Battlefield Earth (2000)

John Travolta	Terl
Barry Pepper	Jonnie Goodboy Tyler
Forest Whitaker	Ker
Kim Coates	Carlo
Sabine Karsenti	Chrissy
Michael Byrne	Parson Staffer
Christian Tessier	Mickey
Sylvain Landry	Sammy
Richard Tyson	Robert the Fox
Christopher Freeman	Processing Clerk
John Topor	Processing Clerk/One-Eyed Guard/Teleportation Supervisor
Jim Meskimen	Blythe
Kelly Preston	Chirk
Shaun Austin-Olsen	Planetship
Tim Post	Assistant Planetship / Psychlo Guard

Director	Roger Christian Rodger Christian
Producer	Elie Samaha John Travolta Ashok Amritraj Don Carmody Anson Downes Andrew Stevens Jonathan D. Krane
Writer	L. Ron Hubbard Corey Mandell J.D. Shapiro
Cinematography	Giles Nuttgens
Musician	Elia Cmiral

When Battlefield Earth was released in May 2000, this inept sci-fi epic qualified as an instant camp classic, prompting Daily Variety to call it "the Showgirls of sci-fi shoot-'em-ups." Other reviews were united in their derision, and toy stores were left with truckloads of Battlefield Earth action figures that nobody wanted. As the film's star and coproducer, John Travolta must have felt an urge to enlist in the witness protection program.

Recklessly adapted from the novel by sci-fi author and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and set in the year 3000, the film is no worse than many cheesy sci-fi flicks, but the sight of Travolta as a burly, dreadlocked alien from the planet Psychlo provokes unintentional laughter from first frame to final credits. As Terl, the Psychlo security chief who conquers Earth and hatches a secret scheme to steal all the gold from Fort Knox (which sits conveniently in wide-open vaults), Travolta hams it up as if he knows he's in a camp-fest. (In a cameo as a long-tongued Psychlo seductress, Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, only adds to the absurdity.) Barry Pepper (the praying sharpshooter from Saving Private Ryan) tries his best to convey charisma as Jonnie, the human slave who leads an uprising against Terl's tyranny, but he's adrift in a foolish plot that makes even smart humans look stupid.

The decrepit look of a dreary future is convincingly established (the ruins of Washington D.C. recall Logan's Run on a grander scale), but in the wake of its ludicrous climax, the best that Battlefield Earth can hope for is a Dune-like fate: it might improve in a longer director's cut--but that's wishful thinking. --Jeff Shannon

Edition Details
Edition	Special Edition
Distributor	Warner Home Video
Chapters	37
Release Date	1/16/2001
Packaging	Snap Case
Screen Ratio	2.35:1
Subtitles	English; French
Audio Tracks	ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC] FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Layers	Single Side, Dual Layer
No. of Disks/Tapes	1

Personal Details
Purchase Date	1/16/2001
Owner	Thomas Eisenmann
Store	Best Buy
Purchase Price	$14.99
Condition	Excellent
Reviewed	Widescreen Review
Bit Rate	384 KB
Anamophic	Yes
Links	IMDB Amazon US Battlefield Earth at Movie Collector Connect

Anamophic

Extras include audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, Travolta’s makeup test, visual effects featurette, storyboard montage, biographies, theatrical trailers and TV spots, information on the book, plus the two special features menus offer a hidden goodie—click to the right to find them.

Story Synopsis:
Once again, too many producers spoil the movie. Although, I wonder if anything could have helped with widely criticized-and deservedly so-Battlefield Earth. Based on L. Ron Hubbard’s novel, the story takes place in the year 3000. For the past 1,000 years, Earth has been ruled by a cruel alien race and humankind is an endangered species. But there is a small faction of humans who are hiding out and trying to defeat the evil Psychlos aliens. (Laurie Sevano)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD exhibits a stylized picture that is wonderfully rendered. Images are sharp and detailed with nicely rendered fine definition and clarity. Colors are fully saturated, with stylized overtones that affect all aspects of the color scheme. Blacks are deep and solid. Contrast and shadow delineation are nicely rendered. Distractions are minor, but some pixelization is detected throughout. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
Despite this film being lackluster in its storytelling, the Dolby® Digital 5.1 soundtrack is exciting and dynamic in its delivery. The low-end, in particular, features tremendous impact and remarkable slam, with prominent use of the .1 LFE channel, as well as bass extension below 25Hz throughout the soundfield. The music has been well recorded, and features remarkable soundstage spread throughout the listening space, along with prodigious low frequencies. There’s an abundance of split surround utilization throughout, such as the fly-bys in Chapter 30 and the gunfire in Chapter 32, and many other instances throughout. Fidelity is rather good, and the tonality seems quite neutral. The audio is very dynamic, and does get quite loud at times, but should not be overpowering nor fatiguing due to stridence. There’s almost always a compelling sense of being in space, and this perception should be further enhanced through a back surround decoder to extract phantom imaging from surround speakers to those behind you. Dialogue has a reasonably natural presence with respectable consistency with the visuals. It will ultimately be up to you to determine whether this outstanding soundtrack makes up for the silly-looking visuals, but on its own, the audio is an outstanding production and presentation. (Perry Sun)

This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Reference Quality
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality