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Whether you've already been hooked or are oblivious to the severely addicting show that ABC and J.J. Abrams unleashed upon television, Lost: The Complete First Season is a set that no one should miss. Packed with top-quality extras and 24 hyper-fueled TV episodes that will have you glued to the set for hours on end, this collection gets the highest rating for excellence for both presentation and original content. Whether it's the candid behind-the-scenes featurettes, the bloopers, the audio commentaries, or the secret "Lost Flashbacks" scenes, there is just simply too much good stuff in here for anyone to not dive in. You won't find many secrets hidden here, but as most fans know, any Lost is good Lost -- and that means a whole lot.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
It was an interesting commentary track. The lighting in this series is more interesting than your normal TV program and I luv to watch lighting set ups. Wish there was more technical info on commentary tracks. The plot was simple and interesting the first season, but as seasons progressed I Lost interest. I've enough distractions to a career and will leave the rest of the seasons for people with much more time on their hands!
What's great about it: Luved it back when things were simple, like the plot
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
Add this Edition, with Post Production clips from Weta and info from Peter Jackson, to Jackson's Production Diaries and you have a synopsis of a filmmaking process, without technical info. I prefer more technical info and less actors.
What's great about it: Post Production Info on Disk 2
What's not so great: Not enough technical info, too much PR
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
European filmmakers have experience (the inquisition and so forth) in depicting issues of corruption, intrigue, church and state, and the insanity of nepotism with much more aplomb than American filmmakers. Nice cinematography and some powerful imagery.
What's great about it: Intrigue, Action, Powerful imagery
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This is described as a film with Gore, Al Gore? Gore was avoided by well placed camera motion and imaginative darkness and cutting. This was shot both with film and with a digital camera. It's an interesting study in light and dark. The film concept was imaginative and well scripted, but both acting and dialogue had weak moments. This slowed the film down. Nice surprise ending.
What's great about it: Good study in light and dark, digital vs. film
What's not so great: Some weak acting and dialogue
Explore the making of the event movie of 2005 from the first day to final shot in this release that offers all fifty-four original production diaries showcasing the making of Peter Jackson's King Kong. In addition to detailed making-of segments that highlight all aspects of the eight-month production, this release also offers a full-color, fifty-two page production memoir and four exclusive production art prints commissioned by the world-class artists who worked on the film.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
As a fan of the show Movie Magic, I expected more technical information in this production diary. But as a filmmaker I found it fun to see what kind of questions the internet fans had asked during the making of the film and how the production company answered them. If you're interested in everything from the details of how animal pooh is faked to the size of the not so miniature sets this is a fun viewing. Also shows Peter Jackson beating his chest like Kong in a grueling production environment (artistic license was taken with this statement). Art, art and more art is the best part of this 2 disc DVD.
What's great about it: Covers many aspects of the production process.
What's not so great: Too many mundane moments too little technical info.
Director Baz Luhrmann gives out love, song, and dance in the hyper-styled film Strictly Ballroom. Buena Vista/Miramax has done a fantastic job at making sure this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer appears solid and very clean. While a few imperfections exist (i.e., dirt, grain, digital artifacting), the bulk of this image looks natural and exceptionally bright and flashy. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English. This is a semi-well mixed soundtrack that features some directional use, though the bulk of the mix tends to come from only the front and center speakers without much dynamic range. Also included on this disc are English, French, and Spanish subtitles. Included on this first-ever DVD edition of Strictly Ballroom are some great extra features, starting with a commentary track by director Luhrmann, production designer Catherine Martin, and choreographer John O'Connell. Each participant has a lot to say on the making of the film while Luhrmann comes off as positively energetic. The documentary "Samba to Slow Fox" really has nothing to do with the film, instead focusing on competitive ballroom dancing in Australia. Next up are a group of short featurettes that touch on the different aspects of the film (narrated by Luhrmann) that include the film's production design, the promotional campaign, and some personal information on the director. Each of these run anywhere from 25 seconds to three minutes. Finally there is a gaggle of theatrical trailers for different Buena Vista DVDs.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This film is for anyone who ever attempted to change the world, or even their corner of the world. Even if you didn't succeed, you will laugh again and again at the four funniest words ever uttered on film "we lived in fear". It is of course helpful if you like the art of dance. Laugh, laugh, laugh until "they" all die in fear.
What's great about it: Funny, a comedy classic that will endure the test of time.
One of the most popular television series of the late '70s science fiction boom gets a new look for the new millennium in remake, created as a made-for-cable miniseries. Four decades after the Cylon Wars, the Cylon robots (some of whom have since assumed human form) have launched a vicious nuclear attack, leaving only a few Colonial forces to lead the survivors to safety. Led by starship commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) and politician and possible presidential successor Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), the crew of the Battlestar Galactica searches the galaxy for the mythic 13th Colony of Kobol (otherwise known as Earth), their destination and only hope for survival. Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries also stars Jamie Bamber, James Callis, and Grace Park.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This Mini-Series developed surprisingly innovative and daring choices to remake an old series. The female protagonists are wonderful. An intelligent choice in a sea of repetitive TV seasons.
What's great about it: Innovative remake of an old series
What's not so great: Series didn't live up to the Mini-Series, which was great!
David Prior produced the extras on this impressive three-disc release of David Fincher's Panic Room, equaling the outstanding job he did compiling the deluxe releases of that director's earlier films Fight Club and Seven. The superb anamorphic widescreen transfer preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1. English, French, and Spanish soundtracks have been rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitles are accessible in all three of those languages as well. The film is graced with three commentary tracks. The first features director David Fincher discussing every aspect of the film's production. These stories offer a perfect lead-in to the bevy of extras on the bonus discs. In another commentary, Jodie Foster, Dwight Yoakam, and Forest Whitaker discuss what acting in this occasionally troubled production was like. A third commentary features the screenwriter David Koepp, who is joined by the Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman. Their discussion will provide a great deal of fascinating information for anyone interested in the craft of screenwriting. The two discs of extras truly saturate the viewer with information on every conceivable aspect of the production. From pre-visualization computer work to editing decisions, sound design, scoring, makeup, and beyond, this is simply one of the most comprehensive documentations of a film ever released on DVD. Those with a thirst for filmmaking knowledge will find this disc to be among the best ever produced. The care that went into this DVD is apparent in the menus that begin with a blueprint of the house. When the viewer selects one of the sections, the camera tracks inside the blueprint, where suddenly it stops being the blueprint and becomes images of the actual house. The words themselves are presented in the same distinctive font as the film's memorable opening credits. This is easily one of the most impressive discs of the year.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
This DVD Edition, is a 3 Disc Commentary Edition. Two Discs have detailed commentary about the making of the film divided by Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production. In the ever changing world of DVD Commentary top 100 lists, this is still shown on some online lists as one of the top 100 DVD Commentaries ever. Also, notable for the Director's commentary on shooting a film in a confined set. The breakdown of commentary on the last two discs allows you to revisit it based on what you are studying, for example, pre-visualization software and so forth. Film School in a Box! Fincher's didactic commentary should not be missed.
What's great about it: 3 Disc Special Edition, Detailed Commentary Film School in a Box