Contact (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

September 27, 2001 by Dennis Amith

MOVIE COMPANY: Warner Bros.
CAST: Starring Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, Angela Bassett, Rob Lowe and more.
DIRECTED BY: Directed by Robert Zemeckis
PRODUCED BY: Robert Zemeckis and Steve Starkey
RATING: Rated PG
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0118884
TYPE OF MOVIE: Drama, Sci-Fi, Romance

The exciting adventure of the day we make contact with life beyond Earth comes to the screen with a profound sense of wonder and a dazzling visual sweep that extends to the outer reaches of space and the imagination.

Jodie Foster is astronomer Ellie Arroway, a woman of science. Matthew McConaughey is a religious scholar Palmer Joss, a man of faith. They’re opposite ends of the spectrum–and sudden players on the world stage as the countdown to humanity’s greatest journey begins. Powerfully, thrillingly and emotionally, Contact connects.

DVD EXTRAS:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Dolby, Widescreen, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, Surround Sound, AC-3
• Commentary by (English) by actress Jodie Foster
• Commentary by (English) by director Robert Zemeckis and producer Steve Starkey
• Commentary by (English) by Ken Ralston and Steven Rosenbaum
• Production notes
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Computer animation concepts and tests
• Special effects designs
• Widescreen anamorphic format

KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None that I could find.

DVD REVIEW:

This film was very important for me to watch. I’m not so much of a Carl Sagan follower but I am an Art Bell fan and I have been interested in SETI and the pursuit to find out the truth of life outside our universe.

This movie focuses on several topics such as extra-terrestrial life and also the battle between science and religion. I for one am a person who thinks scientifically but at the same time a God believing person and for others they can’t compare the two, both are at opposite ends of the spectrum and this movie is really good at showing that.

Also, the involvement of the US government. Very interesting. Also, the movie uses a lot of major newscasters from CNN and President Bill Clinton. Also, very interesting.

This DVD is one of the best intelligent movies and the whole story including the special effects are wonderful. The video is nice and clear and the use of many colors in the film are brilliant. The sound on digital 5.1 is also very nice.

As for the DVD extras, I have to give Warner Bros. an applause for doing this movie justice by including three feature length commentaries by Jodie Foster, the director and producer Robert Zeickis and Steve Starkey and another group being Ken Ralston and Stephen Rosebaum. Also, it was nice to see the computer animation concepts and tests, special effects designs and more. I’m not sure if there were many deleted or cut scenes but I wish they included them but I can’t expect much, they did a great job and by including three commentaries, that’s really awesome!

I’m sure some people will love or hate this film due to the science vs. religion overtone but I know what my heart believes and I can only say that this DVD is highly recommended!

THE MOVIE: A+
THE DVD EXTRAS: A-
THE DVD OVERALL: A