a female antagonist), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (a climax dominated by an orgy of special effects about aliens). Okay, the whole point of sequels is to see familiar elements again, yes, but if I had wanted to sit through a “greatest hits” montage of Spielberg and Lucas’s careers, then I would’ve watched an awards show. Also, there are too many scenes with expository dialogue that cause the movie to stop dead for extended stretches.

As it is, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has several excellent set pieces, including a jungle car chase that is as tense as any in the series. My family, my girlfriend, and I all laughed and giggled a lot during the first half. However, the second half is so over-plotted and over-populated that our minds were out the theatre door ten minutes before our bodies were.

George? I have a great title for the next installment--Indiana Jones and the Beating of a Dead Horse.

Video:
The SD DVD picture is rather soft, and the Blu-ray’s 2.40:1 1080p video presentation has similar handicaps. This can be attributed to the heavy use of CGI, which will usually look fuzzy and blurry compared to real objects. This can also be attributed to cinematographer Janusz Kaminski’s predilection for flooding the camera with a variety of light sources. I know that everyone talked about how they tried to match the movie’s visual style with the previous movies’, but Kaminski wound up doing his own thing again. The source print is squeaky clean (par for the course these days), and color hues are dark and intense. The Blu-ray’s image much sharper and more detailed than the SD DVD’s, but this is to be expected with the increased resolution.

Audio:
Lucas and Spielberg have always been enthusiastic proponents of sound as integral parts of the movie-viewing experience (even though their neo-classical style essentially negates the need for sound since visuals reinforce one another in favor of linear storytelling). Therefore, you get a reference-quality Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English audio track from the duo. The mix is quite busy and active, though during the relatively still moments, the audio does an excellent job of conveying mood and tension with low-key sound effects and a top-notch reproduction of John Williams’s music score. Dialogue is always crisp. As well as the SD DVD’s audio handled bass extensions, the TrueHD’s bass is truly window-rattling, especially during the overblown climax.

Extras:
Just about all of the Extras are presented in high-def video. The boon to having the Extras in high-def is the chance to see footage of the other three movies in high-def.

--Disc 1--
“Indiana Jones Timelines” is an interactive feature with different timelines showing the progression of the production and related incidents. “The Return of a Legend” introduces viewers to the long process of getting this movie started in the first place. “Pre-production” shows some of the preparations that were undertaken before principal photography could begin. You also get two trailers.

--Disc 2--
“The Making of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is a twelve-part documentary about the movie’s genesis, though to be honest, Laurent Bouzereau is too laudatory for my tastes. He makes everyone look like a genius who can do no wrong, and while Bouzereau stop short of fawning, there is no sense of perspective with his approach. While we see and learn a lot about the crew’s methodology, the documentary doesn’t impart a sense of how movies become cohesive wholes.

There are three “Pre-visualization Sequences”, which are basically animation run-throughs of camera set-ups for some of the movie’s action sequences. You also get several Galleries filled with stills of conceptual art and on-set action.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Two-Disc Special Edition (Steven Spielberg, 2008)

Region 1 distributor (USA)
NTSC, 2.40:1 16x9 enhanced
122 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, French, Spanish
Extras: The Return of a Legend; Pre-production; The Making of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Pre-visualization Sequences; Galleries; trailers; Lego Indiana Jones Xbox 360 Game Demo

Released: 14 October 2008
slim double keepcase

Film scholars tend to discourage “biographical” readings of movies as it’s too easy to fall into lazy habits of attributing anything and everything to “psychological” motivations. Yet, sometimes, movies are clearly biographical. For example, George Lucas initially wanted the eponymous hero to meet a long-lost daughter in a fourth Indiana Jones effort, but Steven Spielberg wanted a father-son relationship (again). Also, Spielberg’s recent time at Paramount after the studio bought his DreamWorks outfit was beset by general unpleasantries. Therefore, Spielberg got his payback by morphing the Paramount mountain logo into a prairie dog mound that gets run over by a car.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure why Spielberg and Lucas wanted another Indiana Jones outing. Harrison Ford has been in some duds lately, but Spielberg and Lucas have enough money to bail Iceland out of that country’s bankruptcy. What we got was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a re-tread of Raiders of the Lost Ark (when Indy packs for his trip), Temple of Doom (Indy’s relationship with a rebellious young boy), Last Crusade (a female antagonist), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (a climax dominated by an orgy of special effects about aliens). Okay, the whole point of sequels is to see familiar elements again, yes, but if I had wanted to sit through a “greatest hits” montage of Spielberg and Lucas’s careers, then I would’ve watched an awards show. Also, there are too many scenes with expository dialogue that cause the movie to stop dead for extended stretches.

