Species [Blu-ray]

bought this movie for my fiance

DVD was in great shape, was very sharp and clear

For years we humans have been looking for signs of life other than what's on this great, greasy mud ball we affectionately know as Earth. We've sent probes, satellites, and signals out into that vast darkness...we've searched the heavens with powerful telescopes and listened with highly sophisticated equipment design to detect anything that could point to the possibility of intelligence other than our own...and for all our efforts we got...squat...that is, until now...Directed by Roger Donaldson (I was a bit wary here, as this was the man responsible for awful films Cocktail and Cadillac Man, but he did a really good film in that of No Way Out, so I'm torn...), Species (1995) stars certainly an interesting cast including the very busy Ben Kingsley (Ghandi), who slated to appear in a whopping seven films in 2005 (I think he's trying to compete with Gene Hackman and Michael Caine for the title of most prolific actor), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill Vol's 1 and 2), Alfred Molina (Doc Ock in a little film called Spider-Man 2), Forest Whitaker (I'm still highly annoyed with this guy, who I generally like as an actor, for appearing in John Travolta's ego stroking pet project Battlefield Earth...damn you John Travolta!), Marg Helgenberger (CSI), and introducing every sci-fi nerd's wet dream, the highly curvaceous and infinitely squeezalicious Natasha Henstridge (I can't help wonder if this film would have done as well had they chosen another actress, say Rosie O'Donnell? I suppose not...)Anyway, it seems all of our efforts to find intelligent life in space has finally paid off, as a message was received, one detailing plans regarding re-sequencing human DNA to create a human/alien hybrid. The gooberment project, headed by Xaiver Fitch (Kingsley) has succeeded, creating a new life form in that of girl known as Sil (who later becomes Henstridge, due to a rapid, internal development process). Now, I would have thought it unwise to screw around with space DNA, as who knows what you'll get, but they also received instructions for a limitless energy supply from the same source, so they assumed the aliens who sent the message were friendly...gullible fools. After it's decided that Sil is progressing too quickly, and may become dangerous, the secret group agrees the best course is termination, but Sil disagrees, and escapes. Since it's not feasible to announce to the general public that there's a dangerous human/alien hybrid on the loose, one created by our own gooberment, in the newspapers and on TV, Fitch assembles a specialized team to track and kill Sil before she reaches her full potential, something they are still unsure of...but here's a hint...it involves making with the boom boom and the pitter patter of tiny little feet...or claws, or whatever...I saw this film with a married couple when first released, and my friend and I thought it was pretty darn good, but his wife felt different. When asked why she didn't like the movie, she said "There was too much nudity." At that point I left well enough alone rather than try to explain how, since Sil was unfamiliar with our customs, clothing, at times, was optional for her. I will agree there was a whole lot of nekkidness, but hey, I'm a guy, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like to see beautiful nekkid women. Obviously Henstridge was chosen for her assets, and her willingness to display them, but she did say much later that the role opened many doors for her...I'm sure it did...the plot, a group of diverse specialists gathered together to deal with an unusual problem, smacks of any number of Michael Crichton stories, as they all play out this way, but it's not done quite as well here as it is in a Crichton story. The actors do well enough with what they're given, but there was shallowness in each of their characters. I suppose this matters little, as the film is meant to be just fun and exciting, and not an in depth character study. I did find Whitaker as Dan the empathic character a bit annoying at times, as his abilities seemed to work with pinpoint accuracy at times, but conveniently fail at critical moments. Madsen, as the gooberment `liquidator' brings nothing we haven't seen in a handful of his other roles, making me think he graduated from The Keanu Reeves School of Acting with honors. The plot has its problems, but it seems to care little as it rolls along at a fairly speedy pace, and does keep the audience engaged. I thought some of the characters were a bit too `hands on', specifically Fitch, especially since he seemed to have a whole lot of resources available to him (as we all know, the gooberment has the deep pockets, and seem to care little for how they throw our tax dollars around). The special effects do look really good, and the distinctive H.R. Giger (Alien) influences are very apparent (he actually design the human/alien hybrid creature) and entirely worth any fan of Swiss auteur's surrealistic work to check this film out.The wide screen picture on this DVD looks really good, and the audio is available in three formats DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. I'm not entirely sure what qualifies this as a `special edition', other than two separate commentary tracks, one featuring director Roger Donaldson and actors Michael Madsen and Natasha Henstridge, and a second with director Roger Donaldson, producer Frank Mancuso Jr., visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund, and creature and special makeup effects creator Steve Johnson. There is a trailer for this film, along with a few others for other MGM releases, and a sneak peek into Species 3 (which I think is going to be a direct to video release), but not a whole heck of a lot else. I just thought the popularity of the film would have meant more...like a Giger video sketchbook or something...oh well...Cookieman108

I've always said if your going to have a transforming monster in a horror movie why not have the sexiest most beautiful woman in the world Natasha Henstridge, I mean why not?! The movie on its own still holds up - its face paced - a few horrific scenes and enough sexual tension to rip the screen in half - the cast is terrific, especially Michael Madsen ,he definitely anchors the movie - the 4k version is a few steps up from the blu ray - not sure if its enough for a double dip if you own the latest blu ray version, but their are definate improvements - for me it was worth it.

