The Faculty (1998)
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Cast: Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Usher Raymond
Extras: Theatrical Trailer
Rating:

Buena Vista Home Video gives us another of their split-personality DVDs; offering great picture and sound, but no bonus features. ’The Faculty’ is presented in a beautiful 1.85:1 frame, with no compression or bending of the frame. The color balancing is accurate. The picture is very clear, having obviously been struck from a pristine master print.

The DVD’s Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is put to great use during the film, especially in the scenes involving creepy alien sound effects. The quality presentation of the disc actually enhances the film.

’The Faculty’ is one of those films that walk the fine-line between homage and incredible rip-off. The central premise is actually quite clever in its simplicity. Teenagers have always assumed that their teachers were from outer space and in this case it’s acutally true. The film owes a great deal to ’Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’ and John Carpenter’s ’The Thing’ (and actually freely lifts scenes from both), but when viewed on its own merits, ’The Faculty’ is a fun, mindless romp. Robert Rodriguez’s directing seems a little more laid-back, the always reliable Elijah Wood, does a good job and the film moves along at a nice pace.