As it is, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has several excellent set pieces, including a jungle car chase that is as tense as any in the series. My family, my girlfriend, and I all laughed and giggled a lot during the first half. However, the second half is so over-plotted and over-populated that our minds were out the theatre door ten minutes before our bodies were.

George? I have a great title for the next installment--Indiana Jones and the Beating of a Dead Horse.

Video:
The 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen picture is rather soft given that the movie is a recent production. This can be attributed to the heavy use of CGI, which will usually look fuzzy and blurry compared to real objects. This can also be attributed to cinematographer Janusz Kaminski’s predilection for flooding the camera with a variety of light sources. I know that everyone talked about how they tried to match the movie’s visual style with the previous movies’, but Kaminski wound up doing his own thing again. The source print is squeaky clean (par for the course these days), and color hues are dark and intense. However, the image’s positives are almost undone by the softness.

Audio:
Lucas and Spielberg have always been enthusiastic proponents of sound as integral parts of the movie-viewing experience (even though their neo-classical style essentially negates the need for sound since visuals reinforce one another in favor of linear storytelling). Therefore, once again, you get another demo-quality DD 5.1 English audio track from the duo. The mix is quite busy and active, though during the relatively still moments, the audio does an excellent job of conveying mood and tension with low-key sound effects and a top-notch reproduction of John Williams’s music score. Dialogue is always crisp, and bass extensions are impressive for a lossy track.

In addition to subtitles, English Closed Captions support the audio, but they appear only if your TV is displaying 480i.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
Disc 1 is identical to the single-disc release. “The Return of a Legend” introduces viewers to the long process of getting this movie started in the first place. “Pre-production” shows some of the preparations that were undertaken before principal photography could begin.

--Disc 2--
“The Making of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is a twelve-part documentary about the movie’s genesis, though to be honest, Laurent Bouzereau is too laudatory for my tastes. He makes everyone look like a genius who can do no wrong, and while Bouzereau stop short of fawning, there is no sense of perspective with his approach. While we see and learn a lot about the crew’s methodology, the documentary doesn’t impart a sense of how movies become cohesive wholes.

There are three “Pre-visualization Sequences”, which are basically animation run-throughs of camera set-ups for some of the movie’s action sequences. You also get several Galleries filled with stills of conceptual art and on-set action as well as some trailers.

Finally, you can pop Disc 2 into an Xbox 360 to play a demo of the Lego Indiana Jones game.

--Miscellaneous--
You also get a cardboard slipcover.

Sweeney Todd Blu-ray Disc (Tim Burton, 2007)

Paramount (USA)
1.85:1 1080p
116 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd; Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007; Sweeney Is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber; Musical Mayhem: Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd; Sweeney’s London; The Making of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition; Designs for a Demon Barber; A Bloody Business; Moviefone Unscripted With Tim Burton and Johnny Depp; The Razor’s Refrain; photo gallery; theatrical trailer

Released: 21 October 2008
Blu-ray case

Director Tim Burton should be congratulated for creating a financially fruitful body of work. He’s not a populist like Steven Spielberg or George Lucas, and he’s not a purveyor of action porn like Michael Bay or Tony Scott. In fact, Burton’s primary theme is not at all commercial in nature.

If you look at the big picture, Tim Burton is clearly a necrophiliac. Just about all of his features focus on the dead, the walking dead, the waking dead, the nearly dead, married-to-the-dead, pasty-white weirdoes, ghosts, nihilists, etc. Burton’s protagonists usually aren’t heroes. They’re not even anti-heroes; in most cases, they’re outright murderous villains.

Burton’s commercial success can be attributed to his hiding his necrophilia behind championing-the-underdog/sympathy-for-misfits stories. If you think about it, Burton is far more subversive than “message” artists who demand immediate change and revolution. Burton plays off of our intensely personal desires to be understood, loved, praised, and cheered. In the process, casual viewers who watch movies on autopilot essentially embrace Burton’s love of death.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is an obvious, natural fit to Burton’s tastes. Originally a Broadway musical, Sweeney Todd is an orgy of bloodletting and cannibalism. Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) is a victim of a terrible injustice, so he slashes his way through London’s high society in order to avenge the destruction of his family. Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) runs a meat pie shop below Sweeney Todd’s barbershop. They dispose of the dead bodies by using them as the pies’ secret ingredient.

