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Every house needs a panic room if only to escape the kids for awhile. Yikes, talk about a DVD for an insomniac! "Panic Room" moves up in the DVD world with this three disc set. The first disc focuses exclusively on the film with three separate audio commentaries by all the principles involved in acting/writing and directing the film. There are many boxed sets out there that could have served as poster children for obsessive/compulsive disorder but "Panic Room" takes the big prize with two discs of supplementary material. Does this film deserve such scholarly approach maybe not but fans of Fincher's films (I include myself in that category) and film geeks will lock themselves into their own panic room to enjoy this extensive and exhaustive boxed set. ***

David Fincher's suspenseful Hitchcock fillm takes place within the confines of a single house for the most part. "Panic Room" mimics Hitch's films "Rear Window" and "Rope" by setting the film primarily in one location and, for the most part, within real time. This three ring circus makes for one of Fincher's most compelling and visually arresting thrillers yet. Using digital technology to create a seamless film (not too dissimilar from the effect Hitchcock tried to create with "Rope" and "Under Capricorn" among others), Fincher's film focuses on newly separated Meg Altman(Foster) and her daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart). Meg's husband has left her for another woman. Mother and daughter relocate to a three story townhouse in Manhattan to get away from the wounds of their old world. ***

When they're first shown the lovely three story home, the hardwood floors and elegant design captivates them both. The big surprise, though, is a panic room designed for homeowners in case of a break-in. Shielded behind concrete and a solid metal door, the occupants can phone the police on a separate line and survive on rations and water stored there until police come to the rescue. While Meg doesn't see any need for the panic room, the place charms her and she needs a place to live now. The Realtor pressures them into making an offer and, suddenly, they have a new home. ***

Every home has its own secrets. This home's secret has inspired three burglars to break into the place. Unknown to the three (Leto, Whitaker and Yoakam) is the fact that the place is occupied. They expected to break into the vacant home and, suddenly, they have an unpleasant surprise that will complicate things. ---

Packed tighter than a vacationer's suitcase, the other two discs of "Panic Room" obsessively detail every aspect of the film making it a film student's wet dream. The second disc focuses on previsualization a process using computers to act as a moving storyboard so that all the shots can be seen before one foot of film is shot. This essential part of film direction helps the producers budget and the director discover what sort of difficulties he or she will be facing before stepping onto the set with the actors. ***

We see the lighting tests . Fincher shot with minimal lighting so as to create a realistic effect. The difficulty is discovering what lighting will work and still illuminate the action enough for viewers to follow it. We also walk through the tests for costuming where lighting and costumes are designed to see what the costumes will ultimately look like on film. Dallies (i.e., the raw footage of the film without any overdubs, effects shots or editing) are also included which provides a glimpse into the difficulty of making a film today. There's also a sequence allowing multi-angle comparisons between the original storyboards, CGI previsualization and final footage with optional commentary.The second disc also includes an hour long documentary on the principal photography and also a make up effects featurette with Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. ***

The most fascinating portion of the extras relates how the long unedited tracking shots were achieved. Using a special crane, Fincher shot much of the film on an empty set using CGI to create the furniture and the uncut craning and tracking shots. For example, there's a stunning sequence where the camera fans downstairs throughout the house to the living room where we see the villains for the first time at the window. The camera pans over to the door as they use a key to break into the place. The camera doesn't stop at the door but continues in through the keyhole where we actually see the key inserted and causing the tumblers to turn. We then see a magnificent sequence where the camera pans across the room through the kitchen. We pass over the counter through the handle of the coffee pot and across the dining room table where we see one of the villains force the backdoor open. These amazing sequences hark back to Hitchcock's "Rope" but utilize CGI to achieve what couldn't be physically achieved without causing the camera to bump or shake. In Hitchcock's "Rope" Hitchcock tried to achieve much the same effect by having "wild walls", i.e., walls that were on wheels. The camera crew would move the walls just as the camera should have hit it creating a smooth, fluid motion allowing the camera--and us-- to go into a room without cuts. Fincher's film achieves much of the same effect with much more fluid and extensive motion through CGI. ***

