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The conflict is told from the point of view of a lovely vampire named Selene (Kate Beckinsale). She's a Death Dealer, tasked with prowling the night to track down and destroy Lycans. She and her clan reside in a fortified gothic mansion, ruled by the overbearing Kraven (Shane Brolly). It seems that in this incarnation of the vampire legend, there is a rotation of immortal elders that alternately rule the clan and hibernate in vertical coffins of impressive construct. Vampires and Lycan both field weapons that are quite modern and, at first blush, seemingly inappropriate for a battle against the supernatural undead; the filmmakers cunningly ensure that the ingenious technology implemented by both sides is consistent with legendary vulnerabilities. Selene stumbles upon an odd mystery; the Lycans are following a mortal, Michael (Scott Speedman) and it's their interest that piques Selene's. Before you can say lycanthropia, she's rescues him and becomes deeply embroiled in a plot that threatens the future of the clan. I'm reluctant to reveal any more.

This is Len Wiseman's directorial debut and he skillfully weaves a very stylish effort around a thin story. With Eastern European locations (revealed in the supplements to be Hungary) and imaginative sets, Wiseman creates a dark and foreboding world. Wiseman's story, conceived with Kevin Grevioux (who may be seen as the hugely fierce and fiercely huge Lycan named Raze) and screenwriter Danny McBride, is simple but clever. The cleverest aspect of the film was the casting against type of the beautiful Kate Beckinsale. She's quite brilliant here. An effective cold-blooded killer, obsessed with destroying the Lycans, she creates a sympathetic character to which we're unavoidably drawn and in which we become fully invested. Admittedly, the film is vulnerable to criticism; it can certainly be argued that it's derivative. Its action sequences may be compared to The Matrix or the work of John Woo. And the similarities to the Blade series are clear. But this is essentially about an attractive vampire drawn to the forbidden, and style definitely wins out over substance. This is escapist entertainment that doesn't let the viewer down.

This DVD edition offers a film that is twelve minutes longer than the theatrical cut. Many very short scenes have been restored as well as a few longer ones. Most significant are an earlier reveal of a werewolf, a kinky little vampiric tryst between Kraven and Erika (Sophia Myles), and a more complex climatic battle. With the exception of the tryst, which does not propel the story forward and is annoyingly less revealing than such scenes on NYPD Blue (another example of hypocritical American standards concerning sex and violence?), I found the new edit to have a distinctly better flow and clearer plotlines.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Allow me to quote my assessment of the original release of Underworld, "The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. I'm both delighted and confused by the quality of this transfer. Colors are highly accurate and well balanced. The filmmakers manipulate the palette, imposing a subtle blue tint in the world of the undead. It's only in the hospital where Michael is an intern that we can perceive that flesh tones are spot on. Shadow detail is excellent, as it needs to be in a film that must take place at night. [Some viewers may perceive black crush, but that effect was the intent of the director.]  Yes, these vampires may be able to see their reflections in mirrors, but they are still vulnerable to ultraviolet light; sunlight is fatal. The images are very sharp, sporting wonderful small object detail and highly revealing of fine textures. Most surprisingly, edge halos are essentially absent on this Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment non-Superbit DVD. So I'm left to ponder how Sony managed to eliminate halos without blowing out the bit budget."  This transfer is every bit as good and ranks as some of the best non-Superbit video I've seen from this studio.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is spectacular, but before I gush, I must warn you that this is an unusually loud DVD; and yet, I don't think it's quite as loud as the original release. An opening sound effect, deep in the bottom most octave of the audio spectrum, was truly shocking at the level I normally set in my theater. It hit my chest like a fist. It soon became obvious that this audio track is very hot indeed; I had to reduce the level by 6 dB before I found my comfort zone. Such high levels are potentially destructive to equipment that isn't highly robust, so be careful.

Once the level was dropped to familiar sound pressure levels, I was able to enjoy this extremely active track. The surrounds are highly active, almost continuously. This non- EX mix greatly benefits from EX decoding; for example, it distributes rain and gunfire all over the surround field. Paul Haslinger's score is intended strictly to provoke the viewer; you'll not be humming his tunes after the film ends. His raucous score and the source tracks are conveyed well, with a fidelity that's hard to judge due to the prevalence of sound effects. Those effects are great, reproduced with tactile sensations thanks to a big bottom end.  The dynamic range is slightly constricted, but the deep, deep bass makes up for it, shaking the room and pummeling the senses. Dialog remains crystal clear throughout and is never overwhelmed by the other sound elements. Well done.  

