Spielberg's futuristic thriller, "Minority Report", should be found filed in any good DVD collection. Its two discs may not be filled with tricks and flashy features, but the quality of the content in terms of interview material, behind-the-scenes footage, and layout is excellent. The presentation of the film is stunning.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

Picture Shades of white, grey, and blue interlace to form the cold veneer of the film, which is transferred with icy precision to disc. The grainy quality of the picture remains intact, and is a deliberate stylistic decision by Spielberg.

Sound On offer is a choice of Dolby or DTS 5.1 mixes. Both are inspired efforts, that lock you into the centre of the action. The extraordinary aches and groans of the Mag-Lev transportation system penetrate deep into the subwoofer, enhancing the sensation of danger when Tom decides to go walkabout. For sheer bass scariness, the DTS track has the edge.

DISC TWO SPECIAL FEATURES

Disc two is divided into clear sections, which each offer a number of featurettes, varying on average in length from three to nine minutes.

"From Story to Screen"

The Story - The Debate This introductory nine-minute featurette sets the tone of the disc, with informal but thoughtful interview chats, interspersed with footage and stills where relevant. Spielberg and Cruise talk here about their many abortive attempts to get together to make a movie, while screenwriter Jon Cohen discusses the work of Philip K Dick.

The Players Interviews with the actors on their work in the film are dissected here. Colin Farrell cheerfully admits to making no preparation for the role, and going into near meltdown on day one of shooting, when confronted with Tom Cruise's piercing eyes. Max von Sydow predictably had no such stage fright, and is generous in his praise for Spielberg's directing abilities, in coaxing the best out of people without them realising it.

"Deconstructing Minority Report"

The World of "Minority Report" Spielberg hit upon the idea of assembling the top minds in technology, environment, crime fighting, medicine, health, social services, transportation, and computer technology, to help him make his film. Spielberg describes how he sent them all to Venice for three days for brainstorming sessions, which he then used as a template for the look and the props of the movie.

Precrime and Precogs Spielberg was very particular about getting the look of the movie right, and he reveals that he hired Alex Gibson to design it, thanks to work he'd done on an aborted remake of "Fahrenheit 451" with Mel Gibson. Alex McDowell had to make these visions a reality, and he talks us through some great footage of the set building. Director of Photography, Janusz Kaminski, makes the surprising admission that he loves the sets for the reflective qualities of all the glass and metal used. Given that many cinematographers hate such sets for the problems that reflections can throw up, it's an unusual thing to hear Kaminski say.

The Spyder Sequence The freaky, but quite amusing Spyders in the movie are deconstructed in this featurette, both in terms of their character, and the animation techniques used. What's most interesting though is the computer programme devised to work out the complex crane shots that would weave in and around the housing block set where the Spyders are unleashed. It's highly impressive, and any fan of good camerawork will enjoy this featurette.

Precog Visions Two effects companies and a cognitive psychologist were brought in to work on the Precog visions, and make them look "organic", as Spielberg reveals. Just how they created footage that would seem as if it were inside someone's thought process is explored here.

Vehicles of the Future What none of the featurettes on this disc offer is boredom. This look at the design of the Mag-Lev system and the cars is particularly interesting. It was up to sound designer, Gary Rydstrom, to come up with the noise the cars would make when in motion. Turns out, he attached a contact microphone to his nice new washing machine to get the desired effect. Hi-tech indeed!

The Stunts of "Minority Report" This section of the DVD comes with breakdowns of the stunts in three key scenes of the movie. Truly impressive is the work that went into the Hoverpack chase sequence, and there's plenty of behind-the-scenes footage of the complex rigging system used for this scene.

ILM and "Minority Report" The 257 effects shots that ILM worked on are examined through six short featurettes. Visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar talks us through the work done and reveals that his brief from Spielberg for the look of the movie came from his question, "Why do futuristic movies always look so fake?" Scott set to work ensuring that "Minority Report" didn’t fall into that trap, and Spielberg was apparently very good at picking-up on anything that just didn’t work quite right.

Final Report The final featurette is a bit of a love-in for Tom and Steven. They both get to say nice things about one another, but what's clear from both of them is the amount of enthusiasm that both were able to spark in one another. It certainly seems likely that they'll be working together again before long.

Archives In the archives section you'll find 13 galleries of production concept images, three animated storyboard sequences, three trailers and a game trailer, excellent cast and crew biographies, and some good production notes.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Region: 2
Chapters: 24
Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1
Audio Tracks: English
Subtitles: Multiple languages
Captions: None (English subtitles available)
Menus: Animated with music
Special Features Subtitles: All the special features come with subtitles, apart from the trailers.

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.