PREDATOR

Directed by John McTiernan
Written by Jim & John Thomas
Produced by Joel Silver & Lawrence Gordon
Music by Alan Silvestri
Cast: Arnold Schwartzenegger, Carl Waethers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chavez, R.G. Armstrong, Shane Black & Kevin Peter Hall

1987/107 mins/Color/ 5.1 DTS
1.85:1 anamorphic/English/US/PAL Region 4

Review from the 20th Century Fox DVD

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this action-packed adventure story from director John McTiernan of fighting men pitted against an unseen enemy, a force more powerful than their fiercest weapons. Recruited by the CIA to rescue hostages held by guerrilla fighters in a Central American country, Schwarzenegger and his men encounter an enemy unimaginably more deadly than any on Earth - because the predator is not of this Earth. Packed with spectacular spectacular special effects and combat scenes of gut-wrenching power, Predator (presented here as a double DVD special edition) stands among Schwarzenegger's most terrifying movies.

This is a 2-disc release from Australia. Disc one contains:

The movie in 1.85 OAR anamorphically enhanced with either a DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1 soundtrack. There is a full length audio commentary by director John McTiernan and some text commentaries by film historian Eric Lichtenfeld containing interviews with many behind-the-scenes people. Finally, there is a DVD-ROM section. Disc one also has an easy to find Easter Egg.

Disc two contains:

1. "If it bleeds...we can kill it". This is a making of featurette that is quite interesting.

2. "Inside the predator" which is divided into seven segments:

Classified Action
The Unseen Arnold
Old Painless
The Life Inside - a tribute to Kevin Peter Hall
Camouflage Welcome To The Jungle
Character Design

All of these are well worth watching and informative.

3. "Production special effects and Camouflage tests. There is another easily found Easter Egg here.

4. "Deleted Scenes and Outtakes" - There is one deleted scene and 3 outtakes.

5. "Predator Profile". A series of stills with text explanations about the predator and his weapons.

6. Still gallery.

PREDATOR is a long-time favorite sci-Fi action thriller that was a hit worldwide. Why Fox released such a poor DVD in the US on region one remains a mystery to me owing to the movie's popularity, but this they did. It was non-anamorphic and supplement-poor and there no plans for Fox to re-visit it in the future. This release from Australia is the definitive version of PREDATOR and is one more reason to own a region-free player. The transfer is gorgeous and enhanced for 16 x 9 t.v.'s and all colors, shadows, blacks, etc. are right on. Also offered is a choice between DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. The soundtrack is aggressive and well mixed.

While some are better than others, all of the supplements are worth watching and absolutely enhances the overall experience of this excellent film. There are five of the six "bachelor B's" here - blood, bullets, bombs, beasts and bashes. No breasts, but the movie doesn't suffer because of this. PREDATOR is a movie I can recommend without hesitation and if you have a region-free player, this is the release to own.

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Review by Brad Vautrinot. All Right Reserved. 2003. ©

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