Search - Open Water [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity Movie Release: 2003 DVD Release: 12/28/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 21 mins Studio: Lions Gate Total Copies: 155 Genres: Thriller, Natural Horror See Also: Open Water [Fullscreen], Open Water [UMD for PSP]

Independent filmmaker Chris Kentis directs the dramatic thriller Open Water, based on a true story. Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) are a busy married couple on an island vacation. They board a vessel called the Reef Explorer with a group of other scuba divers, traveling 15 miles out to sea. Since they are certified to dive in open waters, the couple breaks off from the group to go exploring. The Reef Explorer accidentally leaves without a proper head count, leaving them stranded in shark-infested waters. Kentis and producer wife Laura Lau did all the filming themselves in the actual ocean without extraneous special effects, while the actors wore special steel-mesh under their wetsuits in the scenes where actual sharks were involved. Open Water was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 as part of the American Spectrum competition. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Blanchard Ryan - Susan
Daniel Travis - Daniel

Budgeted at a mere 130,000 dollars, Open Water is the independent success story of 2004, and this DVD will not only show you how the filmmakers did it, but how you can do it as well. Presentation should always be the number-one key to releasing films on DVD, and this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen edition, for the most part, does not disappoint. The problem for most home-theater enthusiasts will simply be that the type of digital video used here tends to create a less than clear picture some of the time. The upside is that the colors are indeed vibrant; just don't be surprised when you see obvious pixilation in some shots. The film's sound, however, is another story altogether -- one that boasts a completely absorbing experience through not only a 6.1 DTS ES track, but a 5.1 Dolby Digital EX track and a Dolby Digital 2.0 one as well. The disc has two audio commentaries, the first with the husband and wife filmmaking team and the other with the two stars, Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis. Both tracks provide tons of information and are a nice compliment to the other extras, starting with the "Calm Before the Storm: The Making of Open Water" featurette. Clocking in at 15 minutes, this behind-the-scenes clip is where you really get the nuts and bolts of how this entrepreneurial couple set out to make this indie feature themselves, and it's every bit as interesting as it would seem. From researching and then shopping for cameras online to home editing on a personal computer, the story of Open Water is almost as interesting as the feature itself. Also included is "The Indie Essentials: A Filmmakers Guide to Gearing Up for a Profitable Movie" featurette, which briefly discusses Lions Gate and their history of acquiring smaller films for higher profit. Add in the theatrical trailer plus seven deleted scenes (including a chilling alternate opening), as well as some on-location footage from the shoot, and that, in a nutshell, wraps up the DVD. This release is recommended for fans of the film and anyone else looking to get into the independent film world. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide