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Spider-Man 2 (Widescreen Special Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: Sam Raimi
Actors: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco, Rosemary Harris
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $14.93 (100%)
New (108) Used (229) Collectible (11) from $0.01
Rating:  793 reviews
Sales Rank: 428
Format: Ac-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 127
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: COLD05149D
ISBN: 1404956433
UPC: 043396051492
EAN: 9781404956438
ASIN: B00005JMQW
Theatrical Release Date: June 30, 2004
Release Date: November 30, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Movie disc only! We liquidate dvds from a large national rentailer. Movie disc works fine and we'll ship it in a protective sleeve for you. There is a 15% chance that it may contain a rental sticker on the disc that we were unable to remove. In stock and ships today.
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Product Description
Peter parkers having a rough time. Things are so bad he declares that hes quitting & never putting on the suit again. However his sense of duty forces him to become a hero again when dr octavius is deformed in an accident & becomes dr octopus. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 04/25/2006 Starring: Tobey Maguire James Franco Run time: 127 minutes Rating: Pg13
Amazon.com
More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2 as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue--thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Man in terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary People Oscar-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2 to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2 is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honoring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Features: The first commentary track is by director Sam Raimi and a self-deprecating Tobey Maguire speaking in tandem, and producer (and Marvel CEO) Avi Arad and coproducer Grant Curtis speaking in tandem. They discuss a number of topics, including Raimi's memory of his excitement over Richard Donner's Superman and how the character of Black Cat had to be dropped from the film. The second commentary is by six members of the Oscar-nominated effects team, and one of their primary focuses is how Doc Ock's arms were achieved by a combination of puppetry and CGI. The centerpiece of the second disc is a massive two-hour documentary that can be viewed all at once or in 12 separate pieces. It covers the development of the story, the visual effects, costumes, stunts, and sound and music. Three shorter featurettes cover Peter Parker's struggle between his personal and hero lives, Doc Ock, and the women in Spider-Man's life, and what's interesting is how they discuss those topics not just in relation to the movies but to the comic books as well. (For example, Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy had a much greater impact in the comics.) There's a scene in which you can toggle among three different camera angles, and a gallery of 17 paintings Alex Ross created for the opening sequence. The sound and picture are spectacular, though only the Superbit edition has DTS. --David Horiuchi More Spiderman on DVD 
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| Customer Reviews: Read 788 more reviews...
 Yes, it truly is even better than the first. . . November 15, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Okay. SPIDER-MAN was a smash in the Summer of 2002, so naturally Columbia Pictures and Marvel wanted a sequel. How could they possibly top themselves?
Doc Ock.
Awright! Yes, I was excited. When I saw the promo art for Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius I was very, very impressed. If they did this right. . .
SPIDER-MAN 2 is the very best Superhero film ever made, in my humble opinion. It is a beautiful balance of character, action, emotion, excitement and art. It is not merely a Summer Blockbuster: it is a well-rounded film that has become a classic.
The team from the first film returned for 2, and their camaraderie is evident in every frame of the movie. Actors Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris and J. K. Simmons inhabit their characters more completely this time around, and the screenplay by Oscar winner Alvin Sargent (JULIA, ORDINARY PEOPLE, PAPER MOON) from a multi-writer story is nothing short of brilliant. What makes this movie really, really work even better than the first are the small moments, the time in between the big set-pieces. The exchanges between Peter and his Aunt May, between Peter and Mary Jane, between Peter and Octavius, between Peter and Harry, these are the gold in SPIDEY 2. They display a depth seldom seen in an action film, let alone a Summer Tentpole, and you will find yourself quoting the beautifully written lines again and again.
The gorgeous, colorful cinematography this time around is by Bill Pope, and on the DVD (on a big-screen TV, of course) the transfer to digital is clear, sharp, properly saturated and bright. The sound is full and rich, dialogue mixed high enough within the commotion so that you can easily understand even without headphones.
Now, to the action: Alfred Molina (MAVERICK, CHOCOLAT, and, yes, that was Alfred as Snidely Whiplash in the Brendan Fraser DUDLEY DO-RIGHT) is a dynamite Doc Ock. They even gave him several shots with the mussed-up Moe Howard hair and glasses for the classic look. And his Otto Octavius has a well-thought-out character arc, from dedicated scientist to villain to a remorseful, heartbroken man who makes one last sacrifice to save his soul. A truly great adversary for Spidey. And if you haven't seen the movie yet, wait 'til you see their fight on top of, through, and around a speeding elevated train. Spectacular.
And then, once the fight is ended, another of those wonderful, superbly written moments, this time between Spidey and the passengers on the train.
Yes, there is action galore, with a bank robbery, the truly frightening awakening of Ock's independent-thought arms in an operating room (shades of EVIL DEAD!), a fight to save Aunt May up and down the side of Noo Yawk buildings, and more. The effects team, having had two years to work on the art of the technology, really outdo themselves on SPIDEY 2. Just the work needed to make the Ock arms believable is amazing. Once again, the John Dykstra team does incredible stuff.
Now, of course, when (not if, WHEN) you decide to add SPIDER-MAN 2 to your DVD library, make sure you go for the Two-Disc Widescreen Special Edition. Not as many goodies as on the Special Edition of the first movie, but this time around we still have quite a few: commentary track number one is from Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, producers Avi Arad and Grant Curtis and commentary track number two is from the technical team on the creation of all the nifty effects; "Spidey Sense 2", a trivia track akin to the one on the first movie that pops up as you watch; Webisodes, a music video, a blooper reel, trailers for both Spideys and a bunch of other Columbia movies, a feature-length documentary on the making of SPIDEY 2, several short documentaries, an art gallery of the Alex Ross paintings used in the opening of the movie, and more.
