TRON 20th Anniversary Edition DVD Reviewed

gevmage (Craig Steffen) writes with the review below of the new DVD boxed set of Tron, which he says is a "must-have for any science fiction fan." So whether Tron brings back fond memories, or only serves to show you what movies before your birth, read on for his take on the set. If you're not familiar with Tron at this late stage, beware of a few spoilers within.

Review: TRON 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition, 2 Disc DVD set

January 15, 2002, issued a special edition DVD set of TRON. For those of you who have never seen the film, I mention some plot details revealed in the third of the film.

First, the film itself. It's a fantasy about a computer programmer who gets pulled inside the mainframe at the company where he used to work while trying to hack into the system to retrieve evidence that one of the execs stole programs from him. While inside the computer world (on the other side of the video game screen) he's forced to play the games that he's programmed, while trying to keep the computer world safe for democracy. It's an interesting plot premise, and who wouldn't want to go inside his computer and interact with programs as people?

The film is paced reasonably well, the script carries through but is kind of klunky in some places. The computer world scenes are visually stunning, and the DVD is an excellent transfer. If you have the means, I highly recommend watching it on a progressive-scan player. The original film was released in 6-track magnetic 70mm, and the sound track carries through very well. In addition to the back-lit animation for the "program" characters in the computer world, the film has 20 minutes plus of pure CG generated footage, unheard of at that time.

If you like the film at all, the special edition is definitely worth the extra money. Disney's standard DVDs are single-layer letter-box; this is two double-layer disks. The first disk has the film, on a THX certified "Enhanced for Widescreen TVs" presentation. The commentary track on the film is interesting and informative.

The second disc has all the extra material, and there's a huge amount of it. There's a 1 1/2 hour "making of" feature; also many hundreds of storyboards and photographs from the set for comparison. There are shorts talking about specific aspects of the production, and the usual previews, deleted scenes, publicity material, and lots of interviews with production and cast members.

An excellent presentation of an excellent film; a must-have for any science fiction fan.

Film Ratings:
Plot Originality: 8.5
Pacing: 7
Characterizations: 6.5
Dialog and Plot Coherence: 6
Visual Impression: 8.5
Geekness "Cool!" Factor: 8
Overall: 8

DVD Specific Ratings (Special Edition):
Film Transfer: 8.5
Sound Transfer: 7.5
Commentary Track: 7.5
Making Of Feature: 8
Other Additional Material: 8
Overall: 8

(All ratings are from 0 to 10 inclusive, 10 being better, with the ratings 2 through 8 encompassing 99% of all films.)

Comments

To Burn Karma And Set The Mood...

[istartedi]

...I now present you with the lyrics to Heat of the Moment, combined with some extraneous text to sqeeze by the evil awful "not enough characters per line" filter. Many characters of useless stuff required to bypass this filer. Mary hada little spam. Tweedle deedle dee. Dubm-dilly-um. And all that other good stuff that *they* don't want you to have.

I never meant to be so bad to you
One thing I said that I would never do -
A look from you and I would fall from grace

And that would wipe the smile right from my face.
Do you remember when we used to dance
An incident arose from circumstance.
One thing let to another
we were young

And we would scream together songs unsung.

It was the heat of the moment
Tellin' me what our hearts meant

The heat of the moment shone in your eyes.

And now you find yourself in '82

The disco hot foots hold the jump for you.
you can't concent yourself with bigger things

You catch and pull a ride on the dragon's wings.
'cause it's the heat of the moment

The heat of the moment
the heat of the moment
Shone in your eyes.
And when your looks are gone and your alone

How many nights you sit beside the phone?
What were the things you wanted for yourself -
Teenage ambitions
you remember well.
It was the heat of the moment
Tellin' you what your heart meants

The heat of the moment shone in your eyes.
It was the heat of the moment
the heat of the moment

The heat of the moment shone in your eyes.
Heat of the moment
heat of the moment
heat of the mom