...the performances are the best part of the film.
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When "Almost Famous" arrived in theatres more than a year ago (in autumn 2000), rumors floated in industry circles that writer/director/producer Cameron Crowe wanted to release a version of the film longer than the two hours, three minutes cut that audiences saw. Generally, critics loved the film, but it failed to find much of an audience. Non-professionals who did see the movie liked "Almost Famous" but not enough to create word-of-mouth buzz to carry it towards the Oscar finish line. Nonetheless, Cameron Crowe won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the film also won Golden Globes for Best Picture-Musical/Comedy and Best Supporting Actress (Kate Hudson).
When DreamWorks announced the DVD release of "Almost Famous," it also stated that an upcoming special edition DVD release would feature Cameron Crowe´s director´s cut. As Crowe found himself busy with campaigning for awards as well as prepping his movie, "Vanilla Sky," he did not have time to re-cut and re-mix "Almost Famous" for a simultaneous release of both the theatrical and the director´s cut.
Crowe had cut his film down to two hours for commercial purposes, but I felt that the theatrical version of "Almost Famous" felt repetitious in some places and a bit uneven in terms of pacing. Imagine my surprise, then, when I saw Crowe´s "Bootleg Cut." Now running two hours and forty-three minutes, I finally understand the points that Crowe tried to make because all of the film´s requisite rhythms are there in uncut glory. The theatrical cut failed to gel together as a cohesive piece, but "The Bootleg Cut" smoothes the narratives once-rough edges.
"Almost Famous" is Crowe´s quasi-autobiographical ode to the ´70s, rock music, and growing up. In the film, William Miller (newcomer Patrick Fugit) is a 15-year-old who´s about to graduate from high school because his college professor mom Elaine (Frances McDormand in a delightful performance) had him start school early and had him skip fifth grade.
The story begins with William´s older sister leaving home to become a stewardess because their mother won´t allow her to listen to rock ´n´ roll. She bequeaths her collection of rock albums to her brother, and it is that collection of rock music that leads William to write for the school newspaper as well as several "underground" publications. William gets lucky when "Rolling Stone" magazine offers him the job of covering the fictional band Stillwater. The remaining 75 percent of the film deals with William´s experiences with the band, the groupies, and the world at large.
For example, we see a number of scenes where Stillwater´s lead singer (Jason Lee) argues with his charismatic lead guitarist, Russell (Billy Crudup), over the band´s image and paths to success. We see many scenes in which William obviously is in love with chief groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn´s daughter) but is hurt when she slinks off to sleep with Russell. Over and over again, we see that Russell uses Penny only for sex and that every character except for William is, despite their best intentions, only interested in their own petty concerns.
My favorite added scenes deal with William as a kid. Since he´s younger than his peers, he hits puberty later than everyone else (as revealed in a school shower), and pranksters mock him by posting an unflattering message about him on the high school´s entrance sign. You also get the chance to see more of every character, so the movie no longer feels like a piece where members of the ensemble cast randomly flit in and out of the story.
Mr. Crowe has made plenty of movies about self-delusions, personal journeys, and self-discoveries. However, even though "Almost Famous" is a more personal film for him, he was able to explore more truthful and emotional depths in "Jerry Maguire" than here. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that this is his life that is onscreen, so Crowe is more interested in putting on a good face rather than really showing everyone what he experienced. (For example, we know from newspaper and magazine articles and interviews that Crowe´s sister and mother really did not enjoy the reunion that´s in the movie.)
As with most biographical films, "Almost Famous" is rather episodic, and it depends on the performances to sustain interest. Indeed, the performances are the best part of the film. Philip Seymour Hoffman has an amusing and informative bit part as William´s mentor, rock critic Lester Bangs. Young Patrick Fugit can have a long, great career ahead of him if he wants it. Finally, Frances McDormand and Kate Hudson, both nominated for Oscar´s Best Supporting Actress, provide Fugit great womanly support in the fine ensemble cast.
Video:
As with the previous DVD release of "Almost Famous," the "Untitled" two-disc set features video transfers (1.85:1, anamorphic) of near-reference quality. Colors are bright and strong (befitting the colorful apparel of the era), and the clean print has nary a scratch or signs of dirt. There is a bit of grain here and there, and the film looks unexpectedly soft in some places. These are probably stylistic choices, though, so I´m not going to quibble much with the good folks at DreamWorks.
Audio:
Steven Spielberg is one of the co-founders of DreamWorks, and he is also one of the investors in DTS, the company that invented digital theatrical sound before Dolby Digital came along. Therefore, per DreamWorks´s practices, the "The Bootleg Cut" DVD set comes with both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 tracks. However, not all DVDs are created equally. Disc One, "The Bootleg Cut," contains a Dolby Digital 5.1 English mix as well as a DD 2.0 surround English track. Disc Two, the theatrical cut, contains a DD 5.1 English track, a DD 5.1 French track, a DD 2.0 surround English track, and the DTS 5.1 English mix.
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