The Day After Tomorrow [WS]

Overview

For those whole like their apocalyptic disaster films delivered mother-nature style, Godzilla director Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow arrives on DVD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The feature is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks virtually flawless. For viewers who neglected to see the grand-scale adventure in the big screen, this disc offers the next best thing -- with remarkable clarity and no discernible evidence of digital artifacting or edge enhancement. The English DTS 5.1 audio mix is appropriately room-shaking, and the surround channels are well-utilized in placing viewers directly at the center of the action. Alternate English Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish and French Dolby Digital Surround with optional English and Spanish subtitles are also offered. Though there are indeed some informative bonus materials offered on this disc, one might expect quite a bit more from such a special-effects-oriented film. Audio commentary with director Emmerich and producer Mark Gordon often finds the comments of the soft-spoken but good-humored director taking a back seat to the at times gratingly motor-mouthed anecdotes of the producer, while a more informative secondary track featuring co-writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff, director of photography Ueli Steiger, editor David Brenner, and production designer Barry Chusid really explores the behind-the-scenes work that went into crafting such an elaborate production. The "Audio Anatomy" interactive sound demo offers an interesting look at how sound shapes a film by allowing viewers to cycle between eight separate tracks -- each offering a separate component such as foley or score that, when pieced together, truly bring the film to life. It's an interesting feature for audiophiles, and a great way to learn what an important role audio plays in shaping the filmgoing experience. DVD-ROM materials offer viewers who own a PC with Internet access over an hour of exclusive making-of footage.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/12/2004
UPC:	0024543135548
Original Release:	2004
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	BUENA VISTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:03:00

Special Features

Closed Caption; Full-length audio commentary by director/co-writer Roland Emmerich and producer Mark Gordon; Full-length audio commentary by co-writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff, director of photography Ueli Steiger, editor David Brenner, and production designer Barry Chusid; "Audio Anatomy" interactive sound demo; Deleted scenes; DVD-ROM includes over an hour of exclusive "making of" footage

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dennis Quaid	Jack Hall
Jake Gyllenhaal	Sam Hall
Emmy Rossum	Laura Chapman
Dash Mihok	Jason Evans
Jay O. Sanders	Frank Harris
Sela Ward	Dr. Lucy Hall
Austin Nichols	J.D.
Arjay Smith	Brian Parks
Tamlyn Tomita	Janet Tokada
Sasha Roiz	Parker
Ian Holm	Terry Rapson
Richard McMillan	Dennis
Nassim Sharara	Saudi Delegate
Carl Alacchi	Venezuelan Delegate
Kenneth Welsh	Vice President Becker
Michel Abou-Samah	Saudi Translator
Jared Harris	Actor
Kenneth Moskow	Bob
Glenn Plummer	Luther
Nestor Serrano	Gomez
Adrian Lester	Simon
John MacLaren	Veteran Scientist
Kenny Moskow	Bob
Perry King	President Blake
Mimi Kuzyk	Secretary of State
Richard Zeman	Flight Director
Russell Yuen	Hideki, Japanese Astronaut
Chris Britton	Vorsteen
Vitali Makarov	Yuri, Russian Astronaut
Christian Tessier	Aaron
Rick Hoffman	NY Businessman on Bus
Alan Fawcett	Commander Daniels
Amy Sloan	Elsa
Karen Glave	Maria
Joe Cobden	Zack
Sheila McCarthy	Judith
Caroline Keenan	Tina
Matt Adler	Truck Radio Announcer (voice)
Nobuya Shimamoto	Japanese Policeman
Robin Wilcock	Tony
Thomas Wanker	Composer
Harald Kloser	Composer

