Pitch Black (2000)

Director:

David Twohy

Writers (WGA):

Jim Wheat (story) &
Ken Wheat (story) ...

Release Date:

18 February 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Fight Evil With Evil

Plot:

A group of marooned space travelers struggle for survival on a seemingly lifeless sun-scorched world.

Plot Keywords:

Darkness | Escape | Space | Eclipse | Survival

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Vin Diesel	...	Richard B. Riddick
Radha Mitchell	...	Carolyn Fry
Cole Hauser	...	William J. Johns
Keith David	...	Abu 'Imam' al-Walid
Lewis Fitz-Gerald	...	Paris P. Ogilvie
Claudia Black	...	Sharon 'Shazza' Montgomery
Rhiana Griffith	...	Jack / Jackie
John Moore	...	John 'Zeke' Ezekiel
Simon Burke	...	Greg Owens
Les Chantery	...	Suleiman
Sam Sari	...	Hassan
Firass Dirani	...	Ali
Ric Anderson	...	Total Stranger
Vic Wilson	...	Captain Tom Mitchell
Angela Moore	...	Dead Crew Member

Also Known As:

Nightfall (USA) (working title)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black (USA) (DVD box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sci-fi violence and gore, and for language.

Runtime:

109 min | USA:112 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (director's cut) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Queensland, Australia

Company:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

The hot desert where they filmed was actually about 50F. They were misting water on the actors to make it appear as if they were sweating.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The cutting torch Fry looks for is an oxygen-acetylene torch. However, when they have to cut their way into the next compartment, Riddick is using a plasma cutting torch. An oxy-acetylene cutting torch would leave the edges of whatever it cut glowing red. When Riddick comes through the hole he just made, the edges aren't glowing.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Riddick: [voiceover] They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side, the animal side. No wonder I'm still awake. Transporting me with civilians. Sounded like 40, 40-plus. Heard an Arab voice. Some hoodoo holy man, probably on his way to New Mecca. But what route? What route? I smelt a woman. Sweat, boots, tool belt, leather. Prospector type. Free settlers. And they only take the back roads. And here's my real problem. Mr. Johns...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

Forget the first half hour, then it's great!

This film gets off to a bad start. An incredibly corny monologue is followed immediately by a brilliantly-done, truly amazing spaceship crash. Then things go downhill again, as you realize that the survivors are all a) bad actors (apart from the docking pilot and the psychopath) and b) almost all of them fit too nicely into the role of monster-fodder. Hell, half of them don't even speak English, preventing the audience from getting to know the characters at all. You feel as if you were watching "Deep Blue Sea" meets "Silence of the Lambs", minus the good bits. And unfortunately, the entire thing tries to hard to be "Crashed on a desert planet with Hannibal Lecter" during the daylight scenes. Vin Diesel is a great actor - but he is no Anthony Hopkins, and he frankly annoys as the smart hyper-cool psycho. There is at least one very good scene involving an unexpected survivor - but apart from that you could just as well have cut out the first thirty minutes or so...

But then things take a turn. I can't exactly pinpoint the moment, but soon the movie gets a lot better. It also feels less chopped - the scenes actually begin to follow each other with a consistent narrative, and Vin Diesel becomes much less annoying and soon he is a show-stealer. By the time the first monsters appear, the film is actually quite enjoyable. By the time night falls, it is great. Thrilling, horrifying and exciting. And even the character development of most main characters is well-done. If you can just sit through the poor bits at the start you're in for some GREAT entertainment.

Besides, the visuals are eye-candy, and I honestly admit: I love the colour and the tone of this movie.

7/10 (could have been 9/10, if only....)