The Tribute of Panem - The Hunger Games - DVD

Film: The trilogy The Tribute of Panem by Suzanne Collins is, along with the Twilight books, one of the world's most successful youth book series ever. And so, after the enormous success of the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's books, it was really only a matter of time before Panem would also make the leap to the big screen. Due to its rather dark and brutal story, it was to be feared that the audience would only get to see an extremely softened adaptation, in which more focus would be placed on the romantic aspect of the story, in order to be able to appeal to the same target audience that has flushed so many millions into the coffers of the Twilight makers. But even if a certain weakening of the intensity of the novel can be observed, the film adaptation has become overall a very successful and faithful to the work of the first volume.

The story is set in a bleak future where the country ruled by the wealthy Capitol is divided into twelve districts. To constantly remind the inhabitants of the Districts of Panem, subjugated after a failed rebellion against the Capitol, that revolution does not pay, two children from each of the Districts must battle each other in the Hunger Games year after year. The winner will win fame and fortune - but the other participants will not survive the bloody games. When little Prim Everdeen is drawn for the games in District 12, her older sister Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to take her place in the fight to the death. Along with the baker's son Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who is also drawn, Katniss is taken to the Capitol to be prepared for the games. Even at the parade, the two manage to attract the most attention. But even though this increases their favor with the audience and possible sponsors, it hardly improves their chances of survival - especially since Katniss and Peeta know that they will have to become fierce opponents in the arena at the latest if they want to return to their district as victors. Let the games begin.

Director Gary Ross (Pleasantville) faced a difficult task in adapting the popular novel: on the one hand, he wanted to do justice to the original and stick as closely as possible to Suzanne Collins' ideas. On the other hand, the film was not allowed to be too brutal and bloody in order to achieve an age rating that would allow the target audience to see the film. And indeed, he and his team succeeded in finding just the right tone. With the help of camera pans, quick cuts and clever angles, everything that is described in the book is actually shown in the film without the viewer seeing too much blood and brutality. So if you were worried that The Hunger Games would come across watered down in its movie version, you can breathe a sigh of relief. However, if you were hoping for the camera to go full on with every death in the arena, you're guaranteed to be disappointed.

However, it's not just the bloody battles of The Hunger Games that make the film, of course. The good set up, be it in District 12, the Capitol or the arena, the costumes and the make up make it clear how closely the makers have stuck to the original. Sure, there are small changes and streamlining. For instance, the audience doesn't learn what happens to the bodies of the dead during the Hunger Games. Katniss' family background, especially her father's death and her mother's subsequent behavior, is only touched on in passing, so those unfamiliar with the novel may be at a bit of a disadvantage at such points. And a small but significant change has also been made to bloodthirsty creatures towards the end of the film, but this is of limited importance to the story itself. Really disturbing cuts or changes have been cleverly avoided by the makers.

The casting is also perfectly satisfactory. Granted, Jennifer Lawrence looks perhaps a little too suffering in some scenes, but the bottom line is that she is perfect casting for the struggling Katniss Everdeen. That's because she's not emotionless and pale despite barely changing facial expressions. You can tell that Katniss has to fight not only physical battles, but internal ones as well, and this also makes this character a real identification figure in the film, especially for younger female viewers.

With Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks or Donald Sutherland the supporting roles are also very well cast. Alright, still Sutherland as President Snow is not scary enough to make him a superior villain. But the groundwork is there and you can already look forward to Snow becoming Katniss' overt antagonist in the very likely sequels.

Also, as in the book, the possible romantic triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale is only hinted at. So the makers have avoided turning the story into a big teen romance, which the book simply isn't, but which might have been easier to market. No, instead the film is a tense survival thriller with apocalyptic sci-fi traits, some drama and just a dash of romance. Everything in such well balanced doses that the film not only appeals to teenagers, but can also entertain an older audience. This is an extremely successful start for a franchise that will hopefully be continued with the same quality. Not only, but especially for fans of the novel absolutely worth seeing!!!

Picture + Sound: As was to be expected, the presentation of the film for home theater is on a high level. The image is clean and has very good detail sharpness. Well-matched black levels and coherent contrasts ensure that there are hardly any weaknesses to be discerned, even in the darker scenes. The colour scheme is also convincing, with more grey and earthy tones dominating in District 12, while richer and more colourful colours come to the fore in the Capitol.

The sound can convince in the quieter moments with a good coordination of dialogues, ambient sounds and film music. Then, during more action-packed scenes, the surround channels come into their own thanks to powerful sound effects. Very good!

Extras: The fan gets on the double DVD really offered bonus material full. Nearly four hours of extras were carried here together. It starts on the first DVD with worth seeing short documentaries about the stunts and the training of the actors (about 14 min.), the food design and the production of food in Panem (about 6 min.), as well as about Donald Sutherland and his role of President Snow (about 8 min.). In addition, you can see the Panem propaganda film in its entirety (1:31 min.), as well as a collection of images accompanied by music, showing some of the actors in private during the filming (approx. 3 min.). There are also text panels (English with German subtitles) with biographies of the individual tributes, as well as the trailer for the film in German and English.

That's not all: the second DVD of the set holds many more extras. The centerpiece of the bonus material is undoubtedly the nine-part Making of (approx. 116 min.), which goes into detail about the various aspects of the production. From the adaptation of the novel to the casting of the actors, the sets, the rehearsals to the shooting and post-production, almost every step of the making of the blockbuster is traced here through interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Sure, at some points the mutual praise seems a bit gimmicky, but overall this documentary offers a wealth of insightful information that elevates this making of far above the standard in terms of quality. Of course, the individual parts of the documentary can also be viewed separately.

Continues with footage from the premiere on the black carpet (approx. 4 min.), which in particular show hysterically screaming fans. Much more interesting is the short documentary about the work of the costume designers (approx. 17 min.), which reveals how much attention was paid not only to colors and style, but also to smaller details that are difficult to reveal to the viewer on a superficial look. Stories of the Tributes (approx. 17 min.) then shows how well all the young actors got along on the set. How credible statements are that they all became friends very quickly and that there were no quarrels or competition on the set remains to be seen. Fans will still enjoy this featurette. The same goes for the tributes' diaries (approx. 16 min.), which are clearly aimed at teenage viewers, and in which seven of the cast members were allowed to record the time before the premiere with video cameras.

Although extras like this are rather perfunctory, the bonus package as a whole is beyond reproach. Extensive, informative and entertaining - it doesn't really get much better than that.

Conclusion: The Tribute of Panem - The Hunger Games is one of the most successful films of 2012, with a worldwide box office of nearly $700 million. With a good mix of drama, apocalyptic survival thriller and some romance, the best-selling film adaptation can convince in most moments and appeals not only to the teenage target audience, but also to more adult genre fans. The DVD is technically on a very good level and is beyond reproach in terms of bonus material. Fans simply can't pass up this jam-packed double-disc. Absolutely recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp