TWO DISC SPECIAL EDITION, PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT, 2005
‘City Of Night – The Making Of Collateral’
Deleted scene with Michael Mann commentary
‘Shooting On Location In Annie’s Office’ featurette
‘Special Delivery’ featurette
‘MTA Train’ – visual effects featurette
Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx rehearsal featurette
Easter eggs
Director Michael Mann takes the opportunity on this two disc Special Edition to discuss the interface between story and style in his slick LA noir.
One deleted scene (a chase sequence outside LAX) and the featurette ‘Shooting On Location In Annie’s Office’ focus on the film’s design and Mann’s use of digital video technology. Likewise a featurette explaining the use of green screen effects during Vincent’s MTA train scene. Short but worth a look is the ‘Special Delivery’ featurette in which an incognito Tom Cruise poses as a real-life Fed-Ex delivery man, and there’s an interesting comparison between rehearsals and the finished product in the ‘Tom Cruise And Jamie Foxx Rehearsal’ featurette.
Most of the meat is reserved for the 40-minute making of feature ‘City Of Night’. Mann, Cruise and Foxx are among those discussing what attracted them to the project (“all you have been and who you think you might be collapsed into the events of one night” says Mann). All the cast refer to the thoroughness of Mann’s characterisation and his rigorous attention to detail: Cruise learned to shoot with real ammo, Foxx took advanced driving lessons and Jada Pinkett Smith shadowed an attorney. The feature’s generously interspersed with rehearsal and behind the scenes footage, and the result is a decent window onto the director’s working methods.
Finally we have five easter eggs given over to behind-the-scenes footage, the value of which may depend on how long it takes you to find them.
