PITCH BLACK (2000)

MORGAN'S RATING

A spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Riddick, a dangerous, shackled murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a barren, triple-sunned planet after the craft suffers severe damage during a meteor shower. The ship is ripped into pieces, killing several crew members and leaving meek officer Fry in charge of the survivors. After two unfortunate deaths, the survivors discover that the only visable life form on the planet is a species of light-fearing, carnivorous, occasionally cannibalistic aliens dwelling in caverns beneath the desert surface. Using a model of the planet and its sun in an abandoned research station, Fry deduces that she and her fellow travellers have unfortunately descended on the planet on the day of its first total eclipse in 22 years, giving them mere hours before they are bathed in total darkness. Only then is it safe for the hungry subterranean creatures to emerge, seeking to feed on the remaining survivors.

Vin Diesel (Richard B. Riddick), Radha Mitchell (Carolyn Fry), Cole Hauser (William J. Johns), Keith David (Abu al- Walid, aka Imam), Lewis Fitz-Gerald (Paris P. Ogilvie), Claudia Black (Sharon 'Shazza' Montgomery), Rhiana Griffith (Jack / Jackie), John Moore (John 'Zeke' Ezekiel), Simon Burke (Greg Owens), Les Chantery (Suleiman), Sam Sari (Hassan), Firass Dirani (Ali), Ric Anderson (Total Stranger), Vic Wilson (Captain Tom Mitchell), Angela Makin (Dead Crew Member), Kenneth M. Twohy (Spaceship Traveler).

THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE. STAY IN THE LIGHT.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: David Twohy (Riddick). WRITERS: Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat and David Twohy. PRODUCER: Tom Engelman. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Ted Field, Scott Kroopf and Tony Winley. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Graeme Revell. DISTRIBUTOR: USA Films.

QUOTES

Riddick: This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Johns: He just escaped from a maximum security prison. Fry: Should he just stay locked up forever? Johns: That would be my choice. Fry: Is he really that dangerous? Johns: Only around humans.

FACTS

RELEASE DATE: February 18th, 2000 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $14.0 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $39.2 million (USA) BUDGET: $23 million (USA) - The spaceship is called Hunter/Gratzner -- also the name of the visual effects company that designed and built the actual model of the ship. - Desert scenes filmed in the same location used for Mad Max. - In one of the shots showing cargo pods being jettisoned from the ship before the crash, one of the pods is numbered '2E', a jokey reference to the director's name ('Twohy') from the effects crew. - The contacts that Vin Diesel wore to play Riddick were a prototype. After the first day of filming, when they tried to remove the contact lenses, they couldn't. Due to where they were filming, they had to have an optometrist flown in from the nearest town, three hours away. Diesel called the contacts hubcaps. The contact lenses were briefly available to the public from Lens Quest followin the release of the film. They were called Shine Job, like in the movie. - Vin Diesel actually performed the shoulder-dislocation stunt (when Riddick breaks free for the second time) for the crew, holding a chain between his hands, although he couldn't do it with the cuffs on. The version we see is mostly him with some special effects thrown in. - The original ending had Riddick being killed by one of the creatures instead of Carolyn. This was changed to allow sequel possibilities since Universal didn't believe the Carolyn character would be as popular as the Riddick character. - Followed by a sequel: Riddick (2004).

Riddick: They say most of your brain shuts down during cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side, the animal side. No wonder I'm still awake.

Riddick: All you people are so scared of me. But it ain't me you gotta worry about now.

Johns: Hey, I thought I said no shivs! Riddick: You mean this? This is just a personal grooming appliance.

Paris: Paris P. Olgilvie. Antiquities dealer, entrepreneur. Riddick: Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict. Murderer.

Riddick: Back to the ship, huh? Just huddled together, until the lights burn out? 'Til you can't see what's eating you? Is that the big plan?

Imam: Where's Johns?" Riddick: Which half?

Imam: I have already prayed with the others. It is painless. Riddick: It is pointless.

Fry: You're dancing on razor blades here.

Riddick: I absolutely believe in God...and I absolutely hate the fucker.

Riddick: They kept calling it 'murder' when I did it.

Johns: Full clip, safety's off. One shot if you spot him. Paris: Yes, but what if Mr. Riddick spots us first? Johns: Then there'll be no shots.

Riddick: [Evil Smile] Like I said, it ain't me you should be worrying about.

Riddick: Once the killing starts, this psycho fuck family of our is gonna rip itself apart.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"We've seen this movie before." -- Desson Howe, Washington Post

"A step backward from The Arrival." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

"Barely intermittent, reminding us that the B-movie is still very much with us." -- Jay Carr, Boston Globe

"A mediocre but nonetheless entertaining copy of the Alien films." -- Jonathan Foreman, New York Post