Product Description

Universal Pitch Black - HD-DVD
When their ship crash-lands on a remote planet, the marooned passengers soonlearn that escaped convict Riddick (Vin Diesel) isn't the only thing they have to fear. Deadly creatures lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack in the dark, and the planet is rapidly plunging into the utter blackness of a total eclipse. With the body count rising, the doomed survivors are forced toturn to Riddick with his eerie eyes to guide themthrough the darkness to safety. With time runningout, there's only one rule: Stay in the light. "Pitch Black" is the original sci-fi hit that introduced the world to the character of Riddick, the ultimate anti-hero. Take a ride on the pulse-pounding adrenaline rush that USA Today calls "the best excuse to root for the bad guy since Arnold in the original 'Terminator.'"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26113 in DVD
• Brand: Universal
• Released on: 2006-07-11
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 3.00 pounds
• Running time: 109 minutes

Amazon.com
Owing a major debt to Alien and its cinematic spawn, Pitch Black is a guilty pleasure that surpasses expectations. As he did with The Arrival, director David Twohy revitalizes a derivative story, allowing you to forgive its flaws and submit to its visceral thrills. Under casual scrutiny, the plot's logic crumbles like a stale cookie, but it's definitely fun while it lasts.

A spaceship crashes on a desert planet scorched under three suns. The mostly doomed survivors include a resourceful captain (Radha Mitchell), a drug-addled cop (Cole Hauser), and a deadly prisoner (Vin Diesel) who quickly escapes. These clashing personalities discover that the planet is plunging into the darkness of an extended eclipse, and it's populated by hordes of ravenous, razor-fanged beasties that only come out at night. The body count rises, and Pitch Black settles into familiar sci-fi territory.

What sets the movie apart is Twohy's developing visual style, suggesting that this veteran of B-movie schlock may advance to the big leagues. Like the makers of The Blair Witch Project, Twohy understands the frightening power of suggestion; his hungry monsters are better heard than seen (although once seen, they're chillingly effective), and Pitch Black gets full value from moments of genuine panic. Best of all, Twohy's got a well-matched cast, with Mitchell (so memorable with Ally Sheedy in High Art) and Diesel (Pvt. Caparzo from Saving Private Ryan) being the standouts. The latter makes the most of his muscle-man role, and his character's development is one more reason this movie works better than it should. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Taut, smart, enjoyable filmmaking
Hell has surely frozen over. That's the only way to explain how David Twohy, writer-director of the so-bad-it's-hilarious Charlie Sheen skydiving epic "Terminal Velocity," has made a movie this good. It's not high art, but "Pitch Black" is a triumph within its genre: a suspenseful, intelligent monster movie with surprisingly deep characters.

A damaged spaceship loaded with cargo and cryo-sleeping passengers crash-lands on an alien world where three suns create perpetual daylight. At first, the survivors think their biggest problem is the vicious convict who's escaped from the wreckage. Then they discover the light-fearing predators lurking beneath the planet's surface. And then comes the total eclipse...

"Pitch Black" is a Diesel-powered movie-- Vin Diesel, that is. As the menacing convict Richard P. Riddick, Diesel gives a ferociously intelligent and charismatic performance, backed up by Twohy's surprisingly nuanced script. You'll come to root for Riddick as the movie wears on, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll like him.

Radha Mitchell is also fine as the novice pilot Fry, battling inner and outer demons as she tries to hold the survivors together; Cole Hauser does a nice turn as Riddick's captor; and the fine supporting cast includes Keith David as a Muslim cleric (a refreshingly positive portrayal of Islam) and "Farscape"'s always-excellent Claudia Black.

"Pitch Black" is an embarrassment of riches for sci-fi fans: characters who continually surprise you, creepy creatures left mostly up to your imagination, and a stripped-down story that moves at a breakneck pace. Perfect popcorn entertainment-- just be sure you don't turn _all_ the lights off before you watch it...

Excellent Sci-Fi
Pitch Black was arguably one of the most overlooked films of the early year. Although the setting of the film could seem routine to a casual viewer(space travelers stranded and bickering on a hostile planet infested with alien nasties), director David Twohy's wonderful use of color and stylistic flourishes more than makes up for any trivial complaints.

For those of you curious about the film's plot, it deals with a group of marooned space "passengers" who spend the majority of their time searching for a way to evacuate a harsh desert planet. Their efforts are unexpectedly forced to quicken however when they discover a particularly vicious type of nocturnal alien ready to emerge to the planet's surface during an eclipse.

Viewers can't help but like the film's villainous hero(played by Vin Diesel of Saving Private Ryan and Boiler Room)who brings to memory Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous role as the Terminator.

The film looks and sounds great and has more than a few moments of nail-biting tension thrown in for good measure. For Science Fiction fans this is a must-see. And as for the rest of you, try giving this fine movie a chance.

You'll thank me when you do.

Pitch Black is a visual masterpiece with a decent plot
With a great casting job and the most excellent cinematography of the year to date, Pitch Black is a movie to see. But here's a warning: rent it on DVD and watch it in Dolby Digital Surround Sound or you won't get the theater feel, and it is necessary to enjoy the full effects. Vin Diesel is simply a bad@#* in Pitch Black, but he isn't so invincible that he gets his way at all times. Radha Mitchell plays a headstrong, stubborn navigator thrust into a role of command, and she plays the part well. But the best thing about this movie is director David Twohy's mastery of the camera. For the first half of the movie, the screen was so bright from the three suns that I needed refills on my drink three times to quench my thirst. Twohy's portrayal of a bleak desert world was impressive and worked well. But when the eclipse came, the movie went from bleak heat to dark fear. Just like that. But the great part about it is that the viewer doesn't consciously recognize the transition. It is a subconscious switch that heightens the apprehension level and sets the heart beating. I can't describe it any better than that, but the movie was worth the $6.50 and will be worth my $20 when it comes out on DVD.