...lightweight fluff, to be sure, but it combines enough tension, laughs, and genuine shocks to keep its audience involved most of the time.
Finally, the spiders hatch in the doctor's barn and migrate all over town, but they aren't in the least interested in the Jennings' house right next door until the film's climax, when the plot finds it convenient. You can see I'm being needlessly picky; just enjoy.
Video:
Buena Vista advertise the film's screen ratio at 1.85:1, but it measures closer to 1.57:1. I don't know if BV opened up the film from its original theatrical size or trimmed its edges by zooming in a bit. In any event, the image quality is fine, ranging anywhere from bright and crisp to very slightly faded and subdued. Color bleed is about average for a good DVD, and the number of instances of jittery lines, usually caused by scanning compression and largely dependent on one's playback equipment, is small.
Audio:
Pressing on, I loved the Dolby Digital sound. It is very wide spread in the front channels, very deep, very rich, and very room filling in the surround mode.
Extras:
Beyond the picture and sound, however, there is not much more on the disc. There is a skimpy two-and-a-half minute production featurette, a trailer, and a meager nine chapter stops. English is the only spoken language as well as the only captioning available.
Parting Thoughts:
"Arachnophobia" is guaranteed to give you the willies. Things don't just go bump in the night, they jump right out of the dark. At the same time, you'll get a kick out of John Goodman's Rambo-style exterminator. Director Frank Marshall said he wanted to make a fun house movie, filled with humor and suspense. He mostly succeeds. The movie is good, lightweight entertainment.
Video:
Buena Vista advertise the film's screen ratio at 1.85:1, but it measures closer to 1.57:1. I don't know if BV opened up the film from its original theatrical size or trimmed its edges by zooming in a bit. In any event, the image quality is fine, ranging anywhere from bright and crisp to very slightly faded and subdued. Color bleed is about average for a good DVD, and the number of instances of jittery lines, usually caused by scanning compression and largely dependent on one's playback equipment, is small.
Audio:
Pressing on, I loved the Dolby Digital sound. It is very wide spread in the front channels, very deep, very rich, and very room filling in the surround mode.
Extras:
Beyond the picture and sound, however, there is not much more on the disc. There is a skimpy two-and-a-half minute production featurette, a trailer, and a meager nine chapter stops. English is the only spoken language as well as the only captioning available.
Parting Thoughts:
"Arachnophobia" is guaranteed to give you the willies. Things don't just go bump in the night, they jump right out of the dark. At the same time, you'll get a kick out of John Goodman's Rambo-style exterminator. Director Frank Marshall said he wanted to make a fun house movie, filled with humor and suspense. He mostly succeeds. The movie is good, lightweight entertainment.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]2124[/release]