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Postapocalypse thriller is fitting companion to 'Life Without People'
By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer
Published on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008
Will Smith again demonstrated his box-office clout with I Am Legend, the thriller adapted from Richard Matheson's story of the same name.
But if you found the ending unsatisfying, Warner Home Video may appease you with an alternate version being offered in some DVD packages on Tuesday.
The movie will be released on standard DVD in a single-disc widescreen or full-frame version ($28.98). A two-disc standard DVD ($34.99) and a high-definition Blu-ray release ($35.99) includes an alternate version of the film that is about four minutes longer than the movie shown in theaters, with a significantly different finish. (There will also be a high-definition HD DVD release with the alternate version for $35.99, but not until April 8, as Warner is easing out of HD DVD and committed to Blu-ray.)
In each case, you still have a movie starring Smith as a man battling monsters and trying to cure a plague that has turned what remains of humanity into the beasts he is fighting.
The alternate ending has the same basic problem I have with the theatrical version, which I thought strayed too far from Matheson's original ending. But, without giving away any surprises, there is at least briefly a more moving quality to the alternate.
Extras on the single-disc version include animated comics and an online link. The two-disc standard and the high-definition releases add the alternate movie version; the two-disc standard DVD also lets you download the theatrical version to your computer.
An interesting viewing companion to I Am Legend is Life Without People, the documentary that proved a considerable success for the History Channel in January. The DVD, in stores Tuesday, is $24.95 from A&E Home Video.
As the title says, the production looks at how Earth would change if people suddenly ceased to exist — moving forward chronologically to show how things would change in days, weeks, years. Through interviews with scientists and effects-laden imagery, it goes beyond plants overwhelming structures into such issues as how animals would be affected (the loss of people would be very bad for dogs) and what would happen to the electric-power system. It makes a fun compare-and-contrast essay with I Am Legend.
Getting back to movies, the delightful Disney musical Enchanted arrives on DVD (Buena Vista, $29.99) and Blu-ray ($34.99). It involves an animated, fairy-tale princess (Amy Adams) transported into the real, live-action world.
The ending is a bit over the top but up to that point, it's a cheerful romance, and Adams is perfect.
The standard DVD extras include bloopers, deleted scenes, making-of segments and a new short starring Pip, the movie's chipmunk. Blu-ray adds a trivia feature testing players on their knowledge of Enchanted references to other Disney films.
More somber fare is Atonement, nominated for many Oscars (though winning only one), $29.98 from Universal.
Adapted from Ian McEwan's novel, the wartime epic deals with the nature of love, honesty and betrayal, as well as the way life and art reflect each other. There are some fine performances, and Vanessa Redgrave steals the film at the end. But it also has a bloated middle, and World War II sequences that look far too bright and movielike. The movie's twist ending offers one possible explanation for that look, but that doesn't get you through the first viewing of it.
Extras include a making-of segment and a short piece about adapting McEwan's novel (with McEwan among the people interviewed). There are also deleted scenes and an audio commentary by director Joe Wright.
When it comes to the new version of Battlestar Galactica, which begins its fourth and final season on April 4, I am more or less content to catch up via the brisk and funny eight-minute series summary at http://www.scifi.com/battlestar. But I have to admire the fan-pleasing heft of Battlestar Galactica: Season Three (Universal, 20 episodes, six discs, $59.98). It includes deleted scenes on every disc,Web-isodes, video blogs, commentaries and an extended version of the Unfinished Business episode that adds 25 minutes of footage.
Down the DVD road: Charlie Wilson's War, April 22. . . . CHiPs: The Complete Second Season, June 3. . . . Square Pegs: The Complete Series, May 6.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in a blog at http://www.ohio.com. Contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
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