The Emmy Award-winning TAKEN, produced by DreamWorks Television and exec produced by Steven Spielberg, was Sci Fi Channel's highest rated program ever. The 10-part miniseries comes to DVD Oct. 21, 2003 in a lavish five-disc set (DreamWorks Home Entertainment, $89.95). Spanning 50 years of habitual alien abductions among three American families, TAKEN expands on many of the themes Spielberg first introduced in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, obviously with a stronger emphasis on family.
Among the informative extras are "The Cast of Taken," in which Spielberg discusses his long-standing interest in UFOs and abductions and how he worked with screenwriter Leslie Bohem to develop the miniseries; "A New Reality: The Visual Effects Team," which explores how co-producer and visual effects supervisor Jim Lima and his talented team created the alien characters; "A Singular Vision: The Directors," which recounts how Spielberg selected the 10 directors and how they each approached the material; "Time Warp," which documents the cultural and social changes that occurred throughout the storyline and how the production team captured the essence of each era through subtle visual mimicry; "Inside Taken" which reveals the making of the miniseries as a secret history of the second half of the 20th century.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
