![]() The first is with Director Stephen Sommers and Editor/Producer Bob Ducsay. Two audio commentaries are included on the disc. There are no extra scenes but the audio and presentation during the credits is really nice. And please do yourself a favor and sit through the end credits. One of the best discs I’ve heard this year next to "The Day After Tomorrow". This film has such an amazing selection of different vocal types that a good center channel can really provide the realism that "Van Helsing" exhibits. Nonetheless you will not be disappointed. Surprising consider they were the first studio to back the format on DVD. Unfortunately Universal did not include a track. The 5.1 track delivers an incredible amount of depth in bass response and spatial dimensionality. Like I mentioned before, the score from famous composer Alan Silvestri is fantastic and really immerses you into the on-screen action of the film. This is an extremely fun, active soundtrack. Only a few instances the film looks digital but only when a majority of the on screen material is CGI. Just play chapter 5 and tell me you’re not impressed. In fact the opening of the film is completely shot in black and white to give that classic Universal monster picture feel. Color fidelity is gorgeous and blacks are deep and rich. ![]() Look at practically any scene and you’ll see every fine detail ranging from the computer-generated hair on the werewolves all the way to the immense details in the recreation of Dr. The film is filled with so much detail that it’s really impressive to see everything come through clearly without any sort of compression artifacts, film grain or haze in the image. The two biggest areas where a film like this has to succeed in giving the viewer the visual experience they require is in the reproduction of detail and black level. ![]() The film is also enhanced for Televisions for those that have 16×9 displays. "Van Helsing" is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. I also enjoyed the spectacular Alan Silvestri score more mainly due to the fact that my personal audio setup sounds better than most Cineplex’s. Hyde early in the film, the visuals just seem to look more realistic on a smaller screen. Dracula’s Brides and the set pieces alone show that Sommers has an eye for these kinds of films and hires the right crew to bring it to life. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I already know what to expect throughout the story, and perhaps it’s because I’m looking at the film on a much smaller scale (not a 50 foot screen) so the visual effects look far better this time around. But now that I’ve watched the film for a second time, now on DVD, I found myself enjoying the film on a whole new level that I wasn’t experiencing in the theater. It seemed a little longer than it needed to be, the script wasn’t great and some of the computer generated visual effects were a bit spotty. I originally saw this film when it opened back in May and was a little disappointed with it.
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