Event Horizon [Special Collector's Edition] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

In this sci-fi/horror scarefest, Dr. William Weir (Sam Neill) is a scientist who has designed a spacecraft called Event Horizon which will explore the outer reaches of space past the planet Neptune; the ship employs a special transport mechanism that, in effect, creates a black hole that the ship can pass through, allowing it to travel tremendous distances in a few seconds. The Event Horizon mysteriously disappears in the midst of a mission with no trace of either the ship or its crew, but it reappears in Neptune's orbit after a seven year absence and it's sending out a distress signal. The spaceship Lewis and Clark, and Dr. Weir, are sent to investigate; the crew -- Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne), pilot Smith (Sean Pertwee), engineer Justin (Jack Noseworthy), navigator Starck (Joely Richardson), physician D.J. (Jason Isaacs), and emergency technicians Peters (Kathleen Quinlan) and Cooper (Richard T. Jones) -- are already tired and unenthusiastic about this assignment, and somewhat confused by Weir's reports. The crew of the Lewis and Clark are convinced that Weir is not telling them something, and when they discover the Event Horizon, they find that things are not what they seem, and an evil presence has taken over the ship. Incidentally, the term "event horizon" describes the outer boundaries of a black hole. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Surround
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: Eng/Spa
• Features:
  • cc
  • Commentary by director Paul W. S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt
  • The making of Event Horizon - 5 documentaries: Into the Jaws of Darkness; The Body of the Beast; Liberate Tutume Ex Infernis; The Scale to Hell; The Womb of Fear
  • The unseen Event Horizon: The unfilmed rescue scene; Conceptual art: Montage of paintings and drawings of uniforms, ships
  • The Point of No Return - the filming of Even Horizon
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • Video trailer

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Laurence Fishburne - Captain Miller
       Sam Neill - Weir
       Kathleen Quinlan - Peters
       Joely Richardson - Starck
       Richard T. Jones - Cooper
       Jack Noseworthy - Justin
       Jason Isaacs - D.J.
       Sean Pertwee - Smith

• Director:

  Paul W.S. Anderson

• Producer:

  Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Jeremy Bolt

• Screenwriter:

  Philip Eisner

• Cinematographer:

  Adrian Biddle

• Composer (Music Score):

  Michael Kamen

• Editor:

  Martin Hunter

• Production Designer:

  Joseph Bennett

• Art Director:

  Malcolm Middleton

• Executive Producer:

  Nick Gillott

• Set Designer:

  Crispian Sallis

• Costume Designer:

  John Mollo

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Chris Munro

• Special Effects:

  Computer Film Co.

• First Assistant Director:

  Patrick Clayton

• Casting:

  Ros Hubbard, Deborah Aquila, Jane Shannon, John Hubbard

• Second Unit Director:

  Robin Vidgeon

• Visual Effects Supervisor:

  Richard Yuricich

• Second Unit Director:

  Vadim Jean

• Special Effects Supervisor:

  Neil Corbould

• Second Unit Director:

  Mike Proudfoot

REVIEW:

• Often referred to as "The Shining in space," British director Paul Anderson's follow-up to the enormously popular Mortal Kombat (1995) also bears more than a passing resemblance to Stanislaw Lem's short-story Solaris (though with a decided slant towards the horrific). Unquestionably an exercise of style over substance, Event Horizon sustains it's running time and frequently shifting theories of time and space with solid performances by Laurence Fishburn and Sam Neil. As the captain of the ship sent to investigate the disappearance of the titular spacecraft and the creator of the said time-bending craft respectively, Fishburn and Neil lend much needed weight to a story that borrows heavily and frequently from multiple sources. Though the film is marked with a number of shocking images in addition to a handful of intriguing concepts, the languid pacing (likely an intentional effort to build a foreboding sense of dread) robs the film of the needed trajectory to truly penetrate the mind of the viewer. It often seems that as soon as the audience is drawn in to the admittedly horrifying concept of a connection with Hell by means of experimental dimension-shifting spacecraft, they are pulled from the dark hypnosis of the admittedly awe-inspiring production design through a series of implausibly drawn situations and questionable motivations on behalf of the characters. As previously mentioned, the menacing design of the Event Horizon and it's Notre Dame cathedral-inspired black heart are nearly enough to induce nightmares alone. This observations not withstanding, it's a shame that Anderson couldn't parlay the often involving story and talented actors into a more effective story. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi