2
(nothing direct)
3
5
(worth seeing once)
(violence, gore, torture, brief nudity, strong language)
"Saw" is any unknown writer's dream. Come up with an idea so good, so marketable that it becomes a franchise. Who knew who these guys were before "Saw?" And now their creation is listed among the most recognizable horror movie icons ever.
Two men, a doctor and an unremarkable kid, awaken in an old and dingy restroom. They don’t know why they’re chained up here or even how they got here, but someone has left them clues. Their captor, Jigsaw, develops situations such as this for his subjects: impossible puzzles with fatal penalties for failure. He chooses people who don’t appreciate life to take part in his games so that if they survive they will realize what it means to be alive.
Now he’s developed his most elaborate puzzle yet with multiple players. He wants Dr. Gordon to kill the young Adam with the lives of the doctor’s family hanging in the balance. Not willing to take a human life but not willing to see his family harmed Dr. Gordon plays Jigsaw's game as best as he can as he realizes there is more going on here than meets the eye.
It’s a chilling story. There are some interesting twists and turns although some of them feel forced in order to have something unexpected happen even if it’s not that strong a plot point. Parts of the story invite discussion about the undercurrents about what is going on while other parts fall apart with closer examination (though some points have been strengthened with further development in the sequels).
I think the amount of imagination the movie inspires as far as speculating on elements of the story, particularly after the lights go out at the end, is a big part of why the movie was a hit. If there is one thing the movie does well it is keeping enough information that the viewer has to fill in gaps while giving enough to move the plot along and provide material to fuel the filling in of those gaps. Personally I find that the story pales in comparison to greats like Seven and Silence of the Lambs, and yet I feel like that it keeps the viewer guessing better than a lot of its peers.
The characters and acting are also not nearly as good as the other films I mentioned. I do think Leigh Whannell does a pretty decent job for being such an inexperienced actor. Cary Elwes is not at his absolute best. He's great in some scenes but feels unnatural in others. I like him the most in some of the more intense scenes. Michael Emerson is someone I've come to enjoy a lot, and he makes his small role here memorable.
Danny Glover plays an unbalanced detective. This is not his best work, either. The first portion of his story feels flat to me, but it picks up later on as he gives in to his obsession more. Ken Leung seems to only play small parts, but I like him in every role I see him in. I think he's underused here as Glover’s partner.
While I enjoy the story enough to have seen it a couple of times now, it does, to some extent, feel like entertainment at the expense of the victims. It relies heavily on plot surprises though it is not completely without character development. It is less about the investigations or stopping the killers hopefully saving the next victim than it is about survival. In this respect it is more like a slasher flick like Friday the 13th than a suspense/thriller like Seven although the setting is more like the latter.
I don't generally like things that rely on a great deal of shock value as I find the bore me if they have nothing else to offer; shock alone is not enough to keep my attention. Saw is an exception. It seeks to shock with its plot twists, cringe-inducing pain, grotesque circumstances, and the extent to which certain people will go. I guess I forgive it partially because it doesn't pretend to be anything otherwise and still has enough of an interesting story and characterizations that it holds my attention.
Morality
There is a very small amount of male nudity but nothing at all sexual.
We get the idea that one person is having an affair, but we never see them actually engage in any sexual activity. There are a few crudely sexual comments.
There is a high level of blood, guts (literally, someone roots around in a guy’s guts), and generally disturbing violent material. People are burned, torn apart, and otherwise mutilated. The unrated version has more of this than the theatrical, but I can't tell you the details since I've never seen the theatrical cut.
There is plenty of strong language throughout including numerous F bombs and several religious slurs.
Spirituality
There isn't much to talk about here in "Saw" which may be why it seems more shallow to me than some of the others. We can get into a discussion of motivations of evil, but they are less developed than in the sequel. The best I can do is to say that if these folks had been living their lives right they wouldn't have been targeted by Jigsaw, but I honestly can't think of too many serial killers who are likely to come after you for those reasons.
One weakness I can discuss without giving too much away is that the story seems to want the viewer to respect the killer’s goal of instilling an appreciation for life into his subjects. I say this because of the surviving subject that says, “He helped me.” Some lines at the end point to this as well, but in the interest of not revealing too much I won’t detail those.
So the survivor now appreciates life, great, but now instead of a drug addict (assuming she actually does kick the habit) she’s a murderer with memories that will likely take intense therapy to overcome. How long can you appreciate life with nightmares that plague your very soul? Despite her words, her reactions suggest she is far from “helped.”
I won't say what happens to her because that would give away elements of future movies, but I can tell you that I want no part of Jigsaw's brand of salvation. If nothing else, though, it is an interesting contrast to the salvation offered by Jesus. Jigsaw wants you to face death in order to appreciate life. Jesus took on death so that you may have life.
