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Title:
Cloverfield
Region:
One
Genre:
Monster Picture
Stars:
Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, and
Odette Yustman
Writer:
Drew Goddard
Director:
Matt Reeves
Feature
length: 84 minutes
Extras:
Commentary By Director Matt Reeves, The Making Of Cloverfield, Cloverfield
Visual Effects, I Saw It! It’s Alive! It’s Huge! Featurette, Cloverfield
Fun, Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary, Alternate Endings With Optional
Commentary, Previews
Languages:
English French, and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 16
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2008/DVD Release: 2008
Theatrical
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Last
July before theatrical screenings of Transformers, an untitled film
depicting a twentysomething going away party interrupted by the sudden attack of
an unseen creature on Manhattan that culminated in the head of the Statue of
Liberty literally hurling and crashing down the street became one of the most
talked about upcoming genre films of the coming year. The trailer instantly
became the subject of speculation with tie-in websites that gave clues to the
origins of the creature as well as newsgroups, fan sites, and even
disinformation. Soon puzzles and videos related to the film began to appear
online fueling more speculation and publicity and creating a phenomenon not at
all unlike the trend setting clever use of the internet to market The Blair
Witch Project nearly ten years earlier. Now however the internet has grown
so much that broadband connections are just about a standard in American homes,
e-mail addresses are as important as phone numbers, and there are more ways to
create virtual worlds with a few simple websites and clips. This is a technique
that is used on TV shows like LOST, which should be no surprise since Cloverfield
is a J.J. Abrams production through his Bad Robot label. The idea to attempt to
give Americans a Godzilla like monster and tell the story from the point of view
of people experiencing the attack from a retrieved camera after the fact is more
or less the same basic storytelling technique used in The Blair Witch Project,
but taking the film on it’s own without the online tie-ins that provide some
subtle background to the story, Cloverfield can be taken as an eerie
thriller or monster picture that just throws the viewer into the action with no
explanations regarding the origins of the monster and so forth. It could have
been an extended episode of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits
and it would have been hailed as one of the best episodes ever.
Of
course the DVD extra features will give basic information about the creature and
if you visit the official or fan made websites like http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com,
you will get a good idea about the monster’s origins, which are guessed it by
the character of Hud (T.J. Miller) in the film. Of course there are a lot of
explanations or theories Hud speaks about as he videos the events in order to
keep from completely panicking. Only one is close if not correct. Outside of the
tragic events that echo real life recent horrors like the World Trade Center
attacks in New York, essentially Cloverfield can be looked upon as a
metaphor for star-crossed love not only for the main characters, but arguably
the agitated monster creating havoc in The Big Apple, but in a way, are not the
best monster pictures about seeking out love and acceptance? Think about the
classics like King Kong or The Bride Of Frankenstein and see for
yourself if there is indeed a pattern or archetype here.
Many
people, including the person I saw the film with got motion sickness during the
theatrical screening and subsequently have said they are not keen to see it
again on DVD, but while no one can guarantee the film will not have a similar
effect on home video, personally I found the DVD experience to be better than
the theatrical one in part because many home theaters have better equipment than
some movie theaters and in part because I could freeze frame scenes, magnify the
screen for details on one of my DVD players and generally I found the 16 by 9
enhanced widescreen aspect ratio to be cleaner than the theatrical print. You
also get far more opportunities to examine the monster in the film and extra
features, which look as though it could have been another creature from Stephen
King’s The Mist and it would fit right in there too. The English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is very well mixed as should be expected, adding
to the “you are there” feel of the film. French and Spanish Language Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks as well as English Closed Captions for the Deaf
and Hearing Impaired and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles are
encoded onto the DVD as options too.
Director
Matt Reeves gives an informative retrospective feature film commentary track and
also had optional commentary on a reel of deleted scenes (3:34) and two subtly
different alternate endings (4:34) that are also presented in a 16 by 9 enhanced
aspect ratio along with the option of viewing the scenes individually or through
a “Play All” feature. This is
supported by two behind the scenes featurettes, one covering the making of the
film (28:17) and the other detailing the visual effects (22:29) as well as some
shorter clips and at least one Easter egg in the setup menu (1:55). You know
you’ve got it when you see he image of a helicopter appear where the head on
the Statue of Liberty should be on the set up menu. The main menu features full
motion clips from the films while the subsequent menus are all standard
interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
Unless
it is hidden on the DVD, the trailers for Cloverfield and none of the
tie-in web videos are included on the DVD, which is disappointing. Previews for Star
Trek and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull precede
the main menu (3:15). Cloverfield
will debut on DVD on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at retailers on and offline
courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2008 By Mark Rivera – The Brooklyn Critic
All Rights Reserved.
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