The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

A curious case of the missing extras afflicts this one-disc release - with a feature commentary (with, for reasons unknown, no additional subtitles) the only optional extra. Fortunately, David Fincher is a master of the commentary track, stitching together titbits about the production, special effects, on-set anecdotes and general thoughts on filmmaking with ease.

There are some amusing gems, such as the revelation of Brad Pitt's first reaction to Taraji P Henson as Queenie ("My mom's hot!") and the observation that the VFX used to create Pitt The Elder give him "muppet mouth". There's also plenty of grousing about the hassle of using a radio-control baby, which takes three people to operate, and a warning to would-be filmmakers never to work with twins. Apparently, there's always a 'good twin' and a 'bad twin', making it much more sensible to block out the moves with a kid who's never shown and then switch them out when you're ready to rock and roll.

Although the lack of a supplementary feature regarding the mind-blowing special effects that pepper even scenes which don't initially appear to use them, is a disappointment, Fincher provides a pretty good guide to some of them. He reveals that loops of Pitt and Cate Blanchett were used to provide the voices of all their incarnations, even when being played by the younger actresses and explains why they were forced to use CGI snow, despite woodchipping tonnes of ice for the job. He also talks about some of the 'unseen' VFX, such as those used to give Cate Blanchett puppy fat and to change Elle Fanning's eye colour.

What lifts Fincher's commentaries above the usual director run-throughs is his willingness to talk about what he likes and dislikes in films and why he chooses to shoot as he does. So, we learn that he will never work with prop blood again because he hates "wet work" and also gain an insight into how carefully constructed his scenes are so as to "throw away" shots of the Pitt VFX, rather than dwell on them, which gives the whole film a much greater level of veracity.

A five-star comentator though he is, however, at least one featurette on the making of is in order and those who want all the bells and whistles rather than the buttons on offer here would do well to either wait for the inevitable double-disc release or take a look at the Region 1 Criterion Collection issue, which features a step-by-step guide to the motion capture used for Brad Pitt, as well as featurettes on the score and art direction.