Men In Black
Deluxe Collector's Edition
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Details At A Glance
|
General
|
Extras
|
| Category |
Comedy |
Main Menu Audio & Animation
Scene Selection Audio & Animation
Dolby Digital City Trailer
Audio Visual Commentary (Barry Sonnenfeld-Director & Tommy
Lee Jones-Actor)
Tunnel Scene Deconstruction (+ intro +/- commentary - Multi-Angle)
Production Photo Gallery
Featurette-Metamorphosis of MiB (23:13)
Extended & Alternate Scenes (5)
Art & Animation Studies (3 + intro +/- commentary - Multi-Angle)
Storyboard Comparisons (3)
Storyboard Gallery (2 Galleries)
Conceptual Art Gallery
Cast & Crew Biographies
Featurette (6:37)
Men In Black Teaser Trailer
Men In Black II Teaser Trailer
Men In Black Theatrical Trailer
Stuart Little Theatrical Trailer
Music Video-Will Smith-Men In Black
DVD-ROM Extras |
| Rating |
 |
| Year Released |
1997 |
| Running Time |
94:00 minutes |
| RSDL/Flipper |
RSDL (47:10) |
Cast & Crew
|
| Start Up |
Menu |
| Region |
2,4 |
Director |
Barry Sonnenfeld |
Studio
Distributor
|
Columbia Tristar
|
Starring |
Tommy Lee Jones
Will Smith
Linda Fiorentino
Vincent D'Onofrio
Rip Torn |
| Case |
Transparent Brackley |
| RPI |
$39.95 |
Music |
Danny Elfman |
|
Video
|
Audio
|
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame |
None |
MPEG |
None |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio |
1.78:1 |
Dolby Digital |
5.1 |
| 16x9 Enhancement |
|
Soundtrack Languages |
English (Dolby Digital 2.0  ,
192Kb/s)
English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448Kb/s)
French (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448Kb/s)
German (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary (Dolby Digital 2.0 ,
192Kb/s) |
| Theatrical Aspect Ratio |
1.85:1 |
Miscellaneous
|
| Macrovision |
Yes |
Smoking |
Yes |
| Subtitles |
English
French
German
Dutch
Polish
Arabic
Bulgarian
Czech
Danish
Finnish
Greek
Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Icelandic
Norwegian
Swedish
Turkish
English (AV Commentary)
French Audio Commentary
German Audio Commentary
Dutch Audio Commentary
Polish Audio Commentary |
Annoying Product Placement |
Yes, mildly |
| Action In or After Credits |
No |
A Brief Note Before We Begin
Men In Black: Limited
Edition and Men In Black: Deluxe Collector's Edition are
blessed with the same exemplary transfers, and only differ in the quantity
of extras provided. Accordingly, much of this review is identical to my
previous Men In Black: Limited Edition
review, with the addition of a Deluxe Collector's Edition
vs Limited Edition comparison later on in the review.
Plot Synopsis
Men In Black is a movie that I quite enjoy simply
because it doesn't take itself too seriously, and manages to poke fun at
many other far more serious science fiction movies. The special effects
are incredible, the comedy is delivered in a suitable laconic manner, and
the sheer fun and silliness of the movie is overwhelming.
Jay (Will Smith) is a New York policeman with
attitude who is also very good at his job. Kay (Tommy Lee Jones)
works for the super-secretive Men In Black, a quasi-government super-secret
agency that concerns itself with the comings and goings of aliens on Earth,
an activity that we learn has been going on for some years beneath the
noses of all of us. Jay is recruited into the Men In Black by Kay
just as an intergalactic conflict is about to erupt between the Arquillians
and the Bugs, with the Bugs being represented on Earth by the comically
uncoordinated Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio). It is up to our heroes
to save the Earth and the Galaxy from total destruction, ably assisted
by a morbid coroner (Linda Fiorentino) and by an array of fantastic
Men In Black gadgets.
Transfer Quality
Video
Two words sum up this transfer. Columbia and
Tristar.
It is essentially flawless and most certainly of reference quality.
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1.
It is 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is razor sharp and crystal clear with
both foregrounds and backgrounds immaculately resolved in this image. The
amount of fine detail on offer within this transfer is breathtaking to
behold and makes for a magnificent viewing experience. Much of this movie
takes place in darker settings, and the shadow detail is brilliant, with
subtle gradations and nuances the likes of which I have never seen before
on offer in the darkness. There is not a shred of low level noise to mar
the image at any point.
The colours were perfectly rendered, from the subtle
colouration of the darker scenes to the vibrant colouration of the few
brightly-lit sequences, such as the scene where Jay helps to deliver the
alien baby. At no point does the transfer either oversaturate or undersaturate,
and at no point is there even a hint of colour bleeding.
There were no MPEG artefacts nor aliasing seen, and
film artefacts were all but absent except for the tiniest of bursts around
the middle of the film. This is transparent compression at its best, even
by Columbia Tristar's lofty standards.
The disc is dual layered,
with the layer change coming at 47:10,
during Chapter 13. It is only mildly disruptive to the overall flow of
the movie.
