Fantastic Voyage [Special Edition]

"Richard Fleischer's Fantastic Voyage (1966) was originally released on DVD paired up with Irwin Allen's Voyage To the Bottom of the Sea (1961), in a version without any extras. Not so this special edition DVD, which comes in a squared-off slipcase that allows it to be shelved like a book. THe two transfers weren't available to compare, but the film-to-video transfer on this edition, letterboxed at 2.35-to-1, is more-than-satisfying, with a range of color and tones that were only hinted on the old laserdisc version (which was on hand to look at). The main bonus feature is a pair of commentary tracks, connected to the standard playback of the movie and the playback of the film with just the music-and-effects track, by film and music historian Jeff Bond. He's good enough at what he does, though one wishes that he had a little more humor in his approach to the film -- he's too straight and also a little too mono-toned in his speech, and loses opportunities, both in dealing with observable information and holding the audience. The accompanying documentary short on the film's special effects is entertaining and informative, and the availability of the story-boards for the whirlpool scene is precisely the sort of material that serious fans of this film will devour. The movie opens automatically to a highly clever and easy-to-use menu that plays off the images and sounds from a key section of the movie."