Technical Credits

Roland Emmerich

Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Roland Emmerich	Director,Producer,Executive Producer,Screenwriter
Mark Gordon	Producer
Thomas M. Hammel	Producer
Kelly Van Horn	Executive Producer
Stephanie Germain	Executive Producer
Jeffrey Nachmanoff	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Main Titles
2. Giving Way
3. U.N. Conference
4. A Big Drop
5. Old Wounds
6. A Bumpy Ride
7. Bad Omens
8. The Decathlon
9. Too Fast
10. L.A.
11. Worst Case Scenario
12. Mountain of Data
13. New York City
14. Wall of Water
15. The New Ice Age
16. Contact
17. Presidential Briefing
18. A Toast
19. Life or Death
20. North and South
21. Hard Choices
22. Warming Up
23. A Good Friend Gone
24. The Age of Reason
25. Passing the Torch
26. The View From Space
27. Aboard the Ship
28. Eye of the Storm
29. Promises to Keep
30. The Last Mile
31. Moving Forward
32. End Titles

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play
   Language Selection
      English 5.1 Dolby Digital
      English 5.1 DTS
      French Dolby Surround
      Spanish Dolby Surround
      Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Roland Emmerich and Producer Mark Gordon
      Commentary by Co-Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Cinematographer Ueli Steiger, Editor David Brenner and Production Designer Barry Chusid
      Subtitles: English
      Subtitles: Spanish
      Subtitles: None
   Scene Selection
   Special Features
      Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Roland Emmerich and Producer Mark Gordon: On
      Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Roland Emmerich and Producer Mark Gordon: Off
      Commentary by Co-Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Cinematographer Ueli Steiger, Editor David Brenner and Production Designer Barry Chusid: On
      Commentary by Co-Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Cinematographer Ueli Steiger, Editor David Brenner and Production Designer Barry Chusid: Off
      Deleted Scenes
         Scene 25: Gary's Shady Deal/Taka Dies
         Scene 209-210B: First Version of Jack & Jason After the Big Freeze
      Audio Anatomy: Interactive Demo (8 Tracks of Audio)
         Track 1: The Final Mix
         Track 2: Dialogue
         Track 3: Helicopter Sound Design
         Track 4: Engines
         Track 5: Ice & Wind
         Track 6: Sound Effects
         Track 7: Foley
         Track 8: Music
      Web Link to Exclusive Content
   Inside Look

Editorial Reviews

The science behind this one may be a little shaky -- the possibility of a new Ice Age sweeping the planet overnight is pretty remote. But once you can get past the basic implausibility of the premise, you'll find that The Day After Tomorrow is, well, one of the coolest pictures to come along in quite a while. It's really a throwback to those great Irwin Allen disaster movies of the '60s and '70s. Allen's 1961 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, for example, took the opposite tack and posited that Earth's atmosphere could catch fire overnight. You take a group of people with disparate backgrounds, interests, and agendas; throw them together in a life-threatening situation caused by Mother Nature; and see how many of them survive to discover a means of reversing (or escaping) the effects of the calamity. In this case, climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), having foretold the possibility of global warming suddenly triggering a new Ice Age, gets no satisfaction from seeing his prediction come true -- because his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) is trapped in New York City, which has already been swamped by a tidal wave and essentially frozen solid. As the planetary freezing moves southward, Jack heads northward to rescue Sam and others that may have survived. Director Roland Emmerich, no stranger to such apocalyptic goings-on, marshals assistance from his art director, cinematographer, and special-effects team to make this frigid farrago convincing, and it's to his credit that he succeeds admirably. Formulaic plotting and stereotypical characters aside, The Day After Tomorrow, like Jack Hill himself, plots a course and doggedly pursues it to a successful conclusion. Although the submersion of Manhattan by tidal wave was done fairly convincingly in 1933's Deluge, that film's visuals don't begin to compare to the digital magic conjured up by Emmerich's special-effects sorcerers. There probably isn't a viewer on the planet -- in hot or cold climes -- that won't feel a chill up his or her spine when the Statue of Liberty is swept under by a monster tsunami. Quaid and Gyllenhaal are appropriately stolid in their roles and more than adequately supported by Ian Holm, Sela Ward, Jay O. Sanders, and others. Relative newcomer Emmy Rossum makes a strong showing as Jake's plucky companion and (if she lives through the ordeal) probable girlfriend. Providing old-fashioned thrills served up with new-fangled technology, The Day After Tomorrow makes an ideal "popcorn movie," and one that will certainly stand the test of time with repeat viewings.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse