Evil sells. From the time of Adam and Eve it appears that Satan makes for great storytelling. The mini-series from NBC gets its name, obviously, from Revelations, the final book in the Bible. Combine the idea of pure evil and the end of times and you get… well, The Omen. Revelations deals more with the impending Armageddon than it actually does with the Anti-Christ. The clash of science and religion is far more important in this film than past films like The Omen. Bill Pullman is a good choice here. His portrayal of a Harvard scientist caught in the middle of this epic tale contains just the right reserved element to make him completely believable. Natascha McElhone is too stereotypical. Her constant ranting of scripture gets tiresome. I’m not really sure I blame the actress more than the way the part was written. This is a long tale that would have benefited from tighter editing. Of course, NBC had to fill 6 hours of prime-time.
Synopsis
Harvard scientist Richard Massey (Pullman) has just lost his daughter to a brutal satanic cult. He meets Sister Montefiore (McElhone) while the two are investigating a sick child who has mysteriously learned Latin. Together they become involved with the approach of Armageddon as predicted in The Bible.
Audio
The audio is an average Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. While not really dynamic the sound does a good job of presenting when called upon. Dialogue is always very clear and up front. This is important as this mini-series has a ton of exposition throughout. It’s one of those shows where it is easy to miss something important if you lose focus. The score is nicely eerie when necessary to deliver the proper atmosphere. Not much in ambient sounds but you will find occasions when the surround effects are put to some use.
Video
Revelations is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. I do not know if it was broadcast in widescreen as I never saw the original broadcast. My guess is that it likely was. The transfer is clean and free of any noise or artifact problems. Colors are a little soft at times. Blacks are reasonable in their detail but a little disappointing in depth. I assume this was an HD production and so I had a little more expectation of clarity than is evident. Perhaps this is more a product of disc compression than anything else. I should note that this is one of those rare nonanamorphic transfers. I’m not sure why.
Special Features
There are 8 deleted / alternative scenes. Perhaps the most interesting is a depiction of an “Evil” Last Supper that was obviously cut as too controversial.
There is a 4 minute “On Set Featurette” which adds nothing new to your experience. It is the typical promotional fare.
Final Thoughts
The ending leaves me a little nervous. I don’t mean the birth of the Anti-Christ but rather the obvious open door for another mini-series or perhaps even a full series. While I’ve heard nothing to validate my suspicions I have seen enough of these things to smell an option to continue from a mile away. I would suggest you simply rent this one. If you’ve already seen the original broadcast I can’t imagine you considering buying this. The extras are simply not worth the purchase price. My biggest complaint is that most of this has all been done before in superior films. I couldn’t help thinking the entire time I viewed this mini-series: “I saw it, I heard it”.
