Rodent's DVD Reviews

Tools    





Rather than reviewing the movie, which is what my Movie Reviews are for... I'm reviewing the various actual DVDs in my collection.

I love Special Features and Commentaries and I've always found it difficult to decide whether or not to buy a DVD based on what is written on the back of the box... and occasionally, I end up with a right duff disc in terms of extras.

As for the pics included, it'll be box covers, but I'll put in both sides of the box if needed.

So... here's my DVD Reviews.
I'll start with one of my most cherished DVDs.



DVD Review #1: Predator, Special Edition (with card outer sleeve)

Front


Back



Contents: 2 Discs, 1 leaflet with list of Disc contents and a chapter list for the main movie.

Disc 1:
  • Main movie with remastered sound and optional subtitles
  • Chapter Selection
  • Commentary with John McTiernan and optional subtitles
  • Optional subtitled commentary with an unnamed Movie Historian
  • DVD Rom game of Alien Vs Predator
Disc 2:
  • "If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It" The Making Of Predator Documentary
  • 7 Featurettes containing behind the scenes footage of the movie and interviews with the cast, including Kevin Peter Hall
  • Outtakes (scene rehearsals) and deleted scenes
  • Practiced footage of the Predator camouflage tests
  • A comicbook style Profile of the Predator creature, including descriptions of the various weapons
  • Photo Gallery, including behind the scenes while filming was in progress and mugshots and marketing shots of the cast and filmmakers
  • Plus: Easter Eggs containing some really funny stories of what the filmmakers and the cast got up to while off the set
One thing missing from the features is any talk of Jean-Claude Van Damme in the original Predator suit. He seems to have been completely wiped from existence. That may be down to Legal technicalities though.
Another thing is that the main movie has remastered sound, but not remastered picture, which gives the same visual experience as a videotape (occasionally there are little 'scratches' and 'cigarette burns' on the film).

McTiernan's commentary on the main feature is very good. He goes into all the little technical details and some of the problems encountered as they were filming specific scenes. He's also very open about cast and filmmakers' attitudes and camaraderie.

The 'Making Of' is certainly the most interesting of all the SFs, it's quite lengthy at near 30 minutes long, and is packed with everything you'd want to know about how everything was made and problems that were overcome. The interviews seen are from time of filming and from modern day too, which gives a more rounded outlook from all that were involved. There's also lots of humour used throughout too.


With very little missed out from the features and the remastered sound for the main movie, Predator Special Edition scores highly in the ranks of DVD Entertainment and shows exactly how a DVD should be made.
The Special Features are also adult rated and haven't been toned down for kids, just like the film, they contain blood, guts and occasional swearing.
99%.



DVD Review #2: Predator 2 Special Edition (with card outer sleeve)



Contents: 2 Discs

Disc 1:
  • Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Chapter Selection
  • Commentary with director Stephen Hopkins with optional subtitles
  • Commentary with writers Jim Thomas and John Thomas with optional subtitles
Disc 2:
  • "The Hunters And The Hunted" Making Of Documentary
  • 3 behind the scenes featurettes
  • Clips of the technical advances in making the Predator Special Effects and camouflage
  • Clips of Predator weapons Analysis
  • Photo Galleries, including marketing shots, behind the scenes and mugshots of the cast and filmmakers
  • Mock News Reports with the character Tony Pope
Not quite as extensive as it's predecessor, Predator 2 still contains a number of SFs with the Making Of being the best of the lot. There's tons of stuff in the Making Of that is informative and interesting.

Both audio commentaries are good if a little boring at times, they contain lots of non-information and rambling talks about filming location trouble... and that's about it.

The rest of the extras seem to have been put in for the sake of it. The mock news reports are a serious miss too.
The Predator Weapons segments have been seen before in the first Predator DVD, they're just laid out differently in this one.


Not much else really top say about Predator 2 Special Edition except that... it shouldn't be called a 'Special Edition'.
Though it contains a lot of stuff to read about and watch, I've seen single disc DVD boxes with more interesting information in them. It just feels empty quality wise.
80%.



^ I've had that Predator edition DVD for years and haven't got round to watching it yet lol. There is a new steelbook blu-ray out that I'm tempted to get though.

Nice idea for a topic.



