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Twister: Special Edition
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Jan De Bont's "Twister" may not be heavy on plot or contain the most wonderful dialogue ever heard, but I think that it certainly does the job providing some serious thrills. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play a former couple, both storm chasers, that find themselves reunited when a serious line of storms make themselves known. Soon, the two as well as their crew are chasing a line of deadly tornados. The two have come up with "Dorothy", a weather machine that, if sucked up by a tornado, will take accurate measurements and allow them to study the twister. Unfortunately, a competitor(Cary Elwes) is also racing to try an experimental machine of his own.
There are a few little problems that take away from the fun; Jamie Gertz plays Paxton's love interest, and she seems like an annoyance. We know that Paxton's character still has feelings for Hunt's Jo - the two have such enjoyable chemistry that their reunion is inevitable.
For every full-force scene where the twisters are coming after the duo, there are a few scenes that make for wonderfully effective chills: cinematographer Jack M. Green ("Speed 2") capturing Hunt and Paxton frozen in place as a twister comes out of the darkness to attack a drive-in movie theater as well as a few other scenes that are quite good.
"Twister" is a solid effects film, built to provide a couple of hours of entertainment. Logic occasionally gets thrown out the window, but we let it ride because of the solid performances from the two lead actors and some remarkable visual effects. Although director Jan De Bont stumbled with "The Haunting", both "Twister" (and especially "Speed") both are successful as big "event" pictures.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is a marvelous anamorphic transfer in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Images are razor sharp, with excellent detail and clarity. Colors are extremely rich and vibrant, looking very well-saturated and never bleeding. Flesh tones remain accurate and black level is excellent.
The only problem I noticed on this transfer was literally one or two very minor marks on the print used; other than that, there's really no other flaws to speak of. No shimmering, no pixelation. What you get is simply outstanding work from Warner Brothers, and that's all I want. A great job, and the image quality here looks improved from the original version.
SOUND: "Twister", of course, is widely regarded as one of the best home theater demos ever. With its agressive use of the surrounds and heavy bass, the Dolby Digital version provided a powerful way to show your system off to your friends.
This special edition provides that and one more great addition - not only do we get the Dolby Digital version, we get the treat of hearing "Twister" with a DTS soundtrack. Both versions are marvelous(and possibly one of the best) examples of surround sound, and the DTS version really is a powerhouse, with deep, thunderous bass and a seamless environment built by all the speakers. Both soundtracks do an equally fine job at creating a sense of space and dimension, as well as providing enough force to make your neighbors wonder what just exploded in your house; this is audio you both hear and feel.
Mark Mancina's score and the various rock tunes that populate the soundtrack sound fabulous on both versions - effectively integrated into the overall soundtrack. Dialogue is especially clear and clean, as well. Steven Hunter Flick, who also has worked on such films as "Starship Troopers" and "Mystery Men", was the supervising sound editor on this film; he and his crew have created a fantastic experience.
MENUS:: Warner has done a fine job in creating all-new menus for this special edition of "Twister". The menu opens like a view-screen, with scenes from the movie cut together to create a sequence of scenes that do an excellent job at introducing the film.
EXTRAS: The first edition of "Twister" was an early release from Warner Brothers and only offered a trailer - this disc corrects that quite well with a packed house; the disc offers a commentary and more.
Commentary: This is a commentary track from director Jan De Bont and Special Effects Coordinator Stefen Fangmeier. De Bont is suprisingly animated, sharing elements of how the film's effects were produced energetically. As with any film like this, the main focus of the discussion is how the film's crew were able to achieve the special visual effects of the movie, from the Tornados on down to smaller elements that had to be brought in, such as what it was like to work with the wind machines.
There are also a number of other small topics covered by the two; De Bont chats a few times about the often-changing weather conditions in the Oklahoma locations, as well as what it was like to work with both the lead actors and many of the supporting cast.
Fangmeier is on-hand to provide additional details about how the effects were achieved, but also has quite a bit to share about the general production as well as expanding on the topics De Bont choses to cover; the two have a nice back and forth in their conversation. And, for a few moments here and there, the two simply sit back and enjoy the movie, providing some funny moments as the two joke about stories from the set and the film in general.
All in all, I really liked this commentary a lot. De Bont and Fangmeier talk throughout the entire film will only a few small pauses here and there in the commentary. They both provide not only an entertaining listen, but a lot of information about the effects that brought "Twister" to life.
Music Video: Van Halen's "Human's Being".
Trailers: 2 trailers
Anatomy Of A Twister: A well-produced featurette that cuts interviews in with footage of the cast and crew on the set of the picture trying to re-create the experience of being in a tornado. The documentary takes us on a tour of not only the sets, but the making of the special effects as well the research that had to be done by the creators of the picture. In terms of effects, this provides a nice visual version of the discussion of effects that went on in the commentary, so we can actually see the work that took place. This documentary runs about 8 minutes and 30 seconds.
The Making Of "Twister": A documentary feature that seems more geared towards promoting the movie, with the actors talking about the story behind the film in a number of interviews. It's nice to hear the thoughts of the actors on their characters, but I found the stories and pictures from the set to be more fascinating. This documentary lasts a tiny bit under 14 minutes in length.
Also:: Cast and crew bios.
Final Thoughts: Great image quality, really great audio quality, wonderful extras and nicely done new menus come together on this DVD to make for a wonderful package. Warner has put together very, very fine work for this special edition - fans of the movie, and those who appreciate the film's phenomenal audio, will be in for a treat.
