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Lexmark3200
08-22-2004, 11:45 PM
Added this to my collection yesterday after finding it on sale at FYE for 10 bucks....aside from the usual sucky, ****ty Warner snap case, the DVD boasted Dolby 5.1 EX sound, so I gave it a spin....

Well, incase there are some of you who didnt get to catch The Perfect Storm in theaters or on broadcast cable, the film debuted theatrically in the summer of 2000, helmed by Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, In The Line Of Fire, Air Force One), and centered on a group of fishermen from Massachussetts who encounter the storm of the century which occurred in 1991. Two massive storm fronts collided, and the fishing boat Andrea Gail was lost forever, with no survivors. The film was actually based on a novel regarding the storm and the case of the lost boat, but many critics have ripped Perfect Storm apart based on the fact that the film adaptation just didnt get it right; I mean, for certain, we really DONT KNOW if what happened on that boat as the film portrays actually HAPPENED because no one is alive to confirm or report this. We have to assume that most of the dialogue between the captain (played by George Clooney) and his men (assorted characters played by Mark Whalberg, Alan Payne and more) COULD HAVE been said the way it was portrayed. Still, visually, the CGI effects for this film were downright amazing, blending seamlessly with actual film of the guys on the Andrea Gail, to the point that you just dont know what was CGI and what was not.

Warner Bros presents Perfect Storm on DVD in an aspect ratio somewhere close to 2:35:1, and the picture looked fine to me. The audio was in Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, rare for this studio, who likes to put EVERYTHING in standard Dolby Digital 5.1 and who refuse to jump on the bandwagon regarding DTS (save for rare instances like Twister). The audio needs some analysis here. I thought it was just my system, but after reading other online reviews of this DVD, others seemed to find what I did regarding this 5.1 EX mix....early on, you would be hard pressed to know that this was even a surround track; everything seems either mono or stereo in nature....then, halfway through the DVD, the soundtrack picks up and the sounds of the waves, wind and rain crash around the listening space and there seems to be a definite "phantom center rear image" created for those (like me) who do not have that sixth back surround channel. Pretty nice mix. I had to constantly, though, keep playing with my Onkyo receiver's volume control to maintain loud and soft passages; seems once the guys are out in that storm, you are going to need to LOWER your surround system's volume....its pretty intense if you have it cranked.

There are a TON of extras on this single disc release, and I didnt get to any of em yet....an HBO making of (which I saw on HBO) and all kinds of real background on what really happened during that storm in '91.

Dusty Chalk
08-23-2004, 11:18 AM
You liked the special effects? I don't know, I thought it looked very obviously fakey. I'm not even too familiar with the industry, but I was watching Master And Commander at a friend's house (who is [familiar with the industry]), and I told him that I thought the storm waves looked just like Perfect Storm, and he told me it was done by the same software.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it looked good for what it was, but we still have a long way to go towards "seamless".

Lexmark3200
08-23-2004, 11:29 AM
You liked the special effects? I don't know, I thought it looked very obviously fakey. I'm not even too familiar with the industry, but I was watching Master And Commander at a friend's house (who is [familiar with the industry]), and I told him that I thought the storm waves looked just like Perfect Storm, and he told me it was done by the same software.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it looked good for what it was, but we still have a long way to go towards "seamless".

Okay, maybe "amazing" was the wrong word to describe the CGI; but I guess in closer scruitiny, you could be right, the shots when you see Clooney in the "wheelhouse" trying to control the ship while the water crashes against him towards the end look studio-created while the outside of the ship, being thrown around in the storm, could be taken for graphically created....I guess that can be said on second thought. I just thought it was some wicked CGI work that didnt blend the real shots TOO horribly with the computer created stuff.

Sir Terrence the Terrible
08-23-2004, 04:02 PM
I thought it was just my system, but after reading other online reviews of this DVD, others seemed to find what I did regarding this 5.1 EX mix....early on, you would be hard pressed to know that this was even a surround track; everything seems either mono or stereo in nature....then, halfway through the DVD, the soundtrack picks up and the sounds of the waves, wind and rain crash around the listening space and there seems to be a definite "phantom center rear image" created for those (like me) who do not have that sixth back surround channel. Pretty nice mix. I had to constantly, though, keep playing with my Onkyo receiver's volume control to maintain loud and soft passages; seems once the guys are out in that storm, you are going to need to LOWER your surround system's volume....its pretty intense if you have it cranked.

Lexmark,

Since this is a soundtrack I know a great deal about, I think it would be helpful to give you a little information about it. First, in movies of this kind where there is going to be a huge climax area, it is not always wise to put everything in the surrounds. It kind of takes away the impact from the impact scenes. You have to think about it as a calculated opening up of the soundfield. This technique is used to gradually increase tension and pull the audience in. In the beginning of the movie only ambient sounds were used(birds, walla etc) in the surrounds at a very low volume. This was to "imply" that you were outside or in the cabin of the boat, but not direct your attention to the surrounds.

While I agree this is a VERY intense soundtrack, lowering the volume too much steals the impact of the movie. There is supposed to be a huge difference between the beginning of the movie, its mid point, and end. If you lower the volume during the impact part, there is no perceiveable change in intensity when the storm arrives. Also lowering the volume too much will decrease dialog intelligiability quite a bit because of the increased dynamic range of the sound effects.

Dusty Chalk
08-23-2004, 07:25 PM
I just thought it was some wicked CGI work that didnt blend the real shots TOO horribly with the computer created stuff.Well, you're going to just love The Day After Tomorrow, then. That one is an absolute CGI fest, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Again, not seamless, but I am a firm believer in "suspension of disbelief". It's fun if you're into that sort of thing.

Lexmark3200
08-23-2004, 09:03 PM
Well, you're going to just love The Day After Tomorrow, then. That one is an absolute CGI fest, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Again, not seamless, but I am a firm believer in "suspension of disbelief". It's fun if you're into that sort of thing.

Dusty,

I saw Day After Tomorrow in theaters, and will probably purchase it on DVD; the CGI was absolutely over the top in that, you are right. Then again, Emmerich likes that sort of thing, ie Independence Day, Godzilla, ecetera, ecetera...