Fast And The Furious

Sound:
"The Fast and the Furious" is an older HD-DVD release. It has just taken some time getting around to reviewing all three films together. When this was released to the fledgling format, the Dolby TrueHD soundtracks were not yet being released. I would have loved to hear the various exhausts roar with the better sound format, but thankfully, the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 multichannel surround mix does not disappoint in the least. I still prefer the sound of my Flowmaster American Thunder exhaust, but the cars in the movie sound pretty darn good. When the engines are roaring, their high pitched whines are perfectly augmented with deep bellowing bass in the .1 LFE channel. Engines rev and exhausts roar brilliantly with the 5.1 soundtrack.

The race scenes are certainly the most impressive sounding scenes, but even during the quieter moments, "The Fast and the Furious" is an impressive sounding film. The film is not just about the cars. There are also explosive crashes and gunfire. This is primarily an action film and the action doesn´t end with high speed gearshifting. Ambient and environmental sound effects are plentiful throughout the entire film. Imaging across all channels is very good and it is easy to discern each sound as it moves across the soundstage. Dialogue is crisp and clear and even though what they are saying may not be that impressive, the actors sound very nice. Even after months of newer releases on both this format and the competing Blu-ray format, "The Fast and the Furious" is still one of the more impressive sounding films available. I´ve now watched it twice and used it more than that to show off HD-DVD.

Extras:
I own the original single disc Collector´s Edition of "The Fast and the Furious" on standard definition DVD. There was not any great reason to own the second release, aside from promotional bits relating to the sequel. Looking at the list or features for both of the standard definition releases, it appears that Universal has ported over everything for this HD-DVD release. The rear facing of the packaging is pretty impressive for its list of value added content, and the list isn´t just for show. Universal has done very well in delivering the full trilogy for the "Fast and the Furious" franchise and this first film has a number of very good supplements.

Oddly, there is no running audio commentary tracks listed on the packaging for the film. The track that was originally included on the first standard definition release is replicated here and may be used in audio only mode, or as part of the Enhanced Viewing that is listed on the rear facing of the packaging. This is an interview with director Rob Cohen that is spliced throughout the film and includes video information relating to the making of the film. Each video sequence is activated by pressing the "OK" button on the remote when a graphical icon appears on-screen. There is additional information contained in the video commentary segments that is not part of the audio commentary portion.

The Making of The Fast and the Furious is typical electronic press kit material and runs for just over fifteen minutes. Much of the cast and crew are present for this featurettes that mixes talking-heads interviews with some behind-the-scenes moments. For the most part, there is nothing to be gotten from watching this promotional feature, but I found myself oddly entertained by Cohen. The Multiple Camera Angle Stunt Sequence takes a look at the big Dodge Charger sequence and lets you swap angles old-school DVD style and get numerous looks at the short crash sequence. I had fun with this feature, but had to watch it numerous times to enjoy each of the angles provided. With Movie Magic Interactive Special Effects, takes a look at a few scenes from the film and shows the various layers and how the scenes evolve when the special effects were infused into the scene. I liked this supplement, but only wish it were longer. The Visual Effects Montage is an odd mix of visual components from the creation of the film and mixed with dance music. Though interesting to see the pieces from the film, there was no logical flow and the supplement just came across as an odd attempt at piecing together some making-of elements.

Three music videos are included on the disc. "Furious" from Ja Rule, "POV City Anthem" from Caddilac Tah and "Click Click Boom" from Saliva are the three videos and I enjoyed the Saliva entry the most of the three. The Deleted and Extended Scenes includes a number of scenes completely removed from the film and some scenes that were shortened. An introduction to the scenes is provided by Cohen, and an option is available to watch each scene with audio commentary. These scenes run by fairly quickly and provides nothing of great substance that should have been left in the film. Trickin´ Out a Hot Import Car is a unique little feature. Running for nearly twenty minutes, it combines sex and car to show off a lovely Playboy playmate and the art of tricking out a rice rocket. This was informative and thanks to the bunny, sexy. A supplement like this suggests that Universal really does know how to pander to its target audience.

Closing Thoughts:
I´m a big fan of American muscle and one side effect of "The Fast and the Furious" was the rash of teenage tuners that were inspired by the film and decided to spray paint their Civics and Eclipses and take to the streets and harrass us Camaro and Mustang guys. The film helped reinvigorate the notion of street racing and brought about the flash and style that was quickly forgotten when the Sixties gave rise to the Camaro and Mustang. The film is entertaining, though far from being an homage to street racing. Both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are passable in their roles, but the role seems fit for Vin Diesel and his performance is what helps this film rise from being anything more than a loud attention-deficit action film. On HD-DVD, this is a wonderful looking and incredible sounding experience that screams when cars race and pounds heavily during explosions. The supplements provided are captured from both previous editions and contains a new Picture-in-Picture mode. Technically and value-wise, this is one of the better releases available on HD-DVD. Had the film been a better film, this would have been a must have release.

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