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Pearl Harbor the Director’s Cut (Vista Series)
DVD Review by Yanman |
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“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant.” How do you make a great DVD offering better? Well more extras and more discs of course. And that is what we have in the Vista Series Director’s Cut of the blockbuster hit Pearl Harbor, a four disc set with over 12 hours of new special features. In addition to the added discs and new extras however, we have the more violent “R” rated director’s cut of the film. One of the biggest issues in Hollywood today is the debate between directors, the producers, and the ratings board on what the film should contain. While the director has a vision of the art of the film, the producer is mostly concerned with the earning potential of the film (forcing most blockbuster films into the PG or PG-13 rating category), if these things conflict the money almost always wins out. Now with DVD we can have both a PG-13 cut that appeals to a wider audience, and a more intense director’s cut, with the director’s true vision intact. In the case of Pearl Harbor, director Michael Bay wanted to show the true horrors of war, but had to wait for the director’s cut to do so. While we reviewed the Pearl Harbor 60th anniversary DVD here before (actually twice, here is a different point of view) , it is worth noting that there is an additional five minutes of footage here, these five minutes show the true awfulness of war. This version is not for the weak-stomached, but truly makes one realize how tragic of an event December 7, 1941 was. The video quality of this 2.35:1 anamorphic DVD is very good, with no noticeable flaws and with both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 this THX certified DVD sounds great as well. Also on the audio side here, Pearl Harbor is the first DVD to contain a Dolby Headphone Mix. On some discs it is easy to list the special features in one paragraph, because the list is relatively short. Even on the large number of two-disc sets that are available the number of extras is usually easy enough to sum up. In the case of this Vista Series DVD however, it is easier to just to state that without equivocation, this disc is the definitive representation of the film and the true director’s vision. Finally the choice is up to the viewer, if you are not into R-rated blood and guts, then choose the PG-rated 60th anniversary edition, but if you want to see the film the way the director intended then opt for the Vista Series Director’s Cut.
This DVD was reviewed on Yanman.com's Reference Theater #1, using a Toshiba SD-4700 DVD player, Toshiba TW56X81, and M&K 750 THX Speakers. Panamax protects all systems at Yanman.com. |
Pearl Harbor the Director's Cut (Vista Series) "...the definitive representation of the film and the true director’s vision." Staring: Ben Affleck Directed By: Michael Bay Running time: 184 Min. Bonus Materials
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