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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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The
Fifth Element (Superbit)
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Reviewed
by: |
Justin
Sallows |
| Genre: |
Science
Fiction |
| Video: |
Anamorphic
2.35:1 Widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
5.1, DTS |
| Language: |
English |
| Subtitle: |
English,
Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Thai |
| Length: |
2 hrs 6 min
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| Rating: |
PG-13 |
| Release
Date: |
October 9th,
2001 |
| Studio: |
Columbia/Tristar
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| Commentary:
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None |
| Documentaries:
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None |
| Featurettes:
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None |
| Filmography/Biography:
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None |
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Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
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None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Bruce Willis,
Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker |
| Screenplay
by: |
Written by:
Luc Besson |
| Produced
by: |
Luc Besson |
| Directed
By: |
John Allen
Amicarella, Patrice Ledoux, Iain Smith |
| Music: |
Eric Serra
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| The
Review: |
Harry Canyon
would be proud. For those who don't recognize that name, he
was a flying cab driver in Heavy Metal who happened upon a girl
in distress and decided to embroil himself in her mess to help
her out. That's also the basic plot of The Fifth Element. TFE
seems to borrow the best ideas from many films like Star Wars
-Ian Holm is Ben Kenobi- I kept waiting for him to whip out
a lightsaber! Judge Dredd- the production design of the city
I thought was very similar, Blade Runner- the lower city was
very dark and foggy with searchlites slowly sweeping. I love
the first two thirds of this film. The whacky and impractical
costumes alone are worth checking out. Then I start to get very
annoyed when Chris Tucker shows up. I can't stand him, particularly
in this role. He...simply...never...stops...screaming...ever.
I was praying for him to die...quickly. My opinnion of the film
when I saw it in the theatre was that character killed the movie.
It was going along at a great pace, then he showed up and destroyed
all of its momentum. I stand by that assessment, but I am now
able to grit my teeth and roll with it, trying to enjoy everything
but him. There's good humor throughout the film (despite Chris
Tucker) and Bruce gives a great performance. I welcomed the
surprise of the revelation at the end that seemed to wrap up
the film nicely. This is a good popcorn movie and a good choice
for superbit. Have that mute button handy for Chris Tuckers
lines! |
| Image
and Sound |
Superbit
is nothing less than superb. I was a bit skeptical because after
all, how much difference could it really make? It makes a good
deal of difference. Although I never saw the original DVD, it
couldn't have looked anywhere near this good. It looks like
a digital transfer. There is not a speck of dirt or dust, and
only the faintest amount of edge enhancement. The clarity and
depth of field are wonderful. Check out those shots of the cars
whipping down the street in the Coruscant-like city. The detail
is wonderful. I kept looking around the environments that the
characters were standing in to take in all the sharpness and
contrast. The characters themselves are well rendered as well
so that you can see every pockmark. I have to say I am quite
impressed with superbit video. The audio was not so sweeping.
There's nothing wrong with it, and to be fair I do not yet own
a DTS decoder, but I wasn't put through the wall either. Curiously,
in the enclosed pamphlet explaining superbit, they include a
pie chart denoting how much of the discs space is available
to certain elements of the film. On the left is the "standard",
which is about 1/3 of the discs space equally partitioned to
video, sound, and special features. Next to that is superbit,
which is 3/4 video and 1/4 audio. So audio has shrunk from 1/3
to 1/4. True there are no additional language tracks, but DTS
is a huge hog. I can only wonder if the DD sound on this disc
is any different from the last. It seemed full enough, just
not spectacular. It was certainly no different than audio on
other DVDs. The best sound I've heard on disc is Twister, The
Matrix and Armageddon; The Fifth Element is standard fare and
doesn't come close, but is quite adequate. |
| The
Extras |
You
get standard menus with the brushed-chrome look of the cover,
chapter selections, subtitles and that's about it. The trailer
at least would have been nice. |
| Commentary |
None |
| Final
Words: |
Overall I was impressed with superbit.
The video is simply the best I've seen apart from Pixar's
films and Disney's Dinosaur. I only wish I had a widescreen
HDTV so I could really get everything out of it that it offers.
This is reference quality and would not be surprised to see
it playing on TVs at electronics stores. The Dolby Digital
is adequate if not stellar. Not even including the trailer
was a little disheartening but I can't really complain with
such a magnificent transfer. One problem now presents itself.
I'm going to have to buy two versions of many of the superbit
titles because a few are also coming out as big special editions:
Bram Stoker's Dracula and Starship Troopers to begin with.
I'm particularly excited about ST, but depending on the features
included in the 2-disc set, I may end up with all 3 versions!
Kind of makes you wish they made one superbit 2-disc set doesn't
it? Whatever the cost, I'm going to make sure I get superbit
for my favorite titles from now on.
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