|
|
 |
Almost Famous: The Bootleg Cut - Director's Cut
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (4th March 2011). |
|
The Film
 After appearing on Blu-ray in numerous other countries in various regions (namely the United Kingdom, a few efforts in continental Europe, and a disc in Japan) during the last few years, Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” finally makes its high-def debut in the United States via an attractive package from Paramount Home Entertainment and DreamWorks. But, before you start jumping for joy and rushing to the nearest retailer to grab this disc, you should be advised of a couple notes. First, this new Blu-ray release is a single disc package that contains just one version of the film, the 162-minute “Extended Director’s Cut” complete with alternate title (“untitled”) and over half-an-hour of additional footage that expands the scope and narrative of the feature where it counts. “Almost Famous” is the rare film that is massively improved by it’s longer director’s cut. Not just a studio gimmick, Crowe’s “Bootleg Cut” reinstates all of his favorite deleted scenes and is the film he originally wanted to release to theaters, but was unable to due to a contractually enforced “two hour” runtime. The 122-minute theatrical version of the film – which, although still good, is forever inferior for it’s haphazard pacing issues and rushed storyline – is nowhere in sight. Although that’s mostly a good thing, the absence of the theatrical version is a dumb oversight on DreamWorks part. It really should have been seamlessly branched for those that wanted it. If you’re looking for the theatrical cut in 1080p, you’re out of luck. I don’t imagine we’ll see a Blu-ray release of the original version any time soon, if ever. The far more pressing note about this disc is that it’s currently available as a retailer exclusive at Best Buy. I assume that “Almost Famous” will eventually see wide release and be available at a variety of other merchants and (you can also pick up the disc at Bluraysforeveryone.com who also ship Internationally for overseas fans), but so far Paramount has remained tight-lipped about when exactly that will happen. Keep in mind that Paramount and DreamWorks exclusively released “Anchorman – The Legend of Ron Burgundy: Rich Mahogany Edition” on Blu-ray in September through the big-box retailer. “Anchorman” (2004) will be available (in a single disc edition without the trinkets and second disc included in the “Rich Mahogany” package) in April 2011 through all avenues. Assuming that “Almost Famous” follows a similar pattern, expect the exclusivity agreement with Crowe’s most personal film to end by late summer or early fall of this year. The story of William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is as much fact as it is fiction, which is kind of amazing considering what his story actually is. Miller, a freelance reporter for “Rolling Stone” magazine, has been given his first assignment. Sight unseen, the magazines notorious Editor (Ben Fong-Torres, played by Terry Chen) asks Miller to follow a band – in this case the up-and-coming rock group called Stillwater, a fictional amalgamation of several 70's rock groups including The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, and Lynyrd Skynyrd – on the road for a few months. He’s to report on what he witnesses. If the article is good enough, it’ll be the cover. An interesting tale perhaps, but that little synopsis doesn’t promise anything that sounds particularly amazing, now does it? That might be because I left out one tiny little detail that makes this story much more remarkable – William Miller is a 15-year-old high school student. “Almost Famous” isn’t directly a true story, but it’s about as close to being one as you can get without being forced by the dictionary police to use the word autobiography. In another life, before he semi-retired from journalism to write a little book (and, later, film) called “The Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1929, side note: I actually went to the school that served as the basis for Ridgemont; several years after the fact, of course), Academy Award winning writer and director Cameron Crowe basically was William Miller. A gifted teenager who graduated from high school well before his 17th birthday, Crowe wrote about music for “Creem” magazine (befriending real-life editor and mentor Lester Bangs, played impeccably by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the film) and eventually went on to freelance for the more mainstream “Rolling Stone”. Years later at the behest of friend Lawrence Kasdan, who was sick and tired of hearing about the “extremely personal film” Crowe wanted to make about his life, the filmmaker turned out what would become his Oscar winning screenplay, “untitled” – which eventually was re-titled as “Almost Famous” (and is “untitled” once again on the included director’s cut). It is, in my opinion, Crowe’s greatest work. Set primarily in the early seventies – 1973 to be exact – “Almost Famous” follows the young William, an ambitious but naïve rock critic from San Diego, as he dives head first into the world of – quite literally – sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. At not-yet-sixteen, Miller’s mother (the always good Frances McDormand) still drives him to venues and dropping him off with the warning, “Don’t do drugs!” He’s teased at school for being years younger than his peers (the extended version includes more scenes of his tortuous youth, including a very funny scene in the gym shower), while his flower-child sister at home (a perfectly cast Zooey Deschanel) fills his head with ideas about escaping their “oppressive” household ruled by a mother who won’t