Video Ratings Summary
| Sharpness |
 |
| Shadow Detail |
|
| Colour |
|
| Grain/MPEG Artefacts |
|
| Film-to-Video Artefacts |
|
| Film Artefacts |
 |
| Overall |
|
Audio
There are four soundtracks on this DVD plus a commentary
track. Inexplicably, the default audio soundtrack is English Dolby Digital
2.0 surround-encoded, requiring a quick press of the remote to flick it
over to the much more appropriate English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.
French and German Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks are also present on this
DVD.
The dialogue was essentially easy to make out and
clear at all times, even during some of the heavily processed dialogue
sequences. Audio sync was acceptable at all times, although it was clear
that some looping had been done, with Tommy Lee Jones' dialogue
in particular appearing to be on the verge of being out of sync at times.
The score by Danny Elfman was not particularly
remarkable, although it did show some signs of his typical comedic and
off-beat style.
The surround channels are frequently and aggressively
used throughout the movie to create an enveloping soundfield. You are placed
smack-bang in the middle of the action, which comes thick, fast and all
around you, aggressively immersing you in the movie. There are lots of
directional effects and also lots of subtler ambient effects placed throughout
the entire soundfield, giving all of your speakers a decent workout.
The .1 channel was aggressively used to support the
special effects and the music, whilst being well enough integrated into
the overall sound mix to never call attention to itself.
Audio Ratings Summary
| Dialogue |
|
| Audio Sync |
|
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts |
|
| Surround Channel Use |
|
| Subwoofer |
|
| Overall |
|
Extras
Menu (16x9 Enhanced)
Comprehensive and apt animation and audio accompany
the main menu with a suitable menu entry sequence setting the scene for
what is to come.
Scene Selection Animation & Audio
Dolby Digital City Trailer
Audio Visual Commentary (Barry Sonnenfeld-Director & Tommy Lee
Jones-Actor)
This commentary track is formatted along the lines of
the Ghostbusters and the Muppets
From Space commentary tracks, but with one additional and crucial difference.
Throughout the course of this AV commentary, Director Barry Sonnenfeld
makes annotations on-screen to highlight what he and Tommy Lee Jones
are talking about. This one crucial difference makes all the difference
between this being a gimmicky feature and a genuinely useful feature, although
Barry Sonnenfeld does tend to get a little carried away with his "magic
marker", particularly towards the end of the commentary. Nonetheless, by
the addition of this feature to the AV commentary, Columbia Tristar have
proven that this can be more than a cute gimmick and can indeed add significantly
to the depth of information provided in such a commentary track as distinct
from an audio-only commentary track.
Having said all of that, this is a strictly middle-of-the-road
commentary track, with only a moderate amount of useful information imparted
by the participants. Tommy Lee Jones heads off on an annoyingly
off-topic tangent at around the half-way point for an excessively long
period of time.
On a more technical note, this AV commentary track,
like the others preceding it, can only be played back when your DVD player
is set to 4x3 letterbox mode or 4x3 pan & scan mode, and will not play
back in 16x9 widescreen mode. This is a minor inconvenience.
Tunnel Scene Deconstruction (+ intro +/- commentary - Multi-Angle)
In a word - brilliant! This is some of the best and
most appropriate use of multi-angle content that I have ever seen. The
Tunnel Scene is presented in progressive stages of completion. Angle 1
shows us the storyboards for the scenes. Angle 2 shows us the basic shots
of the actors against the live backgrounds and bluescreens. Angle 3 shows
us the composited blue screen footage. Angle 4 shows us the effect of adding
lighting and animation to the shots, and Angle 5 shows us the final result.
The angles progressively increment automatically, or you can manually change
them on-the-fly. You also have the option of listening to either the production
soundtrack or to a technical commentary on the scenes.
This is compelling and fascinating stuff, brilliantly
presented. The only minor negative comment I will make about this content
is that there is a lot of aliasing in the video image, particularly
during the storyboard sequences. Overall, however, the incredible value
of this extra far outweighs any image quibbles. The seamless integration
of the final product will astound you when you see the rough elements that
make up the shots.
Production Photo Gallery
A fairly small collection of still photos.
Featurette-Metamorphosis of MiB (23:13)
This is a very decent featurette, perhaps padded with
a little too much footage from the movie, which offers a number of insights
into the production. Well worth watching.
Extended & Alternate Scenes (5)
These are very interesting and enlightening when seen
after
listening to the commentary, but most certainly should not have been included
in the movie. Of particular interest is the way in which they show how
the plot of the movie was able to be altered for the better in post-production.
Art & Animation (3 + intro - Multi-Angle)
These are very similar in concept to the Tunnel Scene
Deconstruction, but are all too brief and subsequently of limited interest.
Storyboard Comparisons (3)
Storyboard Gallery (2)
Conceptual Art Gallery
Cast & Crew Biographies
Featurette
This is your stock-standard promotional featurette.
Some of the behind the scenes footage is quite interesting and not seen
anywhere else, so it is worth watching.
Trailers
There are four trailers to be found, all of excellent
quality, and most 16x9 enhanced with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.