The movie’s acting, singing, killing, and bloodletting are all so over-the-top and theatrical that the net effect is a lot less disturbing and upsetting than one might think at first glance. (I never felt queasy, which is quite the opposite from my reactions to comparatively subtle displays of gore in other movies.) The Grand Guignol has undeniable magnificence with the aid of artfully decadent sets and costumes. The music is also much better than the usual bland garbage that is foisted on American theatergoers.

Yet...there is the small issue of Tim Burton’s favorite theme. When mentoring each other, critics tell their acolytes to avoid critiquing an artist’s subject matter and to concentrate on the artist’s methodology. However, Burton’s raison d’etre is to celebrate his love of death. While I admit that Burton’s skills and talents are readily evident, I can’t say that I enjoy watching manifestations of his obsession.

Video:
The 1.85:1 1080p image is a rich visual experience with deep, inky blacks and stunning reds. The movie was intentionally designed to look nearly black and white, so shadows and contrasts are exceptional. However, the movie also features a high number of CGI shots, so there are some scenes with blurry, muddy backgrounds.

Audio:
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English track is a massive improvement over the fairly impressive DD 5.1 English track offered by the SD DVD. You get to enjoy a glorious presentation of swirling music cues, surprisingly robust singing from actors not known for warbling, and thunderous bass response due to London’s lousy weather. Roaring fires and careening horse carriages add to the aural fun as your eyes dart from speaker to speaker, following the cacophony of movement. The lossless audio really gives the music a full, rich vibrancy.

You can also watch the movie with DD 5.1 French and DD 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
All but two or three of the Extras are presented in high-def video. The other bit of good news is that everything fits on one BD-50 instead of two SD DVDs.

“Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd” is a half-hour, broad overview of the production, including interviews, rehearsals, recording sessions, and other behind-the-scenes footage. For what it is, this featurette is fairly substantive and informative as it doesn’t try to give you a hard sell.

“Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007” offers footage from a Q&A session for promoting the movie.

“Sweeney Is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber” argues that there really was a serial-killer barber in London.

“Musical Mayhem: Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd” discusses the musical’s genesis as well as Burton’s adaptation.

“Sweeney’s London” survey’s the London of the story’s setting.

“The Making of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is another overview of the production, though it feels a tad repetitive after the featurette on Disc 1.

“Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition” provides background information about the macabre in theatre.

“Designs for a Demon Barber” showcases the sets and costumes.

“A Bloody Business” reveals how the blood spurts were achieved.

“Moviefone Unscripted With Tim Burton and Johnny Depp” is another Q&A sessions with the longtime collaborators.

“The Razor’s Refrain” sets music to a series of on-set still photos.

Finally, you get a photo gallery and the American theatrical trailer.

--Miscellaneous--
This is one of the titles with a $10 coupon for those of you who are upgrading from the DVD and HD DVD editions. You don’t get a slipcover this time around, though.

War Dance (Sean Fine & Andrea Nix, 2007)

According to its website, Shine Global is a “non-profit organization that is dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of children through the production of documentary films and media products that raise awareness and inspire social and political change.” Shine Global’s first such endeavor was War Dance, a documentary about children in Uganda who prepare to attend an annual music-and-dance competition. The movie was nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar.

War Dance takes viewers to Patongo, a refugee camp in the country’s north. The refugees have all been terrorized by a group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army. The movie begins with three of the children describing their ordeals and how they cope with haunted memories. Their relatives were hacked to pieces, beaten, abducted, maimed, and tortured. The children throw themselves into preparing for the music-and-dance competition, which will give them a chance to travel and be seen by a nation-wide audience.

The most-gripping scene takes place during a quiet encounter between a young boy and a guerilla. The young boy wants to know if the guerilla has seen his older brother. The guerilla tells the young boy that every male of a certain age and description or in a certain job was killed. The young boy says that he will tell his mother that his brother is probably dead so that they can all have some sense of closure.

