THE MOVIE

Gattaca stars Ethan Hawke as Vincent Freeman, a young man whose mother gave birth to him the old fashioned way, and for this reason he was born with a bad heart, which completely eliminates his chances of becoming an astronaut. Not wanting to have another flawed child, when his parents decide to have a second child they have him genetically engineered to fix all the flaws in his DNA so he will be accepted in society. Vincent grows up in a world that is separated by two types of people the ‘invalids’ (natural born) and the ‘valids’ (created for perfection). Valids get the best the world has to offer, including education, jobs, and way of life; while the invalids are forced to live average uneventful lives and are discriminated against. Determined to be an astronaut, Vincent becomes involved in an underground scheme where he takes the identity of a valid who became crippled in a car accident, played by Jude Law. This gets him in the Gattaca space program and he experiences the lives the valids live, even meeting a girl who is also in the program, Irene, played by Uma Thurman. When he is about to actually get a shot to go on a space flight, a Gattaca official is murdered, and all paths lead to killer being an invalid who has entered Gattaca, placing Vincent in a cat and mouse scenario where he has to make sure that no one learns the truth about him.

Writer/Director Andrew Niccol creates a wonderful vision of the near future, that instead of looking like another Blade Runner clone is more realistic with a noir style. There are no elaborate effects, which is a plus because characters are given full dimension instead of being cardboard cut outs in a futuristic setting. Vincent is the underdog, and you’re rooting for him throughout the film because he is one of us, he has flaws but he knows that he can do just as well as any of the privileged individuals he goes up against. Ethan Hawke gives a good performance because he plays Vincent as sympathetic instead of as a hero. He’s a guy who can’t rest or enjoy what it’s like being on the other side of the fence, because at any point it can be taken away from him. This is one of Jude Law’s first films, and he shines, playing a man who has lost all hope in life because of his injury until he meets someone who shows him what life is all about.

New information about DNA, stem cell research and genetic structuring is in the news everyday, which makes Gattaca ahead of its time in many ways. Whether you agree with it or consider it “God tampering,” genetic engineering will be apart of our future not only for cosmetic reasons, but health issues such as curing diseases like cancer and autism. Gattaca touched on this subject a decade ago, but now that many of these have been proven that bit can be done, it makes you see the film in a whole new way. The best thing about the movie is that it holds up well and doesn’t look dated, primarily because of the art direction, which is a mixture of both old and new fashions and decor. Gattaca is a must have for all Blu-ray enthusiast looking to build their library with good films.

VIDEO

Gattaca is presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio and a 1080p widescreen image, looking as perfect as the way it was projected in theaters. There are very few bright colors in the movie, with most shots looking like cold blue steel to fit the vision of the future it’s portraying. Darks hold up very well, as do skin tones. The budget on this film was very small but the cinema photography adds value to every scene, giving even the smallest locations visual power. It’s obvious that Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyessey had a strong influence on Niccol’s directing decisions, because certain scenes pay homage to it. As far as transfers go, this is definitely one of the best out there at the moment.

SOUND

Offering a dazzling Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound mix, Gattaca sounds great. This is a subtle sound mix where heavy dialogue takes the spotlight rather than explosive sound effects. The sound design is meant to give you a claustrophobic feeling that represents this vision of the future. Many of the characters are constantly in closed environments where computers hum to fill the silence, giving an uncomfortable sense of loneliness among the valids. The music score by Michael Nyman also blends well into the setting, making Gattaca’s sound a solid presentation.

EXTRAS

Unfortunately, there is no director’s audio commentary track included, but there is a new making of documentary that was produced for this special edition, and it’s also the only featurette presented in HD, where as all the other extras are in standard definition.

“Welcome To Gattaca” is a new twenty-minute retrospective of the movie, featuring interviews with the director, producers, as well as various cast members. Here the origins of what went into bringing Gattaca to the screen is discussed, including why producer Danny Devito (yes, that Danny Devito) fell in love with the idea and fought to get the wheels in motion. The casting is also briefly discussed telling how Ethan Hawke got the role right before he became a star, and this was Jude Law’s first American film. The documentary also looks into the look of the film, showing how the designers had very little money but found tricks to make the film look larger in scale. Overall, it’s a good featurette that discusses enough to keep things going.

The original seven-minute featurette that was included with the DVD release is also included. It’s funny to see how different everyone looked ten years ago; other than that there’s not much said that isn’t elaborated on better in the new documentary.

“Do Not Alter” is a fifteen-minute segment that goes into the science of DNA and genetic engineering. This is definitely the most interesting feature in the list of extras, because it shows you how most of the things in Gattaca are inches away from being a reality.

There are also six deleted scenes that run about ten-minutes, which are formatted in a low source transfer. These scenes are kind of interesting, expanding on certain elements introduced in the film. Maybe all of these scenes will be restored in a director’s cut sometime in the future.

There’s a one-minute outtake that is basically a blooper, but see it for yourself to get the full effect of it.

BOTTOM LINE

There’s a reason why over a decade after it’s release people are still talking about Gattaca. Very few films actually hit their target to predict future scenarios, but Gattaca slams the bulls-eye. This Blu-ray offers a great video and audio presentation, and even though a director’s commentary would have been the icing on the cake, Gattaca definitely deserves a spot in your collection.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 4.5

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0