allow the lyrics of Simon & Garfunkel in her house. Miller’s sister leaves home on her 18th birthday, giving him a kiss, a word of wisdom (“One day, you’ll be cool”) and a backpack full of “forbidden” vinyl records. In his senior year Will meets not just Bangs, who gives him his first job, but the troubled group that his Rolling Stone’s piece will eventually be about – the aforementioned Stillwater. (Fun fact: William’s adventures with Stillwater are based in large part on Crowe’s time with The Allman Brothers Band). Stillwater, the film’s fictional-turned-real band of actors who learned to play music and musicians who learned to act, is comprised of lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee), guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), Ed Vallencourt (John Fedevich) and Larry Fellows (Mark Kozelek). They’re a band on the rise, but they’re also a band in trouble, a fact that their original manager, Dick (Noah Taylor), seems pretty much oblivious too. Backstage during a concert, Russell – the far-more-talented “star” of the group (a fact that is well known and, especially for Jeff, an area of much contention among the other band members) – befriends William, who becomes known as “the enemy” to band members, roadies, and groupies. Although a stooge for the establishment bred media, William and the defacto leader bond over a love of music. The fatherless Miller looks to Hammond for guidance, which is gladly given. Amidst their moderate success, while traveling across the country aboard the band’s decrepit old bus called “Doris”, the young freelancer watches as power struggles, a love affair, and random turmoil threaten to tear Stillwater apart from within. The tour is populated by a collection of rather odd but interesting characters outside of Stillwater, including a goofy band manager named Dennis (Jimmy Fallon, before he became too annoying to watch), and a trio of sexed up groupies (Fairuza Balk, coming off “American History X” (1998), Anna Paquin, still getting exposure for just playing Rogue in “X-Men” (2000), and Bijou Philips as Estrella Starr) led by legendary “Band-Aide” Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). Since “Almost Famous” Hudson hasn’t exactly proven herself to be all that talented, starring in a mostly soggy pile of cinematic drivel, but as the mysterious Lane – a free spirited, but vulnerable woman intent on loving, truly loving the band (and man in said band) which she’s utterly devoted to – Hudson is unexpectedly impressive. This feeds into by belief that sometimes it’s more about being cast in the right type of role than anything else for certain actors. At the time of the film’s release Kate Hudson was praised for her performance, and it still remains her crowning achievement to this day. Truth be told, most of the acting on display is exemplary – as it should be considering the cast – due in large part to Crowe’s evenhanded approach in both directing and writing such complexly developed characters. Frances McDormand is stupendous as William’s mother Elaine. The character, carefully modeled after Alice Marie Crowe, Cameron’s mom (who offers some great commentary elsewhere on this new Blu-ray), shows off McDormand – often thought of for her comedic roles under the directorship of her husband Joel Coen (and his brother, Ethan) – as an actress who’s more than competent in serious dramatic parts. And her character in turn also showcases Crowe as a more mature screenwriter. Had the director written the screenplay shortly after he experienced the events of this film, William (essentially a fictionalized 15 year old version of the director) would probably have been a stronger willed – even arrogant – character while Elaine would most certainly have been marginalized. But approaching the subject matter some 20 years later has given Crowe time to dissect his past and, no doubt thanks to some reflection on his part, Elaine Miller/Alice Marie Crowe is suddenly a far more developed character than she probably would have been. McDormand herself is certainly a large part of why the mother’s storyline has such an emotional richness – her balance between subtle nuance with facial expression and explosive outbursts of dialogue is impeccable – but Crowe deserves credit too, for realizing the worry and doubts that he inflicted upon his mom during his youth. That insight no doubt shaped a better character. Reportedly shot on a budget of $60,000,000, “Famous” really doesn’t – at first glace anyway – look like it cost that much. But, when you look closer (and listen at all; $3.5 million of that budget went directly to securing music rights), it’s pretty easy to see where that money went. Crowe and crew literally bring the 70's alive with immaculate set decoration and design, period-correct fashion, cars, and yes, music. Unlike so many others, Crowe doesn’t just insert songs into the film simply because he can; nor is this a barrage of the greatest hits from the 70's. Most of the music serves a purpose – beyond being just good – and either drives the plot forward, has some relevance to the time period, or fits the scene thematically or stylistically. And then there are the five original songs by Stillwater, which were written by Crowe, his ex-wife Nancy Wilson (who was once a member of Heart) and, in the case of two songs, the legendary Peter Frampton – who also makes a cameo appearance in the film. It’s just brilliant stuff, simple as that, and the film wouldn’t be the same without the, basically real, band and their authentic sounding songs. “Almost Famous” is a great movie; it’s fun but, at times, serious, without leaning too far in either direction. The script is strong and the dialogue is smartly written. Overall, it’s well acted, and each time I watch it, the story proves to be one of the most emotionally satisfying experiences I’ve ever had with a film. Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” is a film completely deserving of its awards – and probably should have won more (it’s certainly better than “Gladiator” (2000) which swept the Oscars the same year, save for screenplay which Crowe rightly won) – and I even agree with Roger Ebert who called it the best film of 2000. But, I still can’t give the film a perfect score, because, as much as I like it, I’ll admit that it isn’t a perfect movie; it’s close, but not entirely faultless. If you scroll down you’ll note that I gave the film an “A”; the reason I haven’t added that pesky little plus is simple. The third act is overwritten. For whatever reason (wishing to correct the mistakes of his past?), Crowe wraps up all of the plots and subplots in a neat little package topped with a big ol’ bow and it really does nothing to make “Famous” better. The lack of ambiguity is actually kind of disappointing considering up until that point the film skillfully balanced fantasy with reality (helped immensely by the fact that it’s most fantastical element – the 15 year old protagonist – isn’t all that fictional, and based on the writer/director himself). And the too-circular ending just sort of overindulges in neatness – a neatness that isn’t particularly needed. Still, my minor issues with the third act notwithstanding, “Almost Famous” is wonderful film overall. It’s really something special and if you haven’t seen it (which is as likely as it isn’t; the film flopped at the box office despite strong reviews and only maintains a too-small fanbase that was built up by home video) you really should. Very strongly recommended.
Video
The Director’s Cut of “Almost Famous” opens with a stylized title sequence that was shot on standard definition DV videotape and is windowboxed to the center of the screen with black space on all four sides of the frame. These first few minutes are aliased, noisy and low-def, which doesn’t exactly inspire a whole lot of confidence in what this Blu-ray will deliver in terms of visuals for the next almost-three hours. Fortunately, the 1080p AVC MPEG-4 encoded high definition transfer (slightly opened up to 1.78:1 widescreen from the original 1.85:1) is much better than what those opening moments promise. Nevertheless, that’s not to say that this new Blu-ray presentation is perfect or without fault; there are a couple of problems that keep the “Almost Famous” Blu-ray from being the hit it could have been. The main issue, I’d say that this Blu-ray is obviously using a dated master – likely minted for the 2-Disc DVD – but I can’t be certain of the vintage, other than to say it’s most obviously not new. Paramount is producing much better modern masters than this. Regardless, I’m positive that these issues are all related to the age of the source and the intention of this master being downscaled for standard definition viewing only. Fine object detail, intricate fabric texture and rich color reproduction are all seemingly present for a majority of the films runtime, but the image is almost consistently tainted by an unwanted digital-ness. Edge enhancement is a frequent bother, although severity is wildly inconsistent. Haloes are noticeable – most egregiously in the otherwise beautiful scene with Hudson dancing in the auditorium – but, at times faint, and sometimes not present at all. DNR has most certainly been applied to the transfer, although likely at the initial mastering stage (which means it’s backed into the reused source and stems from the DVD) and not added by the authoring house of this Blu-ray disc. Faces are never plasticine or overtly waxy, but are often subtly smoothed over in an unnatural way. Grain is oddly rendered too: while still there, it seems manipulated through artificial means leaving a sometimes clumpy, sluggish appearance and other times, a mild dusting of fine grain. It’s the inconsistency that I object to and find most maddening. Fear not, however, for the disc is far from being a complete loss. Less discerning viewers – those who aren’t nitpicky videophiles – will likely welcome the sizable upgrade in resolution, detail, and color reproduction offered by this release compared to the DVD versions of the film, and overlook the edge enhancement and inconsistent noise reduction. There are things that should impress even those with picky eyes; the print is pretty much spotless and contrast is, if a little flat, rock solid in recreating the original 70's look that director Cameron Crowe and cinematographer John Toll try to put forth. The black level is sufficient; there aren’t any serious compression artifacts and no obvious issues with banding either. The concert scenes (and some fleeting landscapes) fare the best – which is expected, I guess – with both crispness in texture and boldness in color. Curiously, they often seem the least digital too. In the best moments it’s pretty easy to forget about the harsh unattractiveness that sometimes infects this disc. Is “Almost Famous” a great looking catalog title? Nope. It’s pretty average and has a few problems that could have easily been corrected by a new 4K remaster supervised by Crowe. (Something that I, and most fans, would have been preferred.) But, this disc is also far from awful. It could be better – a lot better – but then again, it could be much, much worse. And any problems that the image has aren’t nearly enough to ruin the overall viewing experience; in fact this is the best I’ve ever seen the film look and by the end of the day I was so wrapped up in the story that I just sort of forgot about any DNR or haloing, and relished in the improved color and detail.
