Site created 12/15/97. |
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review added: 10/24/00
Men in Black
review by Todd Doogan and
Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits
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Men
in Black
Collector's Series -
1997 (2000) - Amblin (Columbia TriStar)
Film Rating: B
Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): A-/A/A
Specs and Features
98 mins, PG-13, letterboxed widescreen (1.85:1), 16x9 enhanced,
single-sided, dual-layered (no layer switch), Amaray keep case
packaging, visual/audio commentary with director Barry Sonnenfeld
and actor Tommy Lee Jones (indexed), Metamorphosis
of MiB "making of" featurette, MiB
"EPK" featurette, 5 extended/deleted scenes, teaser
trailer, 3 theatrical trailers (for Men
in Black, Ghostbusters
and Bad Boys), Men
in Black music video by Will Smith, talent files, Tunnel
Scene Deconstruction video with introduction and optional
technical commentary (multi-angle), character animation studies
(multi-angle), conceptual art gallery, storyboard gallery,
storyboard comparisons, production photo gallery, PC Friendly
DVD-ROM extras (including interactive MiB "recruit training"
game, information on MiB weapons and equipment, bios of
Manhattan-area "aliens", MiB Headquarters Quicktime VR
exploration and weblinks), collectible booklet, animated film-themed
menu screens with sound effects and music, scene access (27
chapters), languages: English (DD 5.1 & 2.0) and French (DD
2.0), subtitles: English, French & Spanish, Closed Captioned
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Men
in Black (DTS)
Collector's Series -
1997 (2000) - Amblin (Columbia TriStar)
Film Rating: B
Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras):
A-/A+/A
Specs and Features
98 mins, PG-13, letterboxed widescreen (1.85:1), 16x9 enhanced,
single-sided, dual-layered (no layer switch), Amaray keep case
packaging, visual/audio commentary with director Barry Sonnenfeld
and actor Tommy Lee Jones (indexed), Metamorphosis
of MiB "making of" featurette, MiB
"EPK" featurette, 5 extended/deleted scenes, teaser
trailer, 3 theatrical trailers (for Men
in Black, Ghostbusters
and Bad Boys), Men
in Black music video by Will Smith, talent files, Tunnel
Scene Deconstruction video with introduction and optional
technical commentary (multi-angle), character animation studies
(multi-angle), conceptual art gallery, storyboard gallery,
storyboard comparisons, production photo gallery, PC Friendly
DVD-ROM extras (including interactive MiB "recruit training"
game, information on MiB weapons and equipment, bios of
Manhattan-area "aliens", MiB Headquarters Quicktime VR
exploration and weblinks), collectible booklet, animated film-themed
menu screens with sound effects and music, scene access (27
chapters), languages: English (DTS 5.1 and DD 2.0) and French (DD
2.0), subtitles: English, French, Spanish & Japanese, Closed
Captioned
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Men
in Black
Limited Edition - 1997
(2000) - Amblin (Columbia TriStar)
Film Rating: B
Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras):
A-/A/A+
Specs and Features
Disc One: The Film
98 mins, PG-13, letterboxed widescreen (1.85:1), 16x9 enhanced,
full frame (1.33:1), single-sided, dual-layered (no layer switch),
custom dual-disc "library case" packaging, visual/audio
commentary with director Barry Sonnenfeld and actor Tommy Lee Jones
(indexed), audio technical commentary with Barry Sonnenfeld, Rick
Baker & ILM effects team (indexed), collectible booklet
(different that the one in the Collector's Series discs), "Farmer
Edgar" collectible poster signed by Barry Sonnenfeld and Rick
Baker (a limited number will feature original signatures), animated
film-themed menu screens with sound effects and music, scene access
(27 chapters), languages: English (DD 5.1 & 2.0) and French (DD
2.0), subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Mandarin & Cantonese,
Closed Captioned
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Disc
Two: Supplemental Features
Metamorphosis of MiB "making
of" featurette, MiB "EPK"
featurette, 5 extended/deleted scenes, 2 teaser trailers, 5
theatrical trailers (for Men in Black,
Ghostbusters, The
Mask of Zorro, Starship
Troopers and Bad Boys),
Men in Black music video by
Will Smith, talent files, Tunnel Scene
Deconstruction video with introduction and optional
technical commentary (multi-angle), Edgar
Bug Fight Scene Deconstruction video with introduction
and optional technical commentary (multi-angle), 3 Scene
Editing Workshops for The
Farmhouse, Jay's Tryout for
the MiB and The Morgue
with introduction (where you get to "edit" your own
version of the scene, view it and compare it to the version in the
film), character animation studies (multi-angle), Creatures:
Concept to Completion (video morphs of the various design
stages of 5 different aliens in the film), "extended"
conceptual art gallery , storyboard gallery, storyboard comparisons,
"extended" production photo gallery, PC Friendly DVD-ROM
extras (including interactive MiB "recruit training" game,
information on MiB weapons and equipment, bios of Manhattan-area "aliens",
MiB Headquarters Quicktime VR exploration and weblinks), animated
film-themed menu screens with sound effects and music
"We are the best kept secret in the Universe. Our mission is
to monitor extraterrestrial activity on Earth. We are your best,
last and only line of defense. We work in secret. We exist in
shadow. And we dress in black."
