Twister [Blu-ray]

enlarge

Director: Jan De Bont
Actors: Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD

List Price: ~~$28.99~~
Buy New: $19.95
You Save: $9.04 (31%)

New (11) Used (5) from $18.99

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

276 reviews
Sales Rank: 66

Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Original Recording Remastered, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Blu-ray
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 113
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.5

MPN: 118631
UPC: 085391186311
EAN: 0085391186311

Theatrical Release Date: May 10, 1996
Release Date: May 6, 2008 (New: This Week)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Similar Items:

•	Independence Day [Blu-ray]
•	National Treasure / National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets [Blu-ray]
•	Dante's Peak
•	I, Robot [Blu-ray]
•	The Day After Tomorrow [Blu-ray]

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The house rips apart piece by piece. A bellowing cow spins through the air. Tractors fall like rain. A 15000-pound gasoline tanker becomes an airborne bomb. A mile-wide 300 miles-per-hour force of total devastation is coming at you: Twister is hitting home. In this adventure swirling with cliffhanging excitement and awesome special effects Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play scientists pursuing the most destructive weatherfront to sweep through mid-America's Tornado Alley in 50 years. By launching electronic sensors into the funnel the storm chasers hope to obtain enough data to create an improved warning system. But to do so they must intercept the twisters' deadly path. The chase is on!Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/RACE AGAINST TIME UPC: 085391186311 Manufacturer No: 118631

Amazon.com
Twister was a mega-million-dollar blockbuster--helmed by a director (Dutchman Jan de Bont) hot off another scorcher hit (Speed)--that flaunted state-of-the-art digital effects and featured a popular leading actress (Helen Hunt) who would win an Academy Award for her next film (As Good As It Gets). But ask anybody who's seen it and they'll tell you who the real star of Twister is: the cow. Not to give anything away, but the cow is one of those inspired little touches (like, say, Bronson Pinchot's career-making cameo in Beverly Hills Cop) that adds a touch of personality to a gigantic Hollywood production. The story is blown out the window after an impressive prologue in which Hunt's character, as a little girl, witnesses her daddy being sucked into a tornado. Basically, Hunt and Bill Paxton are thrill-seeking meteorologists chasing twisters in order to study them (and help warn people of them, of course) with a new technology they've developed. If you thought the Kansas tornado in The Wizard of Oz was every bit as scary as the Wicked Witch of the West, then this may be the movie for you. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews: Read 271 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars

So-so transfer to Blu-Ray May 10, 2008
Having waited eagerly for this to be released on Blu-ray, I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of the transfer. Not only is the Blu-ray not particularly crisp compared to the better transfers such as, say, Road Warrior, I established by A/B-ing the Blu-ray and previous non-HD version in my Sony PS3 that the Blu-ray is actually softer looking in some respects than the previous version. So you might save your money and just stick with the version you probably already have.

5 out of 5 stars

Campy? Yes. Far fetched? Not hardly! May 7, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

What about the outbreak of tornados in the same area depicted in the film a week ago? 40 tornados over the same area in the span of 10 hours: that makes this movie look like a picnic. Still say it's not possible? There are people in tornado alley that will beg to differ.

1 out of 5 stars

Twisted May 7, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful

I don't know if I would've forgiven this movie more if I hadn't had an amateur meteorologist with me when I saw it or not. But I did. And his constant interjections of "that would NEVER happen" got so annoying that I finally had to say:

"Hey, I never went to Weather School but I KNOW that couldn't happen!"

My hopes were also high since Michael Crichton's name was on the screenplay. But then again, so was his wife-at-the-time listed as a screenwriter.

But what really got me was that this Hollywood monstrosity had an opportunity to use the best sound and state-of-the-art visual effects to show the raw power and terrifying danger of a real tornado...and they instead chose to pay endless homages to THE WIZARD OF OZ. Have you ever been in a tornado? I have. Nobody's pausing to calmly and safely watch barnyard animals float by. This movie totally trivialized that stark terror.

Whatever tires were on that pick-up truck that Bill Paxton drove around with Helen Hunt and Jamie Gertz had to be magic: somehow houses and tanker trucks could be tossed around like crazy--but not that pick-up truck!

Storywise, you can also see everything coming from a mile off. I'll bet everyone can guess how the relationships will end within the first 20 minutes. Characters are so broad that I wondered if the two groups of scientists were in this movie or if they were the two competing summer camps in MEATBALLS. Of course the bad scientists--and they're bad because they drive new black vehicles--are going to suffer the most at the hands of nature. Of course the leads will have their happy ending. Of course the tornado will strike the drive-in movie theatre when Jack Nicholson sticks his face through the door in the clip from THE SHINING (I knew that was going to happen as soon as they showed the movie marquee).

If this movie had Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay's name in the credits, I wouldn't be able to be so critical. I just expected more from Michael Crichton.

5 out of 5 stars

Great movie and great transfer May 7, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

One of my family's favorite movies and a great transfer in Blu Ray...great picture, great sound. Well worth the wait...

5 out of 5 stars

LOVED IT April 24, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I know that some people would go on a tangent about how this truly does not occur.. the waves of tornadoes and such. It is a movie, not a documentary. And as such, I think it is one of my favorites (Jaws and Godfather also rank the top billings iwth me). I enjoyed it, the story, the special effects, the whole thing. I have witnessed 2 tornadoes in my life, and both are truly the work of mother nature. This movie brings that and so much more. Get it, and if you have the chance to get to Universal Studios, go, and ride "twister"... you will love it!