New Line continues DVD audio dominance. This film sounds amazing, with an all-too rare DTS 6.1 ES. The center rear channel that rarely does anything aside from collecting dust gets a great workout here. The planes flight takes place mostly through a heavy storm, and the thunder effects are some of the best the format has ever produced. You can feel the aircraft shaking with your subwoofer turned up. Fans without the needed hardware can still enjoy the punch from a 5.1 EX track, and possibly not hear much difference. ![]()
For all of its Internet hype, extras are somewhat sparse though adequate. This is undoubtedly going to see a re-release eventually in an extra set. As it stands, this single disc DVD begins with a loaded commentary track, including both director David Ellis and Sam Jackson amongst a huge crowd of people who worked on every aspect of this movie.
A short gag reel provides some great highlights from the set and it's a shame we only see less than five minutes of these clips. Ten deleted scenes would have killed the film's frantic pacing, and Ellis along with his two producers explains why that is in an optional commentary. A music video, along with the making of said video, can be found in the options along with some extra trailers.
Three short documentaries begin the best portion of the extras. Snakes on a Blog acknowledges those that began an Internet frenzy of hype, from the first known posting to the premiere in which New Line invited blog owners to attend. Pure Venom is an 18-minute making-of piece. While promotional in nature, it's a nice look at the production.
Meet the Reptiles spends 13 minutes with the snake handler. It discusses the different species and how they work on the set. Finally, a short featurette looks at how the CG snakes were created from concept to finished product. This basic piece doesn't let a DVD audience know anything new they haven't seen before. ![]()
The inclusion of a piece on the bloggers acknowledges that New Line loved their effort. This is a DVD release that could have proved quite interesting if they pursued this further, and the reasons behind it all. Ten minutes is hardly enough time on this topic.







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