Fincher's flick on the cutting edge

As one of the most prominent torchbearers in the new school of Hollywood directing, David Fincher, like many of his peers (Soderbergh, Ritchie, Jonze, to name a few), has excelled by crafting particular visual styles that are, without doubt, distinct among contemporary filmmakers. While a bit more subdued in his earlier work, Fincher's real stylistic forte is his commitment to the subtleties of human emotion and the details of space and setting. "Fight Club" is unquestionably the film that gave Fincher the chance to display this unique style, but his follow up, "Panic Room," required it.\nFincher's knack for beautiful, long takes and flowing camera movements, including his trademark computer-aided "impossible" tracking shots, give "Panic Room" suspense and elegance it would have never had otherwise. It's a thriller with grace and compositional eloquence that would likely have been butchered in other hands.\nIn terms of story, it's not very complex. All the action takes place in one house where a mother (Jodie Foster) and her daughter (Kristen Stewart) are hiding out in a "panic room" while three men burglarize their house. You'd think they'd be safe in a room designed for such an event, but the burglars are only interested in what's inside the room. It's a game of cat and mouse in a very small space, and, like I said, Fincher's visual presentation does wonders for the story. \nBut there's some bad news, I'm afraid. There is nothing on this DVD. Really. The only "special features" to speak of are the teaser trailer and cast and crew filmographies. That's it.\n"Panic Room" is Columbia-TriStar's first "Superbit" DVD release. Superbit, for those who don't speak DVD, is an audio and video transfer method that is designed for optimal technical performance. Basically, that boils down to two things: less special features on a movie that would be fun to learn about, and technical specs that you probably won't notice without high-end equipment. \nAdmittedly, none of this affects the quality of the movie; I just wanted a commentary track. It may be a DVD for purists, but it's still a great film, and one worth owning.