Made at the height of Arnie's success, Predator is an excellent example of the sci-fi action genre. Groundbreaking for a number of reasons and, like its 80s sibling Aliens, is a benchmark against all "bug hunt" movies are measured.
This movie has a number of strong elements: great soundtrack, crisp editing, and solid visual and sound effects. What really makes this movie work for me, however, is the character of the Predator himself. A number of reviewers have commented on the creature suit but have failed to acknowledge the fine work of Kevin Peter Hall inside. Hall had to create the character of the Predator working only by gesture and body language and did so magnificently. In many ways, the Predator -- and Hall -- upstage Arnie.
The action in the movie builds to a final confrontation that bears more than a passing resemblance to the various cinematic treatments of the classic short story, "The Most Dangerous Game" in which a big game hunter hunts humans (the most dangerous game) for sport. We are introduced to the Predator -- the extra-terrestrial big game hunter -- a piece at a time. We assemble these pieces -- sounds, POV shots, shots of the Predator tending a wound, and so on -- to begin to form an impression of who the Predator is. This way the movie reveals the Predator to us is nothing short of brilliant.
For instance, the Predator has a distinct percussive, guttural sound that it makes periodically. If one is paying very close attention, this sound will be heard the first time in conjunction with the sounds of other jungle fauna. There is no suggestion that the Predator has anything to do with it. It is only later, when the sound is directly associated with the Predator, that you'll realize that the Predator was stalking the team from early in the action.
The Predator also has a refined aural mimicking ability -- think duck call. Early on we hear the Predator practising imitating the speech, and even laughter, of various members of the team. In particular, I direct your attention to Billy's laugh, which the Predator mimics. Listen closely for the number of times you hear Billy laugh, and then notice how often that he's not part of the group that is laughing.
(Spoiler) At the end of the movie, Arnie refrains from delivering the killing blow and says to himself, "What the hell are you?" The alien mimics Arnie, repeating the same statement. Was it just the mindless duck call-like lure, or was the Predator acknowledging his adversary?
Review by Amazon Reviewer hagerp of Bloomington, Indiana, 2 February 2001
Produced by: 20th Century Fox
Released: June 12, 1987 (USA)
Taglines:
Soon the hunt will begin...
Nothing like it has ever been on earth before.
It came for the thrill of the hunt. It picked the wrong man to hunt.
Plot Outline: A team of commandos, on a mission in a South American jungle, find themselves hunted by an extra-terrestrial warrior.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Carl Weathers Elpidia Carrillo Bill Duke Jesse Ventura Sonny Landham Richard Chaves R.G. Armstrong Shane Black Kevin Peter Hall Sven-Ole Thorsen
Major Alan 'Dutch' Schaefer Dillon Anna Sergeant Mac Eliot Blain Billy Sole Poncho Ramirez Major General Phillips Hawkins The Predator Russian (uncredited)
Directed by: John McTiernan Produced by: John Davis, Lawrence Gordon Writing credits: Jim Thomas, John Thomas (click here to download the script from the Downloads section) Original music by: Alan Silvestri (click here to go to the Predator Soundtrack section) Produced by: 20th Century Fox Special Effects by: R/Greenberg Associates, Inc. (special visual effects), Stan Winston Studio [us] (creatures), Dream Quest Images [us] (additional visual effects), Howard Anderson Company (effects animation and photographic effects) Predator suit by: Diligent Dwarves Effects Lab Thermal vision post-production by: Compact Video Computer graphics by: Video Image Weapons by: Stembridge Gun Rentals, Inc.
This anamorphically enhanced 1.85:1 DVD is an improvement on the previous version. Viewed alone, the picture on this DVD is generally sharp throughout, but fine detail and definition are wanting. Color fidelity is fully saturated with generally accurate fleshtones. Contrast and shadow delineation are nicely rendered. Some grain is apparent, as are source element artifacts. Pixelization is not too much of a problem in the picture, but is noticed on occasion.
The Dolby(r) Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack, as previously reviewed, is panoramic, tight, punchy and often spectacular in spatial delineation. The DTS(r) Digital Surround(tm) version is some 4dB higher in level, even after compensation for the 4dB dialnorm offset for Dolby Digital. The DTS soundtrack will deliver slightly improved spatial resolution, and also offer a bit "extra" in the low-end. There are explosions with rumbling deep bass, lots of Foley one-on-one combat sounds and eerie sound effects. The thrilling music score by Alan Silvestri keeps the tension at a constant high.
