Other Releases Available:

Releases Reviewed:

Behind Enemy Lines has a couple of simple buying options for you.

Essentially there is a DVD and a Blu that are basically the same release on different formats. There's also a box set of the 3 movies in this series though I could only find that on DVD.

The DVD is a single disc.

Video:

2.35 widescreen: The image is impressively clean and sharp.

Audio:

5.1 DTS: The surround sound is on par with the average modern movie as far as clarity. I can't say I'm especially impressed with the surround sound immersion.

Packaging:

It comes in a standard plastic case.

An insert card features some artwork and chapters list.

Its interface features animation and music – not the most creative I’ve ever seen, but it does show some effort on the part of the DVD designer. They are somewhat patriotic and appropriate, but I don’t care for the score all that much.

Extras:

-Commentaries: There are 2.

-The director’s fluctuates from interesting to boring.

-The producers’ is mostly interesting all the way through. They are both worth a listen if you like that sort of thing. That is where I got most of the information I was really interested in such as relation to the true events in Bosnia.

-Deleted Scenes: There are 7 deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary. They show the material cut to bring the rating down from R to PG13. There’s really not all that much to most of them, and unless you watch closely you’ll likely miss the parts MPAA had trouble with. The highlights are the sequences shot for the ending, and, to a lesser degree, the original opening which carries a powerful mood but may be a bit too long. Most of them, except for a dialogue scene with Hackman, are better with the commentary than without.

-Pre Viz: The Pre Visualization feature is very unusual. It’s a string of clips used to cheaply plan out the jet being shot down near the beginning of the story. It’s an odd mix of doodles, CG, and live action. I thought it was fun to see so many different types of artwork together. It’s kind of long, but you can swap to an optional commentary if you get bored with the scene by itself.

-Preview: The last feature is a Minority Report trailer.

Easter Eggs:

-The Road To Hac: There’s another clip that’s kind of an alternate scene, kind of an outtake, kind of a behind the scenes thing. Confused yet? It has a little bit of behind the scenes footage along with Owen doing the scene in the truck bed on the way to Hac (a town he visits) but without any cuts or edits. I thought it was a lot of fun to watch and makes a good Easter Egg. Look for it in the Pre Viz menu.

Other Editions:

Here's what I can tell you about the Blu. Video is a 2.35 widescreen picture at 1080p: Comments speak highly of this presentation as far as sharpness and color. The main negative I've see is the presence of some trash which is fortunately brief. Audio is 5.1 DTS HD. The surround sound gets even higher marks from reviewers. The immersion and clarity sound like they are exceptional. Extras appear to be the same as what comes on the DVD.

The trilogy package appears to offer the standard DVD version of each movie which means you will most likely get all of the extras I mentioned.

Final Thoughts:

The pre-viz feature and some of the other extras are fun to see if you enjoyed the movie at all although there's nothing here that is a must-see as far as extras go. The Blu sounds like it might actually be a good showpiece for a high end entertainment system.