It may sound condescending to call this picture an oddity, but I call it an oddity as a wholly positive remark.
The visual look of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is clearly one of the strengths of the film. Its faded and low-detailed look are brought to life nicely by HD-DVD and this was a surprise. I had expected the 1.85:1 image to look similar to my standard definition copy of the film, but I couldn´t believe how much better the coloring and detail were. The greatest improvement was in the ´cleanliness´ of the movie. The film surely cannot compete with "Sahara" or "The Chronicles of Riddick" in the visual department, but it was intended to have a look completely it´s own and not look like one of the visually superior modern films. This is a very difficult film to grade for how it looks because of how different it is, but the HD-DVD transfer is stunning in its own way.
Audio:
Note: There has been a lot of confusion with this title regarding the DTS-HD labeling on disc packaging. This is an error on the packaging and the soundtrack is a standard DTS soundtrack.
"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" has its own take on how a soundtrack should sound. Dialogue is intentionally heightened to stand out slightly more than usual. A vague echo can be heard at times that gives the film a classic sound as well. The musical score is loud and aggressive and a wonderful recreation of the mid-century soundtracks. It does not feature the massive amount of instrumental voices that a John Williams soundtrack is known for. Edward Shearmur has created a horn-heavy and percussion-heavy mix that accentuates the action and the mood onscreen. It does feel a little "Indiana Jones" like, but is much more reminiscent of the films it is influenced by. Another notable difference in the soundtrack is the manner in which the special effects stand out. Whether it be a lighted fuse, a crashing sign or gunfire, the special effects stand out like another character in the film. This too is reminiscent of the manner in which sound effects stood out in years gone by.
The lively and aggressive mixes for "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" are delivered by either an English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 or a English DTS 5.1 mix. Both of these multi-channel mixes are incredible. This is a film best played at high levels and it really is impressive. All six channels are heavily utilized throughout the entire picture. The .1 LFE channel pounds hard enough to rattle shelves and picture frames at multiple points in the picture. The DTS soundtrack had a heavier bass presence, but both thumped admirably. Rear speakers are used quite often and a few of the sound effects created a wonderful enveloping experience. The dialogue and sound effects are so crisp and clear that every change in deflection or bit of detail can be heard. The dialogue sounds about as good as it gets. Never once do you wonder what the actor has just said. Never once does the dialogue, effects or Shearmur´s score conflict with one another. There can be a lot of audible information being pummeled towards you and it all sounds great. Comparing the two tracks, the Dolby Digital track has slightly better imaging, but the DTS has more rumble to it. Both tracks will impress at medium to high levels and the differences are quickly forgotten as your ears get quite a workout.
Extras:
All of the great features from the standard definition release have found their way to the HD-DVD release. This has been one of the selling points of HD-DVD thus far and even though there have not been a lot of supplements created for the new format, it is very nice to not be slighted by purchasing the high definition disc. A Commentary by Producer Jon Avnet and a Commentary by Writer and Director Kerry Conran and the VFX Crew are both interesting listens primarily due to the interesting nature in which this film was produced, but unless you are very interested in the technical aspects of the film, they are not the easiest to sit through. The second commentary track involves Conran and his brother and the production designer Kevin Conran, animation director/digital effects supervisor Steve Yamamoto and visual effects supervisor Darin Hollings. I would have loved to have gotten more information on all the ´Easter Eggs´ hidden and obscure references, but not many are detailed.
A rather large documentary is included and split into two halves. Brave New World – Chapter 1 and Brave New World – Chapter 2 runs for an hour combined. This is a nicely edited documentary that does a great job of detailing how the film was made and shows how simple the blue screen sets were and how different they were from the finished product. This picture was quite revolutionary in its filmmaking vision and its attempt to recreate the look and feel of film past. The film´s creators have their story told and you quickly learn how this film was completely reliant on computer technology. This two part documentary is far more valuable than the commentary tracks and if you are short on time, the documentary is certainly the better bet. The Art of World of Tomorrow is an eight minute look at the stylistic choices made for the film. Kevin Conran says it best here. "This picture is a comic book brought to life." This little documentary does a great job of describing the visual style of the movie. The Original Six Minute Short is the segment created to market the idea and secure the funds to get the film produced. This little short is great all its own and looks like it came right out of the early Fifties. Two Deleted Scenes, a Gag Reel and three Theatrical Trailers mastered in high definition complete the nice bit of extras contained on the disc.
Closing Comments:
"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is an intriguing little film. Produced for forty million dollars, it is homage to the serials of the Forties an Fifties and represents a modern interpretation of those films. Its visual style is something that only this film can claim. The movie was shot in twenty nine days on sets that were entirely blue-screen sets. Every element of the picture was added in post-production by computers. For as much as the film pays tribute to yesterday, it is an exercise in tomorrow. It is a complete digital picture that one could say is more animated than it is live action. Part of the fun in watching the movie is to find all of the theatrical influences and "Easter Eggs" that are hidden within its frames. Lines of dialogue are repeated. Famous apes climb famous skyscrapers and names give hint to trivial personalities. This is a very entertaining picture for various reasons. The HD-DVD release of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" features very good sound a good picture. The supplements are nice additions that chronicle the interesting nature of the film´s production. Not many people are familiar with the picture and it has been largely ignored. That is unfortunate.
