Big Fish (DVD)

There isn't a lot more I can say about Big Fish as far as the movie goes that I didn't say in my review of the theatrical presentation, but I can go ahead and tell you that this was easily one of the best movies of 2003 and it was quite unfortunate that it was so rudely overlooked at the Academy Awards, but what can you do?

Well the one thing I can do is tell you that it is great! Watching Big Fish you are taken on one unbelievable trip through the fantastic life of Edward Bloom as you get to know the real man behind the myth and just see what kind of effect this "big fish" had on the lives he touched.

If you have seen this film you already know that it is absolutely magnificent from the sets to the characters playing on them. This DVD touches on all those details and gives you a further insight into just how it all came together.

Big Fish is undeniably a Tim Burton film, and I also think it is undeniable that this is his best film ever, as it uses all the traditional looks of a Burton film we have come to expect, but then it expands on that bringing you the touching drama we have yet to get from him up until now.

Therefore, I was excited to get a chance to listen to his feature-length audio-commentary, but I was unfortunately upset at how dry it was, as he was pretty much being interviewed as opposed to commenting as the film goes on. Granted the topics discussed are intriguing, it quickly gets boring as the film goes on.

While the audio commentary is a bit tedious let's take a look at the guts of the special features here with two separate sections titled, "The Character's Journey" and "The Filmmakers' Path", both of which are quick and to the point as well as interesting.

"The Character's Journey" is a detailed look at the characters of the film with commentaries from just about everyone involved and the "The Filmmakers' Path" takes a look at Burton's vision, the world he created, the costume design, and also a look at Daniel Wallace, the author of Big Fish, and John August, the screenwriter.

Both features are extremely interesting and with each section being only about 6-7 minutes long they don't overstay their welcome and give you a much closer look at the world you are sure to love. To go along with these features, there is another way to access them and that is through the "Fish Tales" section which is set up to have icons appear on screen while you are watching the film, and when you are watching you can hit Enter on your remote to check out the corresponding feature, but I would recommend skipping that and just watch them all through the Special Features section.

Now we have "The Finer Points", which is a Tim Burton trivia quiz, which at the end you get to see just how they made the scene where time stops for Edward Bloom, and if you haven't seen the film just wait, you will know what I am talking about.

Now I did find one Easter Egg on the DVD and you need to just go to put the fish over the "Scene Selection" on the Main Menu and push up twice on your remote to highlight the hat above the tree to check out a quick behind-the-scenes vignette with Tim Burton driving around in Spectre in a golf cart equipped with fireworks, a bit comical.

I don't think it is really necessary but I will say it anyway, "Buy this DVD." Seen it or not you are going to love it. This is a movie that is watchable at anytime, just as it was said in the special features, every scene seems like a new movie. You have it all here and I don't think any moviegoer could be upset.