The Twilight Saga franchise has touched the hearts of millions of book readers and fans around the world. Breaking Dawn - Part 1 has a little bit of something for everyone; the much anticipated wedding scene, the appearance of Bella's wedding dress, the honeymoon, and the birth scene. I loved its predecessors Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse but Breaking Dawn - Part 1 has to be my favorite film so far since it fulfilled all of my expectations. Hit the jump to read my review of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 special edition Blu-ray.
The film starts off with some frightening dream sequences: Bella having her nervous reactions to the thought of getting married and how her life is going to change once she becomes a vampire. It was refreshing to see the facial reaction and body language in great detail from Bella while walking down the aisle until we finally see her stunning wedding dress as she locks eyes with Edward. I‘m confident that most Twilight fans believed the wedding scene looked breathtaking from the various camera angles, along with the excellent music and cinematography. After fantasizing about her wedding, we watch Bella have her dream honeymoon, watch it fall apart, have a baby, and finally transform into a Vampire all in two hours. Part one was cut at exactly the right moment once we see Bella open up her bright red eyes as a newborn.
Bill Condon, the director, did such a phenomenal job to make every scene look flawless. I feel Breaking Dawn - Part 1 is undoubtedly Kristen Stewart’s best performance; watching her body movement and transformation was remarkable. Since every film was directed by a different director, I was a bit skeptical regarding how the birth scene would play out and how it would be translated from book to screen, but was pleasantly surprised after viewing it just once. I wanted to make sure the scene was shot correctly so it would only be shown from Bella’s perspective. All the important scenes, such as the birth sequence and Bella’s transformation, were filmed beautifully from start to finish.
My favorite feature on the Blu-Ray special edition is the six-part, 90 minute long MAKING-OF-DOCUMENTARIES. This was the first time I saw how every important scene was positioned together. Another awesome feature about the documentaries is that they can be played alone or in picture-in-picture mode alongside the film starting from "Love Death Birth", "The Wedding", "The Honeymoon", "The Wolf Pack", "The Pregnancy" and "The Birth". All of these special features walk you through the entire process of making the movie with the writers, creators, and cast. My favorite out of the six part documentaries is definitely "The Pregnancy." Watching Kristen Stewart’s transformation, the prosthetics that were used on set, and the making of her uncanny body double were all wonderful. If you’re someone who loves watching and learning about the pre-production, production and post-production processes, you will thoroughly enjoy these documentaries.
Lots of other great features are also available on this Blu-Ray Special Edition, including "Jacob’s Destiny", "Bella and Edwards’s Personal Wedding Video", film commentary with director Bill Condon, and the ‘Jump to’ feature. If you are a Cullen fan or a Wolf pack fan, this feature is for you. You can jump to all the scenes that include your favorite characters and your favorite scenes. My favorite would have to be the wedding reception ‘jump to’ feature just because I can re-watch the wedding scenes over and over again.
The one minor disappointment in my opinion is the lack of a film commentary by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. I still enjoyed the commentary with Bill Condon, but would have also preferred to hear the main cast members walking us through the film. To sum up everything, I would give Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Blu-Ray Special Edition an ‘A’. This version has something special for everyone and it’s perfect for every Twilight fan.
