Tron - 20th Anniversary Edition [VHS]

Writer/director Steven Lisberger creates a flashy, neon-drenched world, a cybernetic version of Social Darwinism where lowly computer programs must participate in gladiatorial battles against the Master Control's ruthless minions. Even though the computer effects look primitive now, back then they were considered ahead of their time. Fortunately, Lisberger has not remastered the special effects with contemporary computer graphics (take note George Lucas). There is a certain clunky charm to the effects that makes Tron all that more endearing to its fans.

Tron is one of those rare examples where style over substance works. The computer world that Lisberger and his team worked so hard to create is rich in detail. It also plays on our romantic notions of what really goes on inside our computers -- not a collection of microchips and circuit boards but a vast world where programs fight each other for survival. It's no wonder that visionary science fiction writer, William Gibson once commented in an interview that the cyberworld in Tron is how he envisioned the cyberspace in his novels.

The audio commentary with director Steven Lisberger, producers Donald Kushner and Harrison Ellenshaw, and special effects wizard, Richard Taylor. There is a relaxed feel to the track as these guys reminisce about working on the movie. The commentary does tend to lean more towards the technical aspects of making the movie as opposed to anecdotal content but the documentary on disc two covers this aspect in more detail.

Disc two features a wealth of supplemental material that was mostly carried over from a special edition laserdisc set that Disney released many years ago. The DVD reorganizes all of these extras into several easily navigable sections.

The best extra on the second disc is a comprehensive 90-minute documentary entitled, "The Making of Tron." Every aspect of the movie, from its humble origins to the struggles of getting it made are covered with brand new interviews with Lisberger and his crew and Jeff Bridges and the cast (minus David Warner). Everyone speaks fondly of his or her experiences working on Tron. This retrospective look at the movie 20 years later is a real treat for the fans and is the crowning touch on this excellent set.


Don't listen to those other reviews, this is a classic!   September 14, 2005
Kolchak the Night Stalker (California)
68 out of 73 found this review helpful

I've read so many reviews TRASHING the special effects of Tron and its plot. First of all, it's easy with our modern ILM and digital masterpieces like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, Jurassic Park, etc. to criticize a movie made in 1982 but the bottom line is that the effects, for its time, were amazing!! I remember as a kid watching this movie with my mouth hanging open. I watched it, as a matter of fact, this week, on DVD and it still impresses me.
The key to being thoughtful and critical of movies is to be able to watch them in the context of their time. I could easily watch Star Trek episodes and say, "ha!! Look at that! Since our FX are so much better now days, that series isn't even relevent!!" That's, in a nutshell, what I read one reviewer saying, that the FX of Tron are corney by modern standards to it's irrelevent. Not at all.....
I think the plot, and keep in mind this IS a Disney movie, though simple, is a good one. It deals with a big brother government that wants to make everyone think the same, live under one rule, if you're not with us you're against us, etc. kind of government. To be in good standing with the Master Control, one must not believe in the "users," or, to the computer programs, 'God.' So, atheism is the key to getting good training, promotion and success. Those who oppose the MCP are treated like Roman Gladiators only to perish. Flynn takes on an incarnation of sorts becoming a "user" and a "program" almost resembling a kind of computer Christ. Very interesting notion. Neat parallel. The movie if full of Christian-type allegories and overall is very entertaining.
There is no sex, hurtful violence or garbage. Clean movie, I as an adult still love it, and it's in general a great flick. Give it a break folks!


--Great Movie / (Somewhat) Disappointing DVD--   July 5, 1999
77 out of 85 found this review helpful

--I'm a big fan of this wonderful film, and recomend that people buy it. At the same time I'm disappointed (once again) by the Disney presentation.

--On May 14th I saw TRON in 70mm at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood (the 'real' way it was meant to be seen). When I played this DVD on my system two things struck me.

--#1 The sound is near perfect! It retains a very good dynamic range, making dialog easy to understand, and special effects sound great. I would also like to point out that the sound is not 5.1, as the package is labled. (It's either 5.0 or 4.1)

--#2 The picture is quite a bit different than I remembered it. In the theater the effects looked like computer generated images (CGI), but on DVD they look animated, as if drawn by hand. I also noticed in the theater that scenes shot "in the real world" had a tint to them. (For example, Flynn's arcade is tinted red, Dillinger's office is tinted greenish, and Encom's "laser room" has sort of a blue tint.) This is the way it was intended but seems to have been lost on the DVD. It's also worth noting that this disk is letterboxed, not anamorphic widescreen. Over all, the picture quality is about average for a movie of its age on DVD.

--The real disappointment is the lack of extras. This is absolutely inexcusable! Disney could have easily carried them over from their rediculously priced laser disk CAV special edition. I must say, after having seen the deleted "love scene", they should have left it in the film! I miss it every time I see TRON.


TRON FANS - REJOICE!   January 22, 2002
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

I think I speak for every Tron fan out there when I say that this 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition is long overdue but most welcome! The only way you could improve upon this brilliant piece of work is to release it in a director's cut with DTS, but this still gets 5 stars in my book. For everyone's information, this is a 2-DVD set. First one contains the movie, complete with THX Optimizer. Second one could be entitled "Everything you ever wanted to know about Tron but were afraid to ask." It not only contains the deleted scenes, but it also contains storyboards, photo galleries, and an extensive "Making Of Tron" documentary with interviews. I learned a ton (or should I say Tron) of stuff out of that documentary, among which is the fact that Cindy Morgan still looks magnificent after all this time!
This DVD is a vast improvement over its DVD predecessor, being THX-certified with beautiful widescreen picture and rich 5.1 sound! Wendy Carlos's music score has never sounded better; I look forward to getting the CD soundtrack when it is released (again long overdue.)
When this movie came out, it quickly became my all-time favorite and to this day, it has stayed there. Thank you, Disney, for creating this 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition, and thank you to everyone (cast and crew) who helped make it a reality!


Way ahead of it's time!   January 15, 2000
Trip Cannon (A long time away in a galaxy far ago)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Tron was severely under rated at the time of it's release. Most of the critics (with the exception of Roger Ebert whom I always look up to) and audience overlooked it's deeper concept. It's a shame because Tron is the 1982 version of The Matrix. If a person really looks into the movie, he/she may or may not find spiritual enlightenment. There are so many levels of interest in this movie that it should appeal to everybody. It was made by a different Disney - one with balls. Give it another watch, you'll be happy you did.

The DVD version is the choice to buy, but don't expect too much. For such a wonderful movie I was expecting A LOT more. But I'm still giving the movie 5 stars for being itself. The DVD receives about 3.