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Movies / On DVD / Pitch Black
Pitch Black

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Pitch Black (2000)

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58 %
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Reviews Counted: 97

Fresh: 56

Rotten:41

Average Rating: 5.7/10

Consensus: This sci-fi flick fails to deliver enough spills and chills.

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: A spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Riddick (Vin Diesel), a dangerous, shackled murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a barren, triple-sunned planet... A spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Riddick (Vin Diesel), a dangerous, shackled murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a barren, triple-sunned planet after the craft suffers severe damage during a meteor shower. The ship is ripped into pieces, killing several crew members and leaving meek officer Fry (Radha Mitchell) in charge of the survivors. After two unfortunate deaths, the survivors discover that the only visible life form on the planet is a species of light-fearing, carnivorous, occasionally cannibalistic aliens dwelling in caverns beneath the desert surface. Using a model of the planet and its suns in an abandoned research station, Fry deduces that she and her fellow travellers have unfortunately descended on the planet on the day of its first total eclipse in 22 years, giving them mere hours before they are bathed in total darkness. Only then is it safe for the hungry subterranean creatures to emerge, seeking to feed on the remaining survivors. However, the dangerous Riddick, through black market injections received in lock-up, is able to see in darkness- causing the surviving crew members to reluctantly remain dependent on the potentially harmful criminal. As the survivors are killed one by one by the hungry creatures, they realize that Riddick may be their only hope. [More]

Starring: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David

Starring: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, John Moore, Claudia Black, Simon Burke

Director: David Twohy

Director: David Twohy
Screenwriter: Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat, David Twohy
Producer: Tom Engelman
Composer: Graeme Revell

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Release:

Mar 31, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Region [unknown]

Audio:

  • DTS 5.1 Surround French, Spanish
  • DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English
  • Subtitles: English, SDH, French, Spanish

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary: Director David Twohy, Producer Tom Engelman and Visual Effects Supervisor Peter Chiag

Featurette:

  • 1. An Introduction by David Twohy
  • 2. The Game Is On
  • 3. The Johns Chase Log
  • 4. The Making of Pitch Black
  • 5. Dark Fury: Advancing the Arc
  • 6. The Chronicles of Riddick Visual Encyclopedia
  • 7. A View into the Dark
  • 8. Feature Commentary with Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser and Director David Twohy

Interactive Features:

  • BD Live: Download Center - My Scenes Sharing
  • U Control: Picture in Picture
  • U Control: Pitch Black Raw
  • U Control: Tutorial
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Pitch Black

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

A fairly efficient science fiction monster film, somewhat in the mold of an old 1950s B-movie.

Full Review Source: Cinefantastique | comment Comment
03/31/09
Steve Biodrowski
Cinefantastique

If only there had been as much time spent on creating believable aliens as there obviously was on the landscape.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment 1 Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Under the circumstances it's not really fair to blame the actors, whose amateurishness seems appropriate to the material (although Diesel's stolid machismo is so over-the-top as to be pretty laughable).

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
07/24/06
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

A smart, suspenseful sci-fi movie from director Twohy, whose underrated 1996 film, The Arrival, also brought visual imagination and intelligence to the genre.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out

Manages to surprise and delight, thanks to its small-scale attitude.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Hey man, it's February. You've already picked through all the leftover Oscar-bait you can take, so it's no time to be picky.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Ron Wells
Film Threat

PITCH BLACK deserves to be recommended as a solid piece of genre entertainment.

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/26/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews

The derivativeness of the script keeps any tensions from building into any kind of scariness.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Lackluster both as science-fiction and horror.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
06/04/04
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

One of the best of the sci-fi spectacles cut from the Alien cloth.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
06/02/04
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

A solid entry in the genre of science fiction horror.

Full Review Source: Radio Free Entertainment | comment Comment
01/15/04
Andrew Manning
Radio Free Entertainment

The action scenes are good, if sparse.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

At least as much as The Blair Witch Project before it, Pitch Black shows us how disconcerting total darkness can be.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

By no means an excellent movie, or even a reasonably good one, but it is much better than most of its sic-fi brethren today.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Sarah Heim and David Weld
Palo Alto Weekly

Pitch Black is action science-fiction that barely qualifies as action and not at all as either science or fiction.

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
01/10/03
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

Some days its 3pm, I'm still hung over, and I just want to watch cheesy science fiction movies and watch stuff blow up. On those days, Supernova still can't cut it, but Pitch Black can.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Ron Wells
Film Threat

Features some lovingly crafted effects -- notably director of photography David Eggby's bleached colour palette -- and some vivid characterisation.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
12/03/02
Daniel Etherington
Sight and Sound

[A] derivative, plot-hole ridden sci-fi flick, redeemed only by the blazing star-in-the-making quality of Vin Diesel.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Against all odds, Pitch Black hit me in the right places, and I believe that those who are lucky enough to give it a chance won't forget it either for at least one reason...VIN DIESEL.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for Pitch Black

March 10, 2009: Vin Diesel Talks Next Riddick Game, Sequel Opens in new window
Vin Diesel is out promoting his next "Chronicles of Riddick" videogame, "Assault on Dark Athena," so now seems like a pretty ideal time for a chat with GameSpot about the future... More...

August 26, 2008: Diesel Promises a Double Shot of Riddick Opens in new window
His latest movie, "Babylon A.D.," might be running at a woeful 0 percent on the Tomatometer, but Vin Diesel has bigger fish to fry; according to a recent interview with MTV, the... More...

November 20, 2007: A Third Installment for The Chronicles of Riddick?
Despite the underwhelming reviews and receipts that greeted 2004's Pitch Black sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, writer/director David Twohy still hopes to film a third... More...

May 18, 2006: Clive Barker's "Train" Gets Scheduled
Fans of the old-school Clive Barker madness will be pretty psyched to learn that one of his very best 'Books of Blood' stories, "The Midnight Meat Train," is about to... More...

See More Topics...

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