Fast and the Furious, The (UK)
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If loyalties must be broken, If the lines must be crossed, do it fast, do it Furious
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 102 mins
Retail Price: £19.99
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie
Synopsis:
They`ve got the adrenaline rush and the mean machines, but most of all, they`ve got the extreme need for speed.
On the turbo-charged streets of Los Angeles, every night is a championship race. With nitro-boosted fury, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), rules the road turning all his challengers into dust. He and his rival, Johnny Tran (Rick Yune) are the boldest, the baddest and the best. But now, there`s new rage on the road. They know he`s tough, they know he`s fast, but what they don`t know is that he`s a speed demon detective (Paul Walker) with enough drive and determination to come out the winner.
With intense full-throttle action, awesome high-speed stunts, and full-on pedal to the metal intensity, this fast and furious assault puts you in the driver`s seat and dares you to exceed all limits.
Special Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Multiple Camera Angle For Stunt Sequence
Feature Length Director`s Audio Commentary
3 Music Videos (by Ja Rule, Cadillac Tah and Faith Evans)
Making Of Documentary
Trailers
`Racer X` article that inspired the movie
Deleted Scenes
Movie Magic Interactive Special Effects
Editing Featurette
Visual Effects Montage
Storyboards to Final Feature Comparison
Cast and Filmmakers` Biographies
Production Notes
Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1
Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
DTS 5.1 English
Subtitle Tracks:
Hindi
English
Directed By:
Rob Cohen
Written By:
David Ayer
Erik Bergquist
Gary Scott Thompson
Ken Li
Starring:
Chad Lindberg
Rick Yune
Jordana Brewster
Michelle Rodriguez
Vin Diesel
Paul Walker
Casting By:
Ronna Kress
Soundtrack By:
Brian Tyler
Carlos Santana
Ja Rule
Sam Rivers
Redman
John Otto
Method Man
R. Kelly
Faith Evans
Fred Durst
Nate Dogg
Leor Dimant
DMX
Wes Borland
BT
Director of Photography:
Ericson Core
Editor:
Peter Honess
Costume Designer:
Sanja Milkovic Hays
Production Designer:
Waldemar Kalinowski
Producer:
Neal H. Moritz
Creighton Bellinger
Executive Producer:
John Pogue
Doug Claybourne
Distributor:
Columbia / Tristar
Your Opinions and Comments
Not as good as "Gone In Sixty Seconds" starring John Travolta but a good solid film.
The disc should really have more extras but at least it has some.
The video transfer as you`d expect from a recent cinematic release is excellent. The rich colours have lots of depth and vibrancy to them. The cars and all the action sequences stand out in great detail and clarity. Overall the video is of a high standard.
The audio is something else. I opted for the DTS soundtrack and was blown away by the sheer power it delivers. It is by far the loudest soundtrack I have ever heard in a film and it never lets up throughout. The loudness of the engines and the tyres screeching is captured brilliantly and it has an engaging and thumping soundtrack to supplement the action as well.
The disc comes with a good selection of extras although some are a bit pointless and don`t have too much bearing on the film itself. The extras on the disc are let down by a badly designed menu, that initially had me cursing the disc that all the extras listed on the back of the box weren`t on there.
On the whole this is a very good DVD and the DTS track will really test your home cinema setup, and probably upset the neighbours at the same time. This is a must have disc if you like action movies and fast cars. Probably not everybody`s cup of tea though but certainly worth checking out on rental.
The picture is excellent, and we get a fantastic audio soundtrack as well. The extras are numerous, if a little on the self-promotional side. Basically if you liked this film, it's a great disc. if you haven't seen the film yet, maybe this is one to rent first, because it will not be enjoyed by everyone.
Multiple Camera Angle For Stunt- Quite a nice little extra which lets you have a look at different angles for the stunt in which Toretto`s car flips after hitting the truck.
Commentary by Rob Cohen- Not bad, but it`s your average backslapping affair and boring at times when he can`t think of much to say.
