eXistenZ

• Cert:
• Cat.no: AA 019DVD
• Running time: 93 minutes
• Year: 1999
• Pressing: 2002
• Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
• Chapters: 22 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
• 16:9-enhanced: No
• Macrovision: Yes
• Disc Format: DVD 9
• Price: £9.99
• Extras: FX Documentary: “The Invisible Art of Carol Spier”, Trailer,Exclusive Sega Dreamcast interactive menu, Three Audio Commentaries
  

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  Director:

  David Cronenberg

  (The Brood, Camera, Crash, Dead Ringers, The Dead Zone, eXistenZ, M. The Fly, Butterfly, Naked Lunch, Rabid, Scanners, Shivers, Spider, Videodrome)

Producers:

Screenplay:

Music:

Cast:

Allegra Geller: Jennifer Jason Leigh
Ted Pikul: Jude Law
Kiri Vinokur: Ian Holm
Gas: Willem Dafoe
Yevgeny Nourish: Don McKellar
Hugo Carlaw: Callum Keith Rennie
Levi: Christopher Eccleston
Merle: Sarah Polley
D’Arcy Nader: Robert A. Silverman

eXistenz,is the title of a new genre of computer game, devised by Allegra Geller(Jennifer Jason Leigh). Essentially, it places you in a virtual realityenvironment of your choosing ready to do battle with whatever comes your way.The difference with this kind of simulation is in the interface. The game – andhence the whole control interface – is connected to the player via a bioportthat plugs directly into the base of your spine. This links directly intoyour nervous system for a gaming experience that really is new and improved.

For security guard Ted Pikul (Jude Law), the bioport has been implantedby a rogue official and starts to show signs of deceased. Then, as quick asyou can say ‘Dixons Mastercare’, events take a nasty turn because this isn’t anerror that can easily be repaired and Ted and Allegra find themselves on therun, initially from armed fanatics who burst in at the game’s launch and lateron from enemies within the virtual world as they escape into eXistenZ andPikul gets the urge to kill someone… but did he kill them within the game orwithin reality?

The film has an excellent premise, since films based on virtual reality canbe very intriguing when the link between fantasy and reality starts to blur,but the film hits problems when it comes to the end, sinceit just seems to end where it wants to and things come back into reality tooquickly to just get the film over with what appears to be a rather throwawayending.

It certainly has a good cast, but is one you may prefer to rent first ratherthan buy just to check if you’ll want to see it more than once. That said,when this DVD was originally released in 2000 it was a full-price title, butthat has now been halved to a penny under a tenner so you won’t be losing outon too much even if you do buy it.

Pikul shoots his load in the Chinaman’s face.

The picture is of a rather glitch-free quality, but given that it’s non-anamorphicthat’s rather a disappointment. Even BBC2 managed to broadcast an anamorphictransfer last year so why can’t the DVD provide one? Not even the price-pointcan let that one off. The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 widescreenratio.

Howard Shore‘s score is fine but nothing too original. Despite thecomputer games scenario, it’s not a special FX-fest, opting more for a dramaticoffering. It’s a pleasing Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack though.

The extras consist of a 2-minute Trailer in letterboxed 15:9 widescreenand a 53-minute featurette about production designer Carol Spier and howshe’s worked on many a Cronenberg film, so while the bulk of this centres onthis DVD title, you still get 5-10 minutes on his other works.

Three audio commentaries are available – one each for Cronenberg, Directorof Photography Peter Suschitzky and Visual and Special Effects SupervisorJim Isaac. Also, as part of the extras is an Exclusive Sega DreamcastInteractive Menu – something which may have been big news at the time ofthe DVD’s original release, but now is sadly not worth much as it’s just a9½-minute trailer for the excellent console which was badly let downby piss-poor marketing.

The only subtitle on the disc is in English, there are 22 chapters to splitthe film up and the menus feature weird music from the film and even morebizarre menus.

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