Saw III: Uncut Version (2006)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	Deleted Scenes-Never-before-seen deleted scenes Featurette-Behind The Scenes-The Details of Death: TheTraps of SAW III Featurette-Behind The Scenes- Darren's Diary: The Anatomy of a Director Featurette-Behind The Scenes-The Traps Of SAW III Teaser Trailer-Incubus & Bandidas
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	109:09
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Darren Lynn Bousman
Studio Distributor	Sony Pictures Home Entertain	Starring	Tobin Bell Shawnee Smith Angus MacFadyen Bahar Soomekh Donnie Wahlberg Dina Meyer Leigh Whannell Mpho Koaho Barry Flatman Lyriq Bent J. LaRose Debra McCabe Costas Mandylor
Case	?
RPI	$29.95	Music	Charlie Clouser

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    There is no denying; the three Saw films have given the horror genre a decent boost over the past few years. (Read my reviews of Saw and Saw II.)

    What began as a mere pipe dream for creators, James Wan and Leigh Whannell has become one of the most anticipated series of horror films in recent years. The disturbing and grotesque traps set by Jigsaw and his protégé Amanda, have been the source of morbid fascination, as the audience witness and indeed, experience each victim's life or death dilemma.

    Saw III certainly lifts the bar in terms of gory detail and will have many constantly turning their heads away from the screen. It is claimed that we have been given the full, uncut version on DVD, which includes footage not previously seen in the cinema. (See censorship notes below.)

   Saw III picks up where Saw II left off, with Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) shackled by the ankle in the dark and frantic about locating his missing son. He is forced into making a life changing decision that will free him of his chains. Unfortunately, the predicament of Detective Matthews leads his friend and colleague, Kerry (Dina Meyer) into a gruesome trap of her own and with diabolical results.

    The evil genius, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is now very close to death from cancer, but he still has one more game to play. He assigns Amanda (Shawnee Smith) the task of kidnapping a doctor and bringing her to the lair in order to keep him alive long enough to witness the results of his final game. Dr Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) becomes part of the game herself, when an explosive device is placed around her neck. This device is linked to Jigsaw's heart monitor - if he flatlines, she also dies.

    Jigsaw's final sadistic game involves a man called Jeff (Angus Macfadyen). Sometime ago, Jeff  had his life shattered by the untimely death of his young son. A grossly negligent driver had run down his son and received only minimal punishment through the judicial system. Subsequently, Jeff has become consumed by hatred for the people he blames for the tragedy and the lenient sentence. Jigsaw will now give Jeff the chance to assess his own moral character. In a series of macabre puzzles, Jigsaw places three of the people involved in the tragedy including, a dodgy witness, the judge and the driver, at the mercy of the victims father. Jeff must choose to show compassion or to wreak serious revenge on those who let he and his son down.

    Without giving anything away, the conclusion of Saw III sees the story nicely tied off. As it stands now, this film is an apt finale to a refreshing brand of horror film. But when all three Saw films have been such huge successes at the box office, I guess it's logical that the franchise would move onto Saw IV. This film is set to go into production on April 16th 2007, for a cinema release in late October 2007. Early rumors suggest that the fourth installment may be a prequel to the existing trilogy - only time will tell.

Video

    The video transfer for Saw III is on par with the two previous Saw films.

    The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, which is 16x9 enhanced. The film's original aspect ratio is 1.85:1.

    As was the case with the previous Saw films, Saw III is rarely bright and luminous; most of the action takes place in dark and gloomy surroundings. Sharpness and clarity is subsequently very important and thankfully, it held up very well. A few scenes exhibited some grain, but generally blacks and shadow detail were of excellent quality.

    The colour palette is again heavy on dark colours, especially dark and dirty greens. This palette combined with the gritty production design adds considerably to the atmosphere of the film. The colours appeared natural and well balanced.

    There were no MPEG artefacts that I noticed in this transfer. Apart from the aforementioned grain, there was very little to complain about. Film-to-video artefacts were negligible and film artefacts were non-existent.

     Unfortunately, there are no subtitles available on this DVD.

    This is a single sided, dual layer disc. The layer change occurs at 60:21 and is very well placed.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is also very good and is a key player in creating the appropriate eerie atmosphere.

    There is one audio track available on the DVD, English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s).

    Dialogue quality was excellent throughout - I had no problems hearing and comprehending any of the dialogue. There were no adverse issues with audio sync.

    The original music score is again provided by Charlie Clouser. Clouser also wrote the music for the two previous Saw films. The score is very heavy on effect more than musical content, which certainly enhances the atmosphere. Additional music is again provided by various heavy rock bands including, Slayer, Hydrovibe, Helmet and All That Remains.

    The surrounds were used to great effect, totally immersing the viewer within the horrors on the screen. Direct and ambient sound was constantly active from all areas of the room and heightened the viewing experience.

    The subwoofer was also heavily active throughout and rarely got a break.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The selection of extras is interesting, but all are too short to be totally comprehensive.

    The main menu is similar to the previous Saw films. It features animation, 16x9 enhancement and samples of eerie sounds effects from the film.

Bonus Features:

Darren's Diary: The Anatomy Of A Director (9:20)

    Someone with a video camera follows director, Darren Lynn Bousman around during the filming of Saw III. Although there is a lot of tension during the shoot, the camera also captures a lot of the fun as well.

The Traps Of Saw III (9:21)

    As the title suggests, this piece highlights the traps in the film. Relevant crew members discuss the concept and function of the traps.

The Details Of Death: The Props Of Saw III (7:53)

    This very short piece discusses the special effects used in many scenes and their function in the film. Again, relevant crew members discuss how these effects were used to enhance the general "gross" factor in the film.

Deleted Scenes        

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall