Unquestionably,
Tim Burton is one of the great visualists of modern cinema; directing an
impressive array of films over his career, each of which has dazzled the
eye. However, all great director have their detractors, and as such,
Burton has been criticized through the years for a seeming lack of
emotional depth in his films. Of course, this is something that Burton has
rectified with his latest film BIG FISH ($29). BIG FISH is
Tim Burton’s most intimate and personal motion picture, yet it contains
all visual wonder that the director’s fans have come to expect from his
movies. Playing like a sweetly charming American fable, BIG FISH
contains a great deal of emotional depth, which is realized through a
solid screenplay and the first rater performances of a highly talented
cast.
Based
upon the novel by Daniel Wallace, BIG FISH tells of the strained
relationship between storyteller extraordinaire Ed Bloom and his son Will
(Billy Crudup), who has never been able to swallow his father’s tall
tales. As Ed approaches the end of the road, Will decides to make use the
time that remains, to reach out to his father, so he may discover the man
behind the myth. BIG FISH segues back and forth between reality and
all the fish stories that Ed has been telling about his life. Burton
masterfully brings to life these delightfully fantastic sequences, which
feature Ewan McGregor as the younger incarnation of Ed Bloom. The cast of BIG
FISH also features Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman,
Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard, Matthew McGrory, Ada Tai, Arlene Tai,
Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made of BIG FISH available on DVD in
a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. This is a marvelous looking transfer, which makes the
most of the film’s beautiful and occasionally stylized cinematography.
The image is generally very sharp and highly defined, but there are
moments when they appear just a bit softer. Colors tend to be bold and
vibrant, with total stability and no overt fuzziness. Blacks are inky,
whites appear pure and the picture produces very good shadow detail.
Contrast can be a bit variable, depending upon the intended look of
individual sequences. The film element used for the transfer is very clean
and displays little appreciable grain. Digital compression artifacts are
well camouflaged.
In
addition to the wonderful video quality of the DVD, BIG FISH also
features a great Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. The mix creates
cohesive sonic environments, in addition to making excellent uses of all
the discrete channels to lightly bounce sound effects around the
soundstage. While this isn’t the most aggressive mix out there, it
certainly is beautifully realized- drawing the viewer in the world that
Tim Burton creates for the audience. Musical fidelity is terrific, with
Danny Elfman’s fine score making the most of the Dolby Digital encoding
and the entire soundstage. The bass channel is strong enough for the
material at hand, but doesn’t call attention to itself. As much of the
film is dialogue driven, it is nice that everything is totally
understandable, and the voices ring with a good natural timber. A French
Dolby Surround track is also included on the DVD, as are English and
French subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as the supplemental materials. Starting things
off is a running audio commentary with director Tim Burton, who appears
interview fashion, answering direct questions and providing excellent
detail on the production. In the featurettes section one will find two
subsections- The Character’s Journey and The
Filmmakers’ Path. Featurettes are also accessible in interactive
fashion during the course of the film. In The Character’s Journey,
one will find Edward Bloom At Large- eight minutes on the
main character; Amos At The Circus- four minutes on Danny
DeVito’s character; Fathers And Sons- seven minutes on
that particular relationship. The Filmmakers’ Path
features Tim Burton: Storyteller- six minutes on the
director; A Fairytale World- a nine minute look at the world
within the world within the film; Creature Features- is six
minutes on Stan Winston’s work; The Author’s Journey-
runs nearly eight minutes and features Daniel Wallace talking about the
development of the story. A trivia game, a theatrical trailer and bonus
trailers close out the supplements.
Like
its central character, BIG FISH is a real charmer. This is a warm
and winning film, with an emotional resonance and the usual Tim Burton
sense of visual wonder. Columbia has done a fine job with the DVD,
offering a terrific audio and visual presentation, as well as a nice
supplemental package. If you are a Tim Burton fan, BIG FISH is a
must have DVD. Recommended.
Unquestionably,
Tim Burton is one of the great visualists of modern cinema; directing an
impressive array of films over his career, each of which has dazzled the
eye. However, all great director have their detractors, and as such,
Burton has been criticized through the years for a seeming lack of
emotional depth in his films. Of course, this is something that Burton has
rectified with his latest film BIG FISH ($29). BIG FISH is
Tim Burton’s most intimate and personal motion picture, yet it contains
all visual wonder that the director’s fans have come to expect from his
movies. Playing like a sweetly charming American fable, BIG FISH
contains a great deal of emotional depth, which is realized through a
solid screenplay and the first rater performances of a highly talented
cast.
Based
upon the novel by Daniel Wallace, BIG FISH tells of the strained
relationship between storyteller extraordinaire Ed Bloom and his son Will
(Billy Crudup), who has never been able to swallow his father’s tall
tales. As Ed approaches the end of the road, Will decides to make use the
time that remains, to reach out to his father, so he may discover the man
behind the myth. BIG FISH segues back and forth between reality and
all the fish stories that Ed has been telling about his life. Burton
masterfully brings to life these delightfully fantastic sequences, which
feature Ewan McGregor as the younger incarnation of Ed Bloom. The cast of BIG
FISH also features Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman,
Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard, Matthew McGrory, Ada Tai, Arlene Tai,
Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made of BIG FISH available on DVD in
a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. This is a marvelous looking transfer, which makes the
most of the film’s beautiful and occasionally stylized cinematography.
The image is generally very sharp and highly defined, but there are
moments when they appear just a bit softer. Colors tend to be bold and
vibrant, with total stability and no overt fuzziness. Blacks are inky,
whites appear pure and the picture produces very good shadow detail.
Contrast can be a bit variable, depending upon the intended look of
individual sequences. The film element used for the transfer is very clean
and displays little appreciable grain. Digital compression artifacts are
well camouflaged.
In
addition to the wonderful video quality of the DVD, BIG FISH also
features a great Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. The mix creates
cohesive sonic environments, in addition to making excellent uses of all
the discrete channels to lightly bounce sound effects around the
soundstage. While this isn’t the most aggressive mix out there, it
certainly is beautifully realized- drawing the viewer in the world that
Tim Burton creates for the audience. Musical fidelity is terrific, with
Danny Elfman’s fine score making the most of the Dolby Digital encoding
and the entire soundstage. The bass channel is strong enough for the
material at hand, but doesn’t call attention to itself. As much of the
film is dialogue driven, it is nice that everything is totally
understandable, and the voices ring with a good natural timber. A French
Dolby Surround track is also included on the DVD, as are English and
French subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as the supplemental materials. Starting things
off is a running audio commentary with director Tim Burton, who appears
interview fashion, answering direct questions and providing excellent
detail on the production. In the featurettes section one will find two
subsections- The Character’s Journey and The
Filmmakers’ Path. Featurettes are also accessible in interactive
fashion during the course of the film. In The Character’s Journey,
one will find Edward Bloom At Large- eight minutes on the
main character; Amos At The Circus- four minutes on Danny
DeVito’s character; Fathers And Sons- seven minutes on
that particular relationship. The Filmmakers’ Path
features Tim Burton: Storyteller- six minutes on the
director; A Fairytale World- a nine minute look at the world
within the world within the film; Creature Features- is six
minutes on Stan Winston’s work; The Author’s Journey-
runs nearly eight minutes and features Daniel Wallace talking about the
development of the story. A trivia game, a theatrical trailer and bonus
trailers close out the supplements.
Like
its central character, BIG FISH is a real charmer. This is a warm
and winning film, with an emotional resonance and the usual Tim Burton
sense of visual wonder. Columbia has done a fine job with the DVD,
offering a terrific audio and visual presentation, as well as a nice
supplemental package. If you are a Tim Burton fan, BIG FISH is a
must have DVD. Recommended.
