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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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“Open
Water”
|
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Suspense
thriller |
| Video: |
2.35:1 Anamorphic
widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
6.1 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English,
Spanish |
| Length |
80 minutes
|
| Rating |
R for language
and some nudity |
| Release Date |
12/28/04
|
| Studio |
Lion’s Gate
Home Video |
| Commentary:
|
Filmmaker’s
audio commentary and actor’s commentary tracks |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
“The Indie Essentials”,
“Calm Before the Storm: The Making of Open Water” |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
Deleted
scenes |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Blachard
Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein |
| Written
By: |
Chris Kentis
|
| Produced
By: |
Laura Lau
|
| Directed
By: |
Chris Kentis
|
| Music:
|
Graeme Revell
|
| The
Review: |
The ocean is a foreign world to
a lot of people. Being lost in it is like being tossed into
the maelstrom of chaos; your world veers out of control and
you can easily lose touch with your humanity and sanity. “Open
Water” is ironically titled. The word open implies acceptance
and calm when, in reality, it represents death and fear for
a couple who elect to take in some scuba diving for R&R. The
couple (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) have a number of
relationship issues to work out and this calm, relaxing vacation
seems as much an escape from these burning questions as it
an escape from the real world. In reality it becomes a prison
of sharks, freezing temperatures and every brutality that
nature can throw at you. Inspired by a true story, “Open Water”
captures the tension and suspense of what one can only imagine
might have occurred in real life. Running a brisk 80 minutes
and shot on high definition digital video, “Open Water” has
a power and sense of reality that might have been missing
if this had been turned into a Hollywood film. Made for under
$150,000 the film shows what a production team with a vision,
a solid script and two strong actors can do outside the Hollywood
system. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
Shot in
the ocean full of real sharks, the stunning cinematography by
director Kentis and producer Lau gives an insider’s glimpse
into the unforgiving quality of nature and the threatening world
that surrounds us. When I say stunning I’m not talking about
brilliant cinematography that uses color and shadows well. It’s
the sense of reality imparted by these bland, flat images that
add menace to the film. The picture quality isn’t terrific—it
looks like it was shot on video with all of the limitations
one would expect including flat images without much depth. The
colors are representative of what you might get with a good
camcorder. They don’t have the luster of what one would expect
from a major release but, like “The Blair Witch Project” (another
film “Open Water” has been compared to) that only adds to the
sense of reality of the film. The use of pop zooms and shaky
handheld shots that blur as the camera pans heightens the illusion
of reality. The 6.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix puts has the
same flat quality one would expect, again, from something shot
on video with a good camcorder. --- |
| The
Extras: |
“The Indie
Essentials” provides a beginners guide so that you can gear
up your own independent film regardless of budget. We hear
from a number of people that acquire films for studios, marketing
people and the production team. “Calm Before the Storm” takes
us behind the scenes on the production of the film. It probably
had as much of a budget as the film itself. Kentis and Lau
are again interviewed about the making of the movie. Kentis
talks about the news story that inspired his first draft (which
was written four years ago). He couldn’t get anyone interested
in backing the film but also wanted to get back to basics
film making after having made a traditional 35mm film. In
addition to deleted scenes there’s also behind-the-scenes
footage shot on location providing an intimate unrehearsed
glimpse into the actual production over a number of days.
The original theatrical trailer is included as well. ---
|
| Commentary:
|
With two
different commentary tracks one provided by the husband and
wife team that directed and produced the movie and one provided
by the actors that appear in the bulk of it, “Open Water” gives
a real sense of the intimate scale of the production. The commentaries
also present some of the real dangers and challenges of shooting
on location. Best Buy stores incidentally provides a second
disc of material related to the film. It’s only about twenty
minutes but fans of this film may want to pick it up for the
extra disc. --- |
| Final
Words: |
A riveting
thriller that overcomes some minor issues with clunky dialogue,
“Open Water” truly hits its stride when the couple are abandoned
to the mercy of nature. It’s not a pretty thriller with an ending
that feels prepackaged with a nice bow on top, but it will make
for an alarming, effecting experience. The home movie quality
of the movie enhances the sense of terror and isolation in the
film. It doesn’t have the blood and guts of “Jaws” or other
thrillers of that type but it still has considerable bite. |
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