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Fire in the Sky
Paramount // PG-13 // October 19, 2004
List Price: $14.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Fire in the Sky is loosely based on Travis Walton's account of his abduction by aliens in a remote town in Arizona in 1975. The opening scenes establish the events leading up to the abduction, but then it takes an unexpected turn. Most of the movie isn't about Travis Walton, at least not directly -- it focuses on the five co-workers that left him behind, and the suspicion that arises in their sleepy little town as they find themselves accused of Walton's murder, despite a lack of incriminating evidence or even a body.
This marked my first time seeing Fire in the Sky, and one of my primary reasons for wanting to give it a look on DVD was the onslaught of praise lavished upon it on the DVD Talk forums. I have to admit that I fail to see whatever it is about the movie that's inspired such adoration. At its core, Fire in the Sky is an exceedingly conventional murder mystery. You have an investigator that doggedly pursues the suspects, lobbing out oblique threats every three or four scenes. There's a confrontation in a diner where one patron pesters a suspected murderer, an inconclusive lie detector test, a heartfelt, predominately one-sided "what happened...?" scene in a hospital, a sequence where one of the suspects confidently stands in front of the collected townsfolk, everyone staring him down as he declares his innocence... The only things that differentiates the bulk of Fire in the Sky from a hundred other murder mysteries are (1) there's no body; Travis is just assumed to be dead, and (2) the "close encounters" subplot, and despite what you might assume, those don't amount to much. Whatever suspense there may have been in the central story is largely defused. There's never any doubt on the audience's part that the five workers are incontrovertibly telling the truth. The TV spots that blanketed the networks a decade ago made it clear that this is an alien abduction tale, and the opening credits indicate that the film is based on a book penned by the character that mysteriously disappears. Spending half the movie pondering whether or not Travis Walton is dead seems like a waste -- of course he's not. Dead men don't get book deals. There really isn't much else to focus on until Travis makes his inevitable reappearance. Characterization is weak, and most of the dialogue is uninspired. Maybe I'm supposed to be energized by the fact that Travis' co-workers stand steadfast and unwavering, despite what they're forced to endure. They're better men than I am, apparently, but I never really felt any reason to care what happened to any of them. Fire in the Sky also has one of the most excruciatingly dull, completely unnecessary epilogues ever committed to film. I'm sure there's some reason why so many people have embraced Fire in the Sky, but whatever the appeal is, it escapes me.
There is one redeeming aspect that I feel obligated to note: Travis' flashbacks to his experiences on the alien spacecraft are skillfully executed. Out of the innumerable spaceships I've seen on movies and television in my lifetime, Fire in the Sky's is unique. The traditional route is sparse, metallic sterility. The craft in this movie is claustrophobic, moist, and organic. Instead of being constructed out of shiny, smooth geometric shapes, the interior of the craft more closely resembles cliff dwellings carved out of a mesa. As Travis awoke on the craft, I was instantly reminded of The Matrix, and perhaps it's no coincidence that both movies share the same cinematographer, Bill Pope. Most of Fire in the Sky plays like a formulaic TV movie, but the probe sequence is flat-out horror from start to finish and easily among the best I've ever seen in a science-fiction movie. Then again, Fire in the Sky doesn't really deserve to be classified as a science-fiction movie, and its most memorable sequence doesn't seem to mesh with the remainder of what amounts to a largely lackluster film.
Despite the outcry from some of its more enthusiastic fans for a special edition release, Paramount is issuing Fire in the Sky on DVD with no supplemental material whatsoever, although it has been given an anamorphic widescreen presentation and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Video: Fire in the Sky is presented in anamorphic widescreen at its theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and this crisp, detailed transfer looks great. There aren't any concerns of note regarding the source material or the authoring of this DVD. The palette of the daytime sequences boast the warm glow of a late summer afternoon. Several key scenes take place at night under low lighting, and detail still holds up well, with appropriately deep, inky blacks. Film grain becomes particularly heavy in a couple of scattered shots, but the appearance of the movie is otherwise consistent throughout.
Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (448Kbps) is very much driven towards the front of the soundstage, with only a very slight amount of ambiance and reinforcement of the score provided in the rears. Dialogue comes through clearly and intelligibly, and the score and various sound effects maintain a full presence, often coaxing a rumble from my subwoofer. The LFE is particularly thunderous during the abduction sequence. The movie is closed captioned, and Paramount has also provided stereo surround tracks and subtitles in English and French.
Supplements: Nothing -- not even a theatrical trailer. The DVD does include a set of static 16x9 menus and sixteen chapter stops.