It’s easy for jaded movie viewers to dismiss such projects as “contrived” or “manipulative”, especially since the music and dance performances are so robust, energetic, and entertaining. However, War Dance is the real deal. This is not some faux-underdog story like Rocky or dozens of other sports movies. While the movie’s principal subjects enjoy considerable success at the competition, the filmmakers don’t hesitate to train their cameras on moments of desperation and disappointment. Also, the hurt and pain in the movie is real. Even without Idi Admin Dada, Uganda still suffers from extraordinary strife.

War Dance doesn’t naively pretend that singing, playing musical instruments, or dancing will improve the childrens’ lives. Rather, the movie records organizers trying to impart a sense of order and normalcy to the youth community. Not all of the children will be able to climb out of the hole of despair, but some of them begin to entertain hopes and dreams of becoming enablers, just like the doctors and social activists who have helped them survive.

War Dance is now available on DVD at many brick-and-mortar stores and e-tailers. You can also buy the DVD at http://www.shineglobal.org/.

(I was provided with a screener that only has the movie encoded on it. However, I imagine the commercial DVD release has video and audio elements that are comparable to the excellent technical presentation offered by my screener. The commercial DVD also has deleted/extended scenes and trailers.)

Sleeping Beauty Platinum Edition (Clyde Geronimi, 1959)

Region 1 Disney (USA)
NTSC, 2.55:1 16x9 enhanced
75 minutes
Audio: DEHT DD 5.1 English; DD 5.1 English; DEHT DD 5.1 French; DEHT DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, French, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by John Lasseter, Leonard Maltin, Andreas Deja; Princess Fun Facts trivia track; Grand Canyon; The Peter Tchaikovsky Story; Disney Song Selection; “Once Upon a Dream” music video; Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty; Eyvind Earle: The Man and His Art; Alternate Opening; deleted songs; art galleries; Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough Attraction; Sequence 8 (Forest Scene); Publicity; Four Artists Paint One Tree; storyboard sequences; interactive games

Released: 7 October 2008
slim double keepcase

A couple of years ago, Disney released its version of Sleeping Beauty on DVD with great fanfare. However, the movie was not a part of the Platinum Edition line of releases. Now, Disney is re-releasing the movie on DVD and Blu-ray as a Platinum Edition title. Is this really an “upgrade”? The answer depends on how you account for several factors.

The previous DVD version offered both a 2.35:1 widescreen transfer and a 1.33:1 Pan-&-Scan butcher job. This time around, you get a 2.55:1 widescreen transfer that adds quite a bit of information to all sides of the frame. The surround sound options have also been sweetened into Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mixes (DEHT), which means that all of the audio channels are now hyper-energetic even though the movie was originally released with mono sound.

All things considered, the loss of substantive extras will lead many collectors to keep both the 2003 and 2008 DVD versions. This is true even if you get the new Blu-ray version (which includes a copy of the 2008 version’s first disc). The “Platinum Edition” label is simply a marketing gimmick, even if the video and audio are noticeably improved.

As for the movie itself...there is no doubt that the visuals are among the most-gorgeous and most-inspired of any animated movie. The aesthetics were clearly derived from stained-glass windows in majestic churches, and the dark designs associated with Maleficent look breathtakingly malignant indeed. Unfortunately, the movie is also downright stagnant and boring--not in the “I’m an adult and can’t get into it” sort of way but in the “I just don’t care” sort of way. With the exception of Aurora’s fairy godmothers, the characters are flat and dull in terms of personality. Since Aurora and the Prince really don’t know each other, the viewer has no emotional stake in whether or not the Prince manages to save the day. Sleeping Beauty runs for only 75 minutes, but it’s best absorbed in small doses.

Video:
The 2.55:1 anamorphic widescreen image is generally very pleasing to watch. The bright hues look like candy, and the dark shadows look appropriately menacing. However, the image also suffers from the lack of resolution and fine-object detail that one inevitably encounters with standard-definition media, even with short programs such as this movie.

Audio:
As already mentioned, the DEHT DD 5.1 English track is a sweetened audio mix that yields quite a bit more activity in the surrounds and front mains. Bass presence is also heavily aggressive. In fact, the DEHT presentation may startle viewers unaccustomed to huge sound.

You can also watch the movie with a non-boosted DD 4.1 English track, which is a glorified version of the movie’s original mono audio track. Furthermore, you can also watch the movie with DEHT DD 5.1 French and DEHT DD 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other Disney products.

