PLOT: Paula (Franka Potente) is accepted into a prestigious medical university and soon learns about the Anti-Hippocratic
Society, then her classmates start to disappear.
ANALYSIS: ANATOMY is an interesting German horror movie that is a blend of many different types of movie. You have the
safe harmless scenes, the humor, the fun at the university scenes, studying at the university, figuring something is wrong,
and the horror movie scenes. I do have to say some things in the movie I liked while other stuff I didn't like, but ANATOMY
will probably grow on me more with each viewing. Still the movie is ahead of the class when it comes to most modern horror
movies being made today just don't match up to ANATNOMY. The ever likeable Franka Potente is engaging as Paula. It shows that
any movie can benefit from a lot of Franka. I loved her in RUN LOLA RUN and THE BOURNE IDENTITY. She is equally great in this
movie (and she even likes horror movies which is a big plus in my book).
I like how some scenes contrast each other, and it is interesting to see the killer in a panic as he rushes to hide a body.
Is ANATOMY worth seeing? Yes.
VIDEO/AUDIO: ANATOMY is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture is free of artifacts. You can see images
clearly. The transfer is a little soft, but the colors and blacks are good.
Five Language tracks are on the DVD. You can hear the movie in 5.1 Dolby Digital in English or German, and 2.0 Dolby surround
in English, German, or French. Subtitles are in English or French. The English Dub is passable because i have seen better
English dubs of foreign language movies. Stick with the original German language track. Dialogue can be heard clearly. The
music and sounds do make some noise.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The commentary track (by director Stefan Ruzowitzky) is a very informative track about the production of the movie (most
of the film was shot in Munich) that includes praise for Franka, the unique lighting for the Anatomy lab set, audience response
to certain scenes and the movie in general, and why certain people were cast for the roles.
Two deleted scenes are on the DVD. Both of them are interesting (the first scene even adds to one scene), but I suspect
both were cut for pacing. The music video for one of the songs featured in the movie is pretty good (one of the better music
videos I have seen recently). Make-Up featurette ( 2 1/2) shows the anatomy replicas being made.
Making-Of featurette ( 4 1/2 minutes) has interviews with the cast and crew, and features some beind-the-scenes footage.
Talent files show the bios and selected filmographies for Franka Potente and the director. Production Photos is a slide
show of photos taken during production. Storyboard Comparison (3 minutes) compares some very crude storyboards (with some
notes in German) to one of the scenes in the movie. Trailers included on the DVD are two for ANATMOY (English Dub versions
of the teaser and full trailer), CIRCUS, and RUN LOLA RUN.
FINAL ANALYSIS: ANATOMY is a great DVD release with some extras and cool interactive menus. DVD cover art is even excellent.
If you want a new horror movie to check out, check out ANATOMY if you haven't seen it (some of you may even find in the $5.50
DVD bin at Walmart like I did).
this review is (c)10-16-2004 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
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