-
Men In Black Teaser Trailer
-
Men In Black II Teaser Trailer
-
Men In Black Theatrical Trailer
-
Stuart Little Theatrical Trailer
Music Video - Will Smith-Men In Black
A dancing Mikey is cute, but Will Smith is not
my cup of tea. Nonetheless, a most appropriate inclusion on this DVD.
DVD-ROM Extras
This is basically a mirror of the Men
In Black web site.
Men In Black: Limited Edition vs Men In Black: Deluxe
Collector's Edition
The fundamental difference between the Limited Edition
of this DVD and the Deluxe Collector's Edition of this DVD is in the additional
extras found on the Limited Edition, enough to make the content of the
Limited Edition spill over onto a second DVD. The video and audio transfer
of the movie itself are fundamentally identical, so that is not an issue
when deciding between the two versions of this DVD. Price-wise, you can
expect to pay between $15 and $20 more for the Limited Edition as compared
to the Deluxe Collector's Edition.
Additional Extras Found on the Limited Edition
Pan & Scan Version
Personally, I consider the inclusion of a Pan &
Scan version of the movie on the Limited Edition as a very odd choice indeed
by Columbia Tristar. The typical movie fanatic who would be interested
in the Limited Edition is also interested in the correct cinematographic
presentation of the movie, and would have no interest in a Pan & Scan
version.
Presentation Box
The Limited Edition comes in a very attractive package.
The Deluxe Collector's Edition comes in a standard Brackley case. See my
review of the Limited Edition for a detailed description of the Limited
Edition box.
Booklet
The Limited Edition has a brief booklet with an introduction
by Barry Sonnenfeld to the DVD as well as character biographies and descriptions
of the extras contained on the Limited Edition DVD. The Deluxe Collector's
Edition carries most of the director's introduction on the inside front
cover but omits the rest of the content of this booklet.
Audio Commentary (Barry Sonnenfeld-Director, Rick Baker-Alien
Make-Up Effects, Eric Brevig-Visual Effects Supervisor/Second Unit
Director, John Andrew Berton Jr.-Computer Graphics Supervisor
& Rob Coleman-Animation Supervisor)
This commentary is only found on the Limited Edition.
Personally, I did not find this commentary all that enthralling.
Visual Effects Scene Deconstructions
The Limited Edition has a second scene deconstruction
- the Edgar Bug Fight.
Character Animation Studies
The Limited Edition has an additional Character Animation
Study.
Creatures: Concept To Completion (5)
This morphing presentation is only found on the Limited
Edition
Storyboard Gallery
Three additional galleries are found on the Limited
Edition
Conceptual Art Gallery
Many more stills are found on the Limited Edition
Scene Editing Workshop (with intro)
This is exclusive to the Limited Edition. This particular
extra was innovative but ultimately uninteresting.
Production Photo Gallery
Once again, many more stills are present on the Limited
Edition, including more stills covering the saucer crash.
Conclusions
Prior to actually seeing these DVDs, I never thought
that I'd be actually saying this, but the Deluxe Collector's Edition appears
to be the better value-for-money product. The best of the extras are present
on the Deluxe Collector's Edition, with no compelling extra omitted and
only present on the Limited Edition. Undoubtedly, die-hard fans of this
movie will want every extra possible and will go for the Limited Edition,
but for the majority, the Deluxe Collector's Edition will suffice.
R4 vs R1
This DVD appears to be identically featured worldwide
apart from a few minor differences in the included trailers. Of note is
the fact that a DTS version will be available in Region 1 as well as the
Dolby Digital version. Oddly, the Limited Edition in Region 1 will not
be the one to be graced with the DTS soundtrack, but rather the Deluxe
Collector's Edition will be the version available in both aural flavours.
However, ultimately, I don't see anything compelling about any of the Region
1 versions to make me say anything other than stick with the local version.
Summary
Men In Black is a good, fun movie that doesn't
take itself too seriously.
The video quality is superlative and is of reference
quality.
The audio quality is excellent and is almost of reference
quality.
The extras are comprehensive, generally interesting,
and genuinely innovative.
| Video |
|
| Audio |
|
| Extras |
|
| Plot |
|
| Overall |
|
© Michael Demtschyna
(read my bio)
29th August 2000
|
Review Equipment
|
|
|
| DVD |
Marantz DV-3100/Loewe Xemix 5006DD, using S-Video/RGB
output |
| Display |
Loewe Art-95 95cm direct view CRT in 16:9 mode, via the
S-Video/RGB inputs. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of
Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder |
Denon AVD-2000 Dolby Digital AddOn Decoder, used as a
standalone processor. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video
Essentials. |
| Amplification |
2 x EA Playmaster 100W per channel stereo amplifiers
for Left, Right, Left Rear and Right Rear; Philips 360 50W per channel
stereo amplifier for Centre and Subwoofer |
| Speakers |
Philips S2000 speakers for Left, Right; Polk Audio CS-100
Centre Speaker; Apex AS-123 speakers for Left Rear and Right Rear; Hsu
Research TN-1220HO subwoofer |
