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12 Monkeys
Universal Home Video - © 1995 - 130 Minutes - Keepcase
Box text:
"A lone time traveler from the year 2035 must solve a riddle that may save his people... but it may also take him to the brink of madness. Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt star in this brilliant sci-fi masterpiece from Terry Gilliam, the acclaimed director of The Fisher King.
After the world's population is devastated by a killer virus, survivors must live in dank underground communities. Cole (Willis) "volunteers" to travel into the past to obtain a pure virus sample, thereby helping scientists develop a cure. Along the way, he crosses paths with a beautiful psychiastrist (Stowe) and a one-card-short-of-a-full-deck mental patient (Pitt). But the race is on, as Cole searches for The Army of the 12 Monkeys, a radical group linked to the deadly disease.
With unforgettable performances and imaginative special effects, 12 Monkeys is a modern-day classic laced with Gilliam's trademark with and dazzling visual style."
Features
Gilliam's Bizarre Time-Travel Flick Gets First-Class Treatment
12 Monkeys seems to be one of those movies that people either love or hate...hardly anybody says "It was alright." I'm one of the people who loves it. I love Gilliam's twisted vision of that particular future, and his cold treatment of that future's past. So, if you're like me in that you think the film is great, this is a DVD not to be missed.
Universal released 12 Monkeys on DVD as an anamorphic widescreen release. The RSDL disc includes the film and some of the extra materials on the first layer, and a "making of" documentary on the second layer.
The picture and sound quality of the film are both very high. Surround effects are primarily limited to ambiant effects, but every once in a while, a specific, discreet sound effect catches you by surprise. The mix is good, with dialog, effects and music each at good levels.
Cast and crew biographies and filmographies, accessed through the disc's menu, are par for the DVD course, but the production notes are plentiful and extremely interesting to read, unlike many of the production notes that accompany other titles. The notes are mainly there to reveal interesting tidbits about the film's unique production and set design.
The audio commentary, featuring Gilliam and Producer Charles Roven, is also fairly interesting and the conversation between the two is constant...another plus.
The real gem on this disc, as far as extras is concerned, is the documentary on the making of 12 Monkeys, titled "The Hamster Factor and other Tales of 12 Monkeys".
Unlike many of the promotional-type making-of specials you've probably seen, Hamster Factor is filled with much more "real" depictions of the filmmaking process that cast and crew went through. Beginning with a pre-history of 12 Monkeys, in which the story of Gilliam's skirmish with Universal over the release of Brazil is outlined, Hamster Factor shows viewers not only the visionary side of Gilliam, but the paranoid and self-doubting sides as well.
It shows us the conflict at times between cast, crew and producers. It shows us the agony of a less-than-stellar test screening. And most importantly, it shows us that in spite of however much turmoil went on behind the scenes, everybody involved was after the same thing: A great film.
In this reviewers opinion, they certainly succeeded. 12 Monkeys is a great film and a fantastic DVD.
Review by Lou Zucaro
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