DVD Review #3: Predators




Contents: 1 Disc

Disc Contents:
  • Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Chapter selection
  • Interactive Comicbook
  • Digital Copy
Poor excuse for a DVD, simply basic. No commentary, not even a trailer and the Interactive Comicbook is poor beyond 0%.
The movie itself is in good condition though with sound and picture quality.
10%.



DVD Review #4: 30 Days Of Night, 2 Disc Special Edition



Contents: 2 Discs

Disc 1:
  • Main movie with optional DTS 5.1 Surround Sound and optional subtitles
  • Commentary with Josh Hartnett, Melissa George and Producer Rob Tapert with optional subtitles
  • Trailer reel
Disc 2:
  • 8 Making Of featurettes (approx 5 minutes each)
Pretty good DVD for the £3 price tag I got it for.
There's not a great deal of SFs so I'm not sure why it's called a Special Edition... but those that are on it (the Making Of featurettes), are quite extensive.
The commentary is pretty quiet too. Hartnett and George don't seem greatly interested in talking about anything.

One major fault with Disc 1... is that it's packed with trailers for other films and studio adverts at the beginning when you first fire up the DVD player, like most DVDs are...
... but on this one you can't skip them or fast-forward through them. You have to watch close to 5 minutes of rubbish before you get to the main menu.
A bit pants really.


Pretty good for the price, but not the best cheapo DVD I've ever bought, Disc 1 is a pain with the trailers... but the Making Of is really well put together.
60%.



Don't give the prick the satisfaction.
30 Days of Night is actually one of my favorite vampire flicks, the action in it is really intense. Furthermore, while I love Blade, this movie has a complete different feeling from Blade (which I appreciate in it's own sense) Predator (1) is the only one I like of it's series.



This thread is more about the DVD contents matey. Special features reviews basically.
I've got a seperate reviews section for actual movies.



DVD Review #5: The Thing, Widescreen Edition




Contents: 1 Disc and a Leaflet with Production notes and picture montage from the movie, leaflet also contains chapter list for main movie.

Disc Contents:
  • Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Chapter Selection for main movie
  • Commentary with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell and optional subtitles
  • Outtakes (scene rehearsal) and deleted scenes
  • Marketing Photos and mugshots of cast and crew
  • Marketing Posters gallery
  • Storyboard Art and Conceptual Art for Special Effects
  • Location Design Art
  • Production and Post Production Notes to read through
  • Production Background Archives
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • "Terror Takes Shape" The Making Of The Thing Documentary. Making Of Documentary also has a chapter selection and optional subtitles
For a single disc DVD box, The Thing contains masses of information about the feature film.
It's more for the stalwart movie fan as a lot of the bits and pieces are in writing form and pictures rather than in actual movie and documentary form.

The Making Of however, is an 80 minute long, highly extensive look at the production of the film, including interviews with cast and crew from time of filming and modern day, which gives a nice outlook from their points of view. It also contains extensive interviews with Rob Bottin and Stan Winston and their work on the Special Effects.

The main movie commentary with Carpenter and Russell is also top work. They talk about each scene with in-depth explanations and talk about problems they faced and laughs they had on set on the day of filming etc. It's also a very relaxed commentary and Carpenter and Russell work well together.

It was relatively pricey when I bought it though, £20... though I have to say, for a movie fan and fan of Special Features like I am, it was well worth the pennies.
Though it's probably a bit cheaper these days, I think I've seen it recently for about £8.


All in all, for a single disc, it's packed with info and is another perfect example of how to put a DVD together.
Along with Predator, it's one of my most cherished in my collection.
100%.



Good whiskey make jackrabbit slap de bear.
I've got that special edition of Predator and it's definitely deserves that 99%.
__________________
"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."



Cheers for the replies guys... is the thread working so far?

I'm kind of experimenting a little with it, like I did with my movie reviews thread... but I think I've got a system that works.

What you think?



So far so good. Love the theme right off the bat with the Predator movies, too.

It's genuinely valuable because saying something like, say, "featurettes," doesn't really tell us much, you know? I've seen some, like those on The Fountain, that are an utter waste of time. Just a few cameras on set, nothing interesting happening and not even close enough to pick up what's being said. Or just poorly made ones, too. The actual quality of the BTS stuff is much more important than whether or not it's technically there.

So yeah, very cool.



Cheers Yoda mate. Glad it's working anyway.

What are BTS? EDIT: Behind The Scenes... I just Googled it.


DVD Review #6: Indiana Jones, The Complete Collection Boxset




Contents: Card box containing 4 seperate 'slimline' DVD boxes each with Box-Art of the individual film it contains and main card box also contains a leaflet containing a list of Special Features on The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull DVD.

----

DVD Box 1 Contents: 1 Disc

Disc Contents:
  • Raiders of The Lost Ark Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Chapter List for main movie
  • An Introduction To Raiders with Spielberg and Lucas
  • The Indy Trilogy: A Crystal Clear Appreciation. Basically a featurette with the cast and crew talking about what the original trilogy meant to them personally
  • Mystery Of The Melting Face. How the special effects were put together for the finale scene
  • Snakes Alive! Storyboards of the Well Of Souls scene
  • Photo Gallery containing marketing photos and mugshots of cast and crew
----

DVD Box 2 Contents: 1 Disc

Disc Contents:
  • Temple Of Doom Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Chapter List for main movie
  • An Introduction To Doom with Spielberg and Lucas
  • Creepy Crawlies. A Featurette on Indy and the various bugs and creepy crawlies seen throughout the movies
  • Discovering Adventure: On Location With Indy. A look at the magnificent sets and locations used throughout Indy's series of movies
  • Hold Onto Your Hat! Storyboards of the minecart chase scene
  • Photo Gallery containing marketing photos and mugshots of cast and crew
----

DVD Box 3 Contents: 1 Disc

Disc Contents:
  • The Last Crusade Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Chapter List for main movie
  • An Introduction Crusade with Spielberg and Lucas
  • Indy's Women. A featurette interview with Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw and Alison Doody talking about their time on the various movies
  • Indy's Friends And Enemies. A rundown on the various foes and allies of Indy and their concept and design
  • The Birth Of The Action Hero. Storyboards of the train sequence that starred River Phoenix
  • Photo Gallery containing marketing photos and mugshots of cast and crew
----

DVD Box 4 Contents: 2 Discs

Disc 1 Contents:
  • The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Chapter List for main movie
  • The Return Of A Legend. A tribute to Indy's character and the development of putting Ford back on screen as Jones after near 20 years
  • Pre Production. Animatic sequences, sword fight choreography and the reuniting of the original cast with the filmmakers
Disc 2 Contents:
  • The Making Of The Crystal Skull. A 12 part in depth look at how the movie was concieved, filmed and marketed. Includes interviews with cast and crew
  • Pre-Visualisation Sequences. A look at how three of the action packed scenes in the film, were put together on computer animated storyboards
  • Photo Galleries including the usual mugshots and marketing posters and behind the scenes photos of the sets and props
  • Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
----

For a start, the whole thing has been pieced together pretty well. It's not just a midge modge of disparate DVDs with different layouts. All 5 discs have a similar feel and look and have obviously been produced as a foursome boxset.
Each disc has different info on each film, some of the features reveal stuff about the other movies too.

Most of it is put together for the nostalia trip of those that saw/grew up with the original trilogy... but it seems that most of the 'work' went into the Crystal Skull DVD box.

Most of the featurettes on the original trilogy's discs are also pretty sparse. It's just a few snippets of info and a few nostalgic laughs... then it ends.
Put the lot together and you've got about an hour's worth of stuff.

The Crystal Skull DVD contains more in the way of background information and pre production. Disc 2 on Crystal Skull is also the only one with trailers.
However, there's even an insight into Spielberg's mixed feelings on Lucas' idea of having Aliens/Interdimensional Beings when Spielberg is giving his interview. He wasn't happy about it at all, apparently.





All in all, good for fans of the movies ie; Those that know their Indy films...

... anyone else will feel a bit at a loss from what they've sat and watched.

Personally, I'm at a loss too... as to why Crystal Skull was the center of attention for the DVD makers, instead of putting in more stuff about the original trilogy that fans would actually be more interested in.
That said, what there is... is watchable and enjoyable... there's just not enough of it. Nobody's interested in Crystal Skull... give us more features on the original trilogy!!
70%.



DVD Review #7: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes





Box Contents: 1 Disc and a leaflet explaining how the Digital Copy works.

