Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Twister Blu-ray Movie Review

Will this Blu-ray blow you away?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 5, 2008

Tighten your seatbelt.

Perhaps the end-all, be-all of disaster movies, 1996's Twister ushered in a new era for the genre, a film with then-unparalleled special effects and an awe-inspiring sound design (and its no coincidence the movie was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for each of those categories). Though far-removed from the height of the disaster genre (see The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, and Airport, all out of the 1970s), Twister brought the genre to the forefront of movie lover's minds once again, and disaster-centric films, this time laden with awe-inspiring effects but retaining much of the melodrama of their predecessors, began hitting theaters in rapid-fire succession. Dante's Peak, Volcano, Armageddon, and Deep Impact spring to mind as films that followed in Twister's footsteps, the theme this go-round focusing on natural disasters (either emanating from Earth or the Heavens) reeking havoc on a large scale across the plains (or even wiping out half the planet) rather than on isolated incidents and locations (planes, cruise ships, or high rises). True, the disaster film has always been a part of cinema culture and lore, but credit Twister with setting the bar much higher than ever before, a film that takes no prisoners and shows just how nasty and deadly nature can be, all wrapped up in a fun, loud, and engaging motion picture.

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

Dr. Jo Harding (Helen Hunt, Cast Away) doesn't much care for tornadoes. As a young girl, she saw her father lost in an F5 tornado, the strongest and deadliest category imaginable. She's dedicated her life to the study of the deadly funnels and is set on testing a revolutionary tornado analytical system meant to vastly improve man's knowledge about how the storms work and, hopefully, save lives by increasing both awareness and lead time before disaster strikes. Her soon-to-be ex-husband, Bill (Bill Paxton, U- 571) is serving her with final copies of their divorce papers, papers which she seems reluctant to sign. In the middle of their discussion (with Bill's new fiancé in tow), a storm hits, and Bill and Jo instantly revert to storm chaser mode, hoping to successfully unleash to the winds the above-referenced newfangled device, dubbed "Dorothy". A night of unsuccessful attempts, deadly storms, dangerous situations, and an uncooperative and nasty rival set of storm chasers just might help Bill and Jo remember what they love most, smack-dab in the middle of several of the most hellacious storms Oklahoma has ever seen.

I'd forgotten what a fantastic ensemble cast had been assembled for this movie. Besides Paxton and Hunt, we've got the venerable Philip Seymour Hoffman (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead), Jeremy Davies (Saving Private Ryan), Alan Ruck (Speed), and Cary Elwes (Saw), to name but a few. Each of them is excellently cast and never once do they convince us of anything less than being the genuine article, real-life storm chasers. Of course, the real star of the movie is nature itself (or a reasonable CGI facsimile thereof, fairly-well rendered and still holding up rather well today). While the movie never forgets its intent is to entertain and show audiences cows, tractors, petroleum trucks, and any numerous large-scale debris one can imagine being tossed hither, thither, and yon by one of nature's deadliest of forces, it still manages to retain some semblance of a plot, well-written and played characters, and a finely-tuned and immaculately detailed look at small-town life in "tornado alley." In other words, Twister got it right, giving equal time and effort to both the meat-and potatoes of the movie as well as the finer details that make the movie a movie and not just shot after shot of ubiquitous and eventually tiresome effects and noise.

Nevertheless, Twister doesn't try all that hard to keep any secrets from us. We know we're being led to an F5 storm as the centerpiece of the movie's climax, but that's perfectly fine, in this case. It's the ride that gets us there that really counts. We're given a glance of the destructive force of the F5 in the movie's opening minutes, and as each storm Bill, Jo, and crew track down, the category goes up a notch, beginning with an F2 and ending with an F5. We're awestruck by the power of these weaker storms, a "solid F2 or F3" nearly killing our heroes and picking up their jeep and dropping it feet away from Bill's new fiancé, and we eagerly wait with bated breath just how much more powerful these other storms can possibly be, and how much more destruction, and on what scale, they can cause. We're not let down in the least, the movie literally placing us in the middle of several dangerous, precarious, and disastrous sequences, using almost every sense (I never did taste the dirt and debris flying into my mouth, though) to throw us smack-dab into the clutches of death. Twister is like an amusement park ride on film, and does it ever work. Fun, loud, entertaining, and scary, its no wonder that it continues to be a fan favorite film.

