'Big Fish' is a movie you won’t soon forget; it may make you realize how little you know about your own father.
Video:
No complaints here, as the color print is mastered in high definition anamorphic (1.85:1) widescreen. The colors are carnival bright when they have to be, and the clarity is sharp even during muted-light "Edward Scissorhands" moments.
Audio:
The soundtrack is in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and French Dolby Surround, with subtitles in English and French. As with the visuals, the sound is bright and sharp with just the right balance of bass and high-tones. Burton is obviously a perfectionist, and it shows on the technical aspects of his films.
Extras:
For a single disc release, "Big Fish" is loaded with extras. Tim Burton is interviewed during a full-length commentary that brings in comparisons from his previous films and gets him talking about all aspects of the filmmaking process. Burton was drawn to the script instantly because his father had just died, and it was "a way to explore my own relationship with my father without therapy." Burton reveals that they shot mostly on location because it helped them all to get into the feel of the place (Alabama) and helped the actors get a handle on their accents. We find that Burton used puppets and real solutions to film problems (such as a truckload of actual daffodils instead of CG flowers and a blue screen), and he admits that he thinks the industry has come to rely too much on CG. The commentary is quite good, but the "fish tales" option—to have your viewing experience "embellished"—is nothing more than the insertion of the featurettes at various spots in the film. Using this option detracts rather than enhances, and I wouldn´t recommend it. Those extras are best watched separately, because it involves a different mindset.
There are three "character" features, in which viewers get additional insights from the actors who played Edward Bloom, Amos the Ringmaster, and thoughts from the actors and directors on the whole father-son thing. Even better than these three are features on Tim Burton and his vision for the film, the importance of fairytales to "Big Fish," an "author´s journey" with extensive interviews with novelist Daniel Wallace and screenwriter John August, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the Stan Winston studios produced animatronic creatures for "Big Fish." And for Burton buffs, there´s a trivia quiz that includes his other films as well. All in all, it´s a great little package of extras.
Bottom Line:
"Big Fish" is an amazing film. Tonally, it´s more like another father-son tale, "A River Runs Through It," than it is like anything else Burton has directed. There´s an almost elegiac undertone that runs like a current throughout the film. True, "Big Fish" has some of the heroic and double-identity elements of "Batman," the poignancy of "Edward Scissorhands," the atmosphere of "Sleepy Hollow," the carnival weirdness of "Beetlejuice" and "Frankenweenie," the depth and twinkle-in-the-eye energy of "Ed Wood," and a domino-like chain of events that may call to mind "Pee Wee´s Big Adventure." But "Big Fish" also has a quiet power and wisdom that those other films of Burton´s never quite managed. The script, based on a novel by Daniel Wallace, is the perfect vehicle for driving Burton´s weird world head-on into a family-drama reality that makes it all the more believable. John August´s screenplay takes a collection of essentially threadless short narratives and turns it into a dynamic plot that goes backward in time while also moving forward. Add Burton´s own vision and direction, the grand performances, and an inventive score by Danny Elfman, and you´ve got one magical evening of cinema. "Big Fish" is a movie you won´t soon forget; it may make you realize how little you know about your own father.
No complaints here, as the color print is mastered in high definition anamorphic (1.85:1) widescreen. The colors are carnival bright when they have to be, and the clarity is sharp even during muted-light "Edward Scissorhands" moments.
Audio:
The soundtrack is in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and French Dolby Surround, with subtitles in English and French. As with the visuals, the sound is bright and sharp with just the right balance of bass and high-tones. Burton is obviously a perfectionist, and it shows on the technical aspects of his films.
Extras:
For a single disc release, "Big Fish" is loaded with extras. Tim Burton is interviewed during a full-length commentary that brings in comparisons from his previous films and gets him talking about all aspects of the filmmaking process. Burton was drawn to the script instantly because his father had just died, and it was "a way to explore my own relationship with my father without therapy." Burton reveals that they shot mostly on location because it helped them all to get into the feel of the place (Alabama) and helped the actors get a handle on their accents. We find that Burton used puppets and real solutions to film problems (such as a truckload of actual daffodils instead of CG flowers and a blue screen), and he admits that he thinks the industry has come to rely too much on CG. The commentary is quite good, but the "fish tales" option—to have your viewing experience "embellished"—is nothing more than the insertion of the featurettes at various spots in the film. Using this option detracts rather than enhances, and I wouldn´t recommend it. Those extras are best watched separately, because it involves a different mindset.
There are three "character" features, in which viewers get additional insights from the actors who played Edward Bloom, Amos the Ringmaster, and thoughts from the actors and directors on the whole father-son thing. Even better than these three are features on Tim Burton and his vision for the film, the importance of fairytales to "Big Fish," an "author´s journey" with extensive interviews with novelist Daniel Wallace and screenwriter John August, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the Stan Winston studios produced animatronic creatures for "Big Fish." And for Burton buffs, there´s a trivia quiz that includes his other films as well. All in all, it´s a great little package of extras.
Bottom Line:
"Big Fish" is an amazing film. Tonally, it´s more like another father-son tale, "A River Runs Through It," than it is like anything else Burton has directed. There´s an almost elegiac undertone that runs like a current throughout the film. True, "Big Fish" has some of the heroic and double-identity elements of "Batman," the poignancy of "Edward Scissorhands," the atmosphere of "Sleepy Hollow," the carnival weirdness of "Beetlejuice" and "Frankenweenie," the depth and twinkle-in-the-eye energy of "Ed Wood," and a domino-like chain of events that may call to mind "Pee Wee´s Big Adventure." But "Big Fish" also has a quiet power and wisdom that those other films of Burton´s never quite managed. The script, based on a novel by Daniel Wallace, is the perfect vehicle for driving Burton´s weird world head-on into a family-drama reality that makes it all the more believable. John August´s screenplay takes a collection of essentially threadless short narratives and turns it into a dynamic plot that goes backward in time while also moving forward. Add Burton´s own vision and direction, the grand performances, and an inventive score by Danny Elfman, and you´ve got one magical evening of cinema. "Big Fish" is a movie you won´t soon forget; it may make you realize how little you know about your own father.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]11798[/release]