Tron (20th Anniversary Collector's Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Jeff Bridges Has Fun With This One!
Review: Tron was another of those films that when I saw it in the theatre I walked out thinking this was a lot of fun. Extremely creative and the first of the films in a series of Disney films that would eventually use Computers and CGI, Tron would set the standard for computers in the industry to follow in the years ahead

At this time it was in the early stages, but the technology, although young, was a clear launching point for what would later be today's SHREK. The story is simple. Man verses Machine. Creator verses creation. Sound familiar?

Jeff Bridges leads the cast of a very young group of newcomer actors - Bruce Boxlightner and Cindy Morgan up against some veteran performers like Bernard Hughs and England's very own David Warner (Star Trek V & VI and Time Bandits). Jeff Bridges is outstanding!

The visuals are breath taking and the design is very unique. A look inside the computer and all its parts is what this film proposes. The Light cycles are the best. It has some "Disneyesque" points to it. There is Friendship and loyalty and even love. (Among programs!)

The DVD extras are definitely worth it. They put screen test, costume test and computer graphic tests on it. There are visuals and raw footage before the computer enhanced stuff.
This is a great addition to your science fiction collection of films. Check you some of my other reviews!

Rating:
Summary: landmark film with exciting extras -- and plenty of them!!
Review: Even twenty years after its original release, I am an unapologetic fan of Tron. This story of a programmer's unexpected absorption into a powerful computer system was an exciting visual and metaphoric journey. I think it had great effects and a terrific story, and this 20th anniversary edition DVD does justice to the film. It looks great, sounds great, and there are enough extras to keep you busy for over five hours.

Supplemental material includes an hour-and-a-half documentary, "The Making of Tron", with commentary by the actors and artists; audio commentary by the director, producer, associate producer and visual effects supervisors; two interesting deleted love scenes and deleted prologue text; early development features, including video tests and concept art; demonstrations of backlight animation and digital imagery; two scenes with music (where music was not used in the final film); publicity trailers, stills and merchandise, including clothing, toys and games; design features about the "programs", vehicles and electronic world; storyboard to film comparison and storyboard artwork; and previews for Disney's Return to Neverland and Atlantis.

This two-disc set is a terrific tribute to a groundbreaking movie, and even die-hard fans will find enough DVD extras to satisfy. Greatly appreciated and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: 20 Years Later, It Still Knocks You Out!
Review: 'Tron' is one of those films from the past that really never got a fair shot at the box office, but has cleaned up on video and now looks better than ever on DVD. A real departure for Disney in 1982, 'Tron' is the story of Flynn (Jeff Bridges) who is a former employee of ENCOM. (Sounds a little like ENRON? Sorry, that's another story that's still being written.) ENCOM's CEO (David Warner) has pirated Flynn's video game software, leaving Flynn out in the cold. But Flynn has an idea: If he can get into ENCOM's Master Control Program, he may be able to make a few changes and receive the credit he deserves. But things take a surprising turn when Flynn finds himself actually inside the computer system fighting for his life.

The story is simple and is really quite secondary to the great visual effects. Although film visuals have made many exciting advances in the last 20 years, no other film has captured the look of 'Tron.' It continues to stand alone. If you've never seen it, by all means, do yourself a favor and watch what I believe will be a pleasant surprise for you. You'll watch the film in amazement, thinking, "Was this REALLY made in the primitive 80's?"

Rating:
Summary: Get it!
Review: Great quality, great price. Necessary for any Scifi geek's library. There's not as much interview with Boxleitner as I expected, but the Director commentary and the deleted love scene are definitely great to have if you enjoyed the movie the first time around. Also a wonderful look at the beginnings of computer animation, and the company behind Tron.

Rating:
Summary: The Classic! Can't wait for Tron Killer App!
Review: A sumptuous throwback to the days of Atari. Boys like me still dream of inhabiting computers - and building new worlds inside of them. Brilliant!

But I wonder what I'm missing that's included in the new edition. *pout!*

Rating:
Summary: EYE CANDY
Review: Yum! This film looks so good on digital I could lick the television screen! This is a rare case where I give a film five stars on its asthetics alone; the presentation is mind-boggling, and this film, at least technogically, was way ahead of its time. Both the subject-matter and the graphics could have come from a film of today; but only this is better than many of the graphics-oriented films of today, for this film is more unique in its art and has an engaging plot.

