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Main Presentation Quality:
The International isn’t necessarily the first film you’d think of when contemplating what movies will most take advantage of Blu-Ray technology. But after watching both the standard DVD presentation of the film and the Blu-Ray presentation, I can, without hesitation, say that there is a bonafide difference between the two formats. The International may not be a special effects extravaganza, but Director Tom Tykwer’s expansive shot selection and use of amazing architecture only truly pops on the Blu-Ray disc. The clarity of the film, combined with the amazing backgrounds of the movie create a truly unique experience. If you’re not checking out the film on Blu-Ray, you’re really missing out on Director Tykwer’s amazing vision. If you’re merely looking for an eye-popping action experience, then The International is not for you. For those interested in architecture, the Blu-Ray version of The International is definitely worth the price… otherwise the only differences you’ll notice are some wrinkles on people’s faces.

Making The International – Featurette (30 minutes):

Making The International is a solid featurette, and definitely the best one on the Blu-Ray. The film follows, sequentially, the plot of the main feature while incorporating some nice behind the scenes footage and some actual insightful comments from Director Tom Tykwer and Clive Owen… Naomi Watts not so much.
The featurette shows you just how intelligent and creative a director Tom Tykwer is. Everything he does is planned and calculated. This featurette will give you a brief glimpse of a genius at work. It also shows how involved Tykwer is as a director trying to get the best out of his actors.
Clive Owen is also featured prominently in the featurette, and his interactions with Tykwer and his conversations about developing his character and working on a scene are enlightening. The featurette shows why Owen is such a good actor.

Should You Watch The Film First? Yes, the “making of” contains a shitload of spoilers and will give away all the surprises in the film.

Is it worth your Special Feature Viewing Time? – Yes. “Making The International” is an insightful featurette, which may clue you into some of the stuff that you may have missed while watching the film.

Extended Scene (14 minutes):

The extended scene offered on the DVD is a significant one to say the least. Contained within are brief moments of character development, which would change the course and feel of the whole movie. While the scene, in all its fourteen-minute glory is fascinating, I have to hand it to Director Tykwer for cutting the scene. While a lesser director might have kept the scene in, simply to fulfill the requisites of mainstream filmmaking, Tykwer made the right decision to axe the scene and its lame attempts to set up a weird and inappropriate love interest and set up Clive Owen’s character as more than just a single-minded Interpol agent.

Should You Watch the film First? – Probably… it doesn’t give away important bits of the story, but it will make you think about the characters in a different light.

Is it worth you Special Feature Viewing Time? – No. Unless you totally love the film, this extended scene can be skipped.

Shooting at the Guggenheim – Featurette (7 Minutes):

This featurette talks about the film’s awesome shootout at the Guggenheim Museum and how it was pulled off. It shows the construction of a fake Guggenheim set, which was in and of itself, a monumental undertaking. It also features the production designer, set designer, and art directors talking about the challenges of re-creating this modern masterpiece of a building. It’s informative, but the juicy parts of the featurette are already used in the “Making The International” featurette, so it feels like you’re watching something twice.

Should you watch the film first? – No.

Is it worth your special feature viewing time? – Not really.

The Architecture of The International – Featurette (6 minutes)

This featurette discusses the importance of architecture to the story of The International. It details how architecture is used to impart feel, tone, and act as a character throughout the film. It features some interesting quotes from Tom Tykwer and various other people associated with the production. Again, the best parts of the featurette are used in the “Making The International” featurette, but there is enough new stuff here to make it worthwhile.

Should you watch the film first? – No.

Is it worth your special feature viewing time? – Yes. It’s fairly insightful.

The Autostadt – Featurette (6 minutes)

The Autostadt featurette shows off one of The International’s great locations… a location which had never been filmed at before. It tells you about The Autostadt, what it is, how they were allowed to film there, and the importance of the scenes at The Autostadt. Again… it’s another somewhat cannibalized featurette, with the juiciest moments also being featured in “Making The Internation” featurette.

Should you watch the film first? No.

Is it worth your special feature viewing time? Only if you’re really interested in learning about The Autostadt

Director and Writer Commentary:

On The International, there is only one commentary track, and it features the enlightening and intellectual ramblings of director Tom Tykwer and Eric Warren Singer. The commentary isn’t the most entertaining that I’ve sheard, and many of the tidbits that you can learn from the director can be gleaned by watching the featurettes. Most of the commentary seems to be focused on the architecture and locations within the film, which is completely understandable, but not necessarily entertaining. In short, the commentary isn’t worth sitting through.

Final Evaluation: The International Blu-Ray Presentation is worth the money. If you liked the movie, the paucity of relevant special features can be over-looked thanks to the drastic difference between the standard DVD presentation and the Blu-Ray HD presentation. Tom Tykwer’s vision and craftsmanship is easy to overlook when watching it in standard definition, but it’s absolutely impossible to ignore when checking out the HD presentation. The film itself begs to be owned in HD, while the special features are merely frosting on the cake… repetitive and cannibalized frosting, but frosting nonetheless.

Tags: 2009, action, adventure, armin mueller-stahl, brian f. o'byrne, clive owen, clive owen is a badass, killer shootout, latest blu-ray reviews, naomi watts, political thriller, recent2, recent3, shootout, thriller, Tom Tykwer, ulrich thomsen