The Day After Tomorrow (2-Disc Collectors Edition)
One and One Half Stars
by Laremy Legel, ropeofsilicon.com
I'm sure I'm not the only one who got a perverse joy out of seeing nature destroy the earth during The Day After Tomorrow. I'm probably also not the only one who groaned through most of the rest of the picture. This dichotomy makes it tough to get into this massive, 2-disc All Access Edition DVD, as all the good parts seem to not involve people talking but rather the grand nature of world destruction. Regardless, here's my take on the DVD.
Of the commentaries the one by Roland Emmerich and Mark Gordon (Producer) is only interesting when the producer is cutting Roland off and telling him what shots he wasn't too fond of, it should also be known that this is the same commentary featured on the original DVD release. The other commentary has the screenwriter, who points out some interesting scenes that were cut and the director of photography who generally is pretty pleased with himself for various cuts and fades, but, as I noted before, he should be, visually this film works well.
I like the manner in which the second disc is laid out with pre-production, production and post-production taking up three of the five slots. This layout gives a more organic feel to the making of the movie. It is a bit disappointing to learn that Roland had a friend shoot 48 hours of film during the making of the movie. 48 hours? That is a lot considering the fact this is quite your average feature. Nevertheless, it is from this footage that the production diary is culled.
Deleted scenes are located in the post production section, nothing too mind blowing there, though the stock market deleted scene is at least interesting for its total irrelevance. The post-production section also lays out some of the 400+ visual effects shots used in the picture.
The last section is the science of The Day After Tomorrow. Make no mistake; this is a film with a message. If you wanted to pick out one thing to watch on the two discs (and I include the movie in this statement) I'd try this documentary, it's scary and informative.
Everything said, this isn't a DVD I would purchase. I didn't find the movie particularly appealing and one can only stand so many special effects featurettes. However, if you did like the picture you'll enjoy this feature filled edition, and you'll most likely enjoy seeing more of director Roland Emmerich and appreciate the opportunity to preview the techniques used by his special effects wizards. To each, his own.
