Despite its lack of awards recognition from the vfx community, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW was definitely last years boldest CG experiment. Shot entirely against bluescreen, Kerry Conrans homage to comicbook and film lore has arrived on DVD (Paramount Home Ent., $29.99). In looking at Conrans legendary six-minute short/trailer that landed him the feature an amazing piece of work that is very close to the films eventual opening, its easy to see why the director preferred black-and-white. It wouldve looked seamless and so much better. Too bad Paramount wouldnt let Conran include the black-and-white/color version modeled after THE WIZARD OF OZ as part of a longer two-disc set. Even so, the stunning transfer reminds us of the great work turned in by the valiant World of Tomorrow animation/vfx team and the supporting houses: Luma Pictures, ILM, Rising Sun Pictures, Ring of Fire, Engine Room, Hybride Technologies, SW Digital, CafeFx, Digital Backlot, The Orphanage, Pixel Liberation Front, Pacific Title Digital and R!OT.
Bonus features include:
* Audio commentary from Conran, brother Kevin Conran, the production designer, animation supervisor Steve Yamamoto and vfx supervisor Darin Hollings.* Brave New World: a 51-minute comprehensive doc about the unique design and production that is divided into two chapters like a serial (SKY CAPTAIN was originally divided into chapters).* The Art of World of Tomorrow: an all too brief eight-minute tribute to Kevins voluminous influences and how he pared them down into a functional design.* Two deleted scenes: Totenkopf's Torture Room and The Conveyor Belt.* Gag reel
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