Addendum:
Since this review will also appear under the SPIDER-MAN 2.1 listing, I will note that on that particular release (of course, I own it!) there are eight more minutes of footage, including much more of the Ock/Spidey side-of-the-building fight, a longer scene at the birthday party, a longer and different scene in the elevator with Hal Sparks (I love the concept of a Spidey Scent called "Thwip"!), J. K. Simmons cavorting in his newly-acquired Spidey Suit, and more. Also included is a new commentary track with producer Laura Ziskin and screenwriter Alvin Sargent which is fairly dull. I stopped listening after about a half hour of drone. Hey, Sargent is a brilliant screenwriter, but keep him away from microphones! Stick to what you do exceedingly well. There is a pop-up trivia track, too, referred to as "Spidey Sense 2.1", which is pretty much the same as on the SPIDER-MAN 2 disc, but this time, they've added a bit of behind the scenes footage. There is also a little new documentary stuff, but the main reason for picking this up is the extra footage. And, besides, you can get it at a great price right here on Amazon.
 A Marvel October 20, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This movie is a masterpiece. It has a broad reach, genuine complexity in the emotional lives of the characters and a compelling storyline. I used to read Marvel comics all the time when I was a kid and this film captures those more fully than anything else in this genre. Peter Parker's anguish, star-crossed lovers, megalomaniacs running amok..it is like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar rolled into an action movie. Speaking of action, some of the sequences in this film are jaw dropping. The elevated subway ride is the best use of a subway in a movie since The Matrix and is just breathtaking. At the same time the movie is very well paced, razzle dazzle action sequences are mixed up with quiet moments of tenderness. The original Spiderman movie was fine but not in this league. ( Hey, wish the matrix sequels had followed same trajectory!). I also really enjoyed the humor scattered through the movie. For everyone who loves this comic genre, I'd say this is the movie where they got it right. For people who don't, you will enjoy it anyway.
One of the best films of all time! October 18, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Maguire and Molina are excellent in this 2004 masterpiece, that, yes, has more J.K. Simmons. See it.
Good September 18, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The dread franchise film has killed off many a potentially interesting character (Superman, Batman, Ripley, Rocky) & given leases of life to characters that are paper-thin (Indy Jones, Jason Voorhees, Catwoman). The latest franchise film is Spider-Man 2, directed by Sam Raimi. The 1st Spider-Man was probably the best comic book film ever made- mostly because its leads- Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, & Kirsten Dunst as his love- Mary Jane Watson a) can both act (unlike, say Christopher Reeve as Superman), b) are well cast (unlike Michael Keaton in the 1st 2 Batman films). & c) have chemistry (unlike Reeve & Margot Kidder in the Superman films). Maguire, especially, is so good an actor that he is 1 of those rarities that can run a panoply of emotions through just his eyes. He is almost irresistible to watch onscreen.... All in all, a very good film, & along with the 1st film, simply the best superhero films ever made. I hope the writers from this film stick with the whole series because, next to Batman, Spidey probably has the best pantheon of villains in comic book lore. Future baddies could include Dr. Doom, Venom, Carnage, the Sandman, Rhino, the Lizard, & Electro, among others. But, what makes good writing in such a film valuable are the little moments- like Peter's confession to Aunt May about how & why Uncle Ben really died, a surreal moment on an elevator between Spidey & a shocked citizen, references to other characters in the Marvel Comics universe, allusions & parallels to Oscar Wilde's The Important Of Being Earnest, & a street musician singing the old Spider-Man tv cartoon series theme song from the 1960s. Such touches are what invigorate this franchise above the others & what killed off the increasingly dark & directionless Batman franchise. Sam Raimi proves he is a director who knows how to milk a proven commodity without imposing his own distorted `vision' on it- unlike Batman director Tim Burton.
Good for Geeks, Though a Bit Short on Features September 11, 2008
If you liked Spider-man 2, you should love Spider-man 2.1. The extra scenes are all great scenes that add nuance to the already-excellent film. They're mostly extra character bits, things that weren't needed, but certainly help paint the picture. The extra bits are so well-blended into the old footage that I didn't even recognize one new shot as such until, when watching the original version again, I noticed that it wasn't there.
Most memorable to me were J. Jonah Jameson wearing his newly-found Spider-man suit and pretending that he's the superhero, a much more rational and less venal confrontation between Peter and Harry at his birthday party (I'd always thought that scene in the original version was a bit choppy and emotionally sporadic) and a wonderful conversation between Mary Jane and her Maid-of-Honor about why she's marrying John Jameson.
The DVD set was lacking in features. There is a new commentary track featuring Producer Laura Ziskin and Writer Steve Ditko, but it's not very interesting. In addition, the other two commentary tracks were removed. For commentary buffs like myself, this should not be.
Most of the rest of the special features are all new, including a featurette about the new material. Unfortunately, these few extras have replaced the old bonus disc. You could do what I did, find a cheap copy of the original Spider-man 2, keep that bonus disc and give the movie itself to a friend so you have a 3-disc set, but that seems a lot to do just to have the complete set of bonus features.
In all, I would highly recommend this version. If you're a Spider-man fan or just a DVD geek, get this movie, just be prepared to have less bonus features than before.
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