Search - Panic Room [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Not For Children, Profanity, Children in Peril Movie Release: 2002 DVD Release: 03/30/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 3 Number of Discs: 3 Run Time: 1 hrs 52 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Total Copies: 7 Genres: Thriller, Psychological Thriller See Also: Panic Room, Panic Room [Superbit]

A well-regarded spec script by A-list screenwriter David Koepp became this stylish thriller from director David Fincher. Jodie Foster stars as Meg Altman, a single mother of an diabetic preteen daughter, Sarah (Kristen Stewart). Meg's going through an unhappy divorce that forces her and Sarah to move into a new home. They choose a deluxe New York brownstone that coincidentally boasts an unusual feature: a "panic room," a vault-like hidden space capable of literally sealing itself off from the rest of the building. With its thick steel door on springs, separate ventilation and communications systems, and video monitors linked to cameras mounted throughout the home, the room is an impregnable fortress. It quickly comes in handy when the Altmans' new residence is invaded by a trio of thieves: Junior (Jared Leto), Burnham (Forest Whitaker), and Raoul (Dwight Yoakam). Meg and Sarah are able to secure themselves in the panic room before the robbers can get to them, but it turns out that Sarah's medication is still on the outside, the phone's not yet connected, and the loot the gang's seeking is inside the panic room with them. A cat-and-mouse battle of wits ensues, with Meg trying to outwit their captors over the course of one very long night, as her daughter's health dissipates. Panic Room (2002) co-stars Ann Magnuson, Patrick Bauchau, and Koepp's fellow screenwriter, Andrew Kevin Walker, in a cameo role. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Jodie Foster - Meg Altman
Forest Whitaker - Burnham
Dwight Yoakam - Raoul
Jared Leto - Junior
Kristen Stewart - Sarah Altman

David Prior produced the extras on this impressive three-disc release of David Fincher's Panic Room, equaling the outstanding job he did compiling the deluxe releases of that director's earlier films Fight Club and Seven. The superb anamorphic widescreen transfer preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1. English, French, and Spanish soundtracks have been rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitles are accessible in all three of those languages as well. The film is graced with three commentary tracks. The first features director David Fincher discussing every aspect of the film's production. These stories offer a perfect lead-in to the bevy of extras on the bonus discs. In another commentary, Jodie Foster, Dwight Yoakam, and Forest Whitaker discuss what acting in this occasionally troubled production was like. A third commentary features the screenwriter David Koepp, who is joined by the Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman. Their discussion will provide a great deal of fascinating information for anyone interested in the craft of screenwriting. The two discs of extras truly saturate the viewer with information on every conceivable aspect of the production. From pre-visualization computer work to editing decisions, sound design, scoring, makeup, and beyond, this is simply one of the most comprehensive documentations of a film ever released on DVD. Those with a thirst for filmmaking knowledge will find this disc to be among the best ever produced. The care that went into this DVD is apparent in the menus that begin with a blueprint of the house. When the viewer selects one of the sections, the camera tracks inside the blueprint, where suddenly it stops being the blueprint and becomes images of the actual house. The words themselves are presented in the same distinctive font as the film's memorable opening credits. This is easily one of the most impressive discs of the year. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide