Additional Features
Men in Black is one movie that has been issued in so many different DVD editions it's hard to keep them straight. The latest version is the Superbit edition, which, like other DVDs in the Superbit series, offers subtle visual and audio improvements over the version of the movie included on other DVDs. The anamorphic picture in the Superbit version is cleaner than that of the anamorphic track offered in other DVDs of this movie, though in all versions occasional grain is visible in shots of the sky. Overall, though, the picture is quite impressive with its deep, rich blacks and saturated colors. The additional DTS soundtrack on the Superbit version is very similar to the Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks issued on this and other editions of the movie, though slightly more balanced throughout.
Fans of Men in Black have a variety of editions to choose from. This is the version for video- and audiophiles who don't mind the lack of extra goodies. --Eugene Wei
Amazon.com Essential Video
This imaginative summer comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (
Get Shorty) is a lot of fun, largely on the strength of Will Smith's engaging performance as the rookie partner of a secret agent (Tommy Lee Jones) assigned to keep tabs on Earth-dwelling extraterrestrials. There's lots of comedy to spare in this bright film, some of the funniest stuff found in the margins of the major action. (A scene with Smith's character being trounced in the distance by a huge alien while Jones questions a witness is a riot.) The inventiveness never lets up, and the cast--including Vincent D'Onofrio doing frighteningly convincing work as an alien occupying a decaying human--hold up their end splendidly.
--Tom Keogh