There’s an audio commentary by John Lasseter, critic Leonard Maltin, and animator Andreas Deja that’s not the same as the audio commentary offered by the 2003 DVD set. The new audio commentary covers the broad details of the movie’s production and “historical place”, and the previous commentary focuses closely on production minutiae.

You can watch the movie with the “Princess Fun Facts trivia track”, which has factoids appearing on the screen from time to time.

“The Peter Tchaikovsky Story” is a vintage Disney program.

“Grand Canyon” features footage of the Grand Canyon set to instrumental music.

Music fiends can get their kicks with “Disney Song Selection” (direct access to some of the songs) and the “Once Upon a Dream” music video.

--Disc 2--
The extras on Disc 2 have fairly self-explanatory titles--“Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty”, “Eyvind Earle: The Man and His Art”, Alternate Opening, deleted songs, art galleries, “Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough Attraction”, “Sequence 8 (Forest Scene)” (a detailed look at the creation of a difficult scene), Publicity (trailers/TV spots), “Four Artists Paint One Tree”, storyboard sequences, and interactive games.

--Miscellaneous--
There are several insert booklets, including a DVD Guide, promotions for contests/giveaways, and coupons.

Sex and the City: The Movie Blu-ray (Michael Patrick King, 2008)

Warner/New Line (USA)
1.85:1 1080p
151 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.l English; DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, Spanish
Extras: pop-up trivia track; interactive map; audio commentary by Michael Patrick King; A Conversation With Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King; deleted scenes with optional audio commentary; The Fabulous Fashion of Sex and the City; Fergie in the Studio; Digital Copy

Released: 23 September 2008
slim double Blu-ray case

There is nothing wrong with feel-good movies that focus on characters seeking not just sweep-me-away love but also financial security, social acceptance, and material comfort. In real life, both men and women seek these very goals. These movies can be dramas (like Pride & Prejudice) or comedies (like Bend It Like Beckham), and they help viewers feel some sense of hope about future prospects.

Sex and the City: The Movie is not a feel-good drama, feel-good comedy, or even a feel-good dramedy. Rather, it’s a “chick flick”--by which I mean it’s a fantasy. “Chick flicks” are targeted at “touchy feely” viewers much in the same way that “dick flicks” (action fantasies such as Top Gun and Transformers) are targeted at adrenaline addicts. (A movie that treats action realistically can still be categorized as a drama or a comedy without veering into the “dick flick” wish-fulfillment zone.) Fantasies, both “chick flicks” and “dick flicks”, traffic in impossible extremes. This is also known as the Eat-Your-Cake-and-Have-It-Too Syndrome.

The characters in movies like Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada obsess about extreme wealth and over-the-top fashion while hoping that suitors will like them for their inner selves. Huh? If you just want to be stylish and physically sexy while imbibing mixed drinks all day, what inner self could you possibly have? If someone likes you in this state, then that someone already does like you for what you are--a hollow shell that stands for over-the-top, gratuitous excess.

By this point, I may sound angry, but I’m not. It can be amusing to observe over-the-top, gratuitous excess. I have sat through my share of “chick flicks” and “dick flicks”, and I have laughed, hissed, or cheered when prompted like a lab animal. Movie fantasies can be comfort food sometimes. One just has to be careful about over-indulging.

Video:
The 1.85:1 1080p image is a huge step up from the already excellent SD DVD. The resolution offered by Blu-ray compared to SD DVD yields astonishing levels of detail with regards to pores and wrinkles on skin as well as individual threads on the duds. Colors are vivid and vibrant without bleeding into surreal territory.

Audio:
Given the subject matter, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English and DD 5.1 English audio tracks sound comfortably spacious and vibrant, though your home theatre won’t be tested. Bass presence is heaviest when thumping music is introduced. Dialogue is the key component, and it’s crisply reproduced. There are some ambient sound effects in the surrounds, though the audio is generally front-heavy.

Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
The Blu-ray version has two format-exclusive bonuses. First up is a pop-up trivia track that provides diverting factoids in case you’re watching this movie for the umpteenth time. There’s also an interactive map of NYC.

Director Michael Patrick King contributed an audio commentary. He had a lot of fun making the movie, and he has made a lot of money off of Sex and the City. I wish him all the best.

In “A Conversation With Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King”, the two stated participants enthuse about how wonderful Sex and the City is.

Although the movie is already very long by genre standards, there are some deleted scenes with optional audio commentary.

