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DVD REVIEW
'Eight Below'
Paul Walker in 'Eight Below'
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"Eight Below" is a survival movie, not a family adventure. And it's a damn effective one, even if the whole based-on-a-true-story thing is kind of stretching it. (Yes, some sled dogs were once stranded in the Antarctic when an expedition left in a hurry; that was in 1957, and the explorers were Japanese. Besides, once the humans bug out, everything that happens to these dogs has to be pure fiction -- it's hard to keep a diary without opposable thumbs.)
Still, even if we throw out the whole factual thing, "Eight Below" works. David DiGilio's screenplay moves the action to 1993 -- the last year sled dogs were allowed into the Antarctic -- and risks long chunks of screen time with no spoken dialogue. No Morgan Freeman narration here -- these dogs are alone.
Fortunately, they're also spectacularly photogenic, and the movie finds a balance between their time alone and handler Paul Walker's campaign to go back and find them, which - despite requiring him to drink a lot in silent misery and crash a big museum party - somehow comes across as believable.
Director Frank Marshall, whose 1993 "Alive" infamously dealt with air-crash survivors forced into cannibalism, applies the same merciless pragmatism here: There are moments of great wonder to be found at the extremes of the world, but nature has a cruel way of not giving a damn about anyone -- or any dog -- dumb enough to wander out beyond the safety markers.
"Eight Below" takes no joy in its downbeat moments, but it doesn't milk them for big melodrama, either: The dogs don't wallow in self-pity or fear, they just move along to the next dune. And when Marshall finally does cue up a big, weepy finale, he's earned it.
Disney's enhanced-widescreen DVD hits all the supplemental points, starting with two audio commentaries featuring Marshall; on the first, he and producer Patrick Crowley have a nuts-and-bolts dissection of their picture, while the second teams the director with Walker and cinematographer Don Burgess for a more freewheeling conversation.
Marshall also offers his (optional) thoughts over five deleted scenes, but they're all human-centric; dog fanciers are encouraged to go directly to "Running with the Dogs," a making-of featurette which serves up 11 solid minutes of furry B-roll with minimal interference from the human participants.
Parents will also be grateful for an enclosed American Kennel Club card, which balances some lovely photographs of Siberian huskies with a list of facts designed to discourage impulse buyers from running out and getting a pup for their kids. ("This breed is quite independent and therefore unreliable off leash.") Guess the Disney marketing department has decided to be proactive after decades of cranky Dalmatians.
STUDIO: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2006
RATING: PG
PRICE: $24.95
TIME: 120 minutes
DVD EXTRAS: French and Spanish audio dubs; English, French and Spanish subtitles; audio commentaries; deleted scenes; production featurette.
INTERNET SITE: www.eightbelowmovie.com
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