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Stars: Vin Diesel,
Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, and Claudia Black
Writer: Jim Wheat,
Ken Wheat, and David Twohy
Director: David
Twohy
Feature length:
112 minutes
Extras:
Introduction By Writer/Director David Twohy, Feature Length Audio Commentary
With Writer/Director David Twohy and Stars Vin Diesel, and Cole Hauser, Feature
Length Audio Commentary With Writer/Director David Twohy, Producer Tom Engelman,
and Visual Effects Supervisor Peter Chiang, The Chronicles Of Riddick Visual
Encyclopedia, Johns’ Chase Log, Dark Fury: Advancing The Arc Featurette, The
Game Is On, Making Of Pitch Black Featurette, A View In The Dark Featurette
Languages: English
DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles: English
Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging: Keep
Case
Chapter Stops: 18
Sound: DTS Digital
5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year of Theatrical
Release: 2000/DVD Release: 2004
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home Video
Distributor: Universal Studios Home Video
MPAA Rating: Not
Rated
Reviewer: Mark A.
Rivera
“Pitch Black”
was released in the States back in February of 2000 and was wintertime hit. As
Writer/Director David Twohy states in his video introduction (2:26) to this new
DVD release, he was more concerned about surviving the hectic production
schedule, which featured on location shooting in the Australian outback to
double as the arid planet where the characters find themselves marooned on.
Three years later Twohy and Diesel were approached by Universal to do a sequel,
but rather than do a film that revisited the same planet with the same nocturnal
creatures again, both Twohy and Diesel wisely agreed to take their character
into a new direction and develop a whole universe of mythology for him. Their
logic was that “Pitch Black” introduces the character of “Riddick” and
places him and the characters in a situation that evokes a sci-fi horror story.
However now that audiences are familiar with the character the next film, which
is part of a proposed trilogy, would be an adventure story with “bad guys
against evil guys” I have not yet seen the feature film “The Chronicles Of
Riddick,” but you can bet I will this weekend. From what I have seen online
and on television, the world looks more high tech than what was shown in
“Pitch Black,” which looked as though it could have taken place in the
“Alien” universe. The premise of “Pitch Black” is not so problematic as
the creatures themselves. Despite the fact that alien life is likely to be very
different from our own, a planet where the predators have nearly killed off
every indigenous species is unlikely since there is nothing to balance the food
chain and how could other creatures, whose great bones remain fossilized on the
planet surface, even develop on a world where every twenty-two years these
ravenous things come out and eat everything they can sense?
Though the new
cover art entitles the film “The Chronicles Of Riddick: Pitch Black,” the
film itself remains unaltered so this is the same “Unrated Director’s Cut”
that was released on DVD back in 2000. Now let me get the technical stuff out of
the way first. While there are more new extra value features included on this
DVD, the picture and sound quality on this new release remains for the most part
unhindered. There is no compression grain to speak of and the images are quite
solid. The English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack is very well
mixed with a great three-dimensional use of the channels. An English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is also included along with English Captions for
the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded onto the
dual layered DVD as options. Now this is extremely subjective, but I have the
original release and compared the picture and soundtrack between the two and
found that the image looks more saturated on the original release than this new
one. Two different DVD mastering facilities worked on the respective releases.
Personally I think the new transfer is sharper than the original release, but
the slightly softer tone does give the original DVD a more unearthly picture
quality, which suits the daylight sequences on the alien planet quite well. The
biggest detraction between the old and the new releases is the DTS Soundtrack.
The old release sounds much more aggressive than the new release. Please note
though that there are far less extra value materials included on the 2000 DVD
than on the 2004 release so all things considered I am going to state right now
for the record that this new Universal Studios Home Video DVD release of
“Pitch Black” is well worth the upgrade, but not as a replacement. If you
have the old release, I suggest you hold on to it because while these features
might seem minute, the theatrical trailers for “Pitch Black” have not been
carried over to this new release. Neither have the cast and filmmaker bios, but
that is not so much of a loss. If you are reading this review, you can go to
imbd.com afterwards and find far more comprehensive and up to date information
on the people who participated in the production. I am not sure if I prefer this
new anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio presentation to the old one, but
I do prefer the DTS track on the old DVD, which is why I suggest those who
upgrade to the new version should still keep the old one.
Carried over from
the original release are screen specific and conversation audio commentaries
with Writer/Director David Twohy and Stars Vin Diesel, and Cole Hauser and
Writer/Director David Twohy, Producer Tom Engelman, and Visual Effects
Supervisor Peter Chiang. The commentary with the actors directly addresses the
new footage that has been added to this release, which is primarily more
character development that slowed down the pace for the theatrical release and
so it was cut out. The technical commentary discusses the uneasiness the
filmmakers went through when it came to designing the look of the film while
avoiding clichés overused in other sci-fi horror thrillers. Both are quite
enlightening and entertaining. The “Making Of Pitch Black” featurette (4:45)
is also carried over to this new release.
Technically this
DVD is far superior to the original release with full motion animated menus with
animated transitions as opposed to standard interactive still frames. Actor Cole
Hauser has recorded some exclusive material for this DVD release that included
an audio log of his character Johns’ search for Riddick beginning three days
after the escape from Butcher Bay and covering sixteen entries that lead up to,
but do not include the events dramatized in “Pitch Black.” Hauser also
provides audio descriptions for some of the terms used in “The Riddick
Universe” that include the definitions of an “Orrery,” “Merc,” “and
“Slam.” The last entry is a teaser for the eventual “Chronicles Of Riddick”
DVD that will feature a far more expansive encyclopedia. Both of these
interactive treats can be viewed individually or as a whole with a “Play
All” feature on the respective menus.
“The Game Is
On” is simply a trailer for the DVD-ROM game now available for Sony
PlayStation 2 and X-Box users that serves as a prequel to “Pitch Black”
entitled “The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay.” Next is a
featurette on the making of the direct to DVD release of “The Chronicles Of
Riddick: Dark Fury” (1:31) with quick clips from the animated film that
features the voices of Vin Diesel and Keith David and was produced by acclaimed
animator Peter Chung, whose credits include “Aeon Flux” and the
“Animatrix” short “Matriculated.” “A View Into The Dark” (4:07) is a
short teaser EPK for the new feature film “The Chronicles Of Riddick,” which
opens in theaters here in the U.S. on Friday, June 11, 2004. A free movie ticket
coupon is also included within the DVD keep case to see the new film. A quick
reel of promos (2:27) for “The Chronicles Of Riddick: Dark Fury,” “The
Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay,” and “Eurotrip” appear
before the main menu on the DVD. Additional information on the “Riddick
Universe” can be found by visiting the website at www.thechroniclesofriddick.com.
The DVD is also InterActual enhanced for DVD-ROM users.
As a whole I do
like this new DVD release of “Pitch Black” better than the original as a
companion and if you never bought the original, this really is the one to buy
because it has practically all the extra value features of the original DVD with
better menu design, new bonus features, and a great picture and sound transfer
as is and you even get a ticket to see the new film too. “The Chronicles Of
Riddick: Pitch Black: Unrated Director’s Cut” is available on DVD-Video now
at retailers on and offline from Universal Studios Home Video.
© Copyright 2004
By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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