Waterworld

Although you've heard it a million times, I'll make it a million and one: Waterworld is The Road Warrior on the ocean. Just nudging the halfway point at the boxoffice of what it needed to recoup its reported $175 million production costs, this Kevin Costner-starring action adventure about seafaring survivalists in a world where gas, fresh water, and dirt are precious commodities is--admittedly--reasonably entertaining. The only problem is that Waterworld doesn't step one toe outside of the conventional action-adventure film--we've seen all this before. $175 million's worth? Questionable, but, hey, it was worth my $3.75 at the local multiplex. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—Nov. 11, 2008—Universal, 2 discs, 136 min., PG-13, $19.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1995's Waterworld (2-Disc Extended Edition) features a mixed transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. This edition includes both the excellent-looking original theatrical version and the less-than-spectacular-looking 177-minute cut that aired on television (allowing for a more nicely developed narrative arc). Bottom line: a box-office bellyflop, this release with both versions of Waterworld is probably as much as we will ever see (or need to see) of this uneven epic.] [Blu-ray Review—Oct. 27, 2009—Universal, 136 min., PG-13, $26.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1995's Waterworld sports a nice transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are limited to trailers and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: Costner's legendary flop jet skis onto another format in the original theatrical version with no extras in a handsome looking Blu-ray.] [Blu-ray Review—Jan. 29, 2019—Arrow, 3 discs, 135 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $49.95—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1995’s Waterworld features a great transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Extras include three versions of the film ('Theatrical Version,' 'The TV Cut,' and 'The ‘Ulysses’ Cut'), the behind-the-scenes featurettes 'Maelstrom: The Odyssey of Waterworld' (103 min.), 'Global Warnings' (22 min.), and 'Dances With Waves' (10 min.), image galleries, postcards, a poster, and a 60-page bound book featuring new writing on the film by booklet co-author David J. Moore and filmmaker Daniel Griffith, as well as archival articles. Bottom line: with three versions to choose from, this is clearly the best Waterworld release that fans are likely to see.]