Final Thoughts
While not necessarily the best of its kind this is an interesting movie which goes on to become a more complex story. If you want a good thriller for a night of fright you could do worse than "Saw." I've seen the entire series at this point, and while it's not my favorite I do enjoy the various odd turns of the continuing and thickening plot.
Buying Guide
The first "Saw" has a number of buying options (with more popping up all the time) involving a couple of different cuts of the film, different formats, and various box sets. The real trouble is that the different releases offer different things you might want with no release offering everything in a single package.
There is a single Blu option. DVD options are based around the different cuts of the film. The original is available in Widescreen or Full Screen editions. An Unrated 2-Disc Special Edition (AKA the Uncut Edition) came later (there may be a single disc unrated release as well, but details are sketchy).
The Quadrilogy Limited Edition box set offers the first 4 movies with puppet head packaging. There is a Trilogy set as well which also comes in a pack with a voice recorder that looks like the puppet (this one is rare and expensive). And there's a 5-disc Unrated Collector's Set. Those are all DVD.
The Blu box sets I found are a Quadrilogy (the first 4) that does not offer the limited edition packaging and a Trilogy (the first 3).
Lastly is a newer set of all 7 movies. It's on DVD and Blu.
That gives you an overview. I'll get into a few more details on what I found. If you don't care about all that (it's a bit long) and just want the precise details of the unrated DVD you might want to jump to the next section.
Other DVD's:
The 2-Disc Special Edition of the Uncut Edition is the exact same thing I outline below except that it has been repackaged with the new edition title tacked onto it.
The original theatrical release widescreen and full screen DVD's appear to be the same except for the aspect ratio. The audio specs are not listed so I'm going to guess that they are the same as what the 2-disc DVD has. Extras sound like they are the same as the Blu: commentary, Fear Factor's video, making the video, and making the movie.
Blu-ray:
The Blu offers 1.78 widescreen at 1080p with 6.1 DTS-ES or 5.1 EX surround sound. Reviews don't praise the quality all that much. They say it's grainy with weak black levels. The audio is not even lossless although reviews say it's not bad. Extras include a commentary, Fear Factor's music video, making the video, and making the movie. Unless there's more that's not listed this does not include as much as I expected. This is the unrated cut.
Collections:
All of the DVD box sets include the “Uncut Version” of the first film, but it's hard to say if any of them include the extras from the 2-disc release or not. The trilogy set is 6 discs and so might have all the extras. The quadrilogy will most likely not have much. The 5-Disc Unrated Collector's Set (movies 1-5) mentions commentaries only.
I'm guessing the trilogy and quadrilogy Blu box sets will include the standard Blu release although neither of them gives enough detail to be absolutely certain.
The Complete Movie Collection contains all 7 movies in their unrated forms. This is a 3 disc (for Blu) or 4 disc (for DVD) set so count on multiple movies per disc. There are no extras.
Final Recommendation:
If you don't care about which extras you're going to get the choice becomes a little easier since you can just grab whichever cut you prefer on whichever format you want in a box set or by itself. The Complete Collection in particular is a cheap way to acquire the full run as long as you don't mind forgoing any goodies whatsoever.
If you're more like me and want the best extras possible while staying within a reasonable price range the decision becomes more difficult. The 2-disc Unrated DVD definitely has a few interesting extras included and some amusing interface design, but there is surprisingly little of substance here for a 2 disc release. Where is the music video that is on all the other releases? If there is a different commentary that was recorded why not include that as well? The 2-disc DVD is going to give you the most content, but you're still missing out on some goodies. Would you rather have the music video or the original short film? It doesn't look like you can get that film anywhere else. Even the Blu lacks most of this material, if the lists are right, and doesn't even give you an audio upgrade or impressive HD video quality. You'll just have to decide which aspect to make your priority be it a specifically desired cut, format, or feature and go for whichever package offers that to you.
The Widescreen Uncut Edition DVD is a 2 disc set.
Video
1.85 widescreen:
The video quality is surprisingly weak. It's quite grainy and not especially sharp. There is a very small amount of trash in the image. The colors are dull, but that seems to be by design.
Audio
5.1 Dolby EX, DTS 6.1 ES:
It sounds clean, but there is too little bass in the mix. The surround sound is noticeable but not impressive.
Packaging
The packaging has one of the most interesting front covers I’ve seen with a DVD. It features the image of the hand and title as normal, but it is behind a fluid-filled pouch. The pouch is mostly clear liquid with a little bit of blood red added for color along with a free-floating saw blade. It’s fun to mess around with. As great as this looks initially, after a while the liquid in mine solidified and now looks like nothing special. The plastic case is thinner than normal despite holding 2 DVD’s.
The interface features animation and music. They are designed like the planning mockups found in Jigsaw’s lair. The menu selections don’t have normal labels which can be annoying sometimes, but is kind of fun, too.
This is the unrated version with a few extra moments of blood. The editing has been tightened up so the end result is a run time that is actually no longer than the original. The runtime is 1:42.
Extras