NATIONAL TREASURE: 2 Disc Collector's Edition
© Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Mania Grade: B
Rated: PG
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Justin Bartha
Writer: Jim Kouf, Oren Aviv
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Distributor: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2004
Extras: Alternate Ending, Deleted Scenes, opening scene animatic, interactive decode the puzzle game, seven featurettes
Buy it now!
Rated: PG
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Justin Bartha
Writer: Jim Kouf, Oren Aviv
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Distributor: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2004
Extras: Alternate Ending, Deleted Scenes, opening scene animatic, interactive decode the puzzle game, seven featurettes
Buy it now!
NATIONAL TREASURE: 2 Disc Collector's Edition
By: Tim JansonReview Date: Monday, December 31, 2007
To coincide with the release of National Treasure: Book of Shadows, Walt Disney Home Entertainment has released the first National Treasure film on a brand new, 2 Disc Collectors edition DVD set which features several new extras. As I think most people have seen the film, my review will concentrate mainly on the extras and specifically the extras new to this edition.
Appealing to fans of the Da Vinci Code, National Treasure was like a modern day Indiana Jones film as treasure hunter Benjamin Gates (Cage) is on the trail of the legendary lost treasure of the Knights Templar. All he has to do is to somehow steal the Declaration of Independence, which has a secret map on the back of it, from the National Archives. Aided by his assistant, Riley (Bartha), and reluctantly by Abigail Chase (Kruger), curator of the National Archives, Gates races to various historical sites in Philadelphia and Boston to find the treasure.
Highly implausible and impossible plot-wise, National Treasure was a fun, fast-paced adventure. I was actually surprised to check the DVD case and see that it was rated PG. PG movies seem almost destined to be considered kid’s films. This was a good, ol’ fashioned adventure that didn’t necessarily need a lot of violence or bad language. You really don’t even notice it and I thought for sure it was a PG13 film. Cage is almost always enjoyable and Jon Voight turned in a solid performance has Cage’s jaded father.
The first disc contains all of the special features that were on the original DVD release. However, in order to see all of them you have to play several interactive puzzle games on the DVD. These will eventually reveal a key code which unlocks a few more features, and then a master code which unlocks one more feature. When you get the master code, be sure to write it down so you don’t have to play the game over in order to unlock the extras every time you want to watch them.
The first disc comes with an alternate ending which was changed because the director thought it led fans to believe it was setting up a sequel. And yet we got a sequel anyway! There are also deleted scenes, and opening scene animatic, all of which have optional director’s commentary.
Playing Rileys “Decode This!” game will eventually unlock three more documentary featurettes:
“The Knights Templar”
“Treasure Hunters Revealed”
“National Treasure On Location”
Disc Two contains all of the new features to this release. There are several more deleted scenes with introductions by Director Jon Turteltaub. The most interesting one brings in Harvey Keitel’s FBI agent Sandusky into the film directly after the theft at the National Archives instead of later in the film.
The new featurettes include:
“Cipher, Codes, and Codebreakers” is an 11:56 documentary about the history of codes from ancient times right up to modern day computer codes. This was quite interesting and we learn that Thomas Jefferson created his own code cipher known as the Jefferson Wheel.
“Exploding Charlotte”, running time 6:35, covers the making of the opening scene where the Revolutionary War vessel The Charlotte was built inside an enormous freezer in LA.
“To Steal a National Treasure” explores the feasibility of attempting to steal the Declaration of Independence. The producers recruited an ex-cop who is an expert in breaking and entering and security to advise them on how the scene should be handled. 5:46
“On the Set of American History” takes a look at the various historical sites used in the film. 6:08
Thus, the extras on disc two gives you about 40 minutes of new material. While it’s probably not worth it if you already own the original version, it’s certainly the one to choose if you’re planning on buying it for the first time. One major disappointment is that there is still NO director’s commentary for the film itself. That is something that really should have been including for a collector’s edition DVD.
More From Mania
DVD Review: NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS
NATIONAL TREASURE II, is Ben Gates after Rebel Gold too?
(Thursday, December 20, 2007)
Cage Wants 'Global' Feel for NATIONAL TREASURE 3
(Monday, December 3, 2007)
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What's with the complications to see the features?...People want to see them, not play games to actually have to.