It's often true that films define a generation and look totally out of place at any other time. The now ludicrous were once the height of brilliance. The 60's were filled with drugged up 'masterpieces' that viewed now are mindnumbingly incomprehensible. Zabriskie Point, regarded as the work ... Read review
A Milestone In The History Of Computer Animation! A masterpiece of breakthrough CGI ... more
ingenuity - Disney celebrates the 20th anniversary of Tron - a dazzling film at the flashpoint of a continuing revolution in its genre. Packed with five hours of bonus...
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A masterpiece of breakthrough CGI ingenuity - celebrating the 20th anniversary of Tron - a ... more
dazzling film at the flashpoint of a continuing revolution in its genre. Packed with five hours of bonus features, including exclusive, never-before-seen materia...
Advantages: Great effects, nostalgia trip Disadvantages: No talking dogs
...
As a story TRON is actually pretty basic: the age old tale of a wrong being righted. Ok so the action takes place in a futuristic environment but at it's core it's nothing new. In fact as a story TRON is pretty weak and this becomes apparent when you push the wave of nostalgia to one side and look at it more subjectively. The characters are somewhat 2 dimensional, the story is simplistic, and there's very little in the way of twists. The ... ...not quite. It's true that TRON is weak as a story but that doesn't make it weak as a piece of entertainment. Where TRON really comes to life is in it's effects. TRON takes us out of cosy Red Hand Gang America, and drops us into a world of wonder and amazement. Possibly the first film to ever attempt to visualise the world inside the machine, TRON creates a wonderful environment that is just magnificently reminiscent of the vector graphics that dominated ... more
It's often true that films define a generation and look totally out of place at any other time. The now ludicrous were once the height of brilliance. The 60's were filled with drugged up 'masterpieces' that viewed now are mindnumbingly incomprehensible. Zabriskie Point, regarded as the work of genius is unintelligible and undeniably crap. Similarly the crowd pleasers of the 80's (Top Gun et al.) are as facile as the age, and don't even mention the once hilarity that is the Police Academy series. To some though these films can be considered seminal - turning points in young lives. Such is the case with today's movie offering: TRON.
Having been sacked from his job at Encom, programmer-cum-arcade games wiz Kevin Flynn runs a video arcade by day but come darkness he's been hacking into the Encom system trying to find evidence against Ed Dillinger, the programmer who stole his video game projects, made a fortune, and rose to the dizzy world of the boardroom executive. With his power, Dillinegr has brought in the Master Control Program (MCP) to run Encom. A sentient program, the MCP restricts users, slows the system down, and keeps a big brother style eye on what each and every user is up to - who mentioned Microsoft Windows? With Encom's all powerful MCP running the show, Flynn would seemingly be faced with an unbeatable opponent in the cyber-war but Flynn is relentless and despite being locked out of the system, his friends Alan Bradley and Laura sneak him into the building allowing the righter of wrongs to gain access once more. Little does Flynn know that the MCP has some tricks up it's own digital sleeve and he's about to be taken on a journey right into the heart of the machine itself...
In the good year 1982 the video game craze was at it's height and the upcoming market crash was still 'impossible' (ha). Inspired by this Disney came up with what should have been a fabulous money-spinner: TRON. Is it good now though? Has 20 years dulled the once radical and original movie?
As a story TRON is actually pretty basic: the age old tale of a wrong being righted. Ok so the action takes place in a futuristic environment but at it's core it's nothing new. In fact as a story TRON is pretty weak and this becomes apparent when you push the wave of nostalgia to one side and look at it more subjectively. The characters are somewhat 2 dimensional, the story is simplistic, and there's very little in the way of twists. The understanding of the technology and the use of terminology is pretty good though (and hilariously antiquated to 'modern' programmers). So not worth a look then ehh?
Well, not quite. It's true that TRON is weak as a story but that doesn't make it weak as a piece of entertainment. Where TRON really comes to life is in it's effects. TRON takes us out of cosy Red Hand Gang America, and drops us into a world of wonder and amazement. Possibly the first film to ever attempt to visualise the world inside the machine, TRON creates a wonderful environment that is just magnificently reminiscent of the vector graphics that dominated the video game industry of the time (none of your 2D Mario or texture mapped Unreal Tournament - just a couple of lines on the screen). It's a bit of a weak argument to recommend a film almost purely on visuals but this is where TRON really does come to life.
