Crash - The Directors Cut Two-Disc Special Edition

Product Description This compelling urban thriller tracks the volatile intersection of a multiethnic cast of characters struggling to overcome their fears as they careen in and out of one another's lives. In the gray area between black and white, victim and aggressor, during the next 36 hours, they will all collide. Additional Features Crash's theatrical and DVD release history is very interesting. Literally crashing on its original release in the theaters, the film really picked up its huge fan base mostly on the DVD market. Now that Crash holds the Oscar for 2006 Best Picture, it is not surprising that Lions Gate rushed out a 2-disc Director's Cut Edition with the Award mention stamped right on the packaging. The question is, is the new director's cut release that different from the original DVD that fans and the Academy fell in love with? This director's cut does breathe a little more life into some of the characters and helps bridge a few gaps in some scenes. But in all honesty, the minor changes are not plot-altering or anything groundbreaking. Heck, even Haggis admits this in the liner notes, openly stating that the film that was in the theaters was his original "director's cut." With this new version he was given an opportunity to sand off some rough edges that bothered him due to rush editing and the short shooting schedule you have to deal with on a low budget film. Chances are if you loved Crash, you will be equally happy with either version. If you prefer to dismiss Crash, the new cut will not change your mind. Unfortunately, there is no post-Oscar feature commentary. The feature-length chat with Haggis, Don Cheadle and writer/producer Bobby Moresco is the exact same as on the original release. What is new is a new Haggis introduction to the film; "Behind the Metal and Glass - Making of Crash", a decent "making-of" feature; some music montages; a music video; and a bunch of deleted scenes with director commentary that are interesting to watch once. Also included is a new 6.1 DTS mix allowing this 2-disc version of Crash to sound a tad bit crisper than the already crisp 5.1 mix which was on the original DVD release. If you already have Crash you will probably be OK keeping it and not bother to upgrade to this edition. However, if you never saw the film, you might as well pick up this version with the minor, additional bells and whistles. --Ro