Audio
“Almost Famous” comes to Blu-ray with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) surround track. The film has always had an interesting sound design – not to mention one hell of a soundtrack with tons of great 70's rock – so it’s no surprise that the real standout of this disc is the audio. But, while Crowe’s film certainly sounds far better than it ever has (besting the lossy DTS mix on the DVD considerably), some listeners may be surprised to hear a certain amount of restraint in this lossless mix. Make no mistake, the film sounds great, but not in the sense that it offers a constant state of wall-to-wall immersion. “Famous” is still pretty talky – it is mostly a drama after all – and due to the subtle, and slow, nature of the mix, the audio probably won’t outright impress some. Crowe and then-wife Nancy Wilson (the films music supervisor and composer) made deliberate choices with sound and music. Choices that further enhance the movie-watching experience, but at the same time, don’t always make for material that could be considered “demo worthy.” There are three distinct styles of sound in the film. The first ten minutes – as the audience is introduced to young William and the closed worldview of an eleven-year-old living in his mother’s oppressive house, where she’s banned contemporary rock music – are basically mono. Single channel, quiet, stripped down and sort of dull, dialogue is the primary concern –across all three stages of the mix, actually – but it’s always well prioritized and clear. As the film progresses the audio slowly bleeds into the left and right speakers, and almost precisely when William (played early on by Michael Angarano) drops the needle onto The Who’s “Tommy”, the film expands to stereo – an effect that is pretty cool. As the protagonist’s eyes slowly opens up to a world outside his mother’s influence, the listener also experiences a similar feeling. Subtle panning effects are used to create directionality and the sound, while still front focused, is broader and fuller. The final stage appears with the first Stillwater performance at the San Diego Sports Arena. Here the film goes full-bore into providing enveloping 6-channel surround sound. The mix takes on modernity, with crowd chatter populating the rears, LFE that has real life; the music and lyrics are brazen and loud without losing their clarity. From then on the mix is busy but not too overbearing; the film teeters back and forth between the worlds of stereo and the explosive multi-channel concerts, but it does so well. Note that music fidelity isn’t always perfect. In fact, many of the songs sound as though they’re sourced from an LP (not that they crack and pop with any regularity; just that there’s a distinct low-fi, analog quality to the music from time to time), but again, I think this the intention of the director – possibly even Wilson and Peter Frampton (who served as an additional music supervisor on top of appearing in a cameo and writing two Stillwater songs). The song selection, as I mentioned previously, is superb. Crowe, et al have chosen songs that not only define the era, but are just damn good pieces of music from some of the greatest artists who ever lived. Rousing action soundtrack it may not be, but a faithful aural representation of the film; and one that improves over previous formats? That’s exactly what the “Almost Famous” mix is. For the record Paramount has also includes dubs in French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 with English, English for the hearing impaired, French, and Spanish subtitles.
