Pitch Black (DVD, 2000, Unrated; Subtitled French)

Awesome movie, in fact I think Vin Diesel's first. I love the space scenes, including the opening scenes and crash scenes. Those that like outer space will probably agree. Very good visuals. The rest of the movie is interesting as well, again the cinematography is good. Color filters are used at times to create the atmosphere of this rogue planet.

Acting is so so, but we watch these movies for the action and suspense, not for the acting.

...write more later.

This movie has it all - great acting, good plot and it is suspenseful from beginning to end. I used to own this movie and someone "borrowed" it. I finally replaced it with the same version. This one has DTS and it is worth it. I would highly recommend it. It is an underated gem in a sea of bad sci-fi movies.

I decided to buy the DVD because I absolutely love this movie. My old VHS collection needs replacing and this was a must have since it was the extended edition. I love the scenes of space in the beginning of the movie, the interaction of the characters as the storyline progresses and the original idea behind the entire show. Definitely a movie that belongs in the most selective of collections.

Intense action in this first Riddick film. I purchased it to partner the sequel which I already had. An enjoyable science fiction.

A great sci-fi, action, adventure and horror movie. Vin Diesel is starred in this movie. Very great visuals as well as special effects. This movie is however almost 2 hours long. Great story overall.

Pitch Black is a suspense story, first of all; a horror movie based on achluophobia (fear of the dark) secondly; and a science fiction movie third. It places a group of stellar traveling humans on a brightly lit planet with three suns in a crash/survival mode. Every 22 years the suns align with the planet and cause an eclipse plunging the planet into total darkness. It is then that the bat-creatures of the planet come out: hungry, and ticked-off.

Enter Vin Diesel as Riddick, who is written into the script without any explanation of how he became a convict (a story that is told in the Prequel/Sequel: “The Chronicles of Riddick.”) Riddick has the unique ability to see in the dark due to his ‘highly polished’ eyeballs. OK….it strains the imagination, but that’s Holly-Weird for you. This movie breaks all kinds of scientific laws, and for that reason alone shouldn’t be lumped willy-nilly into the science-fiction genre by itself. Somehow we know that Riddick’s ‘good side’ will emerge and save this group of people who are stranded. The survivors of the crash find a short-range spaceship left behind from the previous miners who have been devoured by the carnivorous bats.

Ignoring all the scientific improbabilities of the movie, the script still carries tremendous tension and suspense without the groans of disbelief. This was the movie that launched Diesel as a household name. He is by far the most interesting character, but without explanation of ‘who he really is’, the viewer doesn’t really know which side of Riddick will eventually emerge. (well, we do…but we ignore the obvious conclusion of the movie and get sucked into the story-telling anyway.)

“Pitch Black” is an entertainment movie and does that exceedingly well. Kudos for not going down the severe‘gore’ path (like “Starship Troopers” did), or throwing in gratuitous sex to draw late-teens. Wherever there is a shadow on the planet, a potential Predator lurks, and the viewer never knows what is around the corner. The element of surprise and folks’ natural fear of the dark build the terror in each viewer’s mind, making the experience of the movie quite personal depending upon the viewer’s own fears.

If you haven’t seen this movie, buy it, rent it, whatever. It’s worth the price of admission. Get the wide-screen version only because 1/3rd of the movie or more is hopelessly clipped out in regular-screen format.

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Thanks,
Jeff Feezle of Macafeez

It's true, the is a movie from Focus! I'm not a Vin Diesel fan by no means but here he does a really good job in this Sci-Fi action pic!