When it comes to summer movies, it'd be a hard call to name the
all-time best that ever was. If you were to actually try to make a
list however, Men in Black
would probably be high up on it. No... it's not a great film. Don't
be silly. But it IS a great summer movie. Any other time of the
year, if you were to try and release this film, it would be laughed
at (and not in a good way). But stick it on the silver screen during
the hot summer months... and you have magic, my friend.
Men in Black is the touching
coming of age story of an unacknowledged government agency's
struggle to help mankind and alien live and work together in peace
here on Earth. The aliens give us technology and we give them a
melting pot and killer fast food to enjoy. The thing is, most of us
(as in the human race) don't know they exist... and I'm talking both
the agency and the aliens. The men and women charged with dealing
with all things not-of-this-world are known as the Men in Black (aka
MiB), the tried and true heroes of law enforcement that silence
whole towns when they get too close to the facts. Tommy Lee Jones
plays Agent K, a veteran bug-buster breaking in a new partner. Will
Smith plays said new partner, the tough-talking, street-smart Agent
J, a former New York cop and newly minted MiB. Together, the pair
uncovers a salacious plot by an intergalactic cockroach (played by
Vincent D'Onofrio - go figure) to destroy an entire galaxy. Oh...
and if they fail to stop this vile bug and save said galaxy by
sundown, our planet will be toasted by a fleet of alien battleships.
But don't worry, it's just another day at the office for our heroes
in the MiB. Apparently, this kind of thing happens all the time.
MiB is fun, funny, cute, wacky
and filled to the brim with cool special effects. The performances,
for what they are, are all top-notch and the script isn't half bad.
You've even got fun bit parts by Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub. The
problem with MiB, is that the
film moves way too fast, with way too much information and action
happening in too short a period of time. That makes it hard to
really invest yourself in the plot... and before you know it, the
film's over. But hey - I mean, we're not talking
Lawrence of Arabia here. This
is grade-B Hollywood summer fun. You have to pretty much understand
that this isn't gonna hold up under a microscope. And who is really
gonna hold this under a microscope? If you absolutely hate this
film, then this review (or any of these DVDs) is not for you. But if
you pass on any of these discs, you're really missing out on
something, 'cause they're cool enough to be standard issue MiB.
To properly talk about these DVDs, know one thing - they're
absolutely packed. I mean jam-packed. So much so, that we're using
two people to review them. Todd (that's me - Hi) is reviewing the
audio and video quality on the discs. And our faithful editor Bill
will jump in soon to review the extras and talk about the
differences between the three DVD versions available (he'll say
hello a little further down). So let's begin...
The film itself is available in two formats, anamorphic widescreen
and full frame, both of which are available on the Limited Edition.
The regular Dolby Digital and DTS Collector's Editions feature just
the anamorphic widescreen. And, whichever version you choose, the
first thing you should know, is that somehow, Columbia TriStar was
able to compress the film's 98-minute running time such that it fits
on just one layer of a dual-layered DVD with room to spare. That's
pretty impressive. That also means no layer switches. The Sony DVD
Center has certainly got the compression process down pat, because
I'm guessing that the average bit rate on this title is less than 4
mbps (mega bits per second). As I said, that's impressive. But it's
one thing to compress the hell out of the video - it's another to
make it look good at the same time. Here again, Columbia impresses.
