GameZone Special Review

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within DVD Special Edition

“Where Fantasy Becomes Reality – on DVD”

The most innovative, revolutionary motion picture of the year is on the way to home video/DVD, and it can be yours on October 23, 2001. What’s even more spectacular is that not only will the “fantasy” come home – but it will be accompanied by a groundbreaking number of behind the magic features and special footage created just for the DVD Special Edition release. The movie: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

Whether you are a long time fan of the series, a science fiction aficionado, a high-tech graphics enthusiast, or someone just looking for a movie that speaks a message not only to the technological, but to the spiritual – Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is not a mere game concept gone Hollywood. As a matter of fact, even die-hard fans will be pressed to spot more than one or two almost covert references to the games, while the movie itself is completely unrelated to the game series. What it does do is continue in the tradition of long loved story weaving talents of the series creator, Mr. Hironobu Sakaguchi, In case you hadn’t caught the reviews, reputable sources such as “Ebert and Roeper” gave the fascinating film “Two Thumbs Up,” and the praise continued to pour in long afterward.

To give you an overview, the film is set in the year 2065, roughly 30 years into the besiege of humankind by an alien “invasion” which began with the destructive impact of a meteor. Opening in the “barrier city,” of old New York, the movie tells the story of Dr. Aki Ross, one of the survivors of the onslaught, but more importantly, one of the few people on the planet who have the power and will to save the Earth. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within follows the struggle of Aki, Dr. Sid, and the Deep Eyes as they race against time and also the destructively militant General Hein who would use to planet ravaging weapon to destroy the alien threat rather than to try to find the answer scientifically.

I’m here, however, to review the DVD Special Edition, although I think you can fairly easily infer my feelings on the quality of the film itself.  Despite all the previews and teasers you might have seen before seeing the film, it does nothing to prepare you for the awe inspiring experience of the full film, and now it’s DVD release.

So, what does this all mean for the home viewer waiting to get their hot little hands on the Special Edition DVD? Columbia Tri-Star has more than a few surprises in store for you where you bring the Special Edition DVD home – it’s an exhaustive experience which takes you behind, through, above and beyond what you’ve already experienced the very first time.

First of all, you can watch the movie straight through will full-length commentaries by such individuals as the direction, animation, concept, and staging teams. These commentaries will not only bring out what the filmmakers and designers had to do to create the movie, but quite often you’ll find yourself noticing even more that you never would have noticed previously. There’s quite a bit of interesting background information on such topics as characters that were omitted, scenes that were changed, and also a great deal of humor that lends insight to the personal side of the movie. For music fans, there is even an isolated score section with the composer’s insights on some of his key works.

Next, you can check out some documentary footage and live interviews with several of the movie’s crew and get some insights on the designers. It’s quite interesting to see the people behind the characters and how sometimes more of them go into the characters than you might think. It also gives great insight on the long process from storyboard to compositing issues that were necessary to complete the film.

For the technically minded – you can get some good looks at the toys and trinkets of the film – namely in some model shots of ships like the Boa. Get a glimpse of how motion capture was used to help with character movement and lighting. Want to see how the movie was alternatively slated to open? Also included is an early stage alternate opening for the film. Some of the creators hi-jinx are captured in a mightily entertaining “out-takes” section – I’d tell you some great examples, but it would ruin the surprise. Trust me, it’s funny.

Get in depth character profiles, Aki’s dream sequence fully “assembled,” and even a chance to try your hand at film-making. The “shuffler” feature allows you to rearrange some key sections of the “counsel” meeting near the beginning of the film and to replay your edited material. There’s a number of different ways to manipulate the material, and the tutorial that accompanies the feature does a good job of making it simple to do.

Speaking of tutorials and menus, the menu features were created specifically for the DVD release and it really shows. It’s like having some extra bonus footage to the film itself. The menus are fairly easy to follow even though there is a TON of stuff to look through on both discs.

Game fans? Not only can you view the trailers not only for The Spirits Within – but also a fairly long trailer for Final Fantasy X!

A really notable feature is the “boards/blasts” feature. The best way to explain it is the viewing of the movie through the wide array of different mediums and stages the film progressed through as it was created. For example, for a few seconds you will see the storyboard or  pencil drawings of the movie and then it will move to a shot of matte painting. It will alternate between stages (including the finished product), giving you a visual presentation of the movie that really brings not only the hard work of the team to life, but adds the human element to the movie. You can also turn on little “factoids” to accompany this sequence. Such a feature really makes it impossible for you (or anyone else) to ever see the movie the same way again – instead drawing attention to it’s multiple layers and meanings.

For those of you inclined to interaction, there is a really cool interactive “virtual tour” of Square studios which will make you REALLY appreciate the hardware and man-power that made the vision possible. There’s also some great links, wallpapers, and the screenplay just waiting for your DVD-ROM drive.

Last, and certainly not least, is the oft spoken of and highly anticipated Thriller music video. This piece of work will make even the most stoic of viewers smile and it will also make you wish you were there to see the reactions of the creators as they transformed their work into it’s bizarre double life. It’s really kind of strange to see the King of Pop’s moves echoed by the characters of The Spirits Within, but it’s a truly gratifying strange.

-The Badger-