Panic Room

Cast View all

	Jodie Foster	Meg Altman
	Kristen Stewart	Sarah Altman
	Forest Whitaker	Burnham
	Dwight Yoakam	Raoul
	Jared Leto	Junior
	Patrick Bauchau	Stephen Altman
	Ann Magnuson	Lydia Lynch
	Ian Buchanan	Evan Kurlander
	Andrew Kevin Walker	Sleepy Neighbor
	Paul Schulze	Officer Keeney
	Mel Rodriguez	Officer Morales
	Richard Conant	SWAT Cop
	Paul Simon	SWAT Cop
	Victor Thrash	SWAT Cop
	Ken Turner	SWAT Cop
	Ty Copeman	Truck Driver
	Nicole Kidman	Stephen's Girlfriend on the Phone

Crew View all

Director	David Fincher
Writer	David Koepp
Producer	Cean Chaffin, John S. Dorsey, Judy Hofflund, David Koepp, Gavin Polone
Musician	Howard Shore
Photography	Conrad W. Hall, Darius Khondji

Trailer

Edition details

Personal

Notes

Story Synopsis:
When newly divorced Meg Altman (Foster) moves herself and her young, diabetic daughter Sarah (Stewart) into a large New York brownstone, one of the main appeals of the house is a “Panic Room,” a self-contained, vault-like room which is impossible to break into. During the first night in their new home they put the room into use when a trio of robbers break in looking for something the previous owner left behind. As they secure themselves in the room and keep an eye on the thugs via the communication system and video cameras, Sarah becomes ill and needs her insulin-which is, of course, in the other room. With no working telephone and no way to reach help from the outside, Meg and Sarah must think of a way to outwit the thieves and save themselves in the process. This is the first time Columbia TriStar has offered a non-catalog title as a Superbit™ DVD. (Tricia Littrell)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD is a great looking Superbit title. The picture is appropriately dark, to visually enhance the subject matter, with just enough visual information in the darkness to heighten the suspense. The color scheme is intentionally muted and underexposed to create a sense of realism during the single, terrifying night during which the story takes place. Viewed in a completely blackened room, the dim picture offers sharp and detailed images, with nicely rendered fine definition and contrast. This Superbit DVD is highly capable of resolving the finest details that normally would be expected to break up on standard DVD. The picture is smooth, with minimal pixelization and barely noticed edge enhancement. While shot in 3-perf Super 35 (a spherical lens process), the film includes some anamorphic-style “elliptical” lens flares added as a computer graphics effect. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The 5.1-channel audio presentations are both substantially distinguished in their rendition of space, in a manner that really plays an effective role in the film’s storytelling. The recording quality of the soundtrack is outstanding. The spatial character is often defined by an aggressive presence with the music during the many substantially heightened moments. Howard Shore's orchestral music score has been very nicely recorded and has a rich, full-bodied low-end presence. When the music isn't prominently filling the listening space, it still delivers that all-important emotional foundation, using subtle to moderate spatiality. Atmospheric effects certainly play their role in establishing the scenes, both with respect to visual settings and emotional cues. But it is the sound design within the panic room that really distinguishes this soundtrack. The unique ambiance of dialogue and effects result from an artistic rendering of the acoustics of this typically claustrophobic space, the central focus of the suspense and create a sense of uneasiness and urgency. There is often an underlying layer of deep bass with the music as well as in the panic room, and along with effects, punctuated use of the .1 LFE channel, which can be rather substantial at times. The dialogue has been well-recorded with a natural sense of tonality and good spatial consistency with the visuals. The DTS® Digital Surround™ presentation offers a listening experience with subtly more definition in the soundstaging and in the low-end. This is a standout soundtrack and a very good example of the importance of sound in the overall experience of a movie. (Perry Sun)

This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Reference Quality
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality
Superb Music Score Recording Quality
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality
Superb Cinematography

Tags

Links