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Daredevil (Widescreen Edition)
Stars:
Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Jon Favreau,
David Keith, and Joe Pantoliano
Writer:
Mark Steven Johnson
Director:
Mark Steven Johnson
Feature
length: 104 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary With Writer and Director Mark Steven Johnson and Producer Gary
Foster, Text Commentary, Enhanced Viewing Mode, Visually Impaired Description
Track, Beyond Hell’s Kitchen: Making Of Daredevil Documentary, Jennifer Garner
Screen Test, Multi-Angle Dailies, Feature Villain Kingpin Featurette, HBO First
Look Special, Moving Through Space: A Day With Tom Sullivan Featurette,
Trailers, Music Videos, Still Galleries, Man Without Fear: Creating Daredevil
Documentary, Shadow World Tour Comparison, Modeling Sheets
DVD-ROM
Extras: History Of The Comic Book, Character Information, Multimedia Desktop
Art, Sensory Quiz, Web Links
Languages:
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound, and French and Spanish Language Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Chapter
Stops: 32
Sound:
DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and
Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2003/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Home
Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
It definitely seems as if we are in the age of the Marvel Comics inspired theatrical feature. After nearly two decades of theatrical films based on DC Comics’ characters such as “Superman” and “Batman” the tide turned with the sleeper hit “Blade” and was subsequently followed by more successful live action Marvel Comics theatrical adaptations that have included “X-Men,” “Blade II,” and “Spider-Man.” At the time of writing this review we are just two weeks away from the opening of “X-Men 2” and a little more than a month away from theatrical debut of “The Hulk” as well. With various sequels and spin-offs in development or production it seems that this must be an exciting time to be a Marvel Comics fan as well as a comic book enthusiast in general.
Twentieth
Century Fox’s big screen adaptation of “Daredevil” was the first major
genre film to open in 2003. The film stars Ben Affleck as Attorney Matt Murdock
alias crime fighting vigilante “Daredevil.” Blinded as a boy in an accident
in which a chemical sprayed into his eyes, Murdock soon discovers that his
remaining four senses have developed well beyond the capacity of the average
human being and with practice he is soon able to visualize in his mind’s eye
with great accuracy the world around him. Since this time Murdock has developed
amazing acrobatic skills and has learned several martial arts as he dispenses
justice upon the those who the court system has let slip through the cracks.
Enter Elektra (Jennifer Garner), the daughter of a wealthy businessman with a few surprises of her own. Matt and Electra discover they have more in common than they could have possibly realized as a romance blossoms between them. However the King Pin (Michael Clarke Duncan) has sent for his best assassin “Bulls Eye” (Colin Farrell) to wipe her and her father out after he learns that her father, who wants out of the King Pin’s business might also have been responsible for informing the press of his true nature. In a tragic mishap, Daredevil is unable to stop Bulls Eye from murdering Elektra’s father and subsequently garners the wrath of Elektra, who blames him for her father’s death and now seeks him out with a vendetta while Bulls Eye takes on the task of bringing both Elektra and Daredevil down as both an assignment and in the case of Daredevil, a matter of pride.
“Daredevil”
in many ways reminds me of “Batman” and though there are a lot of
differences between the Dark Knight and the Guardian Devil; I find the
psychological issues of two vigilante crime fighters in the heart of big bleak
cities to share a certain commonality. In fact when I first saw “Daredevil”
on the big screen my reaction was it seemed like a mix of “Batman,” “The
Crow,” and the action was not unlike “The Matrix” and so while hailed as
the “Summer Blockbuster Of The Dead Of Winter” in advertisements, I felt
much of the thunder of “Daredevil” was already lost from films like the ones
I have mentioned above if only because they were released years in advance and
were themselves inspired by a host of other films and media worldwide. However
in hindsight I think that my initial criticism of the film was a bit
heavy-handed on my part. I still think that if “Daredevil” opened in the
summer it would not nearly be as huge a theatrical success as it was this past
winter box office wise, but the film is a solid and entertaining comic book
adaptation that gets better with repeated viewings, especially on DVD. I also
have to credit everyone involved in the film because without a doubt there is a
feeling that the entire team both in front of and behind the scenes are all big
fans of “Daredevil” and their passion comes across on screen in both the
feature film itself as well as this two-disc feature laden DVD set.
Writer and Director Mark Steven Johnson is as true a fan of “Daredevil” as anyone is likely to see and when one considers the road it took to get this film produced, Johnson’s tenacity in evoking his enthusiasm for the project ultimately helped him get the opportunity to direct the film because in his passion he aroused the faith in all involved around him. In addition to supporting cast that also features Jon Favreau, David Keith, and Joe Pantoliano, there are a number of cameos in the film that include the expected appearance by Stan Lee as well as appearances by Writer and Director Kevin Smith, acclaimed comic book auteur Frank Miller, and the man who bought “Jason” to life for the last four “Friday The Thirteenth” films, Kane Hodder.
Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment’s upcoming two-disc DVD set of “Daredevil”
will be released in both anamorphic widescreen and modified (1.33:1) aspect
ratio versions with the same extra value features, but sold separately. The
anamorphic widescreen version presents “Daredevil” with a beautiful and
pristine (2.35:1) aspect ratio, preserving the manner in which the film was
exhibited theatrically as close as possible for home video viewers. There is an
aggressive and well-mixed English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack
as well as an equally good English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack encoded
onto the first disc for the feature. In addition there is a French and a Spanish
Language Dolby Surround Soundtrack coupled with English Captions and Closed
Captions for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles available as
options. A descriptive soundtrack for the visually impaired is also provided,
making the “Daredevil” feature film on DVD as accessible as possible for a
broad audience of consumers with or without disabilities.
Mark
Steven Johnson and Producer Gary Foster give a candid and screen specific audio
commentary track that touches upon the challenges of making the film and even
some of the lessons learned on the project. Johnson is not afraid to reveal the
film’s visual shortcomings, which for the most part are unnoticeable and easy
to forget about once they are pointed out in part because he is probably more
critical about his own work, especially something he has wanted to bring to the
big screen for years, and so it is understandable, but if Mr. Johnson should
read this review all I can say is, whatever shortcomings may gnaw at you, they
are really not that bad at all so don’t sweat it. There is also a text
commentary that can be activated with or without the optional audio commentary
and though at times sparse, the comments reveal a few anecdotes about the film
and the characters the film adapted as well. Finally there is an enhanced
viewing mode that gives the viewer the option to branch off into short vignettes
with Visual Effects Producer John Kilvenny whenever an image appears on screen
and then return to the feature right where the branch left off.
Disc one also features a few DVD-ROM extra features for users running Windows and these features include some brief notes on the history of the “Daredevil” comic book, character information based on the film’s interpretation of them, various multimedia wallpapers and whatnot, web links, and a sensory quiz that tests to see how sharp your other four senses are when compared to “Daredevil.”
Disc
two contains the balance of the extra features split into two sections labeled
as “The Film” and “The Comic Book.” Under “The Film” we have several
movie related features that begins with the excellent documentary “Beyond
Hell’s Kitchen: Making Daredevil” (58:48), which covers the production from
the initial option by Fox in 1997 and carries the viewer though with a glimpse
at the pre-production, costume designs, production, and post-production without
any fluffy hype. There are also glimpses of behind-the-scenes sequences that did
not make the final cut of the film and even an enhanced viewing mode for more
interesting explorations within what is essentially a voyage from beginning to
end giving the sense on how “Daredevil” made it to the big screen.
Supporting materials include Jennifer Garner’s screen test (2:30),
multi-angled dailies demonstrations of “Daredevil Vs. King Pin” and
“Elektra Vs. Bulls Eye.” There is an interview with Michael Clarke Duncan
entitled “Featured Villain: Kingpin” (2:20) and as expected Duncan is such a
great hearted guy that just watching him talk about his role and seeing his
enthusiasm just wins the viewer over.
There is a featurette on the inspirational consultant for “Daredevil” entitled “Moving Through Space: A Day With Tom Sullivan” (8:27). The HBO First Look Special (24:49) hosted by Jennifer Garner is also included along with five still galleries comprised of storyboards, costuming, set design, production stills, and props. There are also three music videos from the film’s soundtrack for “Won’t Back Down” (3:30) by Fuel, “Calling For You” (3:46), and “Bring Me To Life” (4:16) by Evanescence. A 30-second CD spot is also included. The theatrical teaser (: 47), trailer A (1:44) and trailer B (2:24) are all presented in widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratios with Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound. Additional trailers include this summer’s highly anticipated Fox feature “League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen” (1:06) and Danny Boyle’s post apocalyptic thriller “28 Days Later” (2:01).
Under
“The Comic Book” heading viewers are treated to another excellent
documentary with figures who have been a part of the creative force behind
“Daredevil” entitled “Man Without Fear: Creating Daredevil” (59:10) and
a comparison of how the comic book illustrates the way in which Daredevil
perceives the world around him and how it is represented in the film entitled
“Shadow World Tour” (6:15). Finally there are some comic book based profiles
under the heading “Modeling Sheets.”
The
menus are made up to express how Daredevil experiences the world complete with
brail that turns to menu headings and animated transitions to standard
interactive still frame menus. A great match with content that truly enhances
the feature film experience on home video makes “Daredevil” easily on of the
best DVD titles I’ve seen so far this year. “Daredevil: Widescreen Edition:
Two-Disc Set” will debut on DVD-Video on Tuesday July 29, 2003 from Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Pre-Order And Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Text
Link Below!
Daredevil (Widescreen Edition)