The production renders everything in bright, gaudy colours glowing brilliantly against the pitch black. It's tantamount to black and white - binary on and binary off. The film's creators do a great job of visualising the digital world and having the character's 'programs' assume their personalities and resemble them allows us the user (oops, viewer) to make the connection between the 'real' world and the cyber-space world.
This is all arty observational nonsense though. What most people rightly remember TRON for, is it's effects. One of the first films to make use of CGI, TRON has a look and feel all of it's own. Ok so the CG images are in no way realistic but they don't need to be. They're crude, simplistic, and about as rudimentary as you can get - but they work. At the time they were jaw-dropping but viewed now they're still just as impressive. The clinical simplicity of the cyber-world again reinforces the vector graphics of the age. TRON captures the time perfectly and this is partly what endears it to it's fans so greatly - it's an age of innocence when computers could do anything...as long as it involved blasting alien spaceships.
Now while TRON may be worth watching from a visual perspective, is there anything else to recommend it? Actually there's not much really. That Disney released the film at the height of the video game craze means that it ends up being somewhat 'faddy' and this tends to limit it's long term appeal. Fans of the era will get a kick out of it...others though might have more problems getting into it.
Jeff Bridges leads a cast who are very much second fiddle to the effects and there's not much to really get excited about. Bridges is a little OTT and very much in the same vein as in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - a bit loud, a bit crass. This seems to be very much at the opposite end of the spectrum to Bruce Boxleitner though who seems to go out of his way to be nerdy and dull. As a computer program he's better but as a computer programmer he even comes complete with glasses and a 'nice' sweater. It's David Warner who comes up trumps in the acting stakes and we really don't expect anything less. He plays it all strictly down the line and gives it the serious air that it needs.
Steven Lisberger takes his script and does a not too bad job in the direction stakes. He's faced with something new and different but actually manages to pull it off well. The action is well staged and he keeps things moving along at a far old lick. Being a Disney film it might be easy to expect sacharine soaked storylines, cute kids, and pesky grown ups, but Lisberger eschews all of this and manages to make a film that doesn't feature so much as some singing mice - what would Uncle Walt think if he were still alive?
Capped with a great soundtrack, TRON is certainly a product of it's time. It manages to bring back memories of video arcades and mis-spent childhoods. Of staring at the brightly coloured arcade machines and popping 10 pences into the slot like there was no tomorrow. This is it's strength...it's also it's weakness.
To a generation TRON will be something that they'll be desperate to watch again. Some will be disappointed and some will be on too much of a retro-trip to notice the film's glaring problems, but what of those who AREN'T from 1982? Hmmm.
As a kids film TRON is just that little bit too serious and for a younger audience you'd be better off with a VW Beetle with a mind of it's own rather than journeying into the cyber-scape. To a more 'adult' audience TRON will come across as being just that little bit simplistic and kiddie orientated, which is something of a shame as it doesn't really deserve such a moniker.
Watch it with an open mind and TRON will grow on you. The effects are excellent and more than make up for the film's deficiencies. Go on, pop the video/DVD in the player, sit back, and let the 80's wash over you all over again - you know you want to.
TheNeil 01.02.2001 (14.11.2002)
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Review of Tron (20th Anniversary Edition) (Wide Screen) (DVD)
Advantages: AMAZEING GRAFIX FOR THE TIME Disadvantages: SEEM'S A BIT NERDY TO LIKE IT
...STORY AROUND TRON
-----------------------------------------
In tron a computer names in the film the MCP (MASTER CONTROL PROGRAM) is slowly gaining contol of larger and larger company computor's plus there program's contained within ,flynn (played by jeff bridges) try's doing something about it but get's transported in to the computer throught a matter beam.
Throught out the story flynn is inside the computor which look's like a neon fantasy world ... ...aligning herself and her work Tron just as Laura aligns herself and her work with Alan. Barnard Hughes - Walter/Dumont -----------------------------------------------
Walter is the old gray-bearded founded of the company he spends his time in the laboratory building new projects and does not live in the office like dillinger. His counterpart in the world of the computer is Dumat, the guardian of the I/O (Input/Output) Tower that the system needs ...