This sequence of the DVD included on disc three shows the raw footage without CGI effects, with CGI effects and the finished CGI effects plus live action plates (footage shot of the actors put into the computer for combing the CGI and live action footage into a seamless whole). We also get to see and hear the CGI supervisor comment on the footage we see, the problems they had in "smoothing" out the bumps as the camera moved and also what portions of the set were CGI and what were not. We also see a visual comparison between all of this footage that makes one marvel at how the technical aspects of "Panic Room" equal those of the entertainment aspects. While similar tricks have been used before (most notably on "What Lies Beneath" and "Forrest Gump"), none have been as extensive as those used for "Panic Room". ***

There's also a section that discusses color timing, i.e., adjusting color between different shots that could be shot days or weeks apart so that the color and lighting match. There's bound to be variation between colors as light bulbs age, cameras are moved and set ups change. Fincher's wanted to create a seamless environment that didn't take the viewer out of the film. We're also given a lesson in the differences between "hard" mattes, "soft" mattes, widescreen, anamorphic widescreen, etc. The essay written by Special Features Producer David Prior gives an exhaustive and extensive glimpse into how difficult it can be to decide what presentation a film should be given. Most lay people will probably not bother with this nor will read the essay more than once. ---

With four commentary tracks we get an exhaustive look at the film from the inside out. Obviously, the most valuable commentary comes from Fincher. Whitaker and Foster both provide detailed and fascinating commentary tracks as well. Since both have directed films and are actors, they're commentaries are actually as essential as Fincher's. Foster in particular discusses the difficulties as director has in blocking scenes out particularly when many of the sets and backgrounds are fully CGI (such as the many long tracking shots throughout the house or the single unbroken shot that begins upstairs, goes down to the front window and door then --without a break--goes through the kitchen to the backdoor. Foster's comments on the difficulties in blocking out this scenes and her comments (along with Fincher's) on having to go back and do digital corrections for the minor but noticeable jumps caused by the Panaglide camera bring to light how difficult even the simplest shots could be. She also provides interesting comments on the lighting used throughout the film and the illusion of "natural" light. ***

Whitaker's comments (Yoakam also appears on this commentary track as well) focuses on both the difficulty he faced as an actor in dealing with a project with so much CGI but also the challenges he faced working on a film where every shot could take longer than a location shoot. Since the film takes place almost exclusively inside the house, he and the other cast member relate both how similar it "Panic Room" was to a theatrical play but also how difficult it could be to connect with some of the other actors because they play off each other separated by different parts of the house. ***

Writer Koepp's comments also provide interesting insights into how Fincher realized and in some cases improved on his initial vision for the film. Since Koepp is a writer and director (he also served as a producer on this film), the collaborative nature clearly was both a joy and frustrating for him at the same time. Although "Panic Room" was more than a job, it also required a level of collaboration between all the crew that was quite high. His comments prove to be especially illuminating when he comments on some of the visual tricks that Fincher uses to create the illusion of uninterrupted shots. His take on the performances by the actors also proves to be quite interesting and he relates a number of stories (or his mysterious cohort on the commentary track does) about the difficulties in making this picture and others he's worked on. Having all of these commentaries was much more valuable to me than all the raw dallies included in the extras section. It also brought a fresh appreciation to the film each time I viewed it as each commentary brought a slightly different perspective to the film. ---

One of the most exhaustive looks at creating a film yet, the deluxe edition of "Panic Room" seems more for film buffs than the average viewer. Following the film from inception to post production allows an intimate look at Fincher's film from an inside perspective. As to whether most viewers are going to spend the time to watch all of this (admittedly, much of it dry) footage, that's going to depend on whether or not you are a film student or film buff or just someone who wants to be entertained. ***

The stunning high definition transfer looks like one of the best produced so far for DVD. The amount of detail and sharp resolution makes this edition of "Panic Room" as close to the theatrical one outside of having a screening room yourself. The three audio commentaries also provide a wealth of information about the shooting of the film from a number of different perspectives including director Fincher, screenwriter Koepp, stars Foster, Whitaker and Yoakam. ***

Is this set overkill? Frankly, yes unless you're a film geek. Clearly that's the case with Fincher and those that helped produce the film. I've complained about films that don't have enough supplements before but this deluxe edition errs on the side of overkill. Still, it's nice to see a film director who cares as much about his films as Fincher and someone also confident enough to let viewers on the inside of the production of the film in intimate detail. I can't recommend "Panic Room Special Edition" for everyone but it'll be fun for those with an interest in making films of their own.