The Day After Tomorrow C.E. - A Personal Review
06-04-05, 10:06 PM
#1
DVD Talk Reviewer
Thread Starter
The Day After Tomorrow C.E. - A Personal Review
The Day After Tomorrow All Access Collector's Edition
The Film: B+
I'll begin by saying that I was a little disappointed when I left the theater last Memorial Day after viewing this film. After being hooked by the first half of the movie, I was let down by the emotions and plot of the second half. This fact caused me to only rent the film on dvd when it came out last fall in the one disc edition. Once again, I was disappointed with the film, and this was not helped by the fact that I did not feel well when watching it. When I saw that Fox was issuing another release with some good features, I decided to give the film one more shot. I'm glad I did. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the film this time, but the dvd has some great features to boot. The special effects were always the draw for me in this film. Roland Emmerich has done some pretty kick ass special effects in Independence Day and others, but this movie features the best. As for his other films, I will say that I am not fan of Godzilla, a film which was fine in my younger days but quite lousy when I viewed it last summer. The Day After Tomorrow was one of my most anticipated movies last summer, probably the reason why I felt a little cheated. Seeing it again on dvd allowed me to really appreciate it for what it is: a summer blockbuster with some humanity and a few "it could happen" facts thrown in. The idea of climate change and global warming is pretty scary to me. Granted I like my SUV but this movie and the bonus features on disc 2 got me thinking about the problem. As for the film's emotional core, Day After Tomorrow's second half really got better on my third viewing. I now can say I enjoyed the father/son storyline and trip through the snow. Although I wish the film had focused more on other weather disasters in other cities, the movie does well with what it does present. Overall, Day After Tomorrow is a good disaster film and its cast (Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal) does a good job with the material.
The Disc:
Picture: A-
I would suspect this is the same as the first disc, not that it's a problem. Fox has issued a great anamorphic transfer that is sharp, clear, and very well defined. The print is clear from damage as it should be and I saw no pixilation and minimal edge enhancement. Only a few scenes were a bit murky. Overall a very nice transfer.
Audio: A
Offered in DTS and Dolby 5.1, I was only able to listen to the Dolby. The sound is consistently great and makes fine use of the surrounds during scenes like the L.A. twister rampage and the superstorm. Although Day After Tomorrow features a lot of dialogue mixed in, it's always clear and well balanced with other sound effects throughout. A very nice mix.
Extras: A
The main draw for this new release is obviously the extras. The first disc had a commentary, two deleted scenes, an audio mix featurette, and some DVD-rom raw behind the scenes footage. This new release has a whole second disc for extras. The first disc has two commentaries; one with the director and producer and the other with the writer, cinematographer, and production designer. Although I didn't listen to all of them, the first is quite good and director Emmerich gives a lot of information on the making of his film. He also talks about the actors and deleted footage, some of which isn't in the deleted scenes section. I listened to little of the second commentary, but it seemed very informative if a little dry. The second disc has a nearly hour long documentary on the making of the film called "Two Kings and a Scribe: A Filmmaking Conversation." The doc is quite good and although it doesn't show much of scene filming, it does provide candid moments with the film's crew, meetings, and a view inside the editing room. I liked hearing about the conception of the film, especially the changes to the Sam character and how the film was pitched to Fox with almost complete pre-vis sequences and with a final budget drawn out. Also present are featurettes on pre-vis, a pre-production meeting, and pushing the special effects. There are 10 or 12 deleted scenes which are mostly quite good. I watched them with and without commentary by the director and producer and they are presented in very good quality widescreen. The best ones feature a hurricane hunter and a scene during the hurricane with two surfers. The two deleted scenes from the original release are present here as well. Also interesting is an hour long documentary called "The Force of Destiny: The Science and Politics of Climate Change." The information is somewhat dryly presented, but quite fascinating and scary. We also get quite a few storyboards, production designs, and some previews for the film. The extras on the disc are very good and I enjoyed most all of them. The only thing you don't get is the dvd-rom material from the old disc. This was presented with crappy Hot Llama software, but there were quite a few clips from the filming of different scenes. They talked about the plastic ice balls, etc. and I felt they were pretty boring because they were just raw footage spliced together. The features on the new All-Access Collector's Edition are much more thorough and entertaining.
The Packaging:
The one disc version came with a lenticular slip cover featuring the New York skyline before and after the weather disaster. Although neat, I felt that cover was a bit tacky. The new edition comes with a slipcover as well and presents the haunting image of two people standing in the snow outside of the frozen New York City. The somewhat shiny slipcover is identical to the armary art. The disc art is kind of ugly, with disc one having ice and snow and disc two having a storm on it. There is a two page insert with pictures, comments mixed with a Quaid interview, chapters, and extra features detail. Unfortunately, the disc comes in a cheap Fox case that is more flimsy than the two disc cases from Warner Brothers and other studios. As a bonus, the disc features a coupon for $7.50 off a Fantastic Four admission in July!
Overall: A-
Well worth buying if you enjoyed the film or want to give it a shot, the new Day After Tomorrow Collector's Edition offers the film with a great transfer, sound mix, and tons of extras. As for the movie itself, I guess the third time was a charm. Now I quite like the movie and I thoroughly enjoyed the extra features. RECCOMENDED!