The alternative language is in French. Subtitles are available in French and English, for which Closed Captions are also offered.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The supplements Columbia TriStar has included on the first disc of this two-disc edition adds to my wonderment concerning the film's transfer; the studio invested all those bits in extras of significant duration and still managed to deliver superior video.

To begin with disc one, the two feature-length, scene-specific commentary tracks found on the original DVD release have been replaced by one new commentary track by director Len Wiseman and stars Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman. Speedman bailed out for the last hour; he had an audition for an Olson Twins movie (I'm not making this stuff up). Beckinsale and Wiseman became engaged in June '03 and recently married; their personal relationship shines through. Unlike the plot analyses and technical discussions found on the first DVD release, here you'll find three folks who seem to be enjoying watching the film and reminiscing about the shoot. The tone is breezy, the anecdotes entertaining, and the good humor very pleasant. Wiseman points out the changes made to the film to create the extended edition. The surprise here is Beckinsale's dry British wit, which I found charming and amusing. Most significantly, they make clear that we can expect a sequel. It's been reported elsewhere that the principle photography will begin in September 2004 for a summer 2005 theatrical release.  

Outtakes (3:43) is a droll collection of goofs and giggles."Oh! Oh! I don't have my teeth in."  I'd like to think that Fang Vs. Fiction (47:04) was created with tongue firmly pressed in cheek, but I'm afraid the proceedings are taken very seriously. It begins as an historical overview of the origins of the werewolf and vampire legends. That material is quite fascinating. Alas, the featurette soon devolves into pseudo science, absurd superstition, and interviews with modern true believers. An odd mix, the short still manages to entertain.  

Disc one also offers four theatrical trailers; you'll find Underworld (2:30), Hellboy (2:32), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (1:24), and Spider-Man 2 (2:10), all in very respectable anamorphic video. Lastly, there are two TV spots in full screen: Teaser Cutdown (0:32) and War (0:32). The 133-minute feature is organized into twenty-eight chapters.

On disc two, the first feature is Storyboard Comparison (6:42), a sequential comparison of five sequences with sketches shown in a window above another containing the finished film; this extra was culled from the first DVD release.

There are seven featurettes on this disc (three are new to this edition), which may be played individually or sequentially by selecting the "Play All" option, a thoughtful feature. The Making of Underworld (13:02), The Visual Effects of Underworld (9:56), Creature Effects (12:29), Stunts (11:42), Designing Underworld (10:45), The Look of Underworld (19:11), and Sights and Sounds (9:07) have a generous aggregate length of 86:12, likely broken apart to avoid higher fees. The first is a typical discussion by the filmmakers and some of the players of the plot and characters. I'd recommend skipping this one until after you've seen the film; it's full of spoilers. The Visual Effects of Underworld is new to this edition; it reveals practical and CGI techniques, and how they were seamlessly combined. Creature Effects reveals the efforts to avoid CGI in the creation of believable werewolves by mounting agile anamatronic heads on top of men in rubber suits. (Although it seems clear that each onscreen werewolf transformation had to be done with CGI.)  I thought the use of stilts to add height and a proper animal shape to the Lycans' legs was particularly ingenious. Stunts features wire work, martial arts training, and weapons training. Kate Beckinsale hadn't shot a gun before the making of this film but really enjoyed the experience. She mastered the very difficult knack of not blinking while firing fully automatic handguns, one in each hand. Designing Underworld is another new featurette; this one focuses on production design and costume design. The last new featurette is The Look of Underworld in which the cinematography and visual style is discussed. We learn for the first time that the entire film was digitized with 1080 resolution. Desaturation, exaggerated contrast, and color timing to impart that cold bluish cast were accomplished in the digital domain. (I wonder if the next Underworld will be captured using a Sony 1080p24 camera, similar to the ones used for Star Wars: Episode III.)  The last featurette, carried over from the first release, is Sights and Sounds, a lighthearted collection of narration-free clips showing the shoot from behind-the-scenes.

Lastly, this disc repeats the inclusion of a raucous music video of "Worms of the Earth" (2:45) by Finch.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

An applet opens automatically when you load the DVD. From it, you may visit Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, or sign up for a newsletter.

Parting Thoughts