FUTURENOIR 20.02.2006 (22.02.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tron (20th Anniversary Edition) (Wide Screen) (DVD)
Advantages: good storyline Disadvantages: special effect a bit dated
...that Flynn joins forces with Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) to outmaneuver the Master Control program that holds them captive in the equivalent of a gigantic, infinitely challenging computer game. Disney's wizards used a variety of cinematic techniques and early-'80s state-of-the-art computer-generated graphics to accomplish their dynamic visual goals, and the result was a milestone in cyberentertainment, catering to technogeeks while providing a dazzling ... ...the nascent cyberpunk movement in science fiction, Tron received a decidedly mixed reaction when originally released, but has since become a high-tech favorite and a landmark in special effects, with a loyal following of fans. I reccommend this film to anyone who like cult sci-fi classics like myself ...
david1978 24.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tron (20th Anniversary Edition) (Wide Screen) (DVD)
Advantages: Light entertainment Disadvantages: Bit dated
...I've read on CIAO for Tron says that Harrison Ford is in it! Much as I like Harrison Ford, it was Jeff Bridges who played in Tron. Its the story of how a guys video-game programs were stolen and he wants to recover them. The MCP (Master Control Program) manages by virtue of the new scanner the company have developed, to bring him inside the computer and get him to play the games he's written. Its a bit long in the tooth now but is fun. The effects ...
stevesm 12.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tron (20th Anniversary Edition) (Wide Screen) (DVD)
Advantages: Well made and impressive Disadvantages: The plot is not completely convincing
ally ijpIt's a sad fact that any film based on cutting edge visual effects is going to date very quickly; the most primitive looking films of the last century are probably those that were most ahead of their time. "Tron" is one of these, but I personally still find the film highly enjoyable. A huge amount of imagination, talent, but mostly I suppose money went into the look of the film, and it's still possible to enjoy the energy and panache of the ... ...a software writer finds himself beamed into a computer - don't ask how - as a result of, of all things, a copyright dispute. The script gets a little confused over how his actions and those of the users interact - the characters in the computer world are all, apparently, programs, and makes me wonder about a possible character called "Windows", who just stops moving every two hours.
"Tron" is certainly dated and quite confused, but it's stylish ...
NeilHudson 21.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Tron (20th Anniversary Edition) (Wide Screen) (DVD)
Advantages: excellent acting, great story line Disadvantages: Modern viewers may not appreciate the now outdated graphics
First of all, this is not really one for the mainstream viewers. However, Sci fi and Fantasy fans would thourougly enjoy this movie. Harrison Ford was excellent! The atmosphere produced by the graphics was most evocative.. one felt trapped along with Harrison. Again his acting skills were superb. Ti tell you how good it was.. I started to get claustrophobia symptoms,
I rented this movie because of the name and I am happy that I did.
I saw it ages ...
princessanu 03.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Tron (20th Anniversary Edition) (Wide Screen) (DVD)
An action sci-fi tale set inside a computer where video games become a real-life struggle for survival, where energy lives and breathes, and where light takes on many new dimensions.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WALT DISNEY HOME VIDEO; WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM
Release date
14/10/2002
No of Discs
2
Catalogue No
BED 888561
Barcode
5017188885614
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Making Of Tron Documentary, Deleted Scenes With Introductions From Bruce Boxleitner, Production Photo Gallery, Audio Commentary, Storyboard To Film Comparisons, Stills Gallery, Preproduction Animation Tests, Deleted Original Soundtrack Music, Inspirational Designs By Futuristic Artists, Computer Animation Design And Memo Reels, Original Publicity Materials, Theatrical Trailer
Aspect Ratio
2.20 Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Its visual effects are wonderfully new..." (New York Times, p.C8, 09/07/1982)
"...[The film has] visual delights....[The] computer-generated visuals created by divers hands are impressive..." (Variety, 07/07/1982)
DVD Description
A video game designer trying to prove a big time executive stole his idea is sucked into a corporation's mainframe where programs are personified counterparts of their writers and "users" are subjects of religious faith. A well-crafted and scripted metaphor, "Tron" benefits from breakthrough computer graphic animation.
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