Men In Black (Limited Edition) (UK)

ONE OF THE BEST DVD`S EVER.

WILL SMITH & TOMMY LEE MAKE A LETHAL COMBO.

EXTRA FEATURES ARE SUPERB AND BRILLANTLY DONE.

Well I'm sure you've seen this one before, so I'll dispense with a heavy synopsis, and describe the jist of the story.

Young New York cop is recruited in a secret organisation known as the MIB (Men In Black) which sole existence is to monitor alien activity on earth, but when a Bug crash lands on earth and creates chaos it's the task of the MIB to search and destroy the alien terrorist.

Video: -

This film is presented in 1:85:1 Anamorphic and Full frame Pan and Scan, the disk is a flipper with the Widescreen option on side and the Pan 'n' Scan option on the other, as I have a 32" widescreen Television I chose the Anamorphic, so that's the option I'll be reviewing.
The transfer is and excellent one, showing virtually not signs of dirt or grime, also saw no compression artefacts.

Sound: -
Sound is available in a verity of different languages including: -
German
French
But as I am only fluent in English obviously that's what I went for.

The DD 5.1 track is a treat to listen to, everything is as clear as a bell, and being a science-fiction/action film, the track makes good use of the rears, that dialogue is clear and understandable, I owned the VHS and couldn't quite make out some words and sayings, but now I understand completely thanks to our friend DVD.

Extras: -
This is a supposed Limited Edition (2-Disk) with more added extras that the Non-Limited edition (1-Disk), and I must say there is a nice plethora of extras to choose from.

The first disk which also contains the film has to Audio Commentaries, the first is a very genius idea of a Visual Commentary, in which u get the audio commentary and also Mystery Science Theatre 3000 silo wets at the bottom of the screen, featuring Director Barry Sonnenfeld and Actor Tommy Lee Jones, the Second is a Technical Commentary which is a commentary about the technical aspects of making MIB.
Now there is a second disk with loads more extras, far to many to describe here, so check them out at your supplier.

Overall: -
A thoroughly enjoyable movie on a DVD that does is justice.
Go out and buy MIB limited Edition, and don't be fooled by the LE status it's been around for ages and can be picked up quite cheap now.

Intro- Aliens, bugs or whateveryoucallems are here on terra firma(with social security numbers? that can be disputed) and lucky for us human there`s the MIB(maybe a pun on CIA?) to keep this intergalatic pests at bay. When I mean pests, they really are pests. MIB stars Tommy Lee Jones as the humourless and serious Agent Kay, Rip Torn as old Zed and Will Smith as the cocky streetwise NY cop Agent Jay. The some-what reckless(watch what happens later on he he he :D) young cop is recruited into the extremely top secret organisation. When an alien spaceship crashes into earth, it is the MIB`s job to hunt down the alien terrorist(a controversial word to use?). MIB is a blockbuster of 1997 and suprisingly it`s a decent film to my likings, funny and non insulting. Recommended viewing.

Rating: 4/5

Video The DVD is supervised under the supervision of Barry Sonnenfeld himself, video quality is good for it`s time and today. MIB is present in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. It`s quite a nice presentation although the down side is that there are a few instances of black flecks appearing from time to time. Being a sci-fi(and comedy) film, it`s filled with CGI from start to end. If you don`t possess a widescreen telly, then there is the fullscreen version. Overall, a satisfying transfer.

Sound- The DD 5.1 mix is quite nice too just like the video. It`s good but the best. The mix is a little quiet and lacks a little impact when I 1st heard it from the cinema`s(yes the volumes pumped up! :p). Oddly enough, there is a DD 5.1 mix for the French and German dubs. A DD 2.0 mix is also available if you don`t possess fancy cinema equipment. A suitable demo DVD to test your speakers.

Extras- Also as nice as the other departments. You get a handful of extras including a commentary track with Barry Sonnenfeld and Tommy Lee Jones, with the options of having a visual commentary with onscreen diagrams. This is one of the best commentary tracks I`ve heard. The two go discuss production and some of the SFX in this film. The visual commentary is done in the style of MST3K.

Next, we have a 2nd audio with Barry Sonnenfeld(again) and the technical crew of the production. They discuss the CGI shots in more detail. The technical details will bore some of the listeners but interest others.

Oddly enough, the 1st disc is a flipper!

Moving onto the 2nd disc, we have quite a selection here! Where shall we start? There is the 24 minute documentary The Metamorphosis of Men In Black featuring interviews with the cast and crew. Rather short and EPK standard.

There are 5 deleted/alternate scenes. They are basically extentions to the main feature but they have cut out for many reasons, whether they are boring and slows down the pace of the film or it just didn`t make sense and had to be dropped. There is an alternate scene with Jay triggering off the weird ball without the CGI effects put in.

Next we have 3 multi-angle featurettes, Creature animation studies, the Edgar bug fight scene reconstruction and the tunnel sceen reconstruction allowing you to change angles while the footage plays. A sweet feature.

The editing workshop is an unusual feature which allows the viewer to be the director and change certain(not all, sorry) scenes from the film. There are 3 scenes for you edit and make your own version. It`s fun for a short time but you`ll become bored within a few minutes. Slightly pointless feature.

There are 1000 odd images in this DVD including Conceptual art gallery, Storyboard gallery, Production photo gallery and Storyboard comparisons. Lots to explore from here on.

There is a 6 min featurette or more precisely, an EPK. Utter rubbish and speaks for itself.

Some filler extras include Will Smiths chessy music vid and some trailers for this movie. There is a DVD-ROM features on the disc.

Lastly, there is a nice booklet containing some sketches of the intergalatic scum.

Overall- A nice sci-fi comedy film with some nice extras although a little repetitive at times. You should be able to pick a copy of this film with MIB 2 bundled together just watch this one and not the inferior sequel.