Box, The (Blu-ray) (2009)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Audio Commentary-Director Richard Kelly Featurette-The Box - Grounded in Reality Featurette-Richard Matheson - In His Own Words Music Video-Prequels Featurette-Visual Effects Revealed
Rating
Year Of Production	2009
Running Time	115:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Richard Kelly
Studio Distributor	Icon Entertainment	Starring	Cameron Diaz James Marsden Frank Langella James Rebhorn Holmes Osborne Sam Oz Stone Gillian Jacobs Celia Weston
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Win Butler Régine Chassagne Owen Pallett

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (4608Kb/s) English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (4608Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

A mysterious stranger delivers a box to the house of Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur (James Marsden). Inside the box is a wooden device sporting a shiny red button, and a note saying that Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) will return later in the day to explain all.

When he returns the explanation is straight forward. If they press the button two things will happen - someone they do not know will die and they will receive $1,000,000. This is 1976 and a cool million can buy a lot.

The couple debate the moral question - can they distance themselves from the thought that their actions will result in the death of another human being. It might be a child, he says, it might be a murderer on death row, she counters. Arthur misses out on a promotion at work; he is a scientist working on the Viking Mars Probe and they are struggling to keep their son in a private school. What's more, Norma has a deformed foot with four missing toes from an accident so money would come in handy.

It is no spoiler to say that one of them eventually slaps down the button and the fun begins.

The Box is the third feature film from iconic American director Richard Kelly. Like M Night Shyamalan he has been cursed with instant success after his first film, Donnie Darko, made a splash on the indie circuit that developed into a mainstream ripple. His follow-up Southland Tales was a head-spinning film that divided critics like the parting of the Red Sea.

The Box may not make Kelly any new fans but it will satisfy lovers of this loopy genius. It features the same fantastical blend of physics, literature and inexplicable plot strands that made Donnie Darko such an intriguing experience.

The Box is based on a story by genre legend Richard Matheson which was first published in 1970 (like many great writers it was in Playboy magazine). The short story was filmed as a Twilight Zone episode in 1985 called Button, Button. It was a one idea story, the sort that The Twilight Zone excelled at, particularly in a short format of 20-30 minutes. Matheson apparently hated the ending of the episode and demanded that his name be taken off the credits. Not only was the new ending better than the original story, it is worth pointing out that it comes about 40 minutes into this "remake". The rest is all Kelly.

Kelly pays a debt to the original story by setting the film in 1976. He also keeps the central idea of the box alive, despite the innate absurdity of the set-up. He makes numerous additions, particularly involving an overarching plotline of, well, alien invaders, the afterlife and group mind control. Also a Kelly addition is the decision to make Steward hideously deformed, with half of his face burnt away by a lightning strike.

The cast do fine in their roles, with Diaz as the Southern belle crossed with dazed and confused mother. The real fun, of course, comes with Langella delivering bad news and Saw-meets-Sophie’s Choice conundrums. Langella is one of the finest actors working today even if his character is largely unexplained. The Box didn't do any great shakes at the Box Office. Those who like Kelly's style will derive pleasure, not infuriation, at the seemingly endless plot strands and odd moments that never coalesce into a digestible whole. Strange catatonic people, unexplained bleeding, a swimming pool portal, a secret NSA laboratory and a man who creeps out just about everybody is no way to make a mainstream sci-fi thriller. The closest analogy is a X-Files "conspiracy" episode directed by David Lynch. The comparison to the Chris Carter sci-fi series is not just a flippant remark. Both share the same attraction and ultimate weakness - the ability to create and flesh out an unexplained phenomena without ever trying to make it fit comfortably together. In the case of The X-Files the lack of cohesion of the myth was put down to obfuscation on the part of the bad guys. Here Kelly just piles up more red herrings than a Mexican fish market without taking accountability for the answers to the questions he poses. As said, for many this is just the point.

Video

The Box was shot on High Definition digital video and projected cinematically at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

That ratio has been preserved for the Blu-ray release.

The Box is a superb evocation of the 1970s. It looks and feels like a 70s film. It is not just the costume designs which are period perfect but the set decoration and clever use of CGI and location hunting to carry over the mood and style of the era. As expected there are a lot of oranges and browns about and some decidedly funky wallpaper!

This is a quality Blu-ray release. The image quality is sharp without being overly so. The colours, including the 70s colours, are accurate, stable and attractive. The skin tones are accurate.

There is no hint of compression nor are there any defects in the source material. The digital video does not come with any noise.

There are subtitles for the Hearing Impaired which give a good account of on-screen action.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

Sound for The Box comes in the form of two High Definition soundtracks - a True HD and a DTS HD Master Audio.

Is there any difference between them? Not that I could hear. Both are up-front and punchy when they need to be. The surround effects are used to create mood and tension , as well as the occasional shock. The sub-woofer is a quiet presence which comes into it's own at moments of high drama.

The soundtrack for the film is by Win Butler, Regine Chassagne and Owen Pallett. The trio are core members of Canadian band The Arcade Fire. Viewers expecting a score reminiscent of either of the band's two albums Funeral or Neon Bible, are in for a surprise. The score is haunting and dramatic, full of strings and wordless. Director Kelly allows the score full reign sometimes almost swamping the images. It is a a highly effective score.

The dialogue for the film is crystal clear and the audio sync appears spot-on.

There are no technical problems with the tracks.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Commentary Track - Director Richard Kelly

Kelly is an animated speaker who clearly had a ball putting together this movie. He takes us through the inspiration for the film and the process of putting it together. Those hoping for a clear explanation of all the loopy concepts running around will have to wait until some other analysis - Kelly isn't saying.

An enjoyable commentary track.

The Box - Grounded in Reality (10.42)

Those who see this film as a folly on the part of director Kelly will find all the ammunition they need in this featurette. For Kelly reveals that the whole Mars NASA story derived from his own father and the deformed foot story from his mother - and then proceeds to have the pair interviewed.

Richard Matheson - In His Own Words (4.54)

Not all in his own words. Kelly talks about his admiration for Matheson and we get to hear a bit from the man himself, who is 83 and still writing!

Music Videos - Prequels (9.10)

Even for a big Arcade Fire fan this is pretty unusual. Music from the film set to images relating to the Viking Mars Mission. Disturbing.

Visual Effects Revealed (3.52)

The visual effects people from the film explain how some of the key effects were created, in particular the "water coffin" and the work that went into creating the facial absence on Frank Langella. An interesting short.

 This is a Region B release. The Region A release is identical in content and extras.

Aliens - check. Unexplained phenomenon - check. Lack of explanation - check. Welcome to the world of Richard Kelly!

The Box will intrigue as many people as it infuriates for precisely the same reasons. Kelly has run wild with his imagination in crafting this sci-fi thriller. The cast have fun with the concept and the film is easy to watch if not easy to explain.

The film has been well transferred to Blu-ray and is a good ambassador for the medium. The sound is excellent.

The extras are a little brief but nevertheless enjoyable.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall