Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1547 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-02-02
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: PAL, Special Edition
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 103 minutes

Synopsis
A spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Riddick (Vin Diesel), a dangerous, shackled murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a barren, triple-sunned planet after the craft suffers severe damage during a meteor shower. The ship is ripped into pieces, killing several crew members and leaving meek officer Fry (Radha Mitchell) in charge of the survivors. After two unfortunate deaths, the survivors discover that the only visible life form on the planet is a species of light-fearing, carnivorous, occasionally cannibalistic aliens dwelling in caverns beneath the desert surface. Using a model of the planet and its suns in an abandoned research station, Fry deduces that she and her fellow travellers have unfortunately descended on the planet on the day of its first total eclipse in 22 years, giving them mere hours before they are bathed in total darkness. Only then is it safe for the hungry subterranean creatures to emerge, seeking to feed on the remaining survivors. However, the dangerous Riddick, through black market injections received in lock-up, is able to see in darkness- causing the surviving crew members to reluctantly remain dependent on the potentially harmful criminal. As the survivors are killed one by one by the hungry creatures, they realise that Riddick may be their only hope.

Customer Reviews

Visually stunning and a great film
A spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel), a dangerous, murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a deserted, triple-sunned planet after the craft suffers severe damage during a meteor shower. The ship is ripped into pieces, killing several crew members and leaving officer Fry (Radha Mitchell) in charge of the survivors. After two unfortunate deaths, the survivors discover that the only visible life form on the planet is a species of light-fearing, carnivorous, occasionally cannibalistic aliens dwelling in caverns beneath the desert surface. Using a model of the planet and its suns in an abandoned research station, Fry deduces that she and her fellow travellers have unfortunately descended on the planet on the day of its first total eclipse in 22 years, giving them mere hours before they are bathed in total darkness. Only then is it safe for the hungry subterranean creatures to emerge, seeking to feed on the remaining survivors. However, the dangerous Riddick, through black market injections received in lock-up, is able to see in darkness- causing the surviving crew members to reluctantly remain dependent on the potentially harmful criminal. As the survivors are killed one by one by the hungry creatures, they realise that Riddick may be their only hope.

When this film first came out, it was a bit of a cult hit that was sort of ignored as far as publicity and advertising went but I loved it all the same. Then came along its sequel, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, which gave this film a boost into the spotlight and is now considered a sci-fi/action classic. Watching it now on Blu Ray, some nine years later from when I originally watched it, I still can't believe how good this film is! It has everything you could want from this type of movie - brutal, hard-hitting action, fast-paced and nail-biting suspense, one of the best anti-heroes of all time and an excellent storyline. The special effects are great - the creatures that the characters are up against are genuinely creepy, the opening scene with the ship crashing is incredible and very intense, the planet feels extremely lonely and desolate and the impressive visual effects are so good (sometimes the film appears near-enough black and white because of the lighting from the planet's three suns). The acting from the whole cast is great too - this is one of the first films (along with The Fast and The Furious) that made Vin Diesel become one of the biggest names in Hollywood today.

The picture and sound quality is some of the clearest and best I have seen yet on Blu Ray so I highly recommend watching it on this format.

FILM - 4/5
PICTURE - 5/5
SOUND - 5/5
OVERALL - 4/5

Pitch Black as good as it gets on Blu-ray
I like the film and previously had it on DVD. The Blu-ray is far better and really draws you in. The only reason for the 4 stars is that the extras seem the same as the DVD edition and don't really cut it. Other than that, nothing to complain about - a great film that looks and sounds great on Blu-ray.

pitch black
A must buy for those who enjoy good sci-fi/monster movies picture & sound quality is spot on . had on dvd & found on blu-ray I was seeing thing I never saw on dvd