Extras
In the words of director Cameron Crowe – who provides audio introductions on most of the extras via a little clickable mic icon – this Blu-ray includes “almost everything available” when it comes to supplements for “Almost Famous.” This includes most of the text material, Crowe’s excellent audio commentary (with his mom and others), a couple of featurettes, and the deleted scenes from the 2-Disc Bootleg Director’s Edition, plus an HBO first look featurette from the original theatrical DVD. Unfortunately, most of the special features are direct SD ports that haven’t seen any sort of remastering or resolution upgrade for Blu-ray. The various text-based extras however have been upgraded to high definition – resolution applicable where noted. The disc’s main attraction is an audio commentary with Cameron Crowe – and others (more on that in a minute) – and it’s one of the best ever tracks of its kind, adding tremendous value to this Blu-ray package. The writer/director takes the helm guiding listeners through the various stages of production and even offers his thoughts on the “new” additions to the longer Bootleg cut of the film. But this track is so much more than that; Crowe also dives right into his personal life by discussing the autobiographical nature of the film, his time as a young journalist for “Rolling Stone”, and what it was like on the road with some of the greatest bands and musicians who ever lived. Even better is that, while Crowe is honest and admirably willing to talk about his past and his most personal film, he’s helped along by a handful of other commentators including his mother Alice Marie Crowe – who’s even more open than her son – as well as producers and partners at Crowe’s Vinyl Films, Scott M. Martin and Andy Fischer, Mark Atkinson of DreamWorks SKG, and a friend of the Crowe Family, Ivan Croner. Really, this is a must listen for casual fans of the film (even those who don’t usually listen to commentary tracks) and a true treat for people who love “Almost Famous” as much as I do. Next, an audio clip titled “Intro by Cameron Crowe” (audio only; 25 seconds) is a brief prologue by the director to the films supplements package. “The Making of ‘Almost Famous’” (4x3 480p; 24 minutes 50 seconds) is a decent enough making of featurette with most of the primary players including Cameron Crowe, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Nancy Wilson, Patrick Fugit and more. This piece is actually an HBO “First Look” from the film’s initial theatrical release in 2000. As such it covers the genesis of the project, the autobiographical elements of the story, casting, and the music: basically all the expected stops in this sort of production overview. As EPK features go this isn’t too bad – in fact, it’s quite good considering that most HBO specials are just extended commercials for the films they discuss. This piece only has a short trailer for “Almost Famous” at the beginning, and is otherwise pretty informative. But, at the same time, as the discs main “documentary” this is a bit of a letdown. A newly shot retrospective really should have been commissioned (especially since the film celebrated its tenth anniversary last year) but, hey, this is better than nothing – and it wasn’t included on the Director’s Edition DVD so there’s a chance that you haven’t seen in… in a while anyway. As Crowe explains in his introduction (audio only; 38 seconds) the next featurette, called “Interview with Lester Bangs” (4x3 480i, 1 minute 55 seconds) is one of the only on-screen interviews ever recorded with his mentor, journalist and editor of “Creem” magazine, Lester Bangs. “Cameron Crowe’s Top Albums of 1973” (1080p) is lead in by an audio intro (audio only; 9 seconds) explaining that this section is a place where the director reflects on his favorite records from that year. The feature is basically short audio commentary set against 10 clickable album covers. These include: - “Brothers and Sisters” by The Allman Brothers Band (with Crowe commentary; 31 seconds). - “Aladdin Sane” by David Bowie (with Crowe commentary; 33 seconds). - “Greetings From Asbury Park” by Bruce Springsteen (with Crowe commentary; 22 seconds). - “Honky Chateau” by Elton John (with Crowe commentary; 25 seconds). - “Late For the Sky” by Jackson Browne (with Crowe commentary; 16 seconds). - “For the Roses” by Joni Mitchell (with Crowe commentary; 22 seconds). - “Houses of the Holy” by Led Zeppelin (with Crowe commentary; 33 seconds). - “Goat’s Head Soup” by The Rolling Stones (with Crowe commentary; 19 seconds). - “Something/Anything?” by Todd Rundgren (with Crowe commentary; 19 seconds). - “Odds & Sods” by The Who (with Crowe commentary; 20 seconds). A music video for Stillwater’s “Fever Dog” (non-anamorphic 16x9 480p, 4 minutes 42 seconds) that Crowe shot during production is also included. In another intro (audio only; 50 seconds) Crowe explains that the next featurette, called “Love Comes and Goes” (4x3 480i; 3 minutes 53 seconds) is a collection of B-roll footage set to music, with composer and music supervisor Nancy Wilson providing the vocals for the demo version of a Stillwater song of the same name. In yet another audio intro (audio only; 20 seconds) Crowe introduces a handful of the articles he wrote while working for “Rolling Stone” magazine. Each one somehow inspired the film, and all of