The Mothman Prophecies
|
Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment / 2002 / 119 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: May 27, 2003 
The Mothman Prophecies raises a good question for the future of the special edition DVD re-release: why this one? It's not like the movie took the box office by storm; it did well if not great and delivered a nice set of scares, but really wasn't embraced by most critics. That is not to say that it is a bad film. I went to see it during its original run, not so much for Richard Gere's moody, pouty presence, but because I was both hungry for a good scare and was a moderate fan of director Mark Pellington (Arlington Road is a mess of a picture, but his earlier Going All the Way with Ben Affleck is a fascinating oddity). And indeed, it scared the bejesuses out of me. The picture's expert sound design and creepy mix of esoteric, expressive color montages all added up to one spooky film. Uneven, sure, but it delivers plenty of goose-pimpliness all the same. Still, why did Columbia TriStar see fit to give this one the two-disc treatment so long after its initial video release? Upon second viewing, The Mothman Prophecies just doesn't hold up. Most of my frustration comes from the heinous wasting of lovely leading lady Laura Linney. I never used to care for Ms. L - no offense, but for her first few films, I just found her painfully plain. But that was before I saw her exceptional work in Tales of the City and its two sequels, and her Oscar-nominated performance in Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count on Me, I became a diehard fan. Here, however, while her character is indelible, the role as written simply doesn't give her enough to do. As a cop with a mounty-sized jacket and pseudo-Frances McDormand Fargo-like naivete, she certainly has the look down, but she never gets a chance to really flex her muscles. It's a shame, because she is this movie's best bet.
However, what didn't hit me the first time I saw the film but that now I understand now after watching the extras, is that Pellington was doing his damnedest to bring a "based on a true story" fervency to the film. It is admirable in hindsight, but also perhaps too restrained a tactic. We discover in the included featurettes that the fuzzy-wuzzy creep-azoid that haunts Richard Gere isn't just an "inspired by" concoction that used real events as a springboard for spooky movie myth-making, but a fairly close re-creation of a town against the "Mothman" (cue scary music). This is all fine and good, but it is even tougher to swallow the second time around. I have to admit to never really thinking much about the fact that "this really happened" when I first saw the flick, because I just liked watching Richard Gere squirm and shiver for two hours. But now here's a genuine case of a DVD actually diluting a movie's effectiveness. Understanding the real story behind the film actually compromises the viewing experience - it's as if I've looked behind the wizard's curtain and don't like what I see. The Mothman Prophecies works best as a hyper-stylized, MTV-glossy horror flick with dense electronic music and a nice, cold sense of feverish near-hysteria. As a docudrama about the horrors of a supernatural menace that really existed, it wears its faults on its sleeve. It's a lot more fun as a fictional excursion than it is as a true-to-life exploration of honest-to-goodness paranormal activity. Which is probably the exact opposite of what was intended.
Video: How Does The Disc Look? While the extras may be new, the film's 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks exactly the same as last time. But it is a very good presentation, so why quibble? Color, luminance, black level, and shadow detail are all splendid. Small object detail and textures - skin and clothing - are excellent. Actors' pores are clearly visible in close-ups. Viewers will note that the director seems to be manipulating the palette; flesh tones are very natural in some scenes, but take on a bluish cast in others. The downside is that Columbia continues to ignore criticism and edges of high contrast are contaminated, with a full cycle of video ringing present. Each edge halo is composed of a bright band, which is further outlined by a dark band, denying us a film-like appearance. (Interestingly, the disc's theatrical trailer on the original DVD release is shown in 1.85:1 anamorphic video and the edge halos are noticeably less intrusive. When is the last time a trailer has looked better than the film itself?) Audio: How Does the Disc Sound? Featuring what sounds like the exact same Dolby Digital 5.1 track from the previous release, it is indeed very good. The dynamic range is a bit higher than most DVDs, so I had to increase the gain by a few dB to make the dialog more audible. The sound effects then became very dramatic. Surround effects are predominantly environmental, enveloping the viewer in subtle sounds that create a sense of space. While there are a few directional effects during the first two acts of the film, the sonic fireworks really shine during the climax. The viewer is placed within turmoil and destruction, which I cannot describe without revealing an important plot point. Deep bass is very satisfying and will challenge your subwoofer. Jeff Rona's atonal score is reproduced well, occasionally provoking a fingernails-on-the-blackboard reaction. Once I had adjusted the gain, the spoken word was crystal clear throughout. You can't do much better than this (if only it had a DTS track...). Included is a French 5.1 Dolby Digital dub, English, French and Spanish subtitles, and English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? To be honest, for a two-disc edition, this one's atypically thin on extras. The first disc features a new screen-specific audio commentary by Mark Pellington. He has much information to share, but his presence as a speaker leaves more than a little to be desired. His work with the camera and his ability to create a genuine feeling of mood and dread is potentially fascinating, but I couldn't take this commentary in one sitting. Monotonous, one-note and undynamic, it has plenty of tech information for those interested in that, but doesn't make for a very engaging experience. Pretty rough going. The rest of the extras are all on the second disc and generally more rewarding if still less-than-spectacular. First up is a the nearly hour-long documentary Search for the Mothman. Similar to those Sci-Fi Channel television specials, this one isn't extremely well put-together but the stuff in it is still pretty damned interesting. My favorite part is where we find out that someone saw the "Mothman" near Chernobyl just before the cataclysmic tragedy - spooky! (Chalk up another one for conspiracy theorists.) Next is the featurette couplet Day by Day: A Director's Journey, which takes us through the pre-production ("The Road In") and then production ("The Road Home"), although none take us into the editing room or the mixing stage. Odd. This little two-parter is actually a wonderful opportunity to see what goes on behind closed doors, yet is oddly uninvolving. The access the digital video-equipped documentary crew had into Pellington's world is without boundary, but again, Pellington as a subject just lacks intrigue. There is a great segment where Richard Gere is late for the first day of shooting, which is typical of the whole thing. Nothing gossipy or juicy comes of it, and like the rest is just...there.
Rounding it out are five inconsequential deleted scenes presented in decent-looking non-anamorphic widescreen, a music video by the band Low for their song "Halflight" (not bad), and theatrical trailers for Formula 51 and XXX, but none for The Mothman Prophecies. (And the original bare bones had them - whatever!) DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC? Nothin'. Parting Thoughts An above-average if not excellent thriller, The Mothman Prophecies finally gets a slam-bang double-disc edition, but I'm not sure if it deserves one, and it is probably too little, too late. This DVD sports a marvelous transfer and an effective soundtrack, but the extras are a bit slim (and what is up with the plain-jane cover art?). But given its moderately inexpensive list price, if you didn't pick this one up the first time and are a fan, it is well worth considering. But if you already own the original release? It probably isn't worth the upgrade. |
Comments (0)