Mothman Prophecies, The (UK)

8 / 10
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What Do You See?
Certificate: 12
Running Time: 114 mins
Retail Price: £19.99
Release Date:

Synopsis:
Based on true events, The Mothman Prophecies, examines a series of inexplicable occurrences through the eyes and mind of one man. Richard Gere stars as John Klein in this psychological mystery about a man driven to extremes to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding his wife`s death and how they may be connected to the strange phenomena occurring in a town four hundred miles away.

The movie is based on the events chronicled in John A. Keel`s 1975 book of the same name, recounting the experiences that took place in and around the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Between November 1966 and December 1967 over 100 people claimed to have seen a strange winged creature with glowing red eyes. The creature was dubbed the Mothman, and many people reported strange premonitions of impending disasters accompanied by a sighting…

Special Features:
HBO First Look - Behind-the-Scenes Documentary (15 minutes)
"In Search of the Mothman" - Documentary (45 minutes)
Cast and Crew Interviews (30 minutes)
Trailers
Beautiful DVD clam-box packaging with glow-in-the-dark special finish
Animated intro sequence - UK exclusive
Animated audio menus - UK exclusive

Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1

Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English

Directed By:
Mark Pellington

Written By:


Starring:
Tom Stoviak
Ron Emanuel
David Eigenberg
Debra Messing
Bob Tracey
Richard Gere

Casting By:
Georgianne Walken
Sheila Jaffe
Nancy Mosser

Soundtrack By:
Andy Milburn
Jeff Rona
Tom Hajdu

Director of Photography:
Fred Murphy

Editor:
Brian Berdan

Costume Designer:
Susan Lyall

Production Designer:
Richard Hoover

Producer:
Tom Rosenberg
Rachel Hudgins
Gary W. Goldstein
James McQuaide
Gary Lucchesi
Adrienne Gruben
Jason Free

Executive Producer:
Richard S. Wright
Terry McKay
Ted Tannebaum

Your Opinions and Comments

9 / 10
Enjoying a supernatural tale or two and knowing about the Mothman legend this film was a must see at the cinema and on DVD. If you don`t know the story then start off by watching the documentary on disc called "In Search of the Mothman" then you will understand the movie more. The story is cleverly updated from the 1960`s (when it happened) to today.
Picture is dark and atmospheric if a little grainy.
The sound is a superbly creepy 5.1 mix and adds greatly to the tense atmosphere.
The extras are worthy just for the documentary mentioned above.
An enjoyable film for any supernatural thriller fan as well as anyone else. I recommend this film!
posted by Nigel S on 29/10/2002 02:15
8 / 10
A very interesting film, which whilst occasionally you have to suspend belief a little too much remains a very enjoyable and entertaining movie.
Not having heard of the Mothman prophecies before, I was initially drawn to this purely because it features some artwork from a favourite artist of mine, the hugely talented Dave Mckean.
The cinematography is exceptionally good and adds alot to the dark sinister style of the storyline.
I was also very surprised at Richard Gere who turns in a great, believable performance as do all the supporting cast.
The documentary is well worth watching, but after you see the film rather than before as I think the film probably works better if you have no prior knowledge of the subject because it works extremely well at building suspense and intrigue.
Overall, this is a movie which I really enjoyed after not expecting a great deal from it.
posted by Rawshark on 30/10/2002 03:47
8 / 10
Despite a lackluster opening (why do we need romance in a horror movie?), "The Mothman Prophecies" proves to be a surprise. Director Mark Pillington aptly increases the tension and suspense while absorbing you into an intriguing mystery. "The Mothman Prophecies" is up there with the very best X-Files episodes. And what's more creepy is that most of it is true. "The Mothman Prophecies" is a monster film that doesn't reveal its monster, which makes it all the more convincing. Gere, Linney and Patton all turn in fine performances and the script is quite good.

Video: Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, "The Mothman Prophecies" is a very stylized film and is presented nicely here. Like most recent films, it doesn't have any major defects on the print, such as grain, scratches or dropouts. Overall sharpness is very good and edge enhancements are kept to a minimum. "The Mothman Prophecies" is a dark and creepy film, so it is imperative that the transfer reflects this and thankfully it does. Blacks and contrast are very good as are all other colours. There's a scene with Christmas lights that just looks fabulous.

Audio: A very eerie DD5.1 soundtrack. Dialogue is clear and the front stage is well spread. Surrounds are used to engulf listens into the creepiness of the track. Music is suitably eerie and emits strong bass. The "voice" of the Mothman is particularly spine chilling. This is a very good track which proves that sound plays a huge part in horror films. You simply won't be as creped out listening to it through TV speakers.

Features: A nice set for a single disc. "HBO First Look - Behind-the-Scenes Documentary" is 15 minutes long and is the usual promo guff. However, a) it scores points for delving into the real life events a bit and b) no wonder, this wasn't a big hit; this totally gives away the end. Don't watch it before the film!

"In Search of the Mothman" - Documentary"- Ah, this is more like it. Running at a healthy 45 minutes, this documentary is similar to those paranormal documentaries that were all the rage during the X-Files peak. Ah, nostalgia. This is a well produced, edited and narrated documentary that gives you a good insight into what really happened.

"Cast and Crew Interviews" features four interviewees; Richard Gere, Mark Pillington, Laura Linney and Will Patton. There four combined run for about 30 minutes and are all well worth the look. Trailers and a 6-minute EPK featurette rounds off the package.

Overall: "The Mothman Prophecies" left me with a great feeling, a feeling I hadn't experience since the time "The X-Files" were at their best. Seeing as the last few seasons have been mediocre, it's been quite a while. I loved the old episodes, which had Mulder and Scully investigating monsters and myths and this film recaptures that. Richard Gere turns in a great performance, which is far better than his Golden Globe winning turn in "Chicago". After "Arlington Road" and this, Pillington is a director I will keep an eye on. The DVD itself is fine, with DVD high-quality transfer and sound. The extras are good, but the lack of a commentary is disappointing. Recommended, at least for a good rent.
posted by directorscutIMDb on 28/2/2003 23:51