Retitled The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black and released just weeks prior to the sequel's opening, the stylish sci-fi horror monster flick that introduced audiences to Vin Diesel and the character of Riddick slams its way to DVD in four different versions thanks to USA Films and Universal Home Video. Previously released in 2000, this Unrated Director's Cut has been unearthed once again (it was released previously with a few of the same extras in 2000) as a promotional tool for the virtual onslaught of the series releases heaped upon audiences in the summer of 2004. The fun starts with the film itself, which is presented in an anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen picture and the choice of either 5.1 DTS Surround or 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks. Picture and sound quality are top-notch, evoking just the right balance of colors for the breathtaking panoramic scenes with sharp surround sound for the unique and effective sound effects. Extras start with a new introduction by director David Twohy; filmed in the editing suite for The Chronicles of Riddick, the intimate chat mainly focuses on the sequel and what viewers can expect from the bigger-budgeted epic. Next are the commentaries -- one with the director and stars and the other a purely technical track with the director, producer, and visual-effects supervisor. The star track with Twohy, Vin Diesel, and Cole Hauser is obviously the more engaging of the two, with the shaved-headed muscleman enthusiastically raving on about every scene to almost ludicrous levels. The technical commentary track does stand out for its detail and should be worth it for those in the field or looking to understand the process more. The five-minute making-of is next, which, besides the commentaries, is the closest thing to actually discussing the film at hand. The four-minute "A View Into the Dark" featurette comes close in delivering a little more perspective into the first movie, though it, too, is basically another lead-in to the sequel. The rest of the extras can be separated into two different sections -- commercials for movie tie-ins and new material created especially for this DVD. The promotional materials come in the form of two incredibly short (each under two minutes) ads for The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury straight-to-DVD animated prequel and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay interactive game. The new material begins with Johns' Chase Log, featuring Cole Hauser reading excerpts from his character's log account of his capture of Riddick previous to this film. While this bit isn't needed, it's interesting, though one may find it ridiculous to have to sit through 14 entries to get to the actual capture that's summed up simply with an "I got him" line. The last extra included is the Chronicles of Riddick Visual Encyclopedia, which also features Hauser commentary over distorted film clips and production sketches. It might have a little more flair than your average stills gallery, but the fact is that nothing really takes the place of showing people the real production art and behind-the-scenes material. And for all of you who just haven't been teased enough by more shilling for the sequel, there's a few snippets of conceptual artwork in there to tide you over! There's a whole lot that's missing on this edition, namely trailers(!) and specific documentaries on the actual film (and not the sequel), so it really isn't fair to judge this as any kind of ultimate edition. Consider it more of a packaged advertisement for the world that David Twohy created and unleashed upon audiences everywhere in June 2004. If you didn't own Pitch Black before, now's as good a time as any to jump in, though others who were waiting to upgrade might want to be a little more patient for more meaty reissues down the road.

Director Christopher Nolan's clever, and at times puzzling, thriller Memento is presented on DVD, but the real mystery is why more wasn't done with this acclaimed film on a format that practically invites innovation. On the bright side, the image is first-rate, with an anamorphic transfer framed at the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. There are few signs that this was a lower budget independent film, as the picture is sharp, with little wear, and constantly conveys the theatrical experience. Offering both Dolby Digital 5.1 and two-channel surround tracks, the sound on this release is also well defined. Though there is a very limited use of the rear speakers, all other sounds are clearly reproduced up front. Fans of this intelligent film highly anticipated a special edition, but their hopes were quickly squashed by the reality that supplemental materials are unfortunately rather thin. The main extra is a 23-minute IFC interview with director Christopher Nolan covering this film, his previous movie Following, and his influences. The remaining features are brief and less interesting, including a comparison of the tattoos with original concept art, a section that allows viewing of elements from the movie's website, theatrical trailers for this film and the aforementioned Following, a television spot, and some brief cast and director biographies. Finally -- and curiously not mentioned on the box -- the full original story from Jonathan Nolan that inspired the movie is included. This is unquestionably a film that begs for an audio commentary, or at least an in-depth documentary. Sadly, they are not included, though with the way things work, expect a special edition sometime down the line.

The DVD of this Alice in Wonderland-like children's film comes with four bios/filmographies, each two screens in length, a behind-the-scenes featurette of fuzzy audio and visual quality, and three theatrical trailers. Although presented as widescreen anamorphic (2:35:1 ratio) with dual-layered, English, two-channel Dolby Surround, the picture looks slightly grainy in places and a faint hiss persists in the audio background throughout the film. The puppet animations look and sound impressively lifelike and highly detailed. Also included are English and Spanish subtitles and a small three-fold booklet containing creation and production notes.