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Cell: Platinum Edition, The
Other // R // December 19, 2000
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The FBI has been hunting down a serial killer (Vincent D'Onofrio) who kidnaps young women and puts them through a bizarre, torturous process to turn them into exceptionally large china dolls, which he dumps off bridges and th' like. Although the FBI successfully tracks down our backwater buddy, he's comatose by the time they arrive, only to discover that the process is largely automated and that a young woman is already trapped in...yes, you knew this was coming...the cell. No one knows where this latest victim is being held, and the clock is ticking. Enter Catherine Deane (Jennifer "Are you lookin' at my bum? Oh, why not?" Lopez), a sugary-sweet child therapist who's spend the past 18 months or so in the mind of a billionaire's comatose son, trying to return him to the world o' the living. Deane, at the request of the FBI (Vince Vaughn and some largely insignificant people), hops into the killer's deranged mind, attempting to save both the killer and his victim before time runs out.
Sure, the plot of "The Cell" sounds decent, though not entirely original. The intriguing part of the cell isn't the story, though...or the characters...or the acting...or...well, anything but the visuals. Yes, "The Cell" is directed by another MTV alumnus, Tarsem Singh, and what the film lacks in virtually every other conceivable way, it makes up for with haunting, disturbing, abstract visuals. The production design is second-to-none and almost certain to bring in an Oscar when the time comes... Rather than complementing the film, the visuals apparently came at the expense of acting, character development, dialogue, and script retouches. Still, the film is visually spectacular enough that I think it deserves to be seen at least once.
Video/Audio: New Line has a history of putting out some of the most impressive transfers of any studio, and that "The Cell" manages to rank near the top of such a body of work is quite a compliment. Presented, of course, in anamorphic widescreen, the 2.35:1 image is exceptional -- colorful yet free of bleeding, crisp and clear without a trace of edge enhancement, solid blacks, no visible artifacting, no print flaws...basically a laundry list of every positive thing I could think of offhand. Simply spectacular. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is similarly impressive, with effective use of surrounds and frequent LFE rumbling that, yes, provide an expansive, dream-like quality to the soundstage. I feel really goofy writing stuff like that.
Supplements: If someone were to sit down and attempt to view all these supplements in one sitting, it'd probably take close to seven hours. This list of extras will probably end up being longer than the remainder of the review, so I guess I'll go ahead and jump straight into it...
My favorite extra has always been the commentary track, and there are two here for your listening pleasure. The first is with Tarsem, who discusses his inspirations and motivations at length, without the numerous awkward silences so typical with many first time commentators. The second features a number of members of the production team, whose comments are edited together similar to the commentary on Criterion's "Silence of the Lambs". Like that disc, with so many people, it can be a little difficult to tell who's talking, and this commentary is so technical in nature that its appeal will probably be limited to those particularly fascinated by this area of film production. Another often overlooked extra, the isolated score, also pops up. I've never listened to an isolated score, but, oh...maybe one day...
Eight deleted scenes are included with optional commentary, three of them being extended versions of sequences already in the final cut. Normally deleted scenes tend to look fairly rough compared to the feature, but that remarkably isn't the case here. This extra footage is indistinguishable from the rest of the film and also in anamorphic widescreen (though not in DD 5.1).
The first of the 'behind the scenes' segments is a featurette entitled "Style As Substance: Reflections On Tarsem" (except in stylish lower-case on the disc). The title pretty much sums it up -- everyone talks about how much they like Tarsem and what he's done. The six visual effects vignettes, reminding me what a cool word 'vignette' is, are more substantial (witty!). Visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug, make-up designer Michelle Burke, and digital animator Richard Baily go over a few different effects sequences. It's nice to see another disc making use of the multi-angle feature (even though my Toshiba SD3109 takes forever to change angles), and here, you can go from a shot of discussion, storyboards, and behind-the-scenes footage. The storyboards and behind-the-scenes footage are also presented picture-in-picture in the first angle, which comes in handy for those of us cursed with players that don't switch angles quickly enough.
Interactive features are always a nice distraction, and there are two on-board this go-around: an empathy test (which basically said I'm a bastard, but I already knew that) and a brain map, listing areas of the brain, what each part does, and the possible dysfunctions that may occur there. We also get the usual cast/crew bios and a pair of trailers, along with a demo of a completely unrelated game called Homeworld.
I believe all of the supplements are in anamorphic widescreen, and hopefully it won't be too much longer until everyone else follows suit.