The Film: B+
I'll begin by saying that I was a little disappointed when I left the theater last Memorial Day after viewing this film. After being hooked by the first half of the movie, I was let down by the emotions and plot of the second half. This fact caused me to only rent the film on dvd when it came out last fall in the one disc edition. Once again, I was disappointed with the film, and this was not helped by the fact that I did not feel well when watching it. When I saw that Fox was issuing another release with some good features, I decided to give the film one more shot. I'm glad I did. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the film this time, but the dvd has some great features to boot. The special effects were always the draw for me in this film. Roland Emmerich has done some pretty kick ass special effects in Independence Day and others, but this movie features the best. As for his other films, I will say that I am not fan of Godzilla, a film which was fine in my younger days but quite lousy when I viewed it last summer. The Day After Tomorrow was one of my most anticipated movies last summer, probably the reason why I felt a little cheated. Seeing it again on dvd allowed me to really appreciate it for what it is: a summer blockbuster with some humanity and a few "it could happen" facts thrown in. The idea of climate change and global warming is pretty scary to me. Granted I like my SUV but this movie and the bonus features on disc 2 got me thinking about the problem. As for the film's emotional core, Day After Tomorrow's second half really got better on my third viewing. I now can say I enjoyed the father/son storyline and trip through the snow. Although I wish the film had focused more on other weather disasters in other cities, the movie does well with what it does present. Overall, Day After Tomorrow is a good disaster film and its cast (Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal) does a good job with the material.
The Disc:
Picture: A-
I would suspect this is the same as the first disc, not that it's a problem. Fox has issued a great anamorphic transfer that is sharp, clear, and very well defined. The print is clear from damage as it should be and I saw no pixilation and minimal edge enhancement. Only a few scenes were a bit murky. Overall a very nice transfer.
Audio: A
Offered in DTS and Dolby 5.1, I was only able to listen to the Dolby. The sound is consistently great and makes fine use of the surrounds during scenes like the L.A. twister rampage and the superstorm. Although Day After Tomorrow features a lot of dialogue mixed in, it's always clear and well balanced with other sound effects throughout. A very nice mix.
Extras: A
The main draw for this new release is obviously the extras. The first disc had a commentary, two deleted scenes, an audio mix featurette, and some DVD-rom raw behind the scenes footage. This new release has a whole second disc for extras. The first disc has two commentaries; one with the director and producer and the other with the writer, cinematographer, and production designer. Although I didn't listen to all of them, the first is quite good and director Emmerich gives a lot of information on the making of his film. He also talks about the actors and deleted footage, some of which isn't in the deleted scenes section. I listened to little of the second commentary, but it seemed very informative if a little dry. The second disc has a nearly hour long documentary on the making of the film called "Two Kings and a Scribe: A Filmmaking Conversation." The doc is quite good and although it doesn't show much of scene filming, it does provide candid moments with the film's crew, meetings, and a view inside the editing room. I liked hearing about the conception of the film, especially the changes to the Sam character and how the film was pitched to Fox with almost complete pre-vis sequences and with a final budget drawn out. Also present are featurettes on pre-vis, a pre-production meeting, and pushing the special effects. There are 10 or 12 deleted scenes which are mostly quite good. I watched them with and without commentary by the director and producer and they are presented in very good quality widescreen. The best ones feature a hurricane hunter and a scene during the hurricane with two surfers. The two deleted scenes from the original release are present here as well. Also interesting is an hour long documentary called "The Force of Destiny: The Science and Politics of Climate Change." The information is somewhat dryly presented, but quite fascinating and scary. We also get quite a few storyboards, production designs, and some previews for the film. The extras on the disc are very good and I enjoyed most all of them. The only thing you don't get is the dvd-rom material from the old disc. This was presented with crappy Hot Llama software, but there were quite a few clips from the filming of different scenes. They talked about the plastic ice balls, etc. and I felt they were pretty boring because they were just raw footage spliced together. The features on the new All-Access Collector's Edition are much more thorough and entertaining.
The Packaging:
The one disc version came with a lenticular slip cover featuring the New York skyline before and after the weather disaster. Although neat, I felt that cover was a bit tacky. The new edition comes with a slipcover as well and presents the haunting image of two people standing in the snow outside of the frozen New York City. The somewhat shiny slipcover is identical to the armary art. The disc art is kind of ugly, with disc one having ice and snow and disc two having a storm on it. There is a two page insert with pictures, comments mixed with a Quaid interview, chapters, and extra features detail. Unfortunately, the disc comes in a cheap Fox case that is more flimsy than the two disc cases from Warner Brothers and other studios. As a bonus, the disc features a coupon for $7.50 off a Fantastic Four admission in July!
Overall: A-
Well worth buying if you enjoyed the film or want to give it a shot, the new Day After Tomorrow Collector's Edition offers the film with a great transfer, sound mix, and tons of extras. As for the movie itself, I guess the third time was a charm. Now I quite like the movie and I thoroughly enjoyed the extra features. RECCOMENDED!
Last edited by Willh51; 06-04-05 at 10:22 PM.
06-28-05, 01:02 AM
#2
DVD Talk Reviewer
Thread Starter
I thought it was interesting to note that Steven King, obviously not impressed with any dvd extras, wrote in Entertainment Weekly about his disdain for bonus materials. He mentioned D.A.T. as a dvd which had features he thought were pointless. I guess you get out of the features what you want to, as some people just don't care how a film was made.
