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 Director
: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez
Starring
: Heather Donohue, Michael Williams & Joshua Leonard
Picture
4:3, DD 2.0, Dual-Layer, Keep Case
Running
Time : 87 mins
The
story:
In
October of 1994, three student filmmakers, disappeared in
the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary.......A
year later their footage was found.
This
is the retrospective tale of three Student filmmakers who
set out to make a documentary about the local legend of the
Blair Witch. Led by Heather Donahue, Michael and Josh delve
deeper and deeper into the woods to visit sites were legend
has it that the Blair Witch appeared or caused death and suffering.
As the day turns into night the trio hear disturbing noises
coming from the forest around them, but they can see nothing.
As the days progress they realise they are lost and their
food is running short. Desperation sets in and the three of
them argue and fight. Unable to successfully find their way
out of the woods they realise that they are being stalked.
The nighttime's become more and more frightening as the noises
seem to draw closer - right outside their tent. What follows
is a frightening journey into the darkest depths of emotional
horror as they realise they may never get out of the forest
again.
The
summary:
Hype,
or at least the most overwhelming amount of it can be the
biggest enemy a film can endure. In a year that saw the release
of Star Wars : Episode 1, you would have been forgiven for
thinking that nothing could come along and out hype it. But
when The Blair Witch Project was released to an internet and
media fuelled audience it had so much mystique surrounding
it that it had already become one of the biggest releases
of all time. Subsequently it became a victim of its own brilliance
and the hype that dubbed it the "scariest horror film
ever made".
Many
people came away from the film with a sense of disappointment.
Questions needed to be asked and they had no answers. Where
was the blood?, the gore?, the attacker?, the sound and picture
quality? and why was there no ending?. However when we look
past the hype this film never pretends to be more than it
ultimately delivers. As we go into the movie we already know
that the students are missing, We already know that its an
amateur film shot on a shoestring budget and a video camera
and we know that witches dont really exist (don't we ?) .
So why the furore ? Well, for too many years we have had too
many horrors that are reliant on special effects, blood and
the skimpiest of storylines. The horror has been glamourised,
hashed and rehashed and Hollywood has decreed that it must
be told in a standard way with a beginning, a middle and an
end, with a nice little white picket fence and maybe a few
catchphrases along the way. Blair Witch has none of that.
What makes it work so well, and ironically makes most people
dislike it, is its realism. The fact is that reality isn't
all about homicidal maniacs jumping out on us at every juncture
and making a stylish killing to a perfectly orchestrated score.
Reality can be tedious, it can be drawn out and it also can
contain fear. Fear is not always about things we can categorise
and rationalise against & the fear that is evident in
Blair Witch is this fear, the inherent fear of the unknown,
of being hunted, of being lost, tired, hungry and of losing
all hope.
Overall
I rate this a classic of its genre. A horror film that dares
to draw outside the lines that have been set so many times
before and succeeds on a primal level. Turn down the lights,
turn up the sound and give it a chance.......just don't listen
to the hype.
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Extras:
*
Director and producers commentary
- Very enlightening commentary from
Dan Myrick, Ed Sanchez and the producers Bob Eick, Kevin Foxe
and Michael Monello. Gives away a few secrets along the way.
*
The curse of the Blair Witch -
Superb 44 minute documentary looking into the legend of the
Blair Witch that inspired the three students to make their
film. Contains interviews with locals and evidence of the
many happenings that brought about the myth.
*
Newly discovered footage
- Deleted scene from the film in which Josh, Heather and Michael
discuss what they think is happening to them. About 9 minutes
long and actually very good.
*
The Blair Witch Legacy
- A timeline of all the events that have happened in Blair,
including the disappearance of the students and the eventual
finding of the films.
*
Biographies - Profiles
of cast and crew
*
Note - Production notes
and details about Eduardo Sanchez and Dan Myrick.
*
Theatrical trailers -
The full theatrical trailer plus two "teaser" trailers.
Also includes a trailer for Steven Kings "the Stand"
coming to the DVD format.
DVD-ROM
features :
*
Evidence - Includes comic
book extracts, a map of the area and a dossier containing
police evidence of the missing students.
*
Links - Links to the Blair
Uk and US sites plus Exclusive links to parts of the site
only available on this DVD-ROM. Also includes links to the
Artisan site for upcoming releases, shopping and information.
*
Updates - Takes you to
an update part of the site. Here you can see what's new and
exclusively chat to other Blair DVD owners.
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