STATS: Universal Studios Home Video; 3 discs, 5 sides; CLV (side 3 in CAV); Widescreen (1.85:1); Stereo Surround; Dolby Digital AC-3; Chapter stops; Closed captioned; $129.98
VIDEO: This deluxe collector’s edition of Terry Gilliam’s warped time-travel fantasy features the exact same superb picture transfer as the movie-only version, available since last July. Though neither disc boasts the THX stamp, both discs are of the highest THX quality. The film was shot at 1.33:1, but Gilliam and frequent cameraman Roger Pratt have composed the film for the theatrical ratio of 1.85:1, which is perfectly replicated here. Sure, there are moments when I would have preferred to see more of the awesome, nightmarish set-design hidden beneath the soft-matte borders, but the tighter framing intensifies the character-exposition scenes.
AUDIO: This disc’s powerful Dolby Pro-Logic stereo surround mix is identical to the no-frills version, but Universal Studios Home Video has one-upped the original by offering a Dolby Digital AC-3 track here (this is Universal’s second AC-3 title to date), which offers a truer, stronger 360-degree wraparound sensation with split left/right surround channels.
BREAK: The film itself features the same side/platter breaks as the movie-only version. Running 130 minutes, the movie is spread across 3 sides. Both side breaks are fine, though the platter break comes right after one of the film’s funniest lines, detracting from its impact because you have to flip sides before you get to the next scene. Side 3, the finale, is again presented in CAV.
EXTRAS: At Terry Gilliam’s request, several supplementary materials suggested for inclusion in this Signature Collection edition were deleted or rejected just before production of this package went into high gear. That’s why there are only fives sides of material here, instead of the intended six. Still, compared to the recent issue of Pioneer’s special edition of 'The Doors' (an all-CLV package that features comparable supplementaries and runs only four sides, yet it’s also priced at $130), '12 Monkeys' is more of a bargain. Following the end credits on the CAV side 3 is a still gallery of production photographs, storyboards and design sketches. Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Roven offer a terrific, humorous tag-team audio commentary, recounting almost everything you’d ever want to know about their trials and tribulations of making the film. They joke that they duped Hollywood into making a European expressionistic art film but, in truth, it’s no joke. They also answer one of the film’s lingering enigmas left wide open at the end of the movie, satisfying my curiosity about this particular question but diminishing the power of the film’s ambiguity. The bulk of the supplementary section is the fascinating 90-minute documentary 'The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys', filmed during the '12 Monkeys' production by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, and sanctioned by Gilliam to, as the renegade filmmaker succinctly puts it, provide documented "evidence" of any troubles that might arise during production, just as they did the last time he worked for Universal on 1985’s 'Brazil'. Fulton and Pepe were granted unlimited access to the cast and crew of "12 Monkeys" and they were witness to every aspect of the production. It’s a revealing peek behind the cameras, as the documentary candidly captures a few temper tantrums, cast and crew arguments and documents the firing of a child actor who was hired because of "his beautiful eyes" but couldn’t act worth a darn. A portion of "The Hamster Factor" that was deleted prior to production of this laserdisc was rumored to present a none-too-flattering portrait of star Bruce Willis (the unedited version of the documentary is available on an import laserdisc). The documentary also tracks the grueling test-screening process and focuses on the film’s aggressive advertising campaign, and the brainstorming and decision-making processes rarely glimpsed at in most making-of features. In fact, there are so many way-cool poster concepts seen in the documentary that it’s a crying shame they weren’t included in the still-frame gallery on side 3. Conspicuously absent is the 26-minute "film" from which '12 Monkeys' was inspired, the French short 'La Jetee'. Since it’s not a Gilliam production, it’s understandably not included on the director’s own "signature edition" of '12 Monkeys', but purists and fans of '12 Monkeys' would undoubtedly have valued its inclusion here. I would have also loved to see new interviews with Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt (who snagged a much-deserved Oscar nomination for his loony performance here). The program is rounded out by the terrific trailer, one of the best theatrical trailers I’ve ever seen for any movie. But, yes, I must question the absence of the second trailer, which is apparently also available on laserdisc overseas. Again, the price for this package is a touch higher than it should be for only 5 sides of material, but fans of Gilliam and this brilliant movie shouldn’t feel stung too badly.
COMMENTS: The multi-layered plot in this mind-bending time-travel fantasy provides for an intricate, challenging movie that holds up well to repeated viewings. The cast in is top form, with Willis turning in a performance of such depth and humanity that it’s difficult to associate him with his former tissue-paper-thin roles in 'Hudson Hawk', 'Blind Date', 'North' and 'Striking Distance' (hmm, those films were all produced by Columbia and Tri-Star; perhaps Willis should stay away from Sony Pictures in the future—we’ll just have to see how good Columbia’s upcoming 'Fifth Element' is). The sets are extraordinary, with an eye-popping visual scheme that ranks right up there with the best stuff in any Gilliam movie. But beneath the massive sets, the flawless computer digital effects and the Orwellian sense of paranoia and dread, '12 Monkeys' is a tragic tale of confused personal identity and a tender love story between two doomed souls. This is a true modern-day classic, and the effort Universal undertook to create this special deluxe edition is justified and highly fitting.
Also available is the standard, movie-only version: MCA/Universal Home Video; 2 discs, 3 sides; CLV (side 3 in CAV); Widescreen (1.85:1); Stereo Surround; Chapter stops; Closed captioned; $39.98
S. Damien Segal.
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