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DVD: Dreamcatcher (2003)
 
       
Review Rating:   Good  
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Label/Studio:
Warner Bros   
 
Catalog #:
24664
 
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Region:
1 (NTSC)
Released:

September 30, 2003

 

 

 
Genre: Horror/Experimental  
Synopsis:
Four long-time friends who each have acquired mysterious special powers from a fateful day in their youth are confronted by an invading alien force that threatens to take over the planet.  

 

 

Directed by:

Lawrence Kasdan
Screenplay by: Lawrence Kasdan,  William Goldman
Music by: James Newton Howard
Produced by: Charles Okun,  Lawrence Kasdan
Cast:

Morgan Freeman,  Thomas Jane,  Jason Lee,  Damian Lewis,  Timothy Olyphant,  Tom Sizemore,  Donnie Wahlberg,  Michael O'Neill,  Rosemary Dunsmore

Film Length: 134 mins Process/Ratio: 2.35:1
Colour Anamorphic DVD: Yes
Languages:  English/French Dolby 5.1
 
Special Features :  

5 indexed deleted scenes (including original ending) (13:54) (2.35:1 Ltbx), with 'Play All' option / "DreamWriter: An interview with Stephen King" (7:27) / Featurettes: "DreamMakers: A Journey Through The Production" (18:52); "DreamWeavers: The Visual Effects Of Dreamcatcher" (8:14) / Theatrical trailer

 
 
Comments :

In “Dreamcatcher,” author Stephen King revisited some old haunts – the enduring childhood friendship from “Stand By Me;” a collective secret that affects the boys as adults from “It;” and the isolated, snow-bound setting similar to “The Shining” – plus the trauma of a car accident, which King suffered in real-life from a pet-friendly motorist.

As he explains in the brief featurette/interview “DreamWriter,” King describes his efforts to write the book during the rehabilitation at home, and some of the fears and deliberate shock elements injected into the story. Certainly the most talked about is the film's alien creatures, which make an appearance in the cabin bathroom, with grotesque detail.

It's the theme of adults taking stock of their friendships and the stumbling blocks of life that drew writer-director Lawrence Kasdan to the project. Better known for his yuppie meditations like “The Big Chill,” it's easy to forget he co-wrote both “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Having written effects movies, he figured why not make one after so many years, and in his inimitably nasal voice (which should remain inimitable), he chronicles the film's main production aspects – the bathroom assault, his cast, and King's work – with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage.

The film's astonishing visual effects are broken down in “DreamWeavers,” with snapshots of creature and craft developments during production. The masters at ILM created near-perfect slugs (affectionately nicknamed by the illustrators as “weasels”), with naturalistic movements and appropriately disgusting sound effects.

The deleted scenes include a dropped character, short scene extensions, and the alternate ending (which dips into heavy sentimentality in favour of the final gore-and-viscous creature goo), and the last segment is a rather funny outtake, with an unrecognizable Donnie Wahlberg breaking out of character.

Warner Bros' transfer is gorgeous, nicely showing off John Seale's stunning cinematography, and the sound mix boasts a fluid mix of sound design and James Newton Howard's fun score.

© 2003 Mark R. Hasan

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