Blu-ray Review: THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON

Blu-ray Rating: 7/10

This review will only cover the Blu-ray and it’s features not the actual film itself. If can always check out Kate’s review HERE.

If you’ve ever wondered if vampires have body odor, then the Blu-ray of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is made for you. This is one of many little nuggets of info you will learn watching through the special features included on this disc. The film is already an easy sell for any fans, pre-teen girls, or 21-year-old guys who have a peculiar obsession with this sort of thing, but the blu-ray set has a lot of nice and interesting features that can easily pull more than the twihards in.

One of the biggest features on the disc is The Journey Continues, a six part documentary chronicling the making of NEW MOON. One thing I really like about this feature, is that it is basically six short special features that have a “play all” function. Of course, this is nothing new per se, but all six shorts are constructed in a way that they flow with each other, and when played consecutively it actually feels like a full documentary. Not to mention that the full run-time is an hour and five minutes, which is a really nice length for a feature like this.

These segments cover some really interesting aspects of the TWILIGHT franchise. For example, Life after Twilight examines the impact that the franchise has put onto the cast. The TWILIGHT mania is very obvious in our culture, but it is really interesting to see it through the eyes of those who are involved. It also gives you an appreciation that you aren’t Robert Pattinson, he gets it the worst.

The documentary also spends a lot of time looking at the production angles of the film. Take Chris Weitz Takes the Helm, a feature entirely dedicated to the fact that Chris Weitz picked up the job after Catherine Hardwicke directed the first film. This is mainly the cast telling their favorite moments and aspects of working with Weitz. Of course they are all good words, but it is still nice to see such praise being given to the director of the film.

One feature I really got something from was A Look at Production. This feature really digs into the actual filming of the project, with an astounding half hour length. What I really enjoyed about it was how all the special effects (usually involving Taylor Lautner) were conceived. It is always really cool to see an actor insist on doing his own stunts, it gave me a whole new level of respect for Lautner.

The film also includes a commentary track (you may now applaud), which features director Chris Weitz and editor Peter Lambert. Although there are several awkward moments of silence, it is overall an enlightening commentary. Weitz doesn’t hold back on the information he divulges, and shows off how talented he is as a filmmaker. There are so many cool cinematography tricks that he pulls off that went unnoticed during the first viewing. That is proof that a commentary is really good, whenever it can bring a whole new level of appreciation to the film.

The disc also includes three music videos, and a making of for “I Belong To You,” by MUSE, which make it hard to dissuade a fan from getting this set. It’s very obvious that they knew the disk would sell, but instead of short-changing fans, they actually decided to pay them the service they deserve for making the franchise a hit. If you like the series at all, it is definitely worth picking up.

Oh, and to answer the question about vampires having body odor, the answer is no, they don’t.