Blu-ray Review: Fans Should Flip For ‘Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition’

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CHICAGO – With David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” hitting theaters today, there seems to be no better time to revisit the Swedish trilogy that set arthouses on fire last year and appreciate these films from a new angle. Music Box Films recently released a lavish Blu-ray box set with extended editions of all three films along with a complete disc of bonus material. The set includes two hours of footage, detailed material from the books that fans of the bestselling trilogy probably longed for when they first saw them. Now, your vision of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist can be more complete.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

Believe it or not given their extreme subject matter, the Millennium Trilogy was was broadcast on Swedish television in early 2010. The format allowed for much longer productions that had to be significantly truncated (although each film still had a hefty running time) than when they were on the big screen. Imagine HBO’s “Mildred Pierce” with entire plotlines excised to get it down to an acceptable length for a feature film and you have some idea what happened here.

Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition
Photo credit: Music Box Films

This is much more than just a case of deleted scenes re-inserted back from where they first hit the cutting room floor. That material is often never meant to see the light of the day. This material clearly was given it was a part of the original artistic intent both in book form and when the series of films were first produced.

Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 6th, 2011 Photo credit: Music Box Films

Also, it’s not merely an extension of Lena Endre’s part. Shots were altered or exchanged even in scenes you know already. The pace was sped up or slowed down throughout all three films. Even the opening credits are different. In many ways, they really do feel like completely different experiences, not your average director’s or unrated cuts with a few minutes reinserted.

Are they better? Worse? Is it OK if I say neither? I had length issues with the original versions, so longer takes on the same material doesn’t seem the right way to go, but, by the same token, there does seem to be more depth to the characters, a stronger sense of pace, less choppy editing. The first film is still easily the best but fans of this series will find notable alterations and differences in all three.

For many fans, the final disc of bonus material may be the most engaging. It includes a 53-minute documentary about the making of the series and the author of the books on which the films were based, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, and much more. With attractive packaging and stellar HD transfers for all three films, this truly does live up to its billing as “The Essential Box Set For Dragon Tattoo Fans.” As the conversation over whether or not Fincher’s version or the Swedish original does better service to the material picks up steam this week, this set could make the perfect ammunition for Noomi Rapace fans this holiday season.

Special Features:
o “Millennium: The Story”
o Behind-the-Scenes Footage
o Interviews with stars Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist and more!
o Theatrical Trailers

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com