I wouldn't call this a reference quality transfer - the picture is
occasionally a little soft at times and a little edgy at others. But
the blacks are tremendous - deep and detailed with excellent range
of contrast. The color scheme of the film is a bit on the 1960s
deco/muted side, with bursts of vibrant color during effects-heavy
scenes. But the hues are accurate and steady, and flesh tones look
particularly good. The print used in the transfer is pretty clean
with very little grain and dust. And given the high compression,
you'll see surprisingly little digital artifacting. All in all, if
you want to pick nits, you'll find nits to pick. But I think most
people will be very happy with this video.
On the audio side, the regular Collector's Series disc and the
Limited Edition 2-disc set come packaged with English Dolby Digital
5.1 and 2.0 tracks, both of which sound pretty out of this world.
The 5.1 track features a very busy surround mix, filled with lots of
panning and directional effects, and active rear channels. Dialogue
is centered up front and it's nice and clear. The mix creates plenty
of great atmosphere and Danny Elfman's playful score sounds terrific
here, right from the opening credits. Best of all, there's plenty of
low frequency sound to rattle your walls. There is also a DTS
Collector's Series disc, which features English DTS 5.1 and Dolby
Digital 2.0 audio. The DTS track, as expected, creates a clearer and
more natural sounding audio experience, with smoother panning and a
wider soundstage. It's also got plenty of bass to satisfy the most
demanding DTS-heads. You should also know that a French 2.0 track is
also available on all three versions. So that's the sound - now
here's Bill to talk extras...
Hiya, gang! Time to talk supplements, which are plentiful on all
these discs. I'll start with the Men in
Black: Collector's Series disc and build from there. All
the discs feature cool animated menus that take you deep into MiB
Headquarters, where you can pick your pleasure from the available
options. In addition to the audio and video in the disc, you also
get a tons of extras, starting with a "video" commentary
featuring director Barry Sonnenfeld and Tommy Lee Jones. This is
very similar to the Mystery Science
Theater 3000-style commentary on Ghostbusters
and Muppets From Space. It's
pretty conversational, with Jones continually setting Sonnenfeld up
by asking what seems like stupid questions, that we know he probably
knows the answers to. It sounds odd, and it is, but it ends up
coming off pretty well in the end. And every once in a while,
Sonnenfeld starts drawing pictures on the screen a la John Madden
doing football play by play. Nice touch. The rest of the extras are
broken up into two sections - Meet the MiB and Creating MiB. Meet
the MiB features talent files, the Will Smith music video for the
theme song, a 6-minute EPK-style behind-the-scenes video and the
film's teaser trailer and theatrical trailer, along with additional
trailers for Bad Boys and Ghostbusters.
Creating the MiB breaks things down a little more, giving you a look
at the creative choices involved in the making of the film. This
starts off with a good 23-minute featurette on the film, Metamorphosis
of MiB, which includes interview with the cast, crew and
effects artists. It also features an interview with the writer of
the original comic book the film is based on, along with a look at a
few deleted or extended scenes not available elsewhere on this disc.
Next up, you get a video segment called Tunnel
Scene Deconstruction, where you can use the "angle"
button on your remote to step through the various stages of the
making of the scene, from storyboards to temp effects to the final
film. It includes optional technical commentary and an introduction
by Sonnenfeld. The next extra is a section of 5 deleted/extended
scenes (different from the ones we see in the featurette). Then
there's an extensive production photo gallery and a section on Art &
Animation. The latter features more galleries of conceptual artwork
and storyboards, including a video piece that compares several
storyboarded sequences to the final filmed versions and a
multi-angle piece that lets you look at the various stages of
character design. Then there are the PC Friendly DVD-ROM extras,
which include an interactive MiB "recruit training" game,
information on MiB weapons and equipment, bios of Manhattan-area "aliens"
and a Quicktime VR tour of the MiB Headquarters. There's weblinks,
but who cares? Throw in English, French and Spanish subtitles and a
cool collector's booklet, and wrap it all up in an Amaray keep case,
and you've got yourself a nifty little special edition.
