Supernova: Special Edition (1999)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Deleted Scenes Theatrical Trailer Alternate Ending-Included as part of the deleted scenes
Rating
Year Of Production	1999
Running Time	86:53
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (50:37)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Thomas Lee
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	James Spader Angela Bassett Robert Forster Lou Diamond Phillips Peter Facinelli Robin Tunney Wilson Cruz
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$36.95	Music	David Williams

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired German German for the Hearing Impaired French Italian Spanish Dutch Swedish Finnish Norwegian Danish Portuguese Polish	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

   The crew consists of the aforementioned co-pilot (James Spader), a paramedic (Angela Basset), two randy medical assistants (Lou Diamond Phillips and Robin Tunney), a computer technician (Wilson Cruz) and the Captain (Robert Forster). Their job in this far distant future is to float around in space and wait for emergency calls. Exactly why they have to float in the middle of nowhere when their jobs come from a central dispatch and they hyper jump to them in a matter of seconds, I couldn't really work out, but then again, it is usually a good idea not to ask too many questions with a movie like this.

   The troubles for the crew of the "Nightingale" really start when they receive a call from a deep-space mining operation. The hyper jump is made (replete with gratuitous nudity shot, because as we all know, hyper jumps must always be made in the nude), and a mysterious passenger (Peter Facinelli) is picked up, bringing with him both a mysterious object and some great pick-up lines ("You're very pretty, I haven't been around a girl in a while"). It is then up to James Spader to save the crew and the universe, all without breaking a sweat or cracking a smile.

   Despite all its problems, however, Supernova is still hard to dislike. It is rather like watching the team on the bottom of the ladder receive yet another thrashing - sad, bad, but strangely enjoyable.

Video

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It is 16x9 enhanced.

    The sharpness of this transfer drifts in and out for the entire length of the movie, with some shots being very clear and others being considerably blurred. Often shots that directly follow-on from each other will show a marked difference making it even more obvious. In general, scenes that contain added CGI based effects are clearer and sharper than the rest of the movie, but there are a number of non-effects shots that are very sharp as well. The shadow detail is exceptionally poor throughout the transfer, although this does not generally detract from the viewing. There are a few exceptions, such as the conversation between James Spader and Angela Basset from 19:05 to 19:17 during which almost all of James Spader's face cannot be made out. This transfer is free from low-level noise.

    The colours are quite good, although there is a predominance of blue in the lighting and sets that can become disconcerting at times. This was a decision made by the film makers however, and not a problem with the DVD. When there are bright reds, yellows, and greens (usually in the form of lights), the transfer has no problems.

    There were no MPEG artefacts to be seen in this transfer. Aliasing was also non-existent, however there was a severe case of wobble at 27:52, although whether this was a result of the film-to-video transfer or was an artefact introduced during the actual filming is hard to say due to the severity of the wobble. Film artefacts, both black and white, are constantly present throughout the transfer, as was a significant level of grain. Both of these aspects are quite disappointing when taking into account the recent vintage of this film.

    This disc is RSDL formatted with the layer change occurring at 50:37, roughly half-way through Chapter 16. The change occurs during a scene transition, but is still relatively noticeable as there is no fade to black. However, it does not particularly detract from the flow of the movie in any great way.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There are 5 audio tracks. All are recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1 at the higher bitrate of 448Kb/s. The soundtracks are the original English, and dubs in German, French, Italian and Spanish.

    The dialogue was generally easy to understand at all times, even over some of the louder effects noises.

    Audio sync for the most part was good, but there were times when dialogue was obviously out of sync, reflecting more the use of looping than any problems with the DVD.

    The score by David Williams is typical science fiction fare with eerie orchestral pieces carrying most of the movie, and action sequences backed by more expansive and higher tempo pieces. The score is not intrusive and is generally not noticed, giving a good indication that it does its job very well.

    The surround channels were only used during action sequences and specific effects shots. The soundscape had a tendency to become very front-biased at times during dialogue, regardless of other action. This is a pity, as a space-ship is a good place to have creaks and other strange noises happening at all locations. Due to the sporadic nature of their use, the surrounds tended to call attention to themselves more than they should have.

    The subwoofer was generally well-used, although not to the extent that could have been expected given the genre of the movie.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

Theatrical Trailer

Deleted Scenes

• Alternate Opening (1:33)
• Nick's Log (0:42)
• The Autopsy (1:11)
• Ping Pong (0:31)
• Loyalty From The Crew (0:25)
• Intro To "George" (0:50)
• Background Of Missing Facility Titan 37 (0:56)
• Looking For Fuel (1:22)
• Life Form Found (3:51)
• Eye Popping (0:23)
• Karl Shoots (0:27)
• Karl's Still On Board (1:04)
• Alternate Ending (5:11)

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

• Pan & Scan version

• Nothing

    The video quality is disappointing, with a predominance of grain and film artefacts.

    The audio quality is good but not great, with surround use being particularly disappointing.

    The extras are satisfactory, but not brilliant.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall