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Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
IMDb Rating 6.4
Front Cover Actor Back Cover
Voice of Alec Baldwin
Voice of Ming-Na
Ming-Na Dr. Aki Ross
Alec Baldwin Capt. Gray Edwards
Ving Rhames Sgt. Ryan Whitaker
Steve Buscemi Officer Neil Fleming
Peri Gilpin Officer Jane Proudfoot
Donald Sutherland Dr. Cid
James Woods General Hein
Keith David Council Member #1
Jean Simmons Council Member #2
Matt McKenzie Major Elliot
Plot
Earth is a desolate wasteland in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Humanity has been decimated by an invasion of Phantoms, insubstantial aliens that extract and devour the spirits of living things. The few remaining humans have retreated to a handful of cities that are protected by massive bio-energy shields. The beautiful Dr. Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na) and her mentor Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland) have discovered that the energy signatures of eight key Earth spirits can cancel out and destroy the Phantoms. With the help of Captain Edwards (Alec Baldwin) and his band of marines, they must scour the globe for the last two remaining spirits before General Hein (James Woods) manipulates the refugee government into attacking the aliens with an orbital laser that may also destroy the Earth.

Hironobu Sakaguchi's film is taken from the popular Final Fantasy video game franchise, which is particularly well suited to film adaptation with its series of original stories, but the movie features entirely new characters and settings. And like Toy Story and Shrek, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is completely computer generated. Unlike those cartoon comedies, though, The Spirits Within is a serious science fiction drama with astonishingly human digital actors. Aki, the female lead, appeared in a full-page spread in Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list--and was indistinguishable from the real-life models. The setting and conflict make for incredible action, but it's the larger issues, character interaction, and human elements that really make the movie shine. The Spirits Within is not simply a science fiction movie, in the same way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is not simply a kung fu flick. The result is a fantastic summer movie with better action and more emotion than Pearl Harbor, and actors more lifelike than those in that other video game movie, Tomb Raider. --Mike Fehlauer
Movie Details
Genre Action; Adventure; Animation; Fantasy; Sci-Fi
Director Hironobu Sakaguchi; Moto Sakakibara; Motonori Sakakibara
Producer Jun Aida; Chris Lee
Writer Hironobu Sakaguchi; Al Reinert
Studio Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Country USA
Language English
Audience Rating PG-13
Running Time 108 mins
Movie Release Date 7/2/2001
Color Color
Personal Details
Format DVD
Seen It Yes
Index 788
Collection Status In Collection
Purchase Date 9/16/2006
Product Details
Edition Special Edition
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio 1.85:1
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
UPC (Barcode) 043396062498
Chapters 28
Release Date 10/23/2001
Subtitles French; Spanish
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Nr of Disks/Tapes 2
Extra Features
Disc One:
Two Feature-Length Commentaries
Isolated Score with Commentary by Composer Elliot Goldenthal
Storyboard/ Playblast Selects With Optional Filmmaker Commentary and Subtitled Factoids
Interactive Animated Menus: Featuring CGI Intros
Scene Selections with Motion Images
Theatrical Trailers
Production Notes

Disc Two:
Original Interactive Documentary: The Making Of Final Fantasy
7 In-Depth Character Files
3 Vehicle Scale Comparisons
Trailer Explorations
Alternate Opening Sequence
Final Fantasy Shuffler: Become the filmmaker by re-editing a pivotal scene from the film. Complete the edit and play back your final cut.
Interactive Animated Menus
DVD-ROM Features:
Complete Screenplay
Virtual Tour Of Square Pictures
Screensaver
Weblinks
Links
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