Starring:
Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man/Peter Parker
Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
James Franco as Harry Osborn
J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
Michael Papajohn as The Burglar
Randy Poffo as Bone Saw McGraw
Joe Manganiello as Flash’ Thompson
Rosemary Harris as Aunt May
Ted Raimi as Hoffman
Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben Parker
Bill Nunn as Joe ‘Robbie’ Robertson
Bruce Campbell as Ring Announcer
Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant
Macy Gray as Herself
Special Features:
Original Spider-Man DVD (2 Disc Set)
Costume design featurette
Designing the World of Spider-Man featurette
Spider-Wrangler featurette
Wrestling match featurette
World Unity Festival featurette
Oscorp Lab featurette
Goblin’s Arsenal featurette
“An Exclusive Sneak Peek at Spider-Man 2” featurette
Spider-Man 2 theatrical teaser trailer
Activision’s Spider-Man 2 PlayStation 2 game teaser trailer
DVD-ROM: Spider-Man 2 Activision PC game: play multiple levels from the upcoming game
Other Info:
English French Languages
Widescreen (1.85:1)
Running Time: 121 Mins.
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
English, French, and Spanish Subtitles
Synopsis:
This is the original Spider-Man DVD with a third Deluxe Edition “Special Features Disc” included. It contains a new batch of extras as well as a sneak preview of Spider-Man 2. It also includes a demo of the Spider-Man 2 PC game from Activision.
The Movie:
If you’d like to see my review of the original Spider-Man movie, click here.
The Extras:
The real attraction of this Deluxe Edition is the third disc containing all new bonus features. I suppose the question is if you already own the Spider-Man DVD, is it worth picking up? The answer is that it depends. If you’re a casual fan, then I’d say it’s not. The earlier version probably has everything you’re interested in. If you’re a die hard Spidey fan, then it’s likely worth picking up.
First up, there’s a batch of featurettes covering the costume design, production design, the Spider-Wrangler, the wrestling match, the World Unity Festival, the Oscorp Lab, and Goblin’s Arsenal. All total, it’s probably around a half hour long. They include new footage of costume tests, early production art of the Green Goblin, and other cool stuff. If you’re a completist, it’s cool stuff.
There’s also “An Exclusive Sneak Peek at Spider-Man 2” featurette. Since Spider-Man 2 has already been released, you have to wonder if this short video is worth shelling out extra money for. Since it’s so short, it’s probably not worth the extra money. On the other hand, there’s a lot of stuff here that won’t be on the eventual Spider-Man 2 DVD, so web-heads may want to pick it up. It shows Raimi and Molina briefly clowning around which is fun to watch. It also includes the Spider-Man 2 theatrical teaser trailer, but you can count on it being included on the later DVD. (I wish the World Trade Center trailer for Spider-Man had been included here, but it didn’t show up.)
There’s also a teaser trailer for Activision’s Spider-Man 2 PlayStation 2 game. I’m not a gamer and I can’t say this trailer made me want to play it, but the demo may be fun for other viewers.
The Bottom Line:
The Deluxe Edition is probably more for people that haven’t bought the first Spider-Man DVD yet and real die-hard fans. Otherwise there’s not enough here to justify spending $20 more if you own it already. However, I bet you can count on this “Deluxe Edition” being sold with Spider-Man 2 in a set in the future. You may want to wait for that and buy both at once.
