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Tron (2 Disc 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition) [1982] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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As a start to CGI it is great
Review date: 2008-05-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

OK the FX of Tron are nothing to todays. But this film shows the level of CGI in 1982 the extra features illustrate how the FX are achieved and what a struggle this film was. Also the extra features tell the story of Tron from its earliest incarnations to the finished film. The film itself is not only a great story but it shows the level of computing at the time. Tron is in fact an Antivirus in a world before antivirus programs were even thought of.

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Reviews


Very stylish SciFi thriller - 25 years old and looking good
Review date: 2008-02-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

My son (8) quite enjoyed watching this movie, but probably I wanted to see it more having enjoyed it at the movies back in 1982. The actual film doesn't seem any better than I remember it in terms of picture quality, although apparently Wendy (Walter) Carlos's film score has been recovered as the original analogue master tapes had badly degraded. This Special Edition two disk set seems the same as the '20th anniversary edition' which also has the second DVD of deleted scenes, storyboards, the 88 minute documentary `The making of TRON', etc.. all of which is far more interesting to adults who saw the film as kids back in 1982, rather than todays kids. The extra's are all you could want really and worth a view (you even get Tron's cut 'love scene'). Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner (TRON) are very good considering they were the first to act against a blue screen for mostly the whole movie. David Warner is excellent as MCP and Sark, reprising his equally superb role as The Evil Genius in The Time Bandits (1981). Peter O'Toole had turned down his role (as he didn't fancy acting against a blue screen). TRON is actually a Hewlett Packard BASIC simple debugging command of the period, and stands aptly for "Trace On". So as we all know, "That's TRON. He fights for the users". Let's hope he's still out there. Interestingly, first use of the term `Users' has been credited to this influential movie.

A sequel called TRON 2.0 was in the works, but only the visually outstanding computer game version was released in 2003 (and as in the original film the 'Light Cycles' were a highlight). Despite it's innovation, on release TRON did relatively badly in the cinema (where it looked at its best), and ironically the well received TRON arcade game spin-offs made the most profit. Rumour has it that traditional Disney animators refused to work on this movie because they feared that computers would put them out of business. In fact, 22 years later Disney closed its hand-drawn animation studio in favour of CGI animation, following the rise of Pixar. TRON wasn't considered for an academy award for `animation' at the time, as it was felt that computer aided design cheated (it was nominated for both Best Costume and ironically Sound). In the "solar sail-ship" sequence, look out and see, for a brief moment, the cross-hatched silhouette of Mickey Mouse on the ground made to look like part of the terrain. This DVD's TRON has a 5.1 sound upmix that doesn't really add anything except perhaps a better sounding bass.

So the films worth owning as an historical cinema milestone, although the plot was a bit ahead of its time as many preteen boys, the target audience, naturally weren't quite so into computers and game consoles back then, and arcade games tended to be in 18+ locations. However it s well worth another watch, and the storyline can still hold most boys attention for one viewing (try renting if you don't want to buy even at this knock down price). The film was created in a period when one person could write the whole software, hence the storyline - Tron was the first, and best ever, global computer virus. This film is clearly the grand daddy of the quality movies 'Spy Kids III' and 'Scooby and the Cyber Chase', and is probably even better than both.

Allegorical and visually before its time
Review date: 2008-01-31 Rating: 8 out of 10

Surely the storyline of this film is deeply allegorical and metaphysical. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us".

The opening shot, not always shown, establishes the parallel between the computer world and the human world, and the closing shot reinforces this. The human world is the world of the creators, or "Users", and Flynn becomes a messianic figure "made computer flesh" to correct the problems caused by wicked User/s.

The evil figures in the computer world know that the Users (or creators) are real, but try to convince others that they are not (see James 2:19 in the New Testament).

In the end of course, Flynn as "the word made flesh" corrects the problem and is restored to his proper sphere, also now with the enhanced status he is entitled to as proven originator of important programmes (see Philippians 2:5-11).

Overall the film has a strange, subdued, beautiful yet wistful feel about it, due perhaps to the extended section within the computer, and its very particular "look". The mood is also due in no small part, I think, to Wendy Carlos's powerful score.

Visually the movie is ground-breaking, but perhaps the pace lags a little in parts. It was not a huge success on its release in 1982. Maybe the timing was not quite right, for people did not yet have PCs and, not being generally familiar with computer terms, perhaps could not relate well to the idea of a world inside the computer. Possibly too, the whole look and feel of the film was too "down-beat" for the time.

Overall however, there is a kind of elegance and dignity about the movie, in addition to its pioneering use of CGI effects, that will see it stand the test of time and have an assured place in the movie canon.


Early 80's computer passion
Review date: 2008-01-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

Don't give this film a hard time. Why would you? YES its dated and YES its no longer cutting edge but back in 1982 this was the Jurassic Park and the Lord of the Rings - people literally didn't know how it was made. This was made before the Chernobyl disaster, before any major CGI development and it STILL used more blue screening than people generally realise. Watch out for the glitchy edits between the CGI and traditional camera filmed scenes, the fantastic Wendy Carlos soundtrack (more Clockwork Orange than you think!) and the fantastic closing scene of the city sped up to resemble a computer world, which I suppose was the message of the film, man resembling the computer and the computer resembling man...AND all those luminescent japanese programmer's names in the credits. Enjoy an historical masterpiece, one of those rare films which documents human achievement without realising it.

Alice oops Flynn in wonderland
Review date: 2007-04-12 Rating: 8 out of 10

What would computers appeared like to the uninitiated, 20 plus years ago? Even as we watch this remake of Alice every one knows that computers were getting smaller even then. But this is a fun romp with love and loyalty, and now with time campiness.
The nasty old MPC (Master Control Program) wants to rule the world vis-à-vis remove human contamination or at the least play like "Colossus: The Forbin Project" (1970). Only the "Users" (a loose term invented by the movie makers for programmers) can defeat him. Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and a hand full of loyal programs including Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) will attempt to do so running into many quasi computer parts along the way. Will they succeed or will their side issue with the lovely Yori (Cindy Morgan) sidetrack them from their mission.

Jeff Bridges looked cute in those days and David Warner (Master Control Program Voice) had just enough touch of evil for a Disney picture.



Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Bruce Boxleitner
Cindy Morgan
David Warner
Barnard Hughes
Jeff Bridges

Creators:
Jeff Bridges (Primary Contributor)
Bruce Boxleitner (Primary Contributor)
Steven Lisberger (Writer)
Donald Kushner (Producer)
Harrison Ellenshaw (Producer)
Jeff Kurtti (Producer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
EAN: 9780788830655
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 0788830651
Number of items: 2
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Colour, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2002-01-15
Universal product code (UPC): 786936161878
Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 1
Running time: 96 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1982-07-09
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)

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