If you choose to buy the Men in Black:
DTS Collector's Series disc for the improved sound,
you'll get virtually identical extras as the Dolby Digital version,
with the exception of the addition of an additional subtitle option:
Japanese. The DTS soundtrack, which takes up somewhat more room on a
DVD than Dolby Digital, does not appear to noticably affect the
picture quality. I'm guessing the video compression was enough that
it wasn't a problem - an amazing achievement any way you shake it
down.
But if you want the full-on experience of this flick, the Men
in Black: Limited Edition is the only way to go. It's 2
discs pack everything from the regular Collector's Series discs, and
throw in even more. I have only one complaint about the Limited
Edition, which is that this is the only version of Men
in Black on DVD to contain a full frame version of the
film. I think that was a mistake - the full frame should have been
its own, separately available disc. The reason for this, is that
anyone who wants all the added bonus material this 2-disc set gives
you, probably also wants a DTS sound option... but no dice here. In
any case, that's a tiny complaint. Disc One of this set contains the
two versions of the film (anamorphic widescreen and full frame),
along with the visual commentary and the audio options. THIS
version, for whatever reason, again features different subtitle
choices: English, French, Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin... but no
Japanese (I'm sure there's a reason for this, but I have no idea
what it is). This disc also includes an added Technical audio
commentary track with Sonnenfeld, creature man Rick Baker and
members of the ILM effects team, as they talk about the make-up
effects, cinematography, opening credits, head-exploding effects,
giant bug creations and more. You special effects nuts will eat this
stuff up. All of the bonus material found in the Creating MiB and
Meet the MiB sections of the Collector's Series discs are relegated
to Disc Two in this Limited Edition, as are all the DVD-ROM extras.
The key thing to note about that, is that there are several new
bonus items only available here. First, the conceptual art and
production photo galleries have been "extended" from the
Collector's Series versions, meaning that many more stills have been
added to an already comprehensive collection of images. Also, in
addition to the Tunnel Scene
Deconstruction, you're treated to another such
multi-angle presentation on the Edgar Bug
Fight Scene, again with optional technical commentary and
a Sonnenfeld introduction. There's also a new selection in the Art &
Animation section which shows you the development of various
creatures in the film, step by step from concept art to the final
creature. As you step through it, the images "morph" from
one to the next. It's a nice touch. But the coolest added bonus that
the Limited Edition gives you are the Scene
Editing Workshops, which allow you to edit your own
versions of three major scenes in the film. You go through each
scene shot by shot, selecting from a number of available digital
bits of "film" as you go. Once you've compiled a version
you like, you can watch it and then compare it to the final version
of the scene that appeared in the movie. This is a nifty feature
that pushes the idea and fun of what you can do with the
capabilities of the DVD format. I think people will really get a
kick out of this. Now... add all THAT together with a bigger, badder
collector's booklet and a collectible poster drawing of "Farmer
Edgar" signed by Sonnenfeld and Baker (a limited number of
which will feature their ACTUAL handwritten signatures), and wrap it
all up in a nifty black library case, and you've got just about
everything you could possibly want about this film in one sweet
little DVD box.
We think Men in Black is a
pretty fun summer flick, and these DVDs are a fine way to wait out
the Winter until the next summer blockbuster season. The Men
in Black: Limited Edition is almost as cool, in its own
way, as Artisan's
T2:
Ultimate Edition or Disney's
The
Ultimate Toy Box. And if you go the less expensive route,
or really want DTS sound, you're gonna be very happy with the
quality and the sheer amount of extras you'll get on either of the
Men in Black: Collector's Series
discs. Cudos to Columbia TriStar for blowing us away again. How many
rabbits do you guys have up your sleeves, anyway?
Todd Doogan
todddoogan@thedigitalbits.com
Bill Hunt
billhunt@thedigitalbits.com |
Men In Black:
Collector's Series
Men In Black:
Collector's Series (DTS)
Men In Black: Limited
Edition
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