“The Fabulous Fashion of Sex and the City” is a paean to the commercial materialism of the mise-en-scene.

“Fergie in the Studio” shows a singer recording a song for the movie.

--Disc 2--
You can use Disc 2 to transfer/download a Digital Copy of the movie.

--Miscellaneous--
You also get a cardboard slipcover.

Sex and the City: The Movie Two-Disc (Michael Patrick King, 2008)

Region 1 Warner/New Line (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced
151 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Michael Patrick King; A Conversation With Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King; deleted scenes with optional audio commentary; The Fabulous Fashion of Sex and the City; Fergie in the Studio; Digital Copy

Released: 23 September 2008
slim double keepcase

There is nothing wrong with feel-good movies that focus on characters seeking not just sweep-me-away love but also financial security, social acceptance, and material comfort. In real life, both men and women seek these very goals. These movies can be dramas (like Pride & Prejudice) or comedies (like Bend It Like Beckham), and they help viewers feel some sense of hope about future prospects.

Sex and the City: The Movie is not a feel-good drama, feel-good comedy, or even a feel-good dramedy. Rather, it’s a “chick flick”--by which I mean it’s a fantasy. “Chick flicks” are targeted at “touchy feely” viewers much in the same way that “dick flicks” (action fantasies such as Top Gun and Transformers) are targeted at adrenaline addicts. (A movie that treats action realistically can still be categorized as a drama or a comedy without veering into the “dick flick” wish-fulfillment zone.) Fantasies, both “chick flicks” and “dick flicks”, traffic in impossible extremes. This is also known as the Eat-Your-Cake-and-Have-It-Too Syndrome.

The characters in movies like Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada obsess about extreme wealth and over-the-top fashion while hoping that suitors will like them for their inner selves. Huh? If you just want to be stylish and physically sexy while imbibing mixed drinks all day, what inner self could you possibly have? If someone likes you in this state, then that someone already does like you for what you are--a hollow shell that stands for over-the-top, gratuitous excess.

By this point, I may sound angry, but I’m not. It can be amusing to observe over-the-top, gratuitous excess. I have sat through my share of “chick flicks” and “dick flicks”, and I have laughed, hissed, or cheered when prompted like a lab animal. Movie fantasies can be comfort food sometimes. One just has to be careful about over-indulging.

Video:
You get a strong, clean transfer. The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image maintains a fairly high level of detail and sharpness for an SD DVD, especially considering the movie’s length. Colors are vivid and vibrant without bleeding into surreal territory.

Audio:
Given the subject matter, the DD 5.1 English audio track sounds comfortably spacious and vibrant, though your home theatre won’t be tested. Bass presence is heaviest when thumping music is introduced. Dialogue is the key component, and it’s crisply reproduced. There are some ambient sound effects in the surrounds, though the audio is generally front-heavy.

Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other products.

Director Michael Patrick King contributed an audio commentary. He had a lot of fun making the movie, and he has made a lot of money off of Sex and the City. I wish him all the best.

--Disc 2--
In “A Conversation With Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King”, the two stated participants enthuse about how wonderful Sex and the City is.

Although the movie is already very long by genre standards, there are some deleted scenes with optional audio commentary.

“The Fabulous Fashion of Sex and the City” is a paean to the commercial materialism of the mise-en-scene.

“Fergie in the Studio” shows a singer recording a song for the movie.

Finally, you can use the disc to transfer/download a Digital Copy of the movie.

--Miscellaneous--
There are inserts advertising other Sex and the City products, and you also get a cardboard slipcover.

Fist of Legend (Dragon Dynasty) (Gordon Chan, 1994)

Region 1 Genius Products (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced
103 minutes
Audio: DD 2.0 stereo Cantonese Chinese; DD 2.0 stereo Mandarin Chinese; DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Bey Logan; deleted scenes; The Man Behind the Legend; Brother in Arms; The Way of the Warrior; The School of Hard Knocks; A Look at Fist of Legend with Elvis Mitchell and Brett Ratner; trailers

Released: 2 September 2008
slim double keepcase

More than a decade before he played the famous martial artist Huo Yuanjia in Fearless, Jet Li played Chen Zhen, a fictional character based on one of Huo’s real-life students, in Fist of Legend. Fist of Legend itself is a re-make of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury (aka The Chinese Connection). All of these movies feature lone Chinese warriors who fight against Japanese invaders who want to conquer China.

