Knowing was released on DVD in the United States as a feature film that blends science fiction thriller elements with a disaster narrative and it was originally placed in the Action category to aid searchability on retail and database platforms. The DVD edition arrived in stores on July 28 2009 following its theatrical run that began in March of the same year. The disc presents the movie in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track in English together with optional English Spanish and French subtitles for accessibility. The packaging is a standard keep case with a full color cover that showcases the film’s key visual of a mysterious glowing number sequence against a dark sky and the back cover provides a concise synopsis a list of principal cast members including Nicolas Cage as Professor John Koestler and Rose Byrne as his colleague Diana as well as director Alex Proyas and producer Patrick Crowley.
Special features on the DVD are extensive and designed to deepen viewer engagement. There is an audio commentary track featuring director Alex Proyas and visual effects supervisor Robert Legato who discuss the conceptual development of the story the challenges of rendering the large scale destruction sequences and the integration of practical effects with computer generated imagery. A making of documentary titled “The Numbers Behind Knowing” runs approximately forty five minutes and covers pre production research into the script’s numerological themes the casting process the design of the futuristic laboratory sets and the coordination of the massive climax involving a solar flare. Deleted scenes are presented with optional commentary by the editor and provide alternate character beats and extended exposition on the prophecy code. A featurette called “Visualizing the End” focuses exclusively on the visual effects pipeline showing breakdowns of the comet impact the citywide firestorm and the final celestial event. Additionally there is a gallery of conceptual art storyboards and production stills and a theatrical trailer presented in high definition.
The DVD also includes a digital copy redemption code compatible with major digital locker services at the time allowing owners to stream or download a standard definition version of the film for portable devices. The disc is region 1 encoded and complies with the NTSC standard for North American playback.
Regarding the catalog entry on iOctavio.com the title was added to the database on July 12 2009 as a game entry reflecting the site’s classification system which groups feature films and interactive media together for indexing purposes. The original categorization of the title as Action within the Action genre was retained in the metadata to preserve consistency with the user’s personal organization scheme and to facilitate retrieval when searching for high adrenaline or disaster driven narratives. This classification aligns with the film’s intense action sequences such as the plane crash the subway derailment and the climactic solar flare despite its stronger sci fi thriller core.