A team of aliens have returned to Earth to collect their comrades, who have laid cocooned underwater on what was once Atlantis. They charter a boat and begin to collect the cocoons, bringing them ashore and placing them in the swimming pool of a large house they've rented. But when a group of senior citizens accidentally stumble upon the pool, they soon realise that the strange cocoons somehow help them recapture their youth...

Cocoon has weathered the test of time incredibly well. This is probably down to the fact that the main cast are senior citizens and so the fashions of the time haven't aged the picture like so many films. The film has some of Hollywood's finest actors as they were nearing the end of their lives. All have now passed on apart from Wilford Brimley who incredibly was only in his 50s when the movie was filmed. But even the older actors were still incredibly fit for their ages - all insisting on doing their own diving stunts in the swimming pool scenes, and the diving scenes towards the end of the film.

It's still as sweet and moving a movie as I remember it being all those years ago when I originally saw it in the cinema. Although, now it's emotional for a different reason. The sad scene between Bernie and Rose is more poignant as you get older and realise that one day you too will be losing your loved ones as we move ever closer to death.

It's still a wonderfully touching and very sweet movie, with plenty of humour. Hell, even Steve Guttenberg turns in a likeable performance.

For extras we get an audio commentary with director Ron Howard; Behind the Scenes (6 min, 56 sec); Ron Howard Profile (2 min, 34 sec look at Howard's career); Underwater Training (3 min, 35 sec look at training the actors); Actors (2 min, 52 sec sound bytes from the actors about there career and approach); Creating Antareans (3 min, 56 sec that sees the actors talking about being aliens; 3 x TV Spots; Original Theatrical Trailer (1 min, 28 sec); Teaser Trailer (55 sec); and Cocoon the Return Theatrical Trailer (1 min, 28 sec).

The audio commentary is interesting. It dates from 2003, as Howard mentions that he's just completed filming on Missing. Highlights include the fact that Madonna was briefly in talks to play the female alien; the fact that Clint Howard is Ron's brother - something I surprisingly didn't know or even suspect. He also points out that his wife, Cheryl, is in every one of his movies. And both of his parents also appear. It's an interesting and informative look at the making of the movie - especially Brimley's ad lib approach which a lot of the more seasoned actors were uncomfortable with.

Audio options include DTS HD Master Audio 5.1; Uncompressed Stereo LPCM; and Isolated Music and Effects. The release also includes an interesting 20-page booklet.

If you already own this movie, then there's little point in buying it again for the extras, unless you really want the crisper Blu-ray print.

9

Darren Rea