FIRE AND ICE (DVD Review) - 13/8/06

One of those films you hear about for years and have never seen on TV and so I thought I should really get around to seeing at last. I came across the 2-Disc DVD Limited Edition (as above) which has a fantastic lenticular 3-D Cover with amazing depth to it. Having only seen animator Ralph Bakshi's "Lord Of The Rings" and feeling pissed off when it stopped halfway through the story at the cinema; I was hoping for something similar which might actually finish a story this time round. So with illustrator Frank Frazetta on board (creator of the iconic "Conan The Barbarian") we get the tale of a scantily clad woman being chased by henchmen of the evil overlord and his mother the witch; amidst blood and swearing and slice and dice, which certainly didn't feature in my Saturday morning cartoon schedule years ago. This vibrant tale covers the lands of Fire and Ice - hence the title - and is reminiscent of many a cartoon I remember from my childhood just that it's more adult in nature. Long unavailable it's been given an overhaul and was released in 2005 having been remastered in High Definition with a DTS/5.1. Dolby Soundtrack as a 2-Disc Limited Edition. With all the elements in place and a hoard of Special Features this startling animated tale now can rightly resume it's place as one of the most brilliant epics of all time. You can see strong parallels between Bakshi's "Lord Of The Rings" and this - Both very dramatic and brooding and dark in the telling. SPECIAL FEATURES: (Disc 1) The Film with Audio Commentary, The Making Of "Fire And Ice", Feature "Bakshi On Frazetta", Sean Hannon's Diary Notes, a very interesting Behind The Scenes Still Gallery and Theatrical Trailer. (Disc 2) This has the 93 Minute Documentary "Frazetta: Painting With Fire" with a host of Interviews and such stuff plus an optional Audio Commentary. Sound: 6.1. DTS-ES/5.1. Dolby Digital Surround EX/Dolby Surround 2.0. Widescreen: 1.78:1/16x9. Rating: PG. Region 0 - Colour NTSC. Optional Subtitles: English, French & Spanish. Close Captioned. Disc 1 Extras Not Rated or Close Captioned. Runtime: 81 Mins. Blue Underground/Icon. BU2006DVD/ISBN # 827058200691.