Due to historical reasons, it is understandable why local productions in Hong Kong and Taiwan portrayed the Japanese as villains. Yet, Fist of Legend and Fearless as well as movies such as Heroes of the East also attempt to create balance by introducing sympathetic and morally good Japanese. These movies find much to admire about Japanese society and culture, and sometimes, the hero even falls in love with a Japanese woman.

Watching these movies inspires complex emotions. I readily admit that I feel embittered about Japanese atrocities in China during the 19th and 20th Centuries. I pump my fists in the air when Jet Li and Gordon Liu destroy every Japanese chode in sight. Yet, as a neat freak, I enjoy the cleanliness and simple lines that dominate Japanese environs. Also, as corny as “love conquers all” may be, it is rather comforting watching Chinese and Japanese characters grow fond of each other, overcoming the hostilities that their compatriots feel. (It’s interesting to note that these mixed-culture couples always feature a Chinese man and a Japanese woman. Perhaps an academic study can be initiated regarding the reasons for such gender delineations.)

Fist of Legend has a solid story about love, loyalty, brotherhood, and philosophical outlooks. It also has some of the best fight scenes in the “realistic brawler” genre. Fist of Legend is so beloved that many of its sequences inspired moments in other movies, including Kiss of the Dragon. In both movies, Jet Li wears all black and walks into a room filled with people practicing martial arts. Li beats up everyone before fighting a “big boss”.

Video:
Although Fist of Legend was made during the 1990s, it looks worse than some of the Dragon Dynasty titles that were first released back in the 1970s and 1980s. This is due in part to the fact that the movie has not been restored as the others have, and this is due in part to the fact that the master source was probably used to strike many, many prints. The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image is often grainy and dirty, and there are numerous instances of print damage. Some work was done to re-tune the colors to eye-pleasing levels, but some shots still have faded colors. The picture is certainly watchable and a vast improvement upon previous DVD incarnations, but don’t expect a pristine viewing experience.

Audio:
You get a choice if you want to watch the movie with Chinese-language dialogue--DD 2.0 stereo Cantonese or DD 2.0 stereo Mandarin. The Cantonese track is actually a mixture of Cantonese and Japanese (spoken by the Japanese characters). The Mandarin track has Mandarin for everyone, including the non-Chinese characters. From a technical point of view, the tracks have limited dynamic range, and the dialogue sounds dubbed and distant from the rest of the audio elements (which is true of movies shot in Hong Kong during this period). There are some moments with stereo separation courtesy of music and sound effects cues, but the main thing here is whether or not you can hear the actors’ voices. You can, and that’s good enough.

You can also watch the movie with a DD 5.1 English dub. Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other movies.

The main extra is yet another informative, entertaining audio commentary by Bey Logan. Although I’ve listened to Logan several times by now for these Dragon Dynasty releases, I still think that he’s an engaging speaker. This is remarkable because he’s usually flying solo for these commentaries.

--Disc 2--
The movie runs a brisk 103 minutes, so ardent fans will be very interested in viewing the Deleted Scenes. These were probably taken from a print that circulated in Taiwan due to the use of Mandarin rather than Cantonese for the dialogue. The print quality is pretty bad, though they provided additional glimpses into several characters’ backgrounds.

Next up are several excellent interviews and featurettes. “The Man Behind the Legend” is an easy-going chat with director Gordon Chan talking about the movie and his surprise at the movie’s worldwide reception.

“Brother in Arms” is another interview with Chin Siu Ho, who appeared opposite Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in Tai Chi Master.

“The Way of the Warrior” is an in-depth interview with Kurata Yasuaki, who talks about his long career as a Japanese action star in Hong Kong movies (such as Heroes of the East).

In “The School of Hard Knocks”, Kea Wong (who played Jubilee in some of the X-Men movies) hosts a visit to a stunts school operated by Kurata Yasuaki. The best part of this featurette is when Kurata explains why samurai swords are placed on the left or the right of someone who’s sitting down, how to draw and sheathe a samurai sword, etc.

“A Look at Fist of Legend with Elvis Mitchell and Brett Ratner” is the most-useless extra in this set. Elvis Mitchell just keeps repeating himself and even mis-analyzes the movie. Brett Ratner sounds like a goofy fanboy.

Finally, there are two trailers for Fist of Legend.

--Miscellaneous--
You also get an insert advertising other DVDs as well as a cardboard slipcover.