One of last year's gems, CHILDREN OF MEN, the riveting futuristic thriller from director Alfonso Cuarón, comes to DVD and HD-DVD on March 27, 2007 (Universal Studios Home Ent., $29.98). No stranger to vfx after HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, Cuarón elicits superb seamless work from London's Double Negative and Framestore CFC in crafting a bleak, naturalistic vision of London in 2027.
Adapted from the novel by P.D James, CHILDREN OF MEN brilliantly imagines a world in which humankind has lost the ability to reproduce and one man is asked to risk everything for the survival of the human race. Theo Faron (Clive Owen) believes his activist days are behind him until he is asked to take on a dangerous mission that may save the future of the human race. CHILDREN OF MEN also stars Julianne Moore as the leader of the underground opposition group that enlists Theo's help, as well as veteran actor Michael Caine in a witty and wily portrayal of a lapsed idealist trapped in a nightmarish world.
Bonus features include:
* Deleted Scenes
* "Possibility of Hope" -- A doc features the world's leading futurists and philosophers examining social and economic shifts that find expression in CHILDREN OF MEN.
* "Theo and Julian" -- During on-set interviews, Owen and Moore offer up insights about the complex characters they.
* "Futuristic Designs" - Follow Cuarón's vision as it goes from concept to seething cinematic life in this featurette.
* "Visual Effects: Creating the Baby" - Uncover Framestore's visual effects used to create a life-like baby in the film.
* "Men Under Attack" --This mini-documentary breaks down two of the most terrifying scenes in the film - the café explosion and a car under violent attack from all sides - to show how the filmmakers created sequences in which "you don't just watch the scene, you live inside it, ducking each fresh, ferocious assault."
* The HD-DVD version will also feature U-CONTROL, Picture in Picture and ADS & PROPAGANDA.
Universal Studios Home Ent. is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Ent., NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
