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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Mimic - Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

 

(Guillermo del Toro, 1997)

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Dimension Films

Video: Miramax Lionsgate

 

Disc:

Region: 'A'-locked (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:51:44.531

Disc Size: 46,086,561,091 bytes

Feature Size: 35,934,117,888 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.96 Mbps

Chapters: 16

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: September 27th, 2011

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 5482 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 5482 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround

 

Subtitles:

English (SDH), English, Spanish, none

 

Extras:

• Video Prologue with director Guillermo del Toro (1:06 in 480i)
• Audio commentary with director/co-writer Guillermo Del Toro
• “Reclaiming Mimic” featurette (14:31 in 1080P)
• “A Leap In Evolution – The Creatures of Mimic” featurette (9:35 in 480i)
• “Back Into The Tunnels – Shooting Mimic” featurette (5:22 in 480i)
• 3 Deleted scenes (5:11 in 480i)
• 6 Storyboard animatics (6:04 in 480i)
• Gag reel (2:18 in 480i)
Bookmark ability

Digital Copy disc

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: From acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labrynth, Hellboy) comes "a terrifying film of great elegance" (San Francisco Chronicle). Starring Academy Awardİ winner Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) and screen favorite Charles S. Dutton (A Time to Kill) and Josh Brolin (True Grit) this electrifying thriller brings the epic battle between man and nature to life when a team of scientists discover a glitch in their miracle cure. With the power to mimic and destroy its every predator and the threat of an entire city's destruction, their creation has taken on a horrifying life of its own. With the weight of extinction on their shoulders the team is forced to take matters into their own hands in this stylish hit that delivers heartpounding thrills from beginning to end.

 

 

The Film:

There were many great moments in "Mimic," due to Del Toro's gifts as an incredibly visual director. He films everything with a eye finely tuned to detail. Of course, in this film, most of the detail consists of slime, bug guts, dripping sewer water, fecal muck, oozing pipes, and other bits of nastiness that make you squirm in your seat. His obvious goal is to out-slime "Aliens," and for the most part, he wins. In one great scene, after Susan has just tested the Judas Breed for the first time, the camera carefully pans across the floor of a sewer tunnel, showing a literal carpet of dead cockroaches. It is one of the most artfully rendered gross-out shots I've ever seen, and for those who despise roaches as much as I do, this scene alone is worth the price of admission.

Excerpt from James Kendrick at QNetworks located HERE

Children are dying in New York City. Dr Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) and Dr Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam) are concerned, baffled and on the case. As scientists, they approach the epidemic from different perspectives and discover not a rodent connection, but a cockroach clue. By playing around with DNA and creating a bug to destroy the carriers of this new germ, they contain the catastrophe.

Excerpt from Angus Wolfe Murray at Eye for Film located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Mimic despite having a very technically robust transfer on Blu-ray still looks fairly modest in 1080P.  On the positive detail and grain are there with noise, presumably kept to its bare minimum through the film rife with unknown darkness. I recall my DVD being quite weak in this regard. Depth, however is not apparent and the flatness leans more to a video-like image. Contrast exhibits reasonable black levels but the films textures seem to overtake a disproportionate semblance of sharpness. It is by no means poor but I had higher expectations for a more crisp look. This Blu-ray is consistent and I expect an authentic representation of its roots but the AVC never seems to escalate to the heights of the format. Regardless - the presentation may not 'Wow' but it does support the film well enough to create an enjoyable and creepy late night in the home theater.

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

The DTS-HD Master 7.1 at 5482 kbps is a capable monster of its own with separations - that are not always crisp - but the powerful depth - heard impressively through Marco Beltrami's score, adds gobs of aura to the film that seems to bathe in it's own darkness. There are no flaws and the track can export potent chills whenever called upon by the genre-heavy film. There are optional subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

 

Extras :

My old DVD was bare-bones so it's nice to se some extensive extras including an excellent audio commentary with director/co-writer Guillermo Del Toro. He is informative, funny and extremely enjoyable to listen to. His fans will love this commentary. Before the film it might be worthwhile indulging in the minute-long video prologue with director del Toro where he talks about this 'version' being closer to the film he was trying to make - and although he is reserved about the final product - there is also some pride there. There are some video extras - “Reclaiming Mimic” runs just shy of 15-minutes and describes more details of the transition to what would better fulfill the director's aspirations and vision. “A Leap In Evolution – The Creatures of Mimic” is a 10-minute featurette on design of the effects. “Back Into The Tunnels – Shooting Mimic” is about 5.5-minutes with sound bytes from some of the cast and crew about production. There are 3 deleted scenes, 6 'Storyboard animatics' and a Gag reel along with the bookmark ability and a second digital copy disc.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
I'm always into a decently conceived creature-feature - especially giant bugs! - and seeing the previous cut - I can state with certainty that this Director's version of Mimic is more polished and cohesive - if remaining imperfect. I like del Toro's style a lot - and he is sly here with his storytelling almost as an homage to the similar 50's style films that avoided exploitive 'monster-views' - keeping the minimalist approach and extensive darkness as much more appealing. This is chilling and the stage is set well to enjoy a solid representative of the genre. The Blu-ray gives good presentation and for the very reasonable price - we absolutely recommend! 

Gary Tooze

September 18th, 2011

About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.

Gary's Home Theatre:

60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD

Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD Player
Momitsu - BDP-899 Region FREE Blu-ray player
Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD Player
Marantz SR7002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver
Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V

Gary W. Tooze

 

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