Spider-Man – Special Edition

Cast View all

	Tobey Maguire	Spider-Man
	Willem Dafoe	Green Goblin
	Kirsten Dunst	Mary Jane Watson
	James Franco	Harry Osborn
	Cliff Robertson	Ben Parker
	Rosemary Harris	May Parker
	J.K. Simmons	J. Jonah Jameson
	Joe Manganiello	Flash Thompson
	Gerry Becker	Maximilian Fargas
	Bill Nunn	Joseph 'Robbie' Robertson
	Jack Betts	Henry Balkan
	Stanley Anderson	General Slocum
	Ron Perkins	Dr. Mendel Stromm
	Michael Papajohn	Carjacker
	K.K. Dodds	Simkins
	Ted Raimi	Hoffman
	Bruce Campbell	Ring Announcer
	Elizabeth Banks	Miss Brant
	John Paxton	Houseman
	Tim De Zarn	Philip Watson
	Taylor Gilbert	Madeline Watson
	Randy Savage	Bone Saw McGraw
	Larry Joshua	Wrestling Promoter
	Timothy Patrick Quill	Wrestling Arena Guard
	Lisa Danielle	Bone-ette

Crew View all

Director	Sam Raimi
Writer	Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, David Koepp
Producer	Avi Arad, Ian Bryce, Grant Curtis, Heidi Fugeman, Stan Lee, Steven P. Saeta, Laura Ziskin
Musician	Danny Elfman
Photography	Don Burgess

Trailer

Edition details

Personal

Notes

Story Synopsis:
Based on the Marvel comic by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko, this action-packed fantasy stars Tobey Maguire as super-geek Peter Parker, who spends much of his time admiring girl-next-door Mary Jane (Dunst). But when Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider, he eventually transforms himself into superhero Spider-Man to face-off against New York’s super villain, the Green Goblin (Dafoe). (Suzanne Hodges)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85:1 DVD exhibits a picture that is quite pleasing, with images that are sharp and nicely detailed. Close-up shots nicely reveal minute details but wide shots, however, can appear undefined and slightly smeared at times. Colors are rich and well balanced, with accurate fleshtones and deep blacks. Contrast and shadow delineation are also well balanced. The computer-generated graphics have a video game quality (especially as “Spidey” swings through the city on his web), but are smooth and very nicely rendered. Regardless of the false appearance of these scenes, the movie is based on a comic book so the look may be appropriate. Edge enhancement is a distracting problem with this title, with annoying white halos that almost make images appear to “float” in their environments. Pixelization creates a “digital” appearance at times. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel discrete soundtrack is a wonderful production, excelling in terms of its audio quality, dimensional attributes, and artistic achievement. This production was originally in eight channels. In terms of fidelity, the audio quality is absolutely wonderful, sounding pristine with a neutral sonic character. The dimensionality of this soundtrack is often far-reaching and fully engaging. The music plays a big role in this, as well as the many fly-bys and effects of Spider-Man, his spider-like sense, and the movements of the Green Goblin’s glider transport. There’s certainly abundant split surround activity, and back surround decoding results in a subtle yet noticeable enhancement in terms of space all around you. The special creativity for this soundtrack comes from the artistic crafting of the various sound effects relating to Spider-Man projecting his webs, as well as the sounds of the Green Goblin’s glider. Dimensional creativity is also evident with the soundstages created to spatially render Spider-Man’s spider-like sense, and the voices of the evil “other” talking to Norman Osborne. The music score from Danny Elfman is an excellent recording, and itself was mixed in eight channels. It imparts, a wide, expansive soundstage with abundant depth into the surrounds, often seeming to just wrap around you. Another standout aspect of the music is the low-end, which is clean and articulate with distinctively deep extension to 25 Hz and below. The dialogue production is excellent and one of the best encountered thus far. Voices sound impeccably natural, with very impressive clarity and exemplary spatial consistency with the visuals. And then, of course, deep bass presence excels throughout. In addition to the music, there’s energetic, prodigious low-end content associated with the effects, namely the arrival and destruction caused by the Green Goblin, such as in Chapter 18. This is a great soundtrack for its presentation and creative achievements. The remarkable fidelity, wide-ranging spatiality, and sheer creativity should make for a very engaging and fulfilling experience. (Perry Sun)

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

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