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I just viewed the Blu-Ray version of this movie. (Director's Cut)
I haven't seen the DVD, but did see this film in the Theaters back when it was originally released. I liked it then and like it now.I suppose it is the very good production values, the top tier cast and an above average story that makes for an interesting view.
There are some actors I like to watch in this movie but Claudia Black and Rhada Mitchell top the list. Cole Hauser's and Vin Diesel's characters play prominently into the storyline but it is Mitchell's Carolyn Fry who steals every other scene. (fine with me...;)
The cinematography is also very captivating in the way that we are allowed to experience the effects of being on a desert planet having three suns. The color balance shifts between blue casts to yellows to oranges. Then there is the once-every-22-year eclipse...that our cast, having just survived a harrowing crash landing, have arrived just in time for, and then the entire planet goes dark (pitch black, eh!) Ah, but that is when the very nasty carnivorous creatures come out to devour every living thing in their path. The goal is simple.....escape or be eaten alive. A creature flick, but not a horror flick, I'd say.
Add to the mix one escaped convict (Riddick) his captor (William Johns, a bounty hunter masquerading as a law officer) man & wife prospectors, a holy man, a few children we don't get to know and one rough talking adolescent girl masquerading as a male (Jack/Jackie) and you get enough complications for characters to develop during the ordeal. Who dies and who escapes can only be revealed by those who view the movie. (I'm not telling)
As noted above, I haven't seen the DVD so I can't make a comparison between Blu-Ray and DVD. Sorry, I can't say if owners of the DVD should purchase the Blu-Ray for a visual upgrade. That much aside, the Blu-Ray does look very good. Special effects, both cgi and otherwise are done 1st rate in this film. At no time did I have trouble "suspending my disbelief", as those in the industry are wont to say.
The film makers could have played up the blood and gore but chose to suggest it without forcing us viewers to take a bath in it. There is also plenty of eye candy...the type that sci-fi buffs enjoy to look upon. That said, this is a creature flick where the humans find themselves at the bottom of the food chain.
-Steve
Edits: 10/18/09Follow Ups:
I have both the DVD and BD versions.
I have yet to come across a film I've had/seen on DVD that doesn't look better on BD but the visual improvement is not always of the same degree. Some DVDs are much better than other DVDs and some BDs aren't as good as other BDs. A so so BD transfer of a film that had a really good DVD transfer won't show as much improvement as a good BD transfer of a film that received a poor DVD transfer.
That said, I haven't watched the DVD of Pitch Black for ages but my memory is that the improvement is noticeable, especially in the way the light under the different suns is handled and also in the way the lit objects come through during the eclipse scenes. As a general comment, I'd say that there's been a quite noticeable improvement in picture quality over DVD with every sci-fi film I've seen on BD. If you're a sci-fi fan, then you're being very well treated by BD in my view.
There's also the improvement in sound quality from the DTS HD-MA soundtrack. I'm always intrigued by people who only think of picture quality improvement with BD yet I find the biggest improvement in some discs is in sound quality.
If you can play BD and you have a choice between the BD and DVD versions of this film, then I'd definitely go for the BD.
David Aiken
I particularly liked the opening scene, where the characters are
forcibly ejected from their "freezers" because of hull breeches!
I do agree with your overall assessment.
Mike
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