Customer Reviews

Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black (Widescreen) (Director's Cut) (Unrated)

5 star:		(141)
4 star:		(130)
3 star:		(49)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

PITCH BLACK is a very well thought out thriller, that on premise alone sounds a lot like ALIEN, but upon execution, is not. When a spaceship crashes on a remote planet, the survivors must face their darkest fears, to stay alive. Their power supply is at a minimum. When the planet loses the warmth of daylight, horrible creatures attack, and their only weakness is the light. The ranking crewmember, Carolyn Fry, (Radha Mitchell) must turn to a psychopathic killer passenger for help to defeat the creatures of the dark. Actor Vin Diesel is the man known as Riddick., who is evil, put in charge of the group's very lives. Diesel's first star turn after SAVING PRIVATE RYAN suits him. His deep voice, shaved head, and imposing manner make his Riddick, one of the best anti-heroes in recent memory. Co-written and directed by David Twohy, the film is creepy, and its effects are well done. The unrated version of the film, inserts about 3 minutes of footage into the movie, not seen theatrically. The new stuff does very little to enhance the plot (more gore). Anyone who is a fan of sci-fi/horror will like this film.

The DVD has a by the numbers "making of" featurette. There is an excellent commentary track with Twohy, Diesel, actor Cole Hauser, producer Tom Engelman, and VFX supervisor Peter Chiang. It also includes a rather freaky Raveworld event deadicated to the film and its theatrical trailer. Personally, I would recommend the unrated film over its rated counterpart, because I happen to like the "new" scenes. **** Stars

I am a huge fan of Pitch Black. This is one of the greatest reasons I purchased the special edition. Big mistake. You can save alot of money if you just buy the original on DVD. This is by far the worst "Special Edition DVD." I have ever encountered. The Bonus Features are on average about 1 minute long. The Picture quality is the same and the missing scenes are nothing you would care about missing. I can just see some big wig saying "hey let's just throw together this movie with a few commercials for the game, upcoming movie and 20 seconds of making of footage and make a quick buck off these sucker fans of ours." Even the "Encycolopedia" is an outright insult to anyone. Poorly done, this narrated encycolopedia has 3-4 concept art sketches and lasts about 20 seconds. RETARDED AND A HUGE DISSAPOINTMENT. Definately buy this movie...just not the Special Edition if you dont have to. Vin Diesel-your new game is awesome but how could you let them do this... Its like spitting in our faces.

Watching "Pitch Black" for the first time was like trying a new ice cream flavor; you're not sure until the second or third bite what you really think. The original film got zero publicity and a limited release but served to introduce Vin Diesel to an audience in his first true starring role.

A passenger spacecraft ends up crashing on a desolate planet. The only survivor from the crew co-pilot Carylon Fry (Radha Mitchell) takes command and directs her surviving passengers (including Claudia Black from "Farscape") to find food and water. While there appears to be no indigeous life forms, a human survey team did briefly occupy the planet. Curiously, there's no indication as to where they went or why they left much of their material behind.

Also on the flight is a what appears to be an interstellar police officer (Cole Hauser) escorting a convicted criminal by the name of Riddick (Diesel). Riddick has the unique ability to see better in the dark than the light. While he's no hero, he does make suggestions to the survivors to help their chances for survival. Unfortunately, they're soon to discover that some life form forced the survey team to consider leaving once night arrives.

A suspenseful "B" movie premise that works primarily due to Twohy's sharp, taunt direction and crisp dialogue, "Pitch Black" immediately graps your attention with its inventive visuals and intense performances from the superb Mitchell, Deisel, Hauser and Black. Actally, the entire cast gives strong performances throughout the film and Twohy throws in plenty of unexpected twists and turns to keep the audience on the edge of its seat.

This "new" unrated director's edition was available previously on DVD a couple of years ago. It appears that the transfer here is the same one as before and all the extras are the same with the exception of those created for the sequel "The Chronicles of Riddick". We get a brief introduction by director/screenwriter Twohy that focuses on the sequel and a glimpse at the making of the video game. If you're fan of the original film, be aware that a couple of extra bells and whistles were added to this two disc edition to entice fans of the new Riddick movie and the original audience for "Pitch Black". Unless you want the meager extras about the sequel (some of which will probably be available when the sequel hits DVD anyway), I'd suggest holding on to your money.

