DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Recommended) (1 Viewer)

[Chad A Wright]

This was one of my favorite movies of last year, but even I had forgotten how much fun it was. And this is one of the most beautiful pictures you'll see. The quality of the video and audio is absolutely top knotch.

I agree, the main weak link was Paltrow, but even she had her moments.

 

[DonnyD]

I, too, found pawwwwltrow (purposeful mis-spelling here)......to be a waste of time..she is simply a terrible addition to ANY movie imho.. BUT, with Jolie providing a little eye candy!

For one who remembers well the old serials of the 50's (I had a hard time waiting for Saturdays so we could see one at our local small town theater), this movie took a little to grow on me.... After the sound effects started and my sub began jumping off the floor, I was first mesmerized by the tremendous LFE but then found myself captivated and transported back to that little theater I called home on Saturdays so long ago......

It does take a little to get used to the sepia tones and the cgi sets but it is pulled off pretty well in the end...... It may not be put into the reference video demo area of my collection but it will definitely have one of the top spots in the reference audio sections. I would like to have a DTS version to check it out too.......

Having not seen this at the theaters, I am glad I took the time now.......... My GF is pretty picky about what she watches and it was a thumps up for her too......

 

[Heinz W]

I liked it, and my wife seemed to enjoy it as well. I need to see it again before making a final judgement but, despite it's flaws, it's in definite thumbs-up territory. I love old movies. I love science-fiction. Nice to see someone take a chance to do something different in the wake of all those sequels and copycat flicks.

I like this movie much better than the usual brainless popcorn fare Hollywood churns out. This film at least has some style to go with the light-on-substance storyline. I guess that counts for something these days. I also agree with an earlier poster who felt it should have been shot in B&W. That would have worked better IMO.

I did not experience any glitches with my copy; it played perfectly all the way through on my Pioneer 578a (to Hit. 51S715 via component).

 

[danak]

Scott said the movie cost about $110 million, including P&A (which I assume means advertising?). I think I read it cost about $60 million to make (before the advertising). Can anyone make an estimated guess what it would have cost if it had been done with real sets and not all CGI? Did it save any money given this was the first use of the technology?

Personally, I wasn't bowled over by the film. As others have said, the story was weak, the acting weak in places, and the weird lighting drove me up a wall, plus it all looked so artificial. But the first use of any gee-whiz technology in movies probably has problems I'm sure.

Dana

 

[David Galindo]

Hah. "Eye" candy. I get it! Haha!

Great pun

 

[Adam_WM]

I liked it. Watched it last night. I found it be just what I imagine a full length serial might be. it was in line with my expectations and a fun watch. Plus, the sound was great. Worth a rent at least.

 

[Brian L]

I'll just chime in with another appraisal.

A great Pop Corn flick for sure. I saw this last week on a long haul airline flight, then rented it for a proper viewing....I now think a purchase is on the horizon.

I was quite well impressed by the SQ; the music during the first act was quite immersive, and the bass effects were astounding. I run a BFD to EQ my sub, and it has a level meter. I think this flick had the meter pegged at the highest levels I have seen yet....serious room shaking bass when he robots first arrive, and some serious low level stuff throughout.

Did anyone notice what seemed to be a neat bit of foreshadowing....at the initial meeting between the Dr. and Polly in the theater, they are playing The Wizard of Oz....then when Sky Captain, Polly and group finally see an image of Totenkoff, he is sort of Oz-like....I was waiting for a little dog to yank open a curtain and find a small little man at the controls!

BGL

 

[Glenn R]

Non-spoiler film references in Sky Captain?

Anyone care to cite Sky Captain's many references to classic films? Besides the oft-mentioned Fleischer Superman Mechanical Monsters short and the Wizard of Oz clip, I learned from the director commentary (not finished with it yet):

Newspaper montage ala Citizen Kane
Polly reaching for her camera ala Strangers on a Train
King Kong atop the Empire State Building

 

[scottLarson]

I enjoyed sky captain in the theater. It's a great mixture of star wars and Indy. It's going to be cult hit.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

The doctor's room number is "1138".

The "Venture" (the ship from King Kong) can be seen as an underwater shipwreck.

There are, I believe, robot sound FX borrowed directly from War of the Worlds.

Sky Captain asks "Is it safe?" in regard to the Laurence Oliver character.

 

[Glenn R]

Re: film references

Some easy ones I caught on my own: Wuthering Heights and Kings Row on downtown movie marquees.

While film references can come from any year (eg., 1941's Citzen Kane and 1951's Strangers on a Train), I found it odd that 1942's Kings Row would show up on a 1939ish marquee. Wuthering Heights and Wizard of Oz were, of course, 1939 productions (along with Gone with the Wind -- whata year!), so it'd be historically accurate for Polly to walk into those screenings.

Gotta see it a second time to catch more of the fast and furious film references!

 

[Jim Barg]

Producer Jon Avnet said before the US release that the process saved about $60-70 million in cost.

 

[richardWI]

Don't forget the Wilhelm scream during the first robot attack on the city.

this was a good review that listed off many of the references:

http://www.dvdjournal.com/reviews/s/skycaptain.shtml

 

[Al (alweho)]

Has anyone found out how to access the Easter Egg yet?

I found it while digging around the disc on the computer - but wasn't able to locate on which menu it is linked from.

 

[BrentWW]

Ahh, thanks Scott...I knew the Venture was a "famous" ship but couldn't place the reference.

As far as other references in the film, yes, Scott, the robot laser blasts are out of War of the Worlds. Also as Polly runs thru an alley in the early part of the movie, the name "Victor Fleming" is written on the wall. He of course directed The Wizard of Oz.

Also Sky Captain's permission to land on platform 327..right out of Empire Strikes Back

 

[Walter Kittel]

Re: Film references. I found Polly's early statement of being 'careful' echoing tones of Indy's statement to Marcus in Raiders of the Lost Ark about his being a careful fellow while packing.

I missed this film theatrically, so my first viewing was the other evening. I loved the visual design of the film and found it to be very entertaining. The references were part of the fun. The film had me as soon as the dirigible docked at the Empire State Building. I recall reading an SF story that dealt with two possible alternate futures in the era prior to WWII. The dirigible sequence was exactly as I visualized it from this story. (Wish I could remember the story and author. Must be getting old. )

- Walter.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I just noticed that this movie was shot with a Sony HD video camera at 1280p.

So far it seems that movies that were shot that way transfer to DVD very well!

 

[Glenn R]

richardWI, thanks for the dvdjournal link. Quote therein:

"Strangely, the DVD contains none of the notoriously misleading advertising for Sky Captain, not even the trailer, which cast the film as a straight-ahead action film."

Three trailers are included on the Walmart bonus disc plus a pretty decent short on the blue screen process. This is the best DVD freebie I've come across.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

When you manually selected it, did you get rear centre channel information? I'm just curiouse because I loved this movie's sound mix and didn't want it to be short-changed on DVD.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Wait a minute - this film has giant robots and planes tat fly with flapping wings. And you're concerned that it's historically inaccurate because of a film title?

It finally arrives in NZ cinemas in a week or two, and I'm looking forward to seeing it.