If you were left wanting more after the two-disc release of "Pearl Harbor", then you'd hope that an 'ultimate edition' might suffice. There's certainly a lot of extra material on this three-disc release, and not only is there some good content to be found, but the presentation of it is excellent.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

Picture Director Michael Bay seems to be addicted to warm golden cinematography. If you crave a little of that too, then this transfer doesn't disappoint with radiant hues and impeccable detail.

Sound The lengthy raid scene provides an extraordinary showcase for 5.1 effects, with planes approaching from the rear speakers in waves, before streaking across to the front speakers to unload a deadly cargo of bass-enhanced mayhem.

DISC TWO SPECIAL FEATURES

Production Diary" Ten 'signature scenes' are dissected in ten featurettes (of around six minutes each) that contain preparation, rehearsal, and behind-the-scenes footage, including looks at the destruction of the battleships, stuntwork, and unseen newsreel-style footage shot but not used. There's also an optional commentary from Michael Bay.

THE HISTORY

Oral History Stills and newsreel footage play in this five-minute featurette, as Nurse Ruth Erickson narrates with her recollections of a frightening day. She remembers how the Japanese pilots were flying so low that she could see the face of one of them. She also talks a little about the innovative methods used to treat the bomb vitims' extensive burns.

One Hour Over Tokyo The retaliation for Pearl Harbor came in the form of a daring bomb raid over Tokyo, which is covered in detail by this 45-minute History Channel documentary. Extraordinary footage blends with interviews of survivors who talk of the dangers of flying their planes off an aircraft carrier, and you can actually see how one nearly crashed into the sea. Some of these pilots were captured and they talk here of 24-hour interrogation sessions.

Interactive Timeline Historian Charles Kiselyak talks us through a series of interactive featurettes that cover the period 1846-1941 of history between Japan and the USA.

DISC THREE SPECIAL FEATURES

Interactive Attack Sequence The 27-minute attack sequence of the film is dissected in true interactive fashion with plenty of possible combinations as to how you view it.

There are four visual angles to choose from: the finished film; behind-the-scenes footage; a mix of storyboards, animatics, and actual war footage; and a composite of the three previous angles.

Seven possible audio tracks await your picking: 5.1 audio; behind-the-scenes audio; music only in 2.0; sound effects only in 5.1; commentary by visual effects supervisor Eric Brevig; commentary by storyboard artist Robert Consing; commentary by Pearl Harbor survivors.

The final track by the survivors is the most interesting, and gives a frightening assessment of what seemed to most of them like one continuous explosion. There are also contributions from Japanese veterans who explain their mission brief, and the bomb technology developed for the raid.

Image Galleries On this disc you'll find seven production design galleries; five publicity galleries (including US and Japanese marketing campaigns for comparison); an interesting historical gallery; storyboards; ILM images; and a gruesome Stan Winston make-up gallery of burnt torsos, severed hands, and more.

BOOT CAMP

Soldiers' Boot Camp Those faces grinding in the mud look familiar - why it's actors Josh Hartnett, Ben Affleck, and Ewen Bremner! Fifteen-minutes of pretty boy torture (perhaps not Bremner, mind) awaits you here as they go through army training that does leave them looking tired and somewhat annoyed.

Officers' Boot Camp Even if you'd never clapped eyes on Alec Baldwin before, you'd know he was the Hollywood actor in this featurette, as there's only one guy with a double chin doing these exercises. It's strangely pleasing to see an unusually subdued Baldwin on show here - shame it only lasts for six minutes.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Region: 2
Chapters: 44
Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Tracks: English
Subtitles: English
Captions: English
Menus: Animated with music
Special Features Subtitles: All relevant special features come with German and Italian subtitles only. There are no English subtitles for any of the special features.

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.