The packaging has been revamped to capitalize on the sequel as well with an emphasis more on Riddick than before. "Pitch Black" is a terrific thriller (as is the unexpected minor classic "Below" and "The Arrival" also by Twohy). If you don't have this on DVD yet, by all means purchase it. If you have it already, don't feel the need to upgrade and become a victim of the LOTR double-dip (despite what one reviewer said, New Line has always released the expanded edition six months after the original LOTR films on DVD thus suckering fans into purchasing product twice).

This is truly a masterpiece of Science Fiction and an interesting study in human nature with profound messages similar to those in films such as Fahrenheit 451, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Metropolis, Logan's Run, and Blade Runner.

The internal struggles of the characters (spirituality, self-sacrifice, fear, temptation, addiction, guilt, mastery of fear, human kindness, self-interest, resourcefulness, etc.) add a tremendous amount of depth to the story. The guilt of the captain over her early impulsive actions and the penance she ultimately pays for her mistake are deeply touching and almost made me cry. The stark landscape setting really allows us to focus on the characters - their personalities, motives, relationships, actions, etc. The emulation of Jack for Riddick is beautifully done, very quickly and easily charming us to both characters.

The story is very well written, with the acting equally well done, showcasing the relationships between the characters. The Riddick/Johns relationship is interesting, particularly their respect for one another: Some kind of "code of ethics" between bounty hunters and the convicts they pursue? Also of note is the hero worship of Jack for Riddick, and the hero's subsequent defense/protection of her several times, in various ways, against multiple threats. Additionally, the interplay between the captain and Johns (his manipulation of her, and her judgment mixed with empathy of him) really adds dimension to these characters and the overall story.

This is one of the few films I have seen that seems absolutely perfectly cast, particularly Jack who is difficult to distinguish between boy and tomboy - she is very believable. The creatures/monsters are extremely well done, both their appearances and movements. I think this is a much better story than the Alien and Predator movies, though I enjoy those as well.

The humor in this story is exquisite; the "looks clear" scene is one of my favorite bits of this movie. Given the intensity behind Mr. Diesel's acting, it is amazing that he is capable of adding this type of "lightness" to his work. And the tension present throughout the film is tremendous. We are literally "on pins and needles" as we watch the action from our observer position and instantly recognize the mistakes of the characters (delay, poor choices, etc.) leading toward their doom with no way to warn them or urge them to hurry.

I don't understand the term "cult" applied to this film because that seems to imply a select viewership; and I believe this movie has the power to please a variety of peoples, though especially fans of Science Fiction and human-interest stories.

I call this one of my "treadmill movies" (to watch while exercising) because the miles pass in a non-painful flash. A special thanks to the many people involved in making this movie for the wonderful quality of distraction and thoroughly engrossing entertainment.

I am unable to choose a favorite between Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. I am pleased they are remarkably different from one another. I believe they are both equally significant in their contribution to great classics of Science Fiction.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles

WOW! Those who think that Vin sucks as an actor, are tragically wrong.
These movies are not Shakespear and therefore should not at any time be considered in that light. But, if action is your style, and a good measure of a nasty guy with a big heart, Vin wins hands down. All his movies I love and so should you!
More, more, more, Vin, please!
Antonio Di Donato

Sci/fi horror stories. You really don't expect such charatcer development in these types of movies, but this one does an excellent job, from start to finish. This is definitely not a B movie, not by a long shot.

You find out for example that the bad guy is not always the bad guy. In the crash sequence after all the dust settles and Johns finds an empty cryo sleep tube and his gun missing, it's found on the floor under a dangling Riddick. Now if Riddick was such a bloodthirsty bad guy, he would have taken the gun and shot Johns and been done with it. This is the second interesting development in the film, and gives you a nice window into the character of Riddick.

The first interesting development is the moral dilemna during the landing/crash of the ship, in which Fry tries to eject all the passengers.

The third interesting development is the assuming of Riddick's guilt in the death of Zeke, for which no one has apologized yet.

I've rarely seen such a depth in chracters in the scifi genre. All of the characters go through some deep changes under the pressure of the struggle to survive. Check out the expressions on the faces of the actors, and the dialogue, excellent job, without overacting or forcing.

The special effects are good, and they don't overwhelm the story. The plot is good, and the suspense stays with you up until the very end, building and ebbing throughout the film.