More than a display of digital wizardly, 'Tron' takes us into a world that we might just forget is an artificial world. 'Tron' makes its purview REAL to us, and that is the magic not only of motion pictures, but of a well-made film. I was sceptical of Disney films until I saw this on DVD, AND on a digital television- then I realized some Disney films do have incredible vision, however puerile. 'The Black Hole' is another example of a quality (and might I say courageous?) Disney film.

The RatMouse thus hereby recommends both 'Tron' and 'The Black Hole', especially, and perhaps only, on DVD. And please, don't forget to bring the snacks- cheeze bits, please.

Rating:
Summary: 20 years later, it's still a great ride!
Review: The character of Flynn is my favorite in all literature and cinema. Highly underrated as a social anti-hero, his meeting with Tron is one of the greatest "encounters" in all cinema. The DVD finally does it justice. I recommend this DVD to everyone!

Rating:
Summary: Great special edition package
Review: The story of _Tron_ is seriously dated at best, and downright hokey at worst, shamelessly plundering elements from _Star Wars_ and _Spartacus_. But the meticulous hand-painted effects and computer animation hold up well, even after twenty years. The film still makes an indelible impression; it's not easy to find a child of the '80s who doesn't remember the pulsating costumes, or the stunning video-game sequences (which marked the general public's first glimpses of computer animation).

For this "20th Anniversary Edition" of _Tron_, Disney has performed a loving restoration, and included so many extras and documentary features that even the film's detractors will find little cause to complain. This is a must-own 2-DVD set.

Rating:
Summary: A vision for our future
Review: Tron still inspires today, despite the fact that it was written before the PC revolution.

The core of its story reveals an epic struggle between monolithic centralised corporations and networks of independent programmers for control over the future of computers.

In 1982, Tron asked - will we see a world where computer usage, application, development & growth be driven solely by ubercorporations, or will we see (in Tron's words) "a free system" where the independent user can innovate, interact & freely explore their digital potential with other users?

Well, it's now 2002 & I'm writing this review on a personal computer to be read by anyone hooked up to the Internet, an aggregated network of PCs hooked up to hundreds of millions of users throughout the world, unfettered, as in Tron's vision.

It's true that Tron is more remembered for pioneering the use of computer graphics in film, for kicking off the video gaming age, or even for attempting to build an immersive digital world 15 years before The Matrix.

But I think that it's greatest accomplishment is that it spoke for the future, envisioning "a free system" where the computer liberates the average person in the street by providing an avenue for heightened communications & abilities never before achieved in human history. Tron announced to an unsuspecting public the beginning of the digital democracy. And we've not looked back since.

It's no wonder that Bruce Boxleitner's programmer character, Allen, is named after the inventor of Apple's first PC.

Rating:
Summary: Happy 20, TRON!!!
Review: When I reviewed TRON in its original DVD release, I gave it four stars and said it was an underrated movie. Even though I think I made that judgement because I considered the fact that almost nobody really liked the film. How wrong I was!! Sometimes I wonder why I didn't give five stars in the first place since I think I am one of the few people who loved TRON. I should have trusted my instincts. Now Walt Disney Pictures has released the 20th anniversary collector's edition DVD of a movie that I have always considered my fourth favorite movie.

TRON is the first film that experimented with computer graphics animation and scenery, and the fact that it was shot along with flesh-and-blood people made it more appealing. Jeff Bridges is terrific as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer who is sucked into the computer world by the evil Master Control Program, and he ends up playing video games which might end up in death. Bridges is the real show in the movie. David Warner is fantastic as Sark, the MCP's main man. But Bruce Boxleitner is kinda sleepy in the dual role as TRON and Alan (TRON's user). Cindy Morgan didn't fulfill expectations either as TRON's sweetie. Director Steven Lisberger has excellent conceptions and ideas; however, his storytelling gets a bit sloppy. In the end, who cares? I think TRON has become a milestone in visual beauty and boldness.

The extras are truly fantastic. The documentary with the cast and crew is quite revealing, especially when Lisberger and his team explain how they did the CG animation. The deleted scenes, particularly the love scene which I think was beautiful. The alternate music by Wendy Carlos is very revealing, and I think the end credits sequence should have stayed with the original Carlos cue, and not with Journey's 'Only Solutions'; also, I think it was quite a good idea to leave the light-cycle sequence without music because the theme Carlos wrote for it doesn't fit at all. All in all, this is such a fantastic DVD that should not be missed.