Conclusion: My disinterest in Fire in the Sky seems to put me squarely in the minority. The low list price may make this appealing as a purchase to casual fans of the movie or to just random viewers whose interest has been piqued by all the gushing praise, but I personally wouldn't recommend this DVD as anything more than a rental.
Related Links: Travis Walton has an official website, for anyone interested in reading more about the man who inspired this movie.
This marked my first time seeing Fire in the Sky, and one of my primary reasons for wanting to give it a look on DVD was the onslaught of praise lavished upon it on the DVD Talk forums. I have to admit that I fail to see whatever it is about the movie that's inspired such adoration. At its core, Fire in the Sky is an exceedingly conventional murder mystery. You have an investigator that doggedly pursues the suspects, lobbing out oblique threats every three or four scenes. There's a confrontation in a diner where one patron pesters a suspected murderer, an inconclusive lie detector test, a heartfelt, predominately one-sided "what happened...?" scene in a hospital, a sequence where one of the suspects confidently stands in front of the collected townsfolk, everyone staring him down as he declares his innocence... The only things that differentiates the bulk of Fire in the Sky from a hundred other murder mysteries are (1) there's no body; Travis is just assumed to be dead, and (2) the "close encounters" subplot, and despite what you might assume, those don't amount to much. Whatever suspense there may have been in the central story is largely defused. There's never any doubt on the audience's part that the five workers are incontrovertibly telling the truth. The TV spots that blanketed the networks a decade ago made it clear that this is an alien abduction tale, and the opening credits indicate that the film is based on a book penned by the character that mysteriously disappears. Spending half the movie pondering whether or not Travis Walton is dead seems like a waste -- of course he's not. Dead men don't get book deals. There really isn't much else to focus on until Travis makes his inevitable reappearance. Characterization is weak, and most of the dialogue is uninspired. Maybe I'm supposed to be energized by the fact that Travis' co-workers stand steadfast and unwavering, despite what they're forced to endure. They're better men than I am, apparently, but I never really felt any reason to care what happened to any of them. Fire in the Sky also has one of the most excruciatingly dull, completely unnecessary epilogues ever committed to film. I'm sure there's some reason why so many people have embraced Fire in the Sky, but whatever the appeal is, it escapes me.
There is one redeeming aspect that I feel obligated to note: Travis' flashbacks to his experiences on the alien spacecraft are skillfully executed. Out of the innumerable spaceships I've seen on movies and television in my lifetime, Fire in the Sky's is unique. The traditional route is sparse, metallic sterility. The craft in this movie is claustrophobic, moist, and organic. Instead of being constructed out of shiny, smooth geometric shapes, the interior of the craft more closely resembles cliff dwellings carved out of a mesa. As Travis awoke on the craft, I was instantly reminded of The Matrix, and perhaps it's no coincidence that both movies share the same cinematographer, Bill Pope. Most of Fire in the Sky plays like a formulaic TV movie, but the probe sequence is flat-out horror from start to finish and easily among the best I've ever seen in a science-fiction movie. Then again, Fire in the Sky doesn't really deserve to be classified as a science-fiction movie, and its most memorable sequence doesn't seem to mesh with the remainder of what amounts to a largely lackluster film.
Despite the outcry from some of its more enthusiastic fans for a special edition release, Paramount is issuing Fire in the Sky on DVD with no supplemental material whatsoever, although it has been given an anamorphic widescreen presentation and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Video: Fire in the Sky is presented in anamorphic widescreen at its theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and this crisp, detailed transfer looks great. There aren't any concerns of note regarding the source material or the authoring of this DVD. The palette of the daytime sequences boast the warm glow of a late summer afternoon. Several key scenes take place at night under low lighting, and detail still holds up well, with appropriately deep, inky blacks. Film grain becomes particularly heavy in a couple of scattered shots, but the appearance of the movie is otherwise consistent throughout.
Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (448Kbps) is very much driven towards the front of the soundstage, with only a very slight amount of ambiance and reinforcement of the score provided in the rears. Dialogue comes through clearly and intelligibly, and the score and various sound effects maintain a full presence, often coaxing a rumble from my subwoofer. The LFE is particularly thunderous during the abduction sequence. The movie is closed captioned, and Paramount has also provided stereo surround tracks and subtitles in English and French.
Supplements: Nothing -- not even a theatrical trailer. The DVD does include a set of static 16x9 menus and sixteen chapter stops.
Conclusion: My disinterest in Fire in the Sky seems to put me squarely in the minority. The low list price may make this appealing as a purchase to casual fans of the movie or to just random viewers whose interest has been piqued by all the gushing praise, but I personally wouldn't recommend this DVD as anything more than a rental.
Related Links: Travis Walton has an official website, for anyone interested in reading more about the man who inspired this movie.
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