The Polar Express (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition) (2004)
A holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Hailed as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an epic-scale North Pole adventure.
Enjoy The Polar Express Trailer
In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation.
No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. --Jeff Shannon
Order your holiday perennial, The Polar Express Today
DVD features
The most intriguing feature on the two-disc DVD is probably the six-minute sequence featuring a new song performed by the two engine-room characters, Smokey and Steamer.
One of the striking aspects of The Polar Express is its use of motion-capture technology to turn real actors into animated characters, and that is examined in a significant portion of the five-part 11-minute featurette, in the "look at" Tom Hanks's multiple performances, and in an Easter egg that offers a side-by-side comparison of the actors in their motion-capture suits with the finished film in the "Hot Chocolate" number.
# Actors: Tom Hanks, Chris Coppola, Michael Jeter, Leslie Zemeckis, Eddie Deezen
# Directors: Robert Zemeckis
# Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Chris Van Allsburg, William Broyles Jr.
# Producers: Chris Van Allsburg, Debbie Denise, Gary Goetzman, Jack Rapke
# Format: Dolby, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
# Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
# Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
# Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
# Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
# Number of discs: 2
# Rated: G (General Audience)
# Studio: Warner Home Video
# DVD Release Date: November 22, 2005
# Run Time: 100 minutes
Here is what one happy owner had to say Timeless and True Spirit of Christmas:
I went to see this movie tonight with a mentally handicapped friend - "Michael" -- (from a L'Arche home here in Winnipeg, Canada). We were the first persons in the theatre for the very first evening showing in this city - and we were the last to leave. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - enchanted by the movie's subtleties and happily exhausted by its roller-coaster rides.
Time and again, Michael (who is sensitive, compassionate and with a good sense of humor) turned to me in the darkness, smiling in appreciation at the exact same moments I turned to see his reactions. Each time this happened, it was at a moment in the film when some little detail, perfectly captured through superb 'cinematography,' brought moisture to my normally cynical eye, and a warm smile to Michael's innocent face. (Mike Blackburn)
Just as great `realistic' painters, (think Rembrandt or Vermeer) worked wonders of light & shadow that no mere photograph could ever capture, so too this computer-animated marvel takes your breath away through an accumulation of tiny but acute observations that could never be captured by conventional cinematography.
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