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Title:
Lightning Bug
Region:
One
Genre:
Drama
Stars:
Brett Harrison, Laura Prepon, Kevin Cage, Ashley Laurence, Josh Todd, and Hal
Sparks
Writer:
Robert Hall
Director:
Robert Hall
Feature
length: 97 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Robert Hall, Audio Commentary With
Writer/Director Robert Hall, Producer Lisa Waugh, And Actors Ashley Lawrence and
Laura Prepon, Deleted Scenes With Audio Commentary, Trailer, Outtakes, Kevin
Kinney Music Video, Still Gallery
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 20
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2005
Home
Video Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
I
hate insects in general. They are just so damn ugly, disgusting, and some can
bite or sting the heck out of you. Now as nice as it might be to see lightning
bugs glow on a late summer night, those things look like monsters to me when
they are not glowing. However the one thing that I have found interesting about
lightning bugs is how fragile they are. At least the ones you’ll see flying
about on a late summer evening in New York City. My cousins used to catch them
and it just seemed that if you just poked them gently, they’d die and I mean
gently. No one was stomping on the bugs or anything.
Writer
and Director Robert Hall’s semi-autobiographical film “Lightning Bug” is
not a horror film although it has horrific elements and it is not a thriller
though it has points of high suspense. Hall has already distinguished himself as
a makeup effects and creature creating wizard so he knows how to frame a scene
to get the maximum effect and make a viewer feel like they are watching a horror
picture because Hall has worked with his creations on many sets and still does
so. The lightning bug is as I see is a metaphor for having a fragile dream that
everyone disapproves of and tries to tell you not to do it. It is also that
ugliness that can change into a thing of beauty and rise above the expectations
of what one thinks as within normal natural limitations. So in a rural Alabama
town deep in the Bible belt, a young man with a dream to be a Hollywood FX
wizard is in a sense a lot like the lightning bug that is beautiful when it
reveals it’s fluorescent internal glow or the butterfly that comes out of the
chrysalis after beginning life as a caterpillar.
It’s
a scary thing to chase a dream and go against expectations so to do so requires
courage. Ultimately that is what I think makes “Lightning Bug” a moving
drama and that is what attracted so many professionals to work on location for
little money because within the script there was a certain ring of truth to it
with three-dimensional characters to express it. Anchor Bay Entertainment
presents “Lighting Bug” with a purposely-gritty anamorphic widescreen
(1.77:1) aspect ratio. The Director wanted the film to have a 16mm film quality
to it. So taking that into consideration the picture looks quite good with no
visible artifacts due to authoring visible.
A well round English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack as well as an
English Dolby Surround Soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD as options.
Robert Hall even provides two screen specific though somewhat retrospective
feature length audio commentaries as well as an optional commentary for a reel
of deleted scenes (19:07). He is very articulate and interesting to listen to.
Other
special features includes a making-of documentary (20:48) with spoilers so do
not watch it before seeing the movie, a reel of outtakes (4:32), and a music
video featuring Kevin Kinney (3:51). Within the keep case is a six-page insert
with liner notes by Scott Weinberg of EfilmCritic.com. The main menu is animated
with scenes from the film and has motion transitions to standard interactive
still fame menus and all are easy to navigate too.
“Lightning
Bug” will debut on DVD-Video at retailers on and offline on Tuesday, August 9,
2005 courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. Check it out.
©
Copyright 2005 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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