Conclusion: I didn't find that "The Cell" held up all that well to multiple viewings, having seen it once theatrically and several times, counting the commentaries, on DVD. The story didn't seem engaging, nor did I particularly care about any of the characters. (I freely admit to not being a Jennifer Lopez fan.) Still, the visuals alone make it worth a rental, and the very reasonable MSRP -- $24.95, and likely to be marked down to the $15 range at Best Buy/Circuit City/Alliteration Alley upon its release -- is easy to swallow. Although I wouldn't consider the film to rank significantly higher than 'merely okay', the accurate representation of the amazing visuals, the powerful audio, and the quality and sheer number of supplements place it among the best DVDs released in 2000. Recommended, especially at the price "The Cell" will likely go for at the loss-leaders during its week of release.
Sure, the plot of "The Cell" sounds decent, though not entirely original. The intriguing part of the cell isn't the story, though...or the characters...or the acting...or...well, anything but the visuals. Yes, "The Cell" is directed by another MTV alumnus, Tarsem Singh, and what the film lacks in virtually every other conceivable way, it makes up for with haunting, disturbing, abstract visuals. The production design is second-to-none and almost certain to bring in an Oscar when the time comes... Rather than complementing the film, the visuals apparently came at the expense of acting, character development, dialogue, and script retouches. Still, the film is visually spectacular enough that I think it deserves to be seen at least once.
Video/Audio: New Line has a history of putting out some of the most impressive transfers of any studio, and that "The Cell" manages to rank near the top of such a body of work is quite a compliment. Presented, of course, in anamorphic widescreen, the 2.35:1 image is exceptional -- colorful yet free of bleeding, crisp and clear without a trace of edge enhancement, solid blacks, no visible artifacting, no print flaws...basically a laundry list of every positive thing I could think of offhand. Simply spectacular. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is similarly impressive, with effective use of surrounds and frequent LFE rumbling that, yes, provide an expansive, dream-like quality to the soundstage. I feel really goofy writing stuff like that.
Supplements: If someone were to sit down and attempt to view all these supplements in one sitting, it'd probably take close to seven hours. This list of extras will probably end up being longer than the remainder of the review, so I guess I'll go ahead and jump straight into it...
My favorite extra has always been the commentary track, and there are two here for your listening pleasure. The first is with Tarsem, who discusses his inspirations and motivations at length, without the numerous awkward silences so typical with many first time commentators. The second features a number of members of the production team, whose comments are edited together similar to the commentary on Criterion's "Silence of the Lambs". Like that disc, with so many people, it can be a little difficult to tell who's talking, and this commentary is so technical in nature that its appeal will probably be limited to those particularly fascinated by this area of film production. Another often overlooked extra, the isolated score, also pops up. I've never listened to an isolated score, but, oh...maybe one day...
Eight deleted scenes are included with optional commentary, three of them being extended versions of sequences already in the final cut. Normally deleted scenes tend to look fairly rough compared to the feature, but that remarkably isn't the case here. This extra footage is indistinguishable from the rest of the film and also in anamorphic widescreen (though not in DD 5.1).
The first of the 'behind the scenes' segments is a featurette entitled "Style As Substance: Reflections On Tarsem" (except in stylish lower-case on the disc). The title pretty much sums it up -- everyone talks about how much they like Tarsem and what he's done. The six visual effects vignettes, reminding me what a cool word 'vignette' is, are more substantial (witty!). Visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug, make-up designer Michelle Burke, and digital animator Richard Baily go over a few different effects sequences. It's nice to see another disc making use of the multi-angle feature (even though my Toshiba SD3109 takes forever to change angles), and here, you can go from a shot of discussion, storyboards, and behind-the-scenes footage. The storyboards and behind-the-scenes footage are also presented picture-in-picture in the first angle, which comes in handy for those of us cursed with players that don't switch angles quickly enough.
Interactive features are always a nice distraction, and there are two on-board this go-around: an empathy test (which basically said I'm a bastard, but I already knew that) and a brain map, listing areas of the brain, what each part does, and the possible dysfunctions that may occur there. We also get the usual cast/crew bios and a pair of trailers, along with a demo of a completely unrelated game called Homeworld.
I believe all of the supplements are in anamorphic widescreen, and hopefully it won't be too much longer until everyone else follows suit.
Conclusion: I didn't find that "The Cell" held up all that well to multiple viewings, having seen it once theatrically and several times, counting the commentaries, on DVD. The story didn't seem engaging, nor did I particularly care about any of the characters. (I freely admit to not being a Jennifer Lopez fan.) Still, the visuals alone make it worth a rental, and the very reasonable MSRP -- $24.95, and likely to be marked down to the $15 range at Best Buy/Circuit City/Alliteration Alley upon its release -- is easy to swallow. Although I wouldn't consider the film to rank significantly higher than 'merely okay', the accurate representation of the amazing visuals, the powerful audio, and the quality and sheer number of supplements place it among the best DVDs released in 2000. Recommended, especially at the price "The Cell" will likely go for at the loss-leaders during its week of release.
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