ANALYSIS: DAREDEVIL was released last year at a scant 100 minutes or so. Thirty minutes were hacked out of it as director
Mark Steven Johnson wanted to please FOX with a shorter movie that moved quickly. The trade-off is he had to cut out a subplot
dealing with Matt and Foggy defending a guy (Coolio) framed for murder and some character moments that made the movie a fully
fleshed out beast of a movie. I had mixed feelings about the theater cut, but I love the director's cut. I'm aghast that this
wasn't the version they didn't release in theaters last year.
VIDEO/AUDIO: The DAREDEVIL Director's Cut is presented in a beautiful 2.35:1 anamophic widescreen transfer. FOX has done
another great job. The colors and blacks are really fantastic here. Image detail is nice and sharp.
The audio is even great. You can hear the movie in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, English 5.1 DTS, or French 2.0 Dolby
with the option of English or Spanish subtitles. The sound mix is great. Music and sounds are used to great effect, and dialogue
comes through very clearly.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
GIVING THE DEVIL HIS DUE: THE MAKING OF DAREDEDEVIL DIRECTOR'S CUT is a 15 minute featurette showing what scenes got lost
for the theater version and what scenes in the theater version aren't in the DC. One of the producers feel the theater version
is better where the director thinks the DC is the better one. I'll side with the director on this one.
Also included on the DVD is a full audio commentary for the Director's Cut with writer/director Mark Steven Johnson and
Producer Avi Arad. It is a an interesting commentary to listen to as they point out what scenes are new and what got left
on the cutting room floor. Some of the same info is covered in the featurette.
FINAL ANALYSIS: The Director's Cut makes DAREDEVIL a better movie that everyone should check out on DVD whether you liked
or hated the theatrical version. It's all about the devil in the details.
this DVD Review is (c)12-29-2004 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com and look for additional content (and site updates) at http://www.livejournal.com/users/enterlinemedia