I wish they'd have had a bigger budget for this one, but if they had they'd have probably overloaded on the special effects.

Overall, I would give this an excellent rating as a movie buff.

Awesome Movie. MUst Have.Vin Diesel Is Awesome. PERFECT MOVIE

Set in the distant future, a spaceship carrying some 40 people, mostly ones wanting to settle on other planets from their own, hits a meteor shower and crash lands on a distant planet killing all but about a dozen of them. The survivors, led by the second-in-command Carolyn Fry, find themselves on a hot and humid landscape with constant sunlight from three orbiting suns. The marooned passengers soon learn that escaped convict Riddick isn't the only thing they have to fear. Every 22 years, the planet's three suns go into a total eclips and cause a 'lasting darkness' where the darkness brings out the planet's real inhabitants; Deadly creatures that lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack in the dark. It is the 22nd year and the planet is rapidly plunging into the utter blackness of a total eclips. With the body count rising, the doomed survivors are forced to turn to Riddick with his special eyes to guid them through the darkness to safety. With time running out, there's only one rule: Stay in the light.

When I first heard of this movie, and when I first heard of Vin Diesel for that matter, I figured another special effects movie with a deep-voiced hunk and not much else. Imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed it. Now, this is a dark movie -- in every sense of the word.

Diesel plays Riddick, a man on the run from just about every bounty hunter in the galaxy. He is being transported in chains back to prison when the ship he's on crash lands on an unknown planet. However, someone had discovered it earlier, as evidenced by a seemingly abandoned site. But there are monsters on the wing, which our travelers find out to their sorrow. Riddick, the anti-hero seems to be the only one who can save them. But can he be trusted?

This is a better than average sf/horror movie, with good casting, and a truly scary monster. Well worth seeing.

The anti here genre of movies was always a favorite of mine. Main reason being, is that if you look in the average movie or story, the good guys tend to be dull, and the bad guys are the most interesting characters in the movie. Examples of anti heroes are Snake Plisken(Escape from New York), Jack Carter(Get Carter), or Porter(Payback). These weren't heroes with lofty ideals or alturistic goals, these were villians that happened to have similar goals to the protagonists or were coherced in to helping a good cause. Riddick is now added to this line of anti heroes.

The plot is relatively simplistic, and would probably fail under scrutiny, but it isn't the point of the movie. The idea is that this is some sort of interstellar bus/plane travelling through an unpopulated part of the galaxy. They get hit by a rain of small meteors and the ship starts to go down. The co pilot attempts to jettison the passenger section to save ship, but the system jams and the ship crashes on a seemingly unihabited planet.

The planet is a surreal landscape, there is more than one sun, and it creates a strange surreal lighting, nothing seems quite real. The planet is a desert and desolate, nothing but rocks and sand for as long as they can see. When they make stock of who survived they find that they have two passengers that were unexpected, a marshal of some sort, and an escaped convict named Riddick. An almost inhuman predator that had been recently recaptured and was being brought back into incarceration.

Upon some exploration of the planet they find that it wasn't completely deserted. They find a large collection of bones, like an elepahnt graveyard for some giant creatures. As well as what appears to be a science station, seemingly deserted for years. This seems like a boon since they can use some of the lefteover equipment to reapair a ship. But three things happen that radically change their plans. One is Riddick escapes and is on the prowl. Two, is that the previous lifeforms on the planet were wiped out by a vicious flying creature that inhabits the planet in swarms. Three, the creatures are highly photosensitive, but the planet is shifting, and the sun is going down. With this planet, that could mean weeks.

This was a suprisingly good movie. Not one that you worry on the plot or dialogue, but to sit back and enjoy the ride. Diesel is great as the predator diesel. Seemingly more like a jungle cat on the prowl than an escaped convict. He really looks like he is toying with the survivors. Not trying to kill or hurt them, but playing strange games that serve no purpose aside from enjoyment.

the rest of the cast is a bit cliche, but they are just vehicles for the main character and the story. Which is similar to a James Cameron film, they land in a dark place, and things keep getting darker. Some faces arer recognizable from the sci fi genre, noticably Claudia Black from Farscape fame. They aren't bad, but they are obviously just backdrops and victims. The alien species is interesting and vicious, and the situation created by them gives the movie a desperate feel.

I wouldn't rate this movie as perfect, but fun. It is a good action flick and, so far, Vin Diesel's best work yet.