Jan De Bont's "Twister" may not be heavy on plot or contain the most wonderful dialogue ever heard, but I think that it certainly does the job providing some serious thrills. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play a former couple, both storm chasers, that find themselves reunited when a serious line of storms make themselves known. Soon, the two as well as their crew are chasing a line of deadly tornados. The two have come up with "Dorothy", a weather machine that, if sucked up by a tornado, will take accurate measurements and allow them to study the twister. Unfortunately, a competitor(Cary Elwes) is also racing to try an experimental machine of his own.
There are a few little problems that take away from the fun; Jamie Gertz plays Paxton's love interest, and she seems like an annoyance. We know that Paxton's character still has feelings for Hunt's Jo - the two have such enjoyable chemistry that their reunion is inevitable.
For every full-force scene where the twisters are coming after the duo, there are a few scenes that make for wonderfully effective chills: cinematographer Jack M. Green ("Speed 2") capturing Hunt and Paxton frozen in place as a twister comes out of the darkness to attack a drive-in movie theater as well as a few other scenes that are quite good.
"Twister" is a solid effects film, built to provide a couple of hours of entertainment. Logic occasionally gets thrown out the window, but we let it ride because of the solid performances from the two lead actors and some remarkable visual effects. Although director Jan De Bont stumbled with "The Haunting", both "Twister" (and especially "Speed") both are successful as big "event" pictures.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is a marvelous anamorphic transfer in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Images are razor sharp, with excellent detail and clarity. Colors are extremely rich and vibrant, looking very well-saturated and never bleeding. Flesh tones remain accurate and black level is excellent.
The only problem I noticed on this transfer was literally one or two very minor marks on the print used; other than that, there's really no other flaws to speak of. No shimmering, no pixelation. What you get is simply outstanding work from Warner Brothers, and that's all I want. A great job, and the image quality here looks improved from the original version.
SOUND: "Twister", of course, is widely regarded as one of the best home theater demos ever. With its agressive use of the surrounds and heavy bass, the Dolby Digital version provided a powerful way to show your system off to your friends.
This special edition provides that and one more great addition - not only do we get the Dolby Digital version, we get the treat of hearing "Twister" with a DTS soundtrack. Both versions are marvelous(and possibly one of the best) examples of surround sound, and the DTS version really is a powerhouse, with deep, thunderous bass and a seamless environment built by all the speakers. Both soundtracks do an equally fine job at creating a sense of space and dimension, as well as providing enough force to make your neighbors wonder what just exploded in your house; this is audio you both hear and feel.
Mark Mancina's score and the various rock tunes that populate the soundtrack sound fabulous on both versions - effectively integrated into the overall soundtrack. Dialogue is especially clear and clean, as well. Steven Hunter Flick, who also has worked on such films as "Starship Troopers" and "Mystery Men", was the supervising sound editor on this film; he and his crew have created a fantastic experience.
MENUS:: Warner has done a fine job in creating all-new menus for this special edition of "Twister". The menu opens like a view-screen, with scenes from the movie cut together to create a sequence of scenes that do an excellent job at introducing the film.
EXTRAS: The first edition of "Twister" was an early release from Warner Brothers and only offered a trailer - this disc corrects that quite well with a packed house; the disc offers a commentary and more.
Commentary: This is a commentary track from director Jan De Bont and Special Effects Coordinator Stefen Fangmeier. De Bont is suprisingly animated, sharing elements of how the film's effects were produced energetically. As with any film like this, the main focus of the discussion is how the film's crew were able to achieve the special visual effects of the movie, from the Tornados on down to smaller elements that had to be brought in, such as what it was like to work with the wind machines.
There are also a number of other small topics covered by the two; De Bont chats a few times about the often-changing weather conditions in the Oklahoma locations, as well as what it was like to work with both the lead actors and many of the supporting cast.
Fangmeier is on-hand to provide additional details about how the effects were achieved, but also has quite a bit to share about the general production as well as expanding on the topics De Bont choses to cover; the two have a nice back and forth in their conversation. And, for a few moments here and there, the two simply sit back and enjoy the movie, providing some funny moments as the two joke about stories from the set and the film in general.
All in all, I really liked this commentary a lot. De Bont and Fangmeier talk throughout the entire film will only a few small pauses here and there in the commentary. They both provide not only an entertaining listen, but a lot of information about the effects that brought "Twister" to life.
Music Video: Van Halen's "Human's Being".
Trailers: 2 trailers
Anatomy Of A Twister: A well-produced featurette that cuts interviews in with footage of the cast and crew on the set of the picture trying to re-create the experience of being in a tornado. The documentary takes us on a tour of not only the sets, but the making of the special effects as well the research that had to be done by the creators of the picture. In terms of effects, this provides a nice visual version of the discussion of effects that went on in the commentary, so we can actually see the work that took place. This documentary runs about 8 minutes and 30 seconds.
The Making Of "Twister": A documentary feature that seems more geared towards promoting the movie, with the actors talking about the story behind the film in a number of interviews. It's nice to hear the thoughts of the actors on their characters, but I found the stories and pictures from the set to be more fascinating. This documentary lasts a tiny bit under 14 minutes in length.
Also:: Cast and crew bios.
Final Thoughts: Great image quality, really great audio quality, wonderful extras and nicely done new menus come together on this DVD to make for a wonderful package. Warner has put together very, very fine work for this special edition - fans of the movie, and those who appreciate the film's phenomenal audio, will be in for a treat.
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