If you own the Phantom Menace disc, then you'll
find yourself on familiar ground when it comes to the supplements
on this two-disc set. The presentation and content is very similar.
Disc one offers up an audio commentary by George
Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, sound designer Ben Burtt and members
of the animation and effects crew. Anyone looking for insights into
the Star Wars universe, or perhaps some secrets about where the
story is going, will likely be disappointed as this track is mostly
technical in nature. There is a great deal of discussion about the
problems and challenges of creating the visuals in a Star Wars film
and about shooting digitally. The track is a bit dry, but valuable
as a behind the scenes discussion.
Disc two is where you'll find the bulk of supplements.
Starting things off are three documentaries. Fans of the first disc
are likely familiar with the excellent Jon Shenk documentary, The
Beginning. Acting something like a fly on the wall, it followed
the production of The Phantom Menace through both the good and the
bad.
Given all of the problems that seemed to plague
The Phantom Menace, perhaps there was no way that the documentaries
for Attack of the Clones could match. Still, these are very well
produced and do offer up a good look at the making of the film.
The first and longest of the documentaries is
From Puppets to Pixels. This covers what is perhaps the most controversial
aspect of the new Star Wars films, namely, the all-digital creatures.
Making his debut in Attack of the Clones is a fully mobile and CGI
Yoda. This documentary covers the process of creating these creatures,
as well as Lucas' strict ideas about what he wants to see. This
feature runs almost an hour and may be a bit dry for non-special
effects junkies.
The next two documentaries, State of the Art:
The Previsualization of Episode II and Films Are Not Released, They
Escape, each run just under a half hour.
State of the Art deals with some of the technical
aspects of visualizing, shooting and then later altering, editing
and polishing the final film. Of note is Lucas' now well-known propensity
for shooting very fast and loose with the thought of "fixing"
performances and character interplay in post production. The questionable
aspect of creating a film in this manner is that Lucas loses much
of the spontaneity that occurs when actors are allowed to play off
of each other in a scene.
Films Are Not Released showcases sound designer
Ben Burtt and his efforts to create the sonic experience of the
Star Wars universe. This is a fun feature, if nothing else than
for the sake of learning how ordinary objects can be used to create
the otherworldly sounds in the film.
Episode I was known for its series of web documentaries
and they returned for Episode II. As with the Phantom Menace disc,
Attack's documentaries are tossed into the special features bag.
Each of the 12 featurettes run about 5 or so minutes a piece and,
despite being so short, are very entertaining and fun little insights
into the film. They run almost the complete gamut from the very
beginnings of Attack of the Clones to the final production of the
film.
Rounding up the featurettes are a set of three
that run from about 8 minutes to around 9 and a half minutes. These
three featurettes are not nearly as in-depth as the other supplements
and do have a bit of a "First Look," or EPK feeling to
them.
Next up are a series of deleted scenes. Again,
as with the Episode I disc, these deleted scenes have been "finished"
by Industrial Light and Magic. By that, I mean that all of the special
effects have been completed. These are some good, if unnecessary
(and therefore good cuts), scenes, but there are a couple of conspicuously
absent bits. One in particular is a filmed extended battle between
Yoda and Dooku. Considering how amazingly popular Yoda's action
scenes were with audiences, it's somewhat surprising that we weren't
given more of it. Perhaps if there is any consolation, it's that
if Lucas remains true to form, there will be several more versions
of this disc released in the coming years and one of them may wind
up having more of these scenes added in.
On the marketing side of things, you'll find the
standard theatrical and teaser trailers and television spots. There
is also a section of still photos that feature some of the marketing
posters and production photos. You will also be able to watch the
music video for John Williams' Across The Stars.
The standard supplements are finished off with
a 4 minute before and after visual effects montage and the promo
for the web "mockumentary" R2-D2: Behind the Dome. The
promo is really funny, but it's a shame that the complete documentary
isn't included.
The DVD-ROM portion of the disc is almost equally
packed with goodies. Thankfully, we aren't subjected to some of
the cheesy games or other gimmicks found on other discs. Most of
the content here is linked to exclusive online content. There is
a lot available, but even more is hinted at for the future, including
additional commentary tracks.
Whew! That's a lot of stuff. Still, it's much
better to be faced with tons of content rather than none at all.
It doesn't hurt that most of what you'll find here is pretty good.
So we now have two Star Wars films on DVD and
so far, they don't disappoint. The extra features on this disc might
be just a tad below the bar set by The Phantom Menace, but since
Attack of the Clones is a better film than it's prequel predecessor,
it all balances out in the end. Clones still suffers from some flat
characterization and an awkwardly complex story, but it's a good
ride nonetheless.
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