Man this one is hard to rate, so I'll settle in the middle with 3 stars. The cast is quite respectable, given the material: Ben Kingsley (a Sir, no less), Alfred Molina (162 acting credits so far in his career), Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker (a personal favorite), Marg Helgenberger (her haircut is sooo bad in this), Michael Madsen (what hasn't he been in? 247 acting credits), and of course, Natasha Henstridge as Sil the alienette.The script, music, and general vibe are distinctly 1990s, but if you can get past that then there's some okay material underneath. Generally poor dialogue with flat humor, but somebody wasn't asleep at the wheel: attention to detail made the difference between a mediocre film and an unwatchable one. For example, the young Sil (who had no concept of human culture) in a 3-second scene of a man trying not to fall off a bucking bronc at a rodeo and her laughing about it (you often don't realize how ridiculous something is until you see it through the eyes of an alien), and her biting into a banana with the skin still on (matters because it tells us what looks like a little girl is not!) Also of note is how Sil learns about human culture through television commercials, which when you think about it is downright terrifying given her intent (and at once a serious indictment of our own species).A few nice gory scenes if that's your thing (Sil's literal kiss of death was given to a worthy recipient), but I was in it for the sci-fi, which is unfortunately devoid of science other than a brief discussion of DNA base pairs. The whole searching for a mate trope seems like a stupid idea to build an alien movie around, but I can't be the only one who feels the writers were making some poignant statements about human dating culture through it. And let's not forget to mention the elephant in the room: Natasha Henstridge spends so much of the movie topless that it feels strange when she puts a shirt on.💿💿 Blu-ray details 💿💿I can't imagine the DVD would look much worse than the Species Blu-ray transfer, but apparently the top review for this item states the Blu-ray is "much better." Unless the price is nearly equivalent, though, I say don't buy the Blu-ray in hopes of superior visuals. Here's the Extras / Bonus Features:2 Audio Commentaries:🎬 Director Roger Donaldson🎬 Producer Frank Mancuso Jr.🎬 Visual Effects Supervisor Richard Edlund🎬 Creative & Special Make-Up Effects Creator Steve JohnsonFans of the film will love this commentary because it covers so many aspects of the flick.🎥 Director Roger Donaldson🎥 Actor Michael Madsen🎥 Actress Natasha HenstridgeIf you don't like the other track, then you may like the different tone of this one.Featurettes: Designing a Hybrid (15:48), H.G. Giger at Work (12:07)

Halloween, Michael Madson, what can I say ? I was entertained.

Otra película más de scream factory que me decepciona, la edición, calidad de imagen y sobre todo de sonido son increíbles en esta edición, pero la película deja mucho que desear, la compré solo por su monstruo diseñado por hr giger y por nostalgia algo dudosa pero no la recomiendo

Not seen for a very long time, and a pleasure to catch up with it. It really is an oddity...."SIL" and alien somehow created (!?) by Ben Kingsley escapes from her "prison" and goes searching for a mate so she can introduce aliens into the world (at least I think that was the main idea). Natasha Henstridge is not called on to act, just look fantastice, preferably naked. She suceeds! Marg Helgenburger, a much underated actress is one of the so called team who set out to stop her (Sil that is). Madsen, Fred Molina and Fotrest Whittaker make up the rest. A good "monster" courtesy H.R.Giger, and some violent deaths, along with some sex make this a film full of variety and a few surprises. Recomended, but adults only (A few "F" words, but actually in context, if you know what I mean).

Perfetto è poco, confezione arrivata nella sicurezza più totale, il venditore è stato gentile con il tutto.. Grazie

20年程前にもなる映画だが、今時の作品に較べても見劣りせず鑑賞できる。役者を忘れていたが、マイケル・マドセン（B級臭はあるが嫌いではない）、ベン・キングズレー、フォレスト・ウィティカー、そして何よりもクール・ビューティー、ナターシャ・ヘンストリッジの旬の美しさよ！良い顔ぶれだ。また、何といってもエイリアンの造形はギーガーに負うところが大きい。今観ても独特の生物感が素晴らしい。あらすじは判っているので廉価であれば輸入版も厭わない。そうは言っても英語字幕２行は老体には追い付けない。しかし、この頃気が付いたがコツは２行目を捉えることだ。動詞が多い前半を跳ばしてもニュアンスは伝わるのだ。余談、年寄りの冷や水と謗られるが、スティーブン・キングが好きで半年も前に初めて原書数冊を購入、ところが全く繙いていない。映画のようには事は運ばない。

Tres interessant comme film sci-fi.Bon jeu des acteurs.Bons effets speciaux.