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The Faculty - DVD
Writer: David Wechter & Bruce Kimmel (story) and Kevin Williamson (screenplay)Director: Robert Rodriguez Producer: Elizabeth Avellan and Robert Rodriguez Studio: Disney / Buena Vista Features: Theatrical Trailer, Chapter Search, Widescreen 1.85:1, ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC] Characters: Elijah Wood - Casey Jordana Brewster - Delilah Laura Harris - Marybeth Josh Hartnett - Zeke Shawn Hatosy - Stan Review: The first time I saw The Faculty was during its theatrical release. I came out of the theater somewhat underwhelmed. Recently, I had the good fortune to sit down and watch this film again on DVD. Like all of Robert Rodriguez' films, The Faculty seems to hold up better on repeat viewing. All of Rodriguez' films have had a unique visual style, and this comes from his shooting technique. Rather than spending days or even weeks prepping a shot, he'll re-take the shot again and again, with very simply camera setups (mostly hand-held). The advantage of this is that he gets great coverage, and the film has a very dynamic look. The disadvantage is, of course, that large sweeping camera movements and really elaborate lighting rigs are not really plausible. Due to the nature of his films (mostly action), the fast paced shooting style really blends well with the fast action on screen, and The Faculty is no exception. The Faculty essentially lifts its storyline from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (which, as the movie points out, essentially lifted its story from Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters - a nice end run around the "you ripped this off!" argument). A group of high school students have to stop the world from being taken over by an evil water-loving parasite which invades a human host and controls the host's actions. The plot is pure B-movie, and Rodriguez takes that thought and runs with it. The action gets underway right out of the gate, and no time is wasted on silly things like plot development. Rodriguez drives the story forward at a breakneck pace, and it's amazing how much action he can get on screen considering the relatively small budget of the movie. That's not to say the movie doesn't have its problems. First, I didn't buy a lot of the characters. Elijah Wood as perennial geek Casey didn't really work for me. First off, he doesn't look like a geek, and second he doesn't act like a geek. So why would everyone else treat him like a geek? (i.e. bullying him, etc.). Also, Josh Hartnett's Zeke has wicked bedhead all through the movie (the same as he does in Halloween: H20), and all it does is piss me off. It seems odd that Rodriguez would let this (ahem) "look" slip through, when his first short film was titled Bedhead. Somebody give this guy a comb! The picture quality on the DVD is good, although the transfer seems a little too dark at times (especially toward the beginning of the movie), and the picture is not 16x9 enhanced. The sound mix is good, but not stellar. The surrounds could've been used a little better, and there's nothing like a good bass hit to get a jump out of you. Extras, as par usual with Buena Vista DVDs, are non-existant. The Faculty is easily one of the best of the recent spat of "teen horror" flicks out there. It's not an instant classic like Scream (also penned by Kevin Williamson) or a Nightmare On Elm Street, but it does have its place. Well worth a rental if you're into this kind of thing. Given the dearth of extras on the disc, I'd say a purchase is entirely dependant on how much you like the movie. Ken Pierce Dvdken@home.com Contributing Editor, www.dvdfuture.com |
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