them have been reproduced via text in their entirety. “Rolling Stone Articles” (1080p) features 7 articles, including: - The Allman Brothers Band: December 6, 1973 (23 pages) - Led Zeppelin: March 13, 1975 (34 pages) - Neil Young: August 14, 1975 (27 pages) - Peter Frampton: February 10, 1977 (12 pages) - Fleetwood Mac: March 24, 1977 (33 pages) - Van Morrison: May 19, 1977 (10 pages) - Joni Mitchell: July 26, 1979 (56 pages) Interesting, if a bit disappointing is “B-Sides” (4x3 480i, 5 minutes 21 seconds), a short film by Cameron Crowe and producer Scott M. Martin. The film is a hybrid table read/cast rehearsal/character exercise for the actors that also serves as a montage of B-roll footage. In his intro (audio only; 50 seconds) to this extra Crowe lists off a ton of material that he and Martin shot with their DV cams during pre-production and the actual shoot of “Almost Famous” including audition tapes, other pre-production exercises and various bits of behind-the-scenes footage, none of which has been pulled up for the Blu-ray outside of this all-too-brief montage. I have to ask, “why?” It was shot, it’d be interesting to see, and certainly the material could be cut together to at least form a longer B-roll, right? Why didn’t someone do that? The “Cleveland Concert” (non-anamorphic 16x9 480p; 15 minutes 45 seconds) is an extended scene featuring a performance by the film’s fictional-turned-real band (i.e. Stillwater), which Crowe shot in Cleveland, Ohio. The performance is offered in its entirety. The director notes in his introduction (audio only; 54 seconds) that the band’s last performance was at the “Almost Famous” wrap party – again, something I’d like to see. Unfortunately, like the rest of the deleted and extended material this scene is limited to lowly window-boxed standard definition. A deleted scene not included in any form of the film is a continuous shot of cast members performing an acoustic rendition of “Small Time Blues” (non-anamorphic 16x9 480p; 2 minutes 55 seconds). “Stairway” (non-anamorphic 16x9 480p; 12 minutes 13 seconds) is the final deletion, featuring, yep, “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin… sort of. As Crowe explains in his intro (audio only; 1 minute 55 seconds) rights issues prevented the use of the song in the theatrical film and, unbelievably, even the Director’s Cut, thus ruining this scene in which William plays the song for his mother as a way to explain why he needs to leave home. It’s an integral part of the film and I think – as does Crowe, obviously – that it’s a damn shame that this scene couldn’t be included in either of the proper versions. Nevertheless, the scene is included here, but there’s a catch. Due to those damned licensing issues the song is still not included, so you’ll have to sync up your own CD – or, more likely now, an MP3 – of “Stairway” in the ultimate form of audience participation (a watermark clues you in when to push play). It’s a rather ingenious solution to the problem and trust me its worth the extra effort. This is a very good scene and probably one of the most important to the film (and, I guess, Crowe’s real life) as a whole. A digital copy of Crowe’s final draft of the screenplay can be found under “Script” (1080p). The whole thing is included – via high def encoded text – in its entirety. Finally, the films easily forgotten theatrical trailer (1080p, 2 minutes 33 seconds) completes the bonus material.
Packaging
Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” arrives on Blu-ray in a single disc (BD-50) package from Paramount Home Entertainment in what they’ve dubbed the “Director’s Edition: The Bootleg Cut”, featuring the extended 162-minute version of the film. The disc is housed in a standard blue Elite eco-box keepcase and includes a cardboard slipcover that duplicates the cover artwork underneath. The Blu-ray is currently a Best Buy exclusive.
Overall
“Almost Famous” is my favorite Cameron Crowe production. It’s a film that has a great story, an even more amazing soundtrack, and a wonderful cast whom largely give exceptional performances. It deserves every bit of praise that it has received – including Crowe well-earned Oscar for the screenplay. This “Director’s Edition” Blu-ray has a video transfer sourced from a dated and imperfect master, audio that is faithful to the source but often unexpectantly reserved, and extras that are mostly ports from the previous DVD. Despite all of that, I still feel – “untitled”, as I guess it should now be called – is such a good film that it warrants a very strong recommendation. And, for all of its technical “issues”, this is still a worthy home video release that bests every other version available. Paramount’s decision to release this title exclusively through Best Buy is a curious one, but that really doesn’t matter, especially not when the retailer has offered it at such a reasonable discount. Highly Recommended. Support us by purchasing this disc online at Bluraysforeveryone.com, they specialize in store exclusives and limited editions both new and used, plus have a wide range of new releases and catalogue titles. Join their reward program and earn points towards your purchases. Best of all for overseas customers they are customs friendly and offer great cost-saving shipping options. Check them out for some cool limited editions. 
|
|||||
|