Plot: What’s it about?
Twister is one of those movies that is just about plain fun. Of course, if you’ve ever been the victim of a tornado, then you’ll most likely disagree. But four years ago (it doesn’t seem like that long ago!), this movie with hardly any plot and an relatively inexpensive cast took in over $225 million to make it one of the biggest movies of the year, next only to some alien spaceship that blew up the White House. What Twister lacked in plot, it more than made up for in special effects and sound. Twister was one of the first DVD releases out and it managed to get in under Stephen Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment label as well. With a newly released version, complete with a DTS soundtrack, we can experience all over again what it’s like to see the dark side of nature.
We meet Bill (Bill Paxton) when he pulls up to have his ex-wife sign his divorce papers. Jo (Helen Hunt) is obviously still in love with him, as evidenced by the fact that she’s still wearing her wedding ring. The movie opened with a shot of an “F-5” that took Jo’s father’s life, hence her attraction to being in a rag tag group of storm chasers. Jo is now determined to get to the bottom of what causes these forces of nature to occur. She figures by developing an advanced warning system, they can increase the warning time of a tornado from a few minutes to at least 15 minutes…thus saving many more lives. Bill, anxious to get to his new job (as a weatherman) and get the papers signed, is lured unwillingly into chasing a group of tornadoes that come up as he’s trying to conduct business. Bill used to be the leader of this little group, and has since left at the “orders” of his fiance, Melissa (Jami Gertz). We meet the rest of the team, including a then still unknown Phillip Seymour Hoffman who plays the wild “Dusty” (get it) and Rabbit (Alan Ruck) who is the designated map keeper. Now all of this is fine and good, but we have yet to really meet an “enemy” so to speak. Can a tornado be an enemy? Maybe. But it’s about this time that Jonas (Carey Elwes) enters the picture. Jonas is an ex storm tracker who has now sold out to some corporate sponsors. He’s got all the latest gadgets and two dozen men at his beck and call, but he doesn’t have a natural instinct for the chase…Bill does.
Jonas’ heart is in the right place, and he also has a system that is a carbon copy of what Jo has been working on (hers is called “Dorothy” and his is called “D.O.T.”). They both want to save lives, but get in an argument, and chase the storms, to be the first one to make their system work. And in a nutshell, that’s the plot. This movie is along the lines of “Speed”, which was also directed by Jan de Bont, in the sense that it’s just pure action all the way through. The cast is strong, but didn’t get up for any Academy Awards (though Hunt did win one two years later for her work in “As Good as it Gets”). All in all, it’s a great way to show off your home theater setup and with all the added features on this disc, it’s well worth the money. So get swept away with the new version of “Twister”!
Video: How does it look?
The old version of Twister had both a full screen version and an anamorphic version. The new version eliminates the full screen version and gives us another 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. The image is very clean, but you might not think so. The whole way through there are so many clouds, debris and other assorted objects in the air (tires, tractors, cows…) that you’ll think the image looks a bit muddy. This is intentional, the image is perfect and has never looked better. I would say that it looks as good or better than the previous DVD release. After all, it has been over three years since it’s first inception on DVD and technology does improve…
Audio: How does it sound?
Ahem…if there’s one thing that this movie should be associated with, it’s sound. Warner has not only one, but two Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on here, as well as a DTS soundtrack. What’s odd is that the DTS is harly noticeable, just a little logo in the bottom right hand side. While the DTS “blows away” (pun intended) the Dolby Digital soundtrack with it’s depth, you can’t go wrong either way. The best way to describe the DTS version is that it takes a lot of the action and moves it to the rear channels. While the soundtracks do sound similar, it’s those rear effects that really stand out and get noticed. For a DVD that made me want to get better speakers, there is no reason why this shouldn’t be your demo disc for sound.
Supplements: What are the extras?
In addition to the new DTS soundtrack, which would have been worth it alone, Warner has included a feature length commentary with Director Jan de Bont and the visual effects supervisor Stefen Fangmeier. This commentary is recorded like that of “Dances with Wolves” with each peson taking up a front channel and it gives off a “stereo” like ambiance. My only complaint is that they kept the background noise too much, it really takes some concentration to isolate the commentators. In addition to the commentary, there is also a documentary “Anatomy of a twister” that is really very interesting, give it a spin and see how those twisters make it to the ground! Also included are the standard production notes and cast bios and Van Halen’s music video “Humans Being”. The menus have also been given a nice overhaul and even they’re loud too! A great disc and plenty o’ extras makes it a no-brainer for the “Authority Award”.