Produced by: 20th Century Fox Released: 1990 Format: 1.85:1 Anamorphic, 1 Dual Layer Single-Sided Disc Audio: English (DTS), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Extras: Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Theatrical Trailer, Subtitles
Predator - 10th Anniversary Pack (Predator 1 and 2) VHS
The Australian release of the 10th anniversary double pack.
Predator wreaked havoc in the jungle and struck box-office gold, so Hollywood logic dictated that Predator 2 should raise hell in the big, bad city. Los Angeles, to be specific, and this near-future L.A. (circa 1997) is an ultra-violent playground for the invisibility-cloaked alien that hunted Arnold Schwarzenegger in the previous film.
This special release includes bonus behind-the-scenes production footage creation of Predator 2, and theatrical trailers.
Produced by: 20th Century Fox Released: 1990 Format: PAL, Fullscreen Pan & Scan Extras: Behind-the-scenes production footage creation of Predator 2, theatrical trailers
A legion of Predator fans will be grateful for the wealth of extras included on the collector's edition DVD. It's pretty standard stuff, however, mostly comprised of materials from the film's original 1987 making-of documentary, with new interview clips (featuring Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Shane Black, and others) provided for retrospective history.
John McTiernan's laid-back commentary is interesting primarily for his perspective on the production's troubled history; his appreciation of the cast; the deliberately "pornographic" gunfire scenes (intended to please studio executives with its sheer excessiveness); and various anecdotes relating to the challenges of filming in the jungles of Mexico. The text commentary covers a wide range of behind-the-scenes details regarding stunt work, armory and ordnance, sound design, cinematography, and other primary aspects of production.
The featurettes are brief and fairly routine, covering such areas as makeup, Schwarzenegger's leadership qualities on the set, preliminary special-effects tests, the modified gatling gun nicknamed "Ol' Painless," and a tribute to creature actor Kevin Peter Hall, who died in 1991. While most of this material was previously released on a European DVD, its region 1 debut was well-timed to coincide with the late-summer 2004 release of Alien vs. Predator.
Produced by: 20th Century Fox Released: December 26, 2000 Format: 1.85:1 / Region 1 Audio: English (DTS), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Extras: Audio commentary by John McTiernan, Text commentary by film journalist/historian Eric Lichtenfield, Deleted scene: Arnold Schwarzenegger Fleeing Predator, 'If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It: The Making of Predator' documentary, Inside the Predator: seven featurettes, Deleted scene and three outtakes, Three Predator 'red suit' special effects, Two Predator camouflage tests, Photo gallery, Predator profile
The ultimate hunter meets the ultimate adversary, in the ultimate Collector's Edition DVD! Explore the depths of the Predator jungle with this all-new 2 disc set packed with over five hours of out-of-this-world extras, including an in-depth commentary, director's commentary, never-before-seen footage, revealing featurettes, and more!
Where the special edition clearly tops earlier discs comes from its supplements. Virtually nothing appeared on the prior releases, but now we get two discs with materials. On DVD One, we open with an audio commentary from director John McTiernan, who provides a running, screen-specific chat. The implementation of the predator creature receives good attention, especially when we hear amusing tales like the attempt to put a monkey in a suit at one point.
Since this disc and the 2000 one present identical audio and picture, the only difference comes from the extras. The material here is good and fans with an interest in the behind the scenes notes will want to check out this version.
Produced by: 20th Century Fox Released: 3rd May 2004 Format: 1.85 Wide Screen / 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen, 2 Dual Layer Single-Sided Discs Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS - English Extras: Audio commentary with John McTiernan, Text commentary, DVD Rom Game (Alien Vs Predator), Documentary 'If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It', Inside The Predator, 7 featurettes - Classified Action, The Unseen Arnold, Old Painless, The Life Inside, Camouflage, Welcome To The Jungle, Character Design, Outtakes and deleted scene, Special effects segments, Predator camouflage tests, Photo gallery, Predator profile, Interactive menus
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