Even though the bonus features are not compelling enough, the anamorphic video presentation alone might tip the scale on a new purchase.
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Disaster movies have been around for a long time. When I was younger, I remember watching "Earthquake", the maritime mishap movie "The Poseidon Adventure" and then later on, the four "Airport" movies, all the while thinking how suspenseful and well made they all were. These types of movies typically had large-scale productions, an ensemble cast and employ really big sets, special effects and a large number of extras. Some even had a gimmick. For example, "Earthquake" featured a loud and booming sound system called Sensurround that literally had the audience "feeling" the low vibrations coming from specially constructed speakers.
Fast-forward to the late 1990s and we find that disaster movies now take on a much bigger and more global scale with major catastrophes that could literally wipe out mankind. We have now moved on from terrestrial disaster movies to ones that originate from outer space. In 1998, two major disaster movies with quite similar themes and released by rival studios, tried to vie for the box office crown. Both Michael Bay´s "Armageddon" and Mimi Leder´s "Deep Impact" performed equally well. Although both films share a similar doomsday scenario, there is actually quite a big difference in tone and story content between them. While "Armageddon" is a typical Michael Bay film where action, adventure and humor take precedence over everything else, "Deep Impact" is more serious and dramatic, able to connect with the audience on an emotional level.
Unlike many sci-fi movies, which take certain liberties with their plots, actual science plays an important role in keeping the story in "Deep Impact" grounded. The production team spent weeks meeting with scientists and NASA officials in order to make the film as believable as possible. Even then, some aspects of it had to be changed to further dramatize the movie. This is, after all, a Hollywood production. The composition of planetary comets is well known but to be able to build a spaceship that is able to land on one is still a little far fetched. However, the dramatic collision of the famous comet Shoemaker-Levy, on Jupiter´s surface in 1994 only serves to remind us that such an apocalyptic event is possible and can be catastrophic to the entire planet. Not to say that "Deep Impact" tries to capitalize on our fears but it loads up on the ´what if´ scenario and the list of possible governmental responses.
A teenage amateur stargazer by the name of Leo Beiderman (Elijah Wood) first discovers a previously unknown celestial body while attending an astronomy field trip. To verify his find, the pictures and coordinates of the find is sent to an astronomer, Marcus Wolf (Charles Martin Smith) who works at a space observatory. Wolf quickly finds himself face to face with a giant comet that, if it continues on the same trajectory, is projected to hit the Earth in a couple of years´ time. He names the comet Wolf-Beiderman but is unfortunately killed in a car accident on his way down from the mountaintop observatory.
The film then fast-forwards to a year later where we find MSNBC reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) trying to dig up political dirt on the resignation of Allan Rittenhouse (James Cromwell), a cabinet member of the Tom Beck (Morgan Freeman) Administration. Lerner picks up on the rumor of Rittenhouse having an affair with woman named Ele and she confronts him with it. Even though Lerner can´t confirm the affair, she tries to bluff her way in by pretending to know all about Ele, which earns her a surprise visit from the FBI and a meeting with President Beck. At this point, Lerner still has no idea what she has stumbled upon, although she promised the President that she would hold the story, whatever it is, for another 48 hours. E.L.E., as Lerner later discovers is an acronym for Extinction Level Event. This clever set-up to the announcement of the comet´s impending arrival is very well done. It succeeds in holding the audience´s rapt attention as they eagerly anticipate what is yet to come.
Due to the large degree of destruction expected in this movie, "Deep Impact" had all the promise of a major movie extravaganza, one that is on the same scale as a summer blockbuster. That promise was somewhat delivered in the spectacular giant wave scene towards the end but whenever I watch this movie, I still get the nagging feeling of its failure to fully deliver on the special effects. Whereas "Armageddon" hedged its bets entirely on the spectacular and thrilling special effects and stunts on the crew´s work on the asteroid´s surface, "Deep Impact" put more emphasis on the emotional and human factor. The loss of human life is insurmountable in this movie but the focus on Leo´s love for Sarah (Leelee Sobieski), Jenny Lerner´s relationship with her estranged parents, the astronauts´ tearful farewell to their family and President Beck´s mournful final address to the nation after all efforts have failed, bring personal and moving touches to this movie that help transcend the typical testosterone-filled summer blockbuster. However, even with all the feelings of anger, sadness and fear, "Deep Impact" more or less sanitized itself from all-out chaos that would have broken down any civility in a society that knows extinction is near. We don´t see many people turn against one another despite the government´s shameful use of a national lottery to pick who survives and who doesn´t. There is just no reason to shield the audience from what I would consider normal human behavior other than to try and compress the movie into a tight 120 minutes.
"Deep Impact" is a moving film set against a backdrop of impending doom for all of mankind. The stress of expecting and then finally accepting one´s mortality is captured vividly here. Expect melodramatic tales of ultimate sacrifices that will tug at the heartstrings and coax out a tear or two. Throughout the movie, the audience will go through many emotional ups and downs, where hope is countered by hopelessness and vice versa. In "Deep Impact", the special effects-heavy sequences are not the basis for the movie but act as a necessary storytelling tool that provides the background for the drama that unfolds. "Deep Impact"´s taut 2-hour runtime flies by quickly and is able to equally balance both the emotional and technical aspects of the film and produce a successful, dramatic and thrilling disaster movie without succumbing to many pitfalls.
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[release]12812[/release]