Plot: What’s it about?
It’s hard to believe that a member of Monty Python (yes, they were a group and not just one person) has arisen and become one of the most acclaimed directors of our day. With movies like “Brazil” (which, sadly, I have never seen), “Time Bandits” and “The Fisher King” under his belt, Gilliam brings us this futuristic and very frightening tale of what lies ahead, or I should say what could lie ahead. Actor Brad Pitt recently called his role in “Fight Club” the best script he’s ever been handed. Now I disagree, his role in Fight Club was very good, and he played it well…but in terms of a role that I remember him in, it’s his role in this movie as mental patient, Jeffrey Goines. The rest of the cast is superb as well, with Bruce Willis in the lead as James Cole, Madeline Stowe as psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the always wonderful Christopher Plummer as Dr. Goines (Jeffrey’s father). So that brings us to the plot…this is hard to put into words, but I’ll give it a try. This movie is another of those that leaps back and forth through time, not so much that you can’t tell what is going on, but enough to keep you on your toes and keep you paying attention.
James Cole (Willis) has been called from his prison cell. He’s been called to go back through time to stop and event happening, the Army of the 12 Monkeys. Now, the future of this movie isn’t at all like that of Star Trek or anything like that, it’s a run down, yet highly technologically advanced civilization that has been forced to retreat underground to live. The scientists, who rule with an iron fist, want to change all that and have been sending their inmates back through time (so far unsuccessfully) to stop an event that started all the confusion in the first place. The time machine itself looks more like something you would use to pump water off a ship than travel through time, but they don’t go into the inner working of it, and it’s just as well. Accuracy isn’t the time machine’s forte, either. Willis ends up at a battle in World War I and then misses his destination by another 6 years before landing at the right place and time. While on his second trip (he was only in WWI for a few minutes), he lands in the year 1990. He was given a telephone number to dial, that in the correct year (1996) would accomplish his mission, and instead he manages to get committed where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly and fellow inmate Jeffrey Goines (Pitt).
Now let me go off on Pitt’s job in this movie, if I may…We’ve all been told that it’s easy to play a psycho, but Pitt turns it up a notch and gives the character a very nervous, awkward sense about it. It’s no wonder that he was nominated for an Academy Award for this role. Willis finally makes it to the right time and place and is set out to stop the “Army of the 12 Monkeys”. He catches up with Goines again (who is now out of the institution, but still as crazy) and together they set an end to what they think will be the end of the world. Do they succeed? 12 Monkeys, much like The Usual Suspects, is a movie that you almost have to view at least twice before you have a complete understanding of the scope of the movie. Terry Gilliam is a brilliant director, and I think he wants it this way. Willis plays his low-key character, but not enough where you don’t care about him and the highlight of the show is Pitt’s performance. Not many movies come around that make you think about them after the credits roll, but this (as with Gilliam’s other movies) is quite the exception.
Video: How does it look?
“12 Monkeys” has always been a very visually entertaining film and with its debut on Blu-ray, it’s even moreso. The 1.85:1 VC-1 HD transfer cleans up a lot of the picture that faltered in the previous standard DVD versions. Colors are a bit richer and blacks seem somewhat deeper as well. The entire palette used for the movie is very bleak and muted, no doubt to reflect the atmosphere of the movie itself. Detail has seen an improvement and though there’s still a few problems with the source print, this is certainly the best the movie has ever looked on a home video format.
Audio: How does it sound?
The HD-DVD version of this film contained a Dolby Digital Plus track, but with this Blu-ray version, we get a true uncompressed DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track that sounds amazing. Granted, “12 Monkeys” hasn’t ever really been the end all be all of dynamic audio, but there’s a richness and fullness to this track that I hadn’t noticed before. The LFE are quite active and I heard the most discrete sounds coming out of my surround speakers. Dialogue is rich and concentrated solely in the center channel. I’m happy to finally hear this movie the way it was meant to be heard.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Way back in 1999 Universal was in the precarious habit of releasing their titles in two formats: a DTS release which contained little, if any, supplements (the DTS tracks took up more space on the disc than their Dolby Digital counterparts) and a more robust edition that contained more supplements. So it begged the question “Do you want better sound or more supplements”? Thankfully that’s not an issue any longer as this Blu-ray disc has far better sound and all of the supplements that were missing from the DTS standard DVD. Perhaps the best featured on the disc is the included documentary “The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of 12 Monkeys: The Making of ’12 Monkeys'”. This 90 minute documentary is everything a good documentary should be as it focuses on pretty much every aspect of the filmmaking process. We get interviews with the actors, the director who’s had his ups and downs with Hollywood despite producing some of the most unique movies out there. We get a look at the set design, production design and some insight into the script and storyboard process as well. The included audio commentary is also interesting and for those that don’t want to commit 90 minutes to the documentary will get a plethora of information here. Also included is a photo gallery and the original theatrical trailer.
