Twister: Special Edition
OVERALL:
ASPECT RATIO(S)
16x9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
SOUND MIX
FEATURES
STUDIO
RECOMMENDATION
Dolby Digital 5.1
DTS 5.1
- The Making of Twister Documentary
- Anatomy of the Twister Featurette
- Audio Commentary
- Music Video
- 2 Theatrical Trailers
- Cast & Crew Bios
Warner Bros.
Buy this, a much better package.
GRADING SCALE
Film 
Features
Audio 
Video
Thunderstorms and snowstorms are bad, but tornadoes...well, they're really bad. Not only are tornadoes extremely violent, but the ability to know how one operates is almost a complete mystery. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton have built a machine that they believe will change that mystery. With it, they hope to develop an advanced warning system, which will give people more than 3 minutes to prepare for the disasterious whirlwinds.
The special effects are the star of the film. The tornadoes are life-like, as is the destruction they cause. From the flying cow, to the 15,000-pound gasoline tanker, TWISTER puts the action in-your-face.
The acting is barely average, but we're not looking for that in a summer blockbuster. We want excitement, and that's what we get in this truly awesome movie. A fun-filled adventure with spectacular special effects.
Features
The movie-only edition offered nothing more than the usual text features. This new edition has a decent making-of featurette (it's referred as a documentary). Also included is an 8-minute look at the cgi. Jan DeBont offers up an audio commentary to round out the list. Not alot of features, but much more than what the first release had.
Audio
Ah, now the best part about this dvd. Warner has finally decided to support DTS. This dvd has the DD 5.1 and the DTS soundtracks. It's easy to see that the DTS sounds much better. There's nothing wrong with the DD track, but the DTS pushes even harder. Terrific use of surrounds, and the bass just roars it when it needs to. If you're wanting to show off your system, especially the rear channels, put in this dvd and play the DTS track. This is the best sounding dvd this side of "Saving Private Ryan" country.
Video
This is exactly the same 16x9 transfer used on the first dvd. The picture is just what you'd expect from Warner, free of grain and pixels. There's a bit of dust, but the movie is about tornadoes. Yet another great transfer.
Overall
This is a no-brainer. If you have the movie-only release and you have a receiver/dvd player with DTS decoders, get this version. It offers more features and that DTS track really kicks major butt.