3 Music Videos- Some great music videos apart from the swearing being edited out. It`s a 15 so what`s the need.
Making Of- Not a bad attempt as we get some insightful views from the cast and crew about the movie.
Trailers- Average. Let`s you know what happens in the film without giving to much away.
Racer X Article- This is the article that the film was inspired from. Only of interest to petrolheads.
Deleted Scenes- Let`s just say you can see why they were deleted.
Editing Featurette- Quite a good featurette showing how the editor`s worked to bring the film into the correct order of sequences.
Visual Effects Montage- Just another trailer really.
Storyboard Comparison- Quite interesting for budding storyboard artists, otherwise this may bore you.
Biographies- A few pages about the cast and crew. Quite good.
Production Notes- Interesting though rather short.
Overview:
An undercover cop (Paul Walker) must infiltrate a group of street racers to find out who`s been hijacking lorries.
Review:
Let`s start off by saying that if you see this movie, leave your brain at the door. One of the sleeper hits of 2001, The Fast And The Furious is an above average film. It`s about a cop who infiltrates a group of street racers, yet builds up relationships with them that he finds hard to grass them up. There is a fair whack of car racing with some great CGI camera work going through the engines of the cars as they start on their 10 second races (which really last 3 minutes). The acting is mainly average with only the bloke who plays Jesse shining through as a star to look at in the future. The races will keep you glued to your seat but there are moments in the film that you wish would just hurry up (mainly the scenes where Paul Walker is with the other police). All in all a good movie. I enjoyed it.
Picture:
In a 2.35:1 anamorphic picture, the film is a treat to watch.
Sound:
With both 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, you can really hear those engines roar.
Overall:
A good film, with good extras. Goody good good.
Video: "The Fast and the Furious" sports a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. The colourful cars burst of the screen with sheer vibrancy. Sharpness is very good as well. There are no starches or blemishes. However, there is quite a bit of edge enhancements and a small bit of grain, particularly in night scenes. Nonetheless this is a very good transfer.
Rob Cohen is a hack (argue all you want, when a director's best film is "Daylight" you know there's something wrong), a 50-year-old "hipster" and a director who seems to have no concern able filmmaking talents. The visual look of "The Fast and the Furious" is liable to blind you. Brighter than the sun cars, countless cuts and edits. It's ad nausea.
Audio: The 5.1 soundtrack is an excellent track. Something I would have mark higher for if not for the torture that is the film's dialogue and music. The racing scenes spring to life with thunderous engines. When the camera is in the car, you are engulfed into a 360 degrees "in-car" soundstage. Bass is frequent and very deep. If you can get past the mind-numbing music and dialogue, turn this up LOUD and it is a great experience.
Extras: Up first is a Rob Cohen audio commentary. A fairly technical track, which also provides history and trivia about the film. Where the old guy falls is failing to see the film for anything but the action masterpiece he thinks it is. Cohen also lends his voice to the deleted scenes. If you thought Fast/Furious couldn't get any worse, you'd be wrong. Some of these scenes are painful to watch and were rightly left on the cutting room floor. The image quality of the scenes is quite bad also.
Next up are three featurettes on the SFX. They include a mutli-angle deconstruction of the final race. "A Movie Magic Special Effects Reel" and a "Visual Effects Montage". None offer any great insight and the montage is a complete waste of space, but the multi-angles are fun for a few minuets.
The "Featurette on Editing For the Motion Picture Association of America" is probably the best feature on the disc, despite lasting a wimpy five minutes. It just shows how stupid censors can be at times. Tell me, they wanted this cut from the film BUT it is now allowed to be shown on a DVD uncut with the same rating, played over and over again. I laugh.
Rounding off the package are storyboards, trailer, a newspaper article and some truly awful music videos.
Overall: According to DVD Reviewer, the "1" rating should be dished out if a film is "Terrible, offensive even when on in the background". Well this film is offensive at anytime. But am I so heartless to dish it a "1"? Hmmm… Disc wise you get a great presentation and basic extras. A good buy, if you're in to this sort of thing.