Pitch Black (Unrated)

Cast View all

	Vin Diesel	Richard B. Riddick
	Radha Mitchell	Carolyn Fry
	Cole Hauser	William J. Johns
	Keith David	Abu 'Imam' al-Walid
	Lewis Fitz-Gerald	Paris P. Ogilvie
	Claudia Black	Sharon 'Shazza' Montgomery
	Rhiana Griffith	Jack
	John Moore	John 'Zeke' Ezekiel
	Simon Burke	Greg Owens
	Les Chantery	Suleiman
	Sam Sari	Hassan
	Firass Dirani	Ali
	Ric Anderson	Total Stranger
	Vic Wilson	Captain Tom Mitchell
	Angela Moore	Dead Crew Member
	Peter Chiang	Spaceship Traveler in Cryo
	Ken Twohy	Spaceship Traveler in Cryo

Crew View all

Director	David Twohy
Writer	Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, David Twohy
Producer	Tom Engelman, Ted Field, Scott Kroopf, Tony Winley
Musician	Graeme Revell
Photography	David Eggby

Personal

Notes

Story Synopsis:
When mechanical failures cause the crash landing of a spaceship on an abandoned planet, the surviving passengers-including a policeman (Hauser) and his prisoner (Diesel)-must learn to adjust to the harsh realities of their new home. This planet has three suns and no night, but every few years there is a total eclipse, and that’s when the scary bad guys come up from under ground and devour everyone in sight. The prisoner-a convicted murderer-suddenly comes to their rescue to lead the group back to their ship away from the scary guys because he has these really freaky eyes with which he can see even when it’s Pitch Black. (Laurie Sevano)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD exhibits the same excellent quality. The picture is sharp and finely detailed, with crisp details and impeccable clarity. The alien planet under the yellow & red suns is an absolutely engrossing picture, as are scenes when the blue sun rises. As discussed in the audio commentary, cinematographer David Eggby used filters in front of the light sources, instead of using red or blue filters on the camera lens, then made an unprecedented decision to bleach-bypass the original negative-as opposed to the interpositive. In normal cases when an interpositive is bleach-bypassed, the process is visually done to enhance blacks (as in Se7en), and every scene is affected. Eggby and director David Twohy wanted an overexposed, radical look for the exterior scenes only, while scenes on the spaceship and during the eclipse to be processed normally. Colors are vibrant and balanced in the normally processed scenes, while appearing surreal and beautiful in the bleach-bypassed scenes. Lighting was weighed heavily during filming because, during the eclipse, the only light on the planet would originate from whatever the space travellers had available (flashlights, candles, or fiber optics from the space ship). Backlighting was used during the rain sequences, but most of the time, blackness fills the backgrounds. This is a visually stunning picture on all accounts. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital and DTS® Digital Surround™ 5.1-channel soundtracks are very well-produced, with excellent fidelity, and both deliver a satisfying sonic experience that is sure be an integral part of the film’s entertainment. Comparing between the two soundtracks, the DTS version delivers somewhat tighter bass, and the Dolby Digital is a bit more muted-sounding. The DTS audio also yields slightly smoother transitions between the three surround channels. Much of the scenes are accompanied by soundfields that have balance toward the screen, and in most cases this seems appropriate, given the settings inside the spacecraft and on a solitary planet. The split surrounds are generally engaged moderately, but effectively, with Dolby
Digital Surround EX™ adding a rather effective layer of eeriness to being in the dark, surrounded by vicious creatures. The back surround channel is also used for some of the POV sequences of the creatures, some interesting sweeps across the surrounds, and as well, to enhance the perception of peripheral dimension. Bass output is prodigious, deep, impressively clean and occasionally challenging with sub-25Hz extension capability from all channels. The dialogue is certainly noteworthy, with a comfortable presence and remarkable spatial consistency. The music is also to be commended, consisting of an excellent recording with a presence in the soundfield that is just slightly wanting in terms of surround envelopment. This is an exemplary film audio production that delivers first-rate sound quality. (Perry Sun)

This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Reference Quality
Collector Edition
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality
Superb Music Score Recording Quality

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