Disc Contents:
  • Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Chapter List for main movie
  • 2 Deleted Scenes
  • Featurette on the mythology of the Apes' story. Basically a look over the franchise so far and a look at the rewrite that brought fans Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Includes a few interviews with the cast too.
  • Featurette on Andy Serkis and his work on the movie. Also features a few other actors who worked in the motion capture suits
  • Digital Copy for use on Windows PCs, Macs etc
Pretty standard DVD in terms of Special Features.
The featurettes are relatively informative, but short in terms of actual quantity. You're looking at about 13 or 14 minutes altogether with the two featurettes.
More along the lines of putting them in for the sake of giving the fans something to mull over while they're waiting for the inevitable sequel.

The main movie however, seems to be in some sort of HD format, I've checked the box but it simply says it DVD Home Video.
It's extremely clear and crisp in sound and vision, and gives an nice depth to the viewing experience. It also works fine in this 'format' (whether it is actually some sort of HD) on my DVD player which is around 10 years old, so I guess that's a good thing.

I've yet to try the Digital Copy on any of my electronic gadgets, but have seen a friend using it... and it works pretty well from what I saw.



All in all, a standard single disc DVD box with standard features. The movie however is extremely crisp in whatever the format that's been used.
For £8 a pop (probably less now that it's been out for a few months already), you can't really go wrong, unless you're really after more substantial Special Features of course.
75%.



DVD Review #8: Alien 3 Definitive Edition




Contents: 2 Discs

Disc 1:
  • Alien 3 Theatrical Release Main Movie with optional subtitles
  • Alien 3 Extended Cut with optional subtitles
  • Theatrical Release also contains optional Audio Commentary too, with Cinematographer Alex Thomson, Editor Terry Rawlings, Effects Wizards Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr, Visual Effects Supervisor Richard Edlund and also Actor Paul McGann
Disc 2:
  • Pre Production Archives. Includes Making Of Featurettes, Photo Galleries, Conceptual Storyboards and Conceptual Artwork
  • Production Archives. Includes Making Of Featurettes, Photo Galleries and Multi-Angle Vignette
  • Post production Archives. Includes Making Of Featurettes, Promotional Photo Galleries,
  • Seperate Combined Menu called "Navigation Options"... giving the viewer a choice to bunch all Featurettes from Pre/Production/Post into one giant Making Of Feature... also the choice to bunch all Photo Galleries into one big Gallery and all Artwork (even Conceptual Artwork) into one big Artwork Gallery too.
By far the most extensive DVD I have seen. Containing everything a fan would want to know.

The featurettes themselves, seperate into smaller 10-20 minute segments but with the option to Watch All, the viewer is treated to a 3 hour Pre Production, Production and Post Production Making Of Feature...

... containing everything from interviews with cast, crew, HR Giger, musicians, foley artists, special effects wizards, problems encountered before/during/after filming (talks from all involved on this particular subject), producers, writers, editors, cameramen and even lighting technicians. There's even a timelapse view of the crew putting a set together, ready for filming.
There's even huge explanations about the two movies, and why there are two movies and the cast and crew's feelings toward the two differing versions.
Another good thing, is nobody holds back their genuine feelings and thoughts... everything is laid bare and talked about openly and honestly.

Everything and anyone involved is included in the Making Of.
Save for one person... Director David Fincher himself.

Fincher's seen throughout the Making Of, behind the scenes, in photos, during filming etc... but he hasn't given any actual interview for the DVD.
Judging from the tainted past of the movie though, and from what others on the DVD have said about the way he was treated by the Studio Suits, it's no surprise he's absent from the Making Of.




All in all, the most extensive and most informative DVD I have ever seen. 3 hours of interviews and talking about how the movie was put together, and with the highly detailed Photo and Artwork Galleries as well, you'll be looking at near 4 hours of stuff to go through, then there's the two films to ogle over too, one of them with Commentary, so that bumps the DVD to a running time of near 10 hours of stuff...
... and quite simply a nicely put together DVD in terms of user friendliness.
More for the real movie nut, like myself, who can sit for that sheer amount of time and thumb through it all... but still certainly enjoyable for anyone who is simply just interested in seeing how it all works behind the scenes.
Easily 100%.



"Hey Look it's Masterman"
I loved Rise of The Ape's, got the DVD for christmas and still have even opened it



You'll find the Indy Boxset in most major DVD and Music outlets like HMV or wherever.

I got it for £10 (about $17)