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Movie
Synopsis: In
the year 2065, the next great assault against an invading race of phantom-like
aliens is about to be launched. Dr. Aki Ross, a brilliant young scientist, races
to find the invaders' secrets, not only to save the planet, but herself as well
after her body is infected by alien particles. She teams up with the prestigious
Deep Eyes military squadron, led by her old friend Grey Edwards. But as Aki, her
mentor Dr. Sid, and Grey work toward a peaceful end, the scheming General Hein
devises a plot to eradicate the aliens in one swift, destructive blow...even if
it destroys the Earth right along with them.
Edition
Details: • Region 1 encoding (US
and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Production notes
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• DISC ONE
• Feature-length
commentary by co-director Motonori Sakakibara, sequence supervisor Hiroyuki Hayashida,
sets & props lead artist Tatsuro Maruyama, and Phantom supervisor Takao Noguchi
(in Japanese with English or French subtitles)
• Feature-length commentary
by animation director Andy Jones, editor Chris S. Capp, and staging director Tani
Kunitake
• Isolated score with commentary by composer Elliot Goldenthal
• Storyboard/Playblast selects of the film with optional filmmaker commentary
or subtitled factoids
• Interactive animated menus, featuring CGI introductions
created by Square Pictures
• DISC
TWO:
• Original interactive documentary: "The Making of Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within." Dig deeper and link out to information
pods that spotlight: Final Fantasy Thriller music video, mini-movie: Aki's Dream,
two face wraps (Aki, Dr. Sid), character morphs, matte art explorations, compositing
builds
• Multiple workshops including: seven in-depth character files, three
vehicle scale comparisons (Bandit, Quatro, Black Boa), trailer explorations, sets
and props
• Final Fantasy Shuffler: Become the filmmaker by re-editing the
council conference-room scene from the film. Complete the edit and play back your
final cut.
• DVD-ROM exclusive interactive film exploration: complete screenplay,
virtual tour of Square Pictures, screensaver, Weblinks
• Interactive animated
menus
• Widescreen anamorphic format
• Number of discs: 2
KNOWN
DVD SECRET(S): MANY EASTER EGGS Thriller
spoof:
Insert the Bonus Disc
and select the "Highlights" option. Advance to the second screen. Press
Down to move to the bottom of the screen, with triangle in a circle icon.
Press Right, Right to highlight the small blue box in the lower
right part of the screen. Press Enter to view a remake of Michael Jackson's
"Thriller" music video featuring the cast of the movie. Alternately,
play Title 1, Chapter 45. Aki's
clothes models:
Insert Disc 1 and select the "Special Features"
option at the main menu. Select "DVD-ROM Content", then press Up,
Up. Highlight the Japanese text and press Enter to view Aki in various
clothing. Aki's
face model:
Insert the Bonus Disc and select the "Play Documentary"
option at the main menu. Press Left, Up to highlight Japanese text.
Press Enter to view a model of Aki's face. Alternately, advance to Title
1, Chapter 10. Pre-production
art:
Insert the Bonus Disc and select the "Highlights"
option at the main menu. Press Right, Down to highlight a coffin
icon. Press Enter to view a pre-production story board. Alternately, play
Title 1, Chapter 42. Insert the Bonus Disc
and select the "Highlights" option at the main menu. Select the "Character
Files" option. While Aki is highlighted, press Down to highlight the
"Back" icon. Press Right, Left to highlight the circular
icon. Press Enter to view another story board. Alternately, play Title
1, Chapter 43. Insert the Bonus Disc and
select the "Highlights" option at the main menu. Select the "Vehicle
Scale Comparison" option. Images of Bandit, Black Boa and Quatro will appear.
Highlight Bandit then press Down, Right, Right to highlight
a blue star in a circle. Press Enter to view pre-production vehicle art
from the movie. Alternately, play Title 1, Chapter 44. Insert
the Bonus Disc and select the "Highlights" option at the main menu.
Advance to the second screen, then select the "DVD-ROM Content" option.
Press Up, Right to highlight an icon. Press Enter to view a pre-production
story board for the Gaia Crater. Alternately, play Title 1, Chapter 41.
DVD REVIEW: I
have been a big fan of many of the Final Fantasy games since game 1 came out in
the US. I have been highly anticipating this movie since release but due
to the lack of decent courtesy in our local theaters of late, I decided to wait
for the DVD to come out and I'm glad that I waited. The
first film from the now-defunct Square Pictures was an expensive project that
took several years to complete. Unfortunately, the movie was not well received
in the summer 2001 because like Japanese animation, many people think anime is
for kids and for CGI rendered animation, only for kids. Not
in this case. If anything, I think kids will be in awe by the spectacular
computer graphics but the storyline is a bit too much for kids to understand.
Some say the movie was quite cerebral or too "Nausicaa" like. But
after watching the movie on DVD, I was amazed by how the characters almost look
like real humans. The storyline was good but for me it ended and then I
felt "I think I know what the director was trying to imply". But
all in all the movie's graphics were outstanding, the acting was good considering
the voice actor's were popular actors. But the storyline was good but not
great. As for the DVD, again
the sound was terrific and the video since it was remastered from the original
digital master, you get an awesome version of the movie on DVD. My gosh,
to see the skin on the Aki and the doctor was impressive. The colors of
the fire and the phantoms were beautiful. As
for the special features, this DVD was jam-packed. In fact, the first disk
gives you a few reasons to watch the movie several times because of the regular
movie, commentaries and then the storyboard version of the movie. Very nice! The
second DVD features a documentary, workshops, Final Fantasy shuffler so you can
re-edit the scenes (similar to the more expensive "Men in Black" DVD
release) and much more. All
in all, you get a bang for your buck by buying this DVD. If you want to
see the best looking computer animated film EVER made at this time, check out
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within". THE
MOVIE: B
THE DVD EXTRAS: A
THE DVD OVERALL: A- Check
out other cool DVD reviews on this movie by clicking here: 1
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