DVD Review: 10,000 B.C. - BigScreen Journal: The BigScreen Cinema Guide

Front Cover Artwork 10,000 B.C.

Warner Home Video
109 Minutes

List Price: $28.98 (Check Price at Amazon.com)

Available 6/24/2008

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	Theatrical	This Disc
Video Format:	35mm	480i MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio:	2.35:1	2.35:1
Audio:

Disc Contents

Upfront Ads (6:58) (can be skipped by selecting the Menu button)
- "Casablanca" anti-piracy ad
- Dark Knight in theaters
- Lego Batman video game
- Batman Gotham Knight on DVD, Blu-ray
- Gametap.com
- Primeval on DVD
Movie
Extras
- Alternate Ending
- Additional Scenes

About the Movie

Roland Emmerich, the filmmaker who launched a UFO invasion in Independence Day and unleashed the forces of global warming in The Day After Tomorrow now unveils a new day of adventure, a time when mammoths shake the earth and mystical spirits shape human fates. Roland Emmerich directs 10,000 BC, the eye-filling tale of the first hero.

That hero is young hunter D'Leh (Steven Strait), set out on a bold trek to rescue his kidnapped beloved (Camilla Belle) and fulfill his prophetic destiny. He'll face an awesome saber-toothed tiger. Cross uncharted realms. Form an army. And uncover an advanced but corrupt Lost Civilization. There, he will lead a fight for liberation - and become the champion of the time when legend began.

About This Disc

This disc has two complete versions of the movie on opposite sides of the DVD; commonly referred to as a "flipper" disc. The original theatrical aspect ratio is intact in the Widescreen version, and there is also a severely cropped "full screen" version for those that prefer to fill their old-style TV screen at the expense of composition.

We do not endorse cropping movies to fit TV screens here at The BigScreen Cinema Guide, so we will not review movies or versions of movies that have been drastically altered from their intended aspect ratio. As such, the pan and scan side of this disc has not been reviewed.For more information about the evils of Pan and Scan, please see our Help document titled "Why am I seeing black bars when I watch movies?"

How Does it Look?

Evolet smiles

I believe that the transfer on this disc is portraying the look that the director and cinematographer wanted when they made the movie. However, even on this standard definition DVD, it is easy to pick out some really bad use of CGI.

The strange thing is that the creation of the creatures was done very well. The woolly mammoths are very well done, and the sabre tooth cat is a little on the large and unnaturally proportioned side of things, but the rendering and the movement of these characters are done well. Unfortunately, there are several scenes early on in the movie where you really get the sense that it was done against a green-screen and perhaps night scenes were shot during the day, but the "night as day" transformation wasn't done properly. It's very distracting, and fortunately, it's most annoying at the beginning. Once D'leh gets to the desert, things are better.

How Does it Sound?

The sound is pretty good, demonstrating that more effort was put into that aspect of the production than the video side of things. While not an in-your-face mix, it's powerful at times, and there aren't any problems that were noticeable.

Extras

I like to see the theatrical trailer included with movies, so I was disappointed to find that none was included here.

The "Awesome Additional Scenes" did little to enhance the movie, and they serve mostly as a testament to the editors and their skills in seeing where the running time could be shortened without sacrificing the story. The "Exciting Alternate Ending" that the back cover promises is not exciting, and it's not any better or worse than the original ending. I preferred the original.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a lackluster movie with an acceptable DVD transfer with lackluster extras. Unlike many people, I actually liked Roland Emmerich's version of Godzilla, but there isn't any way that I can recommend purchasing this movie unless it was bundled with some others for a good price or you can find it in the bargain bin. Rent it if you are interested, but don't spend a lot of money on it.

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