Twister Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Twister forms onto Blu-ray in 1080p high definition, it's 2.40:1 framed visual appearance proving to be a letdown. Though not an unacceptable image, what we see here is nothing extraordinary, either, proving to be little better than your average 12-year-old catalogue title. There are several gripe-worthy aspects of the transfer, the first I'll mention being that there seems to be very little depth and detail to the people presented on screen; they appear mostly flat and uninspired. Flesh tones do look very good and accurate, but I couldn't get over the absence of clarity, definition, and an ultimate lack of lifelike realism we've come to appreciate from the very best Blu-ray discs available. In fact, the image on the whole, not just people, fails to achieve a very high level of detail, definition and sharpness. Part of this seems due to some blue or green screen shots becoming very readily apparent in high definition, others just look as if the movie was shot ever so slightly out of focus. It's not distracting and certainly not a deal breaker, just another in a list of grievances about this transfer. Film grain is also noticeably absent except for the most extreme of dark scenes. Take that as you will. Speaking of dark scenes, blacks prove to be one of this disc's strengths, almost always appearing solid-to-excellent but never spectacular. Despite the dark tone of the movie (mostly overcast skies), Twister does offer some very nice and rich colors, from the red of the pickup truck to the dull silver of the casings of the "Dorothy" devices, to pretty much every other color you can imagine that is probably somewhere to be seen in the movie. All things considered, this is definitely an upgrade from the DVD copy I own, although in the final analysis, I feel that it could have looked somewhat better than it does here.

Twister Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The real star of the show, and the reason many fans will want to upgrade to this Blu-ray, is the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless sound mix. I'll say right up front that despite any shortcomings, this soundtrack sure is a lot of fun to listen to; it is an absolute assault on the sonic senses. Based on my previous experiences with the film, both in the theater and on DVD, my main concern when I began today's viewing on Blu-ray was that we'd simply hear an undefined glob of sound. Thankfully what we hear here is clean and well-defined, and we can easily pick out, know, and appreciate exactly what it is we're hearing at any given time. This disc offers up an impressive ability to place sound, as both sound panning and imaging are excellent. There is a strength and authority that's almost always present. As the movie opens, we hear an old rickety house creaking and cracking during the storm, and the sound never lets up. The loudest scenes offer excellent dynamics and the sound literally, at times, (pardon the pun) blows you away. Even when there are scenes of straight dialogue, such as near the beginning when Jo and Bill are discussing their divorce, the impending peril of thunder can be heard far off in the distance, a very nice effect. Later in the movie, we hear this warning sign again, this time during a drive-in screening of The Shining, the subwoofer working plenty hard to deliver those deep, dangerous warning signs; meanwhile the blaring of the tornado alarm in the background can be as scary as the storm itself, signaling the arrival of certain death and destruction. Nevertheless, there are a few places where the soundtrack doesn't quite live up to expectations I have for 5-star material. On occasion, the sound comes across as slightly underwhelming, primarily with dialogue. Occasionally, even if there is nothing going on, dialogue seems somewhat restrained and underwhelming, almost as if its an afterthought. This isn't a problem throughout the movie, but only at times. Regardless, Twister makes for a fun night at the movies, sonically, and this TrueHD 5.1 mix rarely disappoints.

Twister Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Twister touches down on Blu-ray with an average set of extras, beginning with a commentary track with Director Jan de Bont and Visual Effects Supervisor Stefen Fangmeier. Right from the get-go we can tell this is going to be a fairly tech-heavy track, focusing primarily on special effects. The track does open up to discuss character motivations, the performances of the actors, and so on, but we're mostly treated to a standard-fare track here that isn't a recommended listen. On a side note, the movie plays a little too loudly under the track, sometimes making it hard to hear de Bont and Fangmeier.

Chasing the Storm: Twister Revisited (480p, 28:58) is a retrospective piece on the film, beginning with a chat with director Jan de Bont and moving towards a basic making-of feature as the director discusses creating trial effects and casting. The feature also looks at the debris used for the film and the making of some of the more intense scenes, including the crash and subsequent explosion of the petroleum truck or the pickup truck driving through the house. The feature is interlaced with clips from the movie, and is pretty generic and dry in general, but worth a watch for fans. The Making of 'Twister' (480p, 13:51) recaps the plot of the movie, intercut with scenes from the movie as well as interviews with the cast and crew, including a fun tidbit about a real storm that hit the set the night before filming began and the real-life storm chasers that tracked it. Nature Tech: Tornadoes (480p, 45:18) is a History Channel feature from 2003 that looks at the most recent scientific advances in predicting violent storms. Wrapping things up are a music video by Van Halen entitled Humans Being (480p, 3:36) and two theatrical trailers for Twister (480p, 2:05 & 2:08).

Twister Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Twister leaps like a whirlwind beyond your standard popcorn entertainment, being an honest to goodness movie with a plot, good characters, and excellent production values. What could have been another generic disaster movie is instead an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride into one of nature's deadliest and most fascinating means of destruction. I have no idea how scientifically accurate the film may or may not be, but I do know that as a movie fan, they don't come much better than this when I'm craving a loud, tense, and exhilarating experience. This Blu-ray edition of Twister is a solid one, if not slightly underwhelming. I was somewhat disappointed by the overall video quality, but its lower-than-expected score doesn't mean it's not good. It's fine, in fact, but it's certainly not as good as the upper-echelon discs out there. Sonically is where this disc truly shines, creating an immersive, at times seemingly violent, frightening, and highly entertaining listen. The extras are about as expected, and I enjoyed and appreciated the History Channel feature more so than the generic studio-produced pieces. Overall, this is a solid package of a good movie. Recommended!