Audio:
Note: There has been a lot of confusion with this title regarding the DTS-HD labeling on disc packaging. This is an error on the packaging and the soundtrack is a standard DTS soundtrack.
"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" has its own take on how a soundtrack should sound. Dialogue is intentionally heightened to stand out slightly more than usual. A vague echo can be heard at times that gives the film a classic sound as well. The musical score is loud and aggressive and a wonderful recreation of the mid-century soundtracks. It does not feature the massive amount of instrumental voices that a John Williams soundtrack is known for. Edward Shearmur has created a horn-heavy and percussion-heavy mix that accentuates the action and the mood onscreen. It does feel a little "Indiana Jones" like, but is much more reminiscent of the films it is influenced by. Another notable difference in the soundtrack is the manner in which the special effects stand out. Whether it be a lighted fuse, a crashing sign or gunfire, the special effects stand out like another character in the film. This too is reminiscent of the manner in which sound effects stood out in years gone by.
The lively and aggressive mixes for "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" are delivered by either an English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 or a English DTS 5.1 mix. Both of these multi-channel mixes are incredible. This is a film best played at high levels and it really is impressive. All six channels are heavily utilized throughout the entire picture. The .1 LFE channel pounds hard enough to rattle shelves and picture frames at multiple points in the picture. The DTS soundtrack had a heavier bass presence, but both thumped admirably. Rear speakers are used quite often and a few of the sound effects created a wonderful enveloping experience. The dialogue and sound effects are so crisp and clear that every change in deflection or bit of detail can be heard. The dialogue sounds about as good as it gets. Never once do you wonder what the actor has just said. Never once does the dialogue, effects or Shearmur´s score conflict with one another. There can be a lot of audible information being pummeled towards you and it all sounds great. Comparing the two tracks, the Dolby Digital track has slightly better imaging, but the DTS has more rumble to it. Both tracks will impress at medium to high levels and the differences are quickly forgotten as your ears get quite a workout.
Extras:
All of the great features from the standard definition release have found their way to the HD-DVD release. This has been one of the selling points of HD-DVD thus far and even though there have not been a lot of supplements created for the new format, it is very nice to not be slighted by purchasing the high definition disc. A Commentary by Producer Jon Avnet and a Commentary by Writer and Director Kerry Conran and the VFX Crew are both interesting listens primarily due to the interesting nature in which this film was produced, but unless you are very interested in the technical aspects of the film, they are not the easiest to sit through. The second commentary track involves Conran and his brother and the production designer Kevin Conran, animation director/digital effects supervisor Steve Yamamoto and visual effects supervisor Darin Hollings. I would have loved to have gotten more information on all the ´Easter Eggs´ hidden and obscure references, but not many are detailed.
A rather large documentary is included and split into two halves. Brave New World – Chapter 1 and Brave New World – Chapter 2 runs for an hour combined. This is a nicely edited documentary that does a great job of detailing how the film was made and shows how simple the blue screen sets were and how different they were from the finished product. This picture was quite revolutionary in its filmmaking vision and its attempt to recreate the look and feel of film past. The film´s creators have their story told and you quickly learn how this film was completely reliant on computer technology. This two part documentary is far more valuable than the commentary tracks and if you are short on time, the documentary is certainly the better bet. The Art of World of Tomorrow is an eight minute look at the stylistic choices made for the film. Kevin Conran says it best here. "This picture is a comic book brought to life." This little documentary does a great job of describing the visual style of the movie. The Original Six Minute Short is the segment created to market the idea and secure the funds to get the film produced. This little short is great all its own and looks like it came right out of the early Fifties. Two Deleted Scenes, a Gag Reel and three Theatrical Trailers mastered in high definition complete the nice bit of extras contained on the disc.
Closing Comments:
"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is an intriguing little film. Produced for forty million dollars, it is homage to the serials of the Forties an Fifties and represents a modern interpretation of those films. Its visual style is something that only this film can claim. The movie was shot in twenty nine days on sets that were entirely blue-screen sets. Every element of the picture was added in post-production by computers. For as much as the film pays tribute to yesterday, it is an exercise in tomorrow. It is a complete digital picture that one could say is more animated than it is live action. Part of the fun in watching the movie is to find all of the theatrical influences and "Easter Eggs" that are hidden within its frames. Lines of dialogue are repeated. Famous apes climb famous skyscrapers and names give hint to trivial personalities. This is a very entertaining picture for various reasons. The HD-DVD release of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" features very good sound a good picture. The supplements are nice additions that chronicle the interesting nature of the film´s production. Not many people are familiar with the picture and it has been largely ignored. That is unfortunate.
![Quark [TV Show]](/images/displaymedia.php?id=24990&sizew=70&cat=3)
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]19438[/release]