TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: SE
Reviewed October 29th, 2000 by Brian White
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a truly unique and genius piece of film making. It is the beautiful brainchild of Tim Burton. He came up with the idea for the film while working for Disney. After his success with Batman, he mentioned the project to Disney, and they agreed to produce the film. Burton asked friend and fellow lunatic Henry Selick to direct the film. Selick collected a crew of the precious few who do stop-frame animation to create this clever film: the only feature-length animated movie.
For a description of the film, read my review of the standard issue of the disc by clicking here. The AC-3 mix is also the same as that contained on the original disc. The new version does contain a DTS mix, which is marginally better than the already fantastic AC-3 mix from the previous release. Disney didn’t bother to create an anamorphic print of the 1.66:1 transfer. It is still a very good-looking transfer.
What makes this disc worth owning, other than the new DTS mix, is the wealth of extras. This is certainly no rival to other recent collector’s editions, like Terminator 2 and Rocky Horror, but there is a wealth of features from which to choose.
The best feature is the documentary about the making of the film. Burton and his crew describe the creative process. Selick describes much of what went on during the three years (!) it took to complete the animation. Danny Elfman describes the circumstances in which he created the inspired score - IN SIX WEEKS!!! Many of Burton’s early sketches of the characters are showcased.
The screen-specific, audio commentary is very informative, if a little technical. Director Henry Selick describes many of the lighting and animation techniques. The disc also boasts deleted scenes, storyboard-to-film comparison, a still-frame gallery, original trailers and posters. Two short Burton films (Vincent and Frankenweenie)are also included in the package. The only thing missing is a commentary from Burton.
All around, this is a great disc. If you see both the Collectors, and the standard edition, buy this version. They are the same price.
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