MEMENTO SPECIAL EDITION

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has just released a “SPECIAL EDITION” of the critically acclaimed, “MEMENTO”.  Writer/director Christopher Nolan’s film is ingenious!  It’s one of those rare films that somehow get better with repeated viewings.  Guy Pierce is the film’s protagonist, a man seriously injured by an unknown assailant in an attack that killed his wife. The injury to his head has destroyed his short-term memory.  He can’t build on them either. So, if in a conversation with someone, if the conversation lasts more than about 15 minutes, he’ll suddenly forget whom he’s talking to.  He’s out to avenge his wife’s death, chasing an unknown killer, with a major disadvantage.  In order to assist himself, he frequently takes polaroids, of current scenes, writes notes on them, and also tattoos himself with notes!  Making the film even more unsettling is its narrative structure!   The film opens at the film’s ending, and continues to play in reverse.  This means that at the ending, we’re actually watching how the story began. This allows for a startling climax of sorts, …more disturbing than startling, and for audiences to be tempted to re-watch the film to further contemplate how everything fits into the puzzle.  The cast is excellent! Pierce, again, proves himself to be one of the greatest talents around, and that he was unfairly overlooked in his “LA. CONFIDENTIAL” performance.  Joe Pantoliano and Carrie Anne Moss, are also on hand, giving the best performances of their careers, so far!  The narrative structure further compliments Moss’ acting abilities here. In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, when the cold, calculating “real” personality of her character is revealed, Pierce is seen frantically looking for something to write a note about this revelation, before time runs out and he’s forgotten! She knows his predicament, and her facial expression as she sees the panic in his face, is truly brilliant!  

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has remastered the film for this “Special Edition” dvd.  As good as the previous dvd release is, this one’s better!  Both offer the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with 16:9 enhancement, but this one offers even more startling detail and depth to every scene!  The previous version, while good, had its colors appearing restrained. In this new version, colors are more vibrant.  The fleshtones appear natural in every scene as well. There’s never any oversaturation, and contrast is flawless as well, with deep blacks and grays. 

While the previous version offered a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundmix, the “special edition” offers both dolby digital 5.1 “and” DTS 5.1.  The DTS 5.1 mix is noticeably improved in almost every scene.  Even the subtle effects have greater clarity and power in this version.  The musical score, while not unforgettable, still offers more resonance now.  The dialogue was well focused in the previous version, but in the new DTS version, there are more layers of effects present, and the clarity of the dialogue, is more impressive due to the enhanced effects. 

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has packaged the dvd differently for this “Special Edition”.Presented in the format of a “case file” for Shelby Leonard, the insurance claim subject of the film’s sub-plot, it’s a real keeper!  There are various gimmicks presented on the menu item for the first disc, testing the viewers’ short-term memory!  While it’s obvious a lot of time went into producing this type of added feature, it’s actually a bit frustrating to deal with when one wants to just watch the darn film! If that isn’t annoying enough, the 2nd disc of this two disc set, offering supplements, asks even more of the viewer!  Before one can start watching these supplements, there’s a series of complicated questions that have to be answered, and if a mistake is made, a default to the starting menu occurs!  Director Christopher Nolan offers a running commentary, which although not extremely lively and energetic, is still well rounded enough to provide background information on both the film’s unconventional structure and production gossip, to make it worthwhile.  “Anatomy of a Scene” –a mini-documentary explores the overall development of the film, and it’s as entertaining as it is educational!  The actual shooting script, with Nolan’s notes, is made available on-screen, and pages can be advanced using the remote.  Other supplements include stills and sketches, the “short” story for the film, the original trailer as well as the international trailer, and still more hidden features.