At the end of the day, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” fits nicely on any bookshelf with “Knocked Up,” “Superbad” and “The 40 Year Old Virgin.”
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" comes fully equipped with all of the latest bells and whistles that the Blu-ray format can provide. The disc is enabled with U-Control content that requires Profile 1.1 Blu-ray players to enjoy its Picture-in-Pictured based content. Three items are included with U-Control. The Visual Commentary with Director Nick Stoller, Executive Producer Rodney Rothman, Producer Shauna Robertson, Writer/Star Jason Segel and Cast Members Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russel Brand and Jack McBrayer is spread across the entire disc. The Picture-in-Picture materials span across just eleven of the twenty chapters and four Karaoke selections are part of the interactive package. The U-Control can only be used during the playback of the Extended version of the film. The visual commentary is nicly done and features all six members of the cast and crew sitting around comfortably. I´m starting to enjoy these over standard commentary tracks. The PiP features include many interviews and making-of footage and are a nice addition to the title. Karaoke provides instrumental and vocal versions of the four songs and is quite clever.
It also features Profile 2.0 required BD Live material that wreaked havoc on my Playstation 3, but after some fiddling and deleting of a save file I was able to delve into the pinnacle of home theater technology. At the time of this review, my Playstation 3 had prompted me that new BD Live material was available and I allowed the disc to update my player, but as the time of the writing of this review only an introductory menu detailing how to register and browse the BD Live page was available. Either I´m missing something overly blatant or the features are not yet fully available. It looks similar to what Universal had done with HD-DVD and I look forward to playing with features once they become available. I still feel that Blu-ray should not have launched until Profile 2.0 was ready as most users of the format will not be able to enjoy the next generation interactive bonus materials. The HD-DVD materials were typically promotional, but there were some bonus scenes and such.
The disc contains a large number of features that are playable on any respectable Blu-ray player, although my Samsung BD-P1400 seems intent on not playing anything from the studio, even after a recent firmware update. Thankfully I am a gamer and have a Playstation 3 handy. The features list begins with the familiar My Scenes feature that allows bookmarking and shares scenes with the BD-Live functionality. Karaoke (17:42) includes six songs from the film and allows the user to switch between vocal and instrumental versions. The songs of this film are funny and while I´m not sure why somebody would throw a party for six songs, it is an interesting feature. The eleven Deleted and Extended Scenes (19:24) contain materials not included in either version of the film and those that enjoyed the film will probably find a few other decent scenes here. The extended scenes contain large parts of scenes already seen in the film. The Puppet Break-Up (2:29) is another deleted scene and features a moment from the puppet play seen at the end of the film.
Many of the next special features will seem familiar from "The 40 Year Old Virgin´s" Blu-ray disc and have to do with botched lines, impromptu moments and alternate takes. Line-O-Rama (7:49) is a number of outtakes and alternate versions of scenes from the film with a little more crudeness and impromptu hilarity. These were better than the deleted scenes. Sex-O-Rama (2:42) is a collection of alternate sex scenes that were not used in the film. There was far more nudity in this three minutes than the entire film. Drunk-O-Rama (2:29) is the third and final collection of themed outtakes and these center around alcohol humor. I heard ´snakebite´ in this film and started to miss my favorite bar that is now closed. The short Gag Reel (5:44) has a lot of funny moments and some not-so-funny moments.
The next few segments are more involved with the making of the film. "A Taste For Love" (6:17) is a short feature that talks about the making of the puppet play and talks about how Segel had intended to actually write a Dracula musical. The "Dracula´s Lament" (Table Read 4/7/07) (3:12) shows a very short piece of footage where some of the actors read lines from a scene in the film between Segel and Mila Kunis. Russell Brand: Aldous Snow (5:56) is s short vignette where actor Russell Brand auditions for the role and members of the cast and crew talk about Brand´s getting the part and his work to bring the character to life. The Letter "U" (3:45) is a mock video footage where Brand is in character as Aldous Snow as he tries to work with children on a children´s show with the Letter U in a "Sesame Street" parody. It is quite funny and one of the better supplements.
The remainder of the features are a nice collection of promotional and behind-the-scenes items. "We´ve Got to Do Something"Music Video (3:47) is a mock musical video featuring fictional band Infant Sorrow and singer Aldous Snow. Parts of it were seen in the film. Crime Scene is comprised of Alt Scenes (2:17) that were filmed of the show-within-a-show and not used in the final film. The second and final part of "Crime Scene" is the Hunter Rush Line-O-Rama (1:58) and has more bonus footage from the fictional TV show and some funny and crude lines in a feature reminiscent of the other "O-Rama" segments on the film. Alec Baldwin was funny here. Sarah´s New Show – Alts (1:15) is bonus footage from the other mock show "Animal Instincts." The Raw Footage – Video Chat (7:13) shows elements from the film before digital effects and other post-production elements were included and provides a nice look at the making of the film. The Red Band Trailer is the R-Rated advertisement for the film.
Two more lengthy items round out the impressive list of special features included on the "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" Blu-ray disc. The Video Diaries (35:16) is twenty one chapter look at the making of the film that covers various times during the fifty five day shoot, although there is nothing between Day 33 and Day 50. Jason Segel talks about how the film was based upon a terrible break-up and the cast and crew give an honest look at the making of the film. I find these video documentaries to be far superior to most fluff-piece making-of documentaries. The Feature Commentary with Director Nick Stoller, Executive Producer Rodney Rothman, Producer Shauna Robertson, Writer/Star Jason Segel and Cast Members Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russel Brand and Jack McBrayer is the same track as the video commentary, but without the ability to watch the cast and crew interact as they are recording the commentary.
Closing:
I must give Judd Apatow credit for two things. First of all, the writer, producer and director has found himself a niche with the mature comedies he has been churning out. I´m not going to fault him for the Will Ferrell trilogy as it pays the bills, but "Superbad," "Knocked Up," "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and now "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" are all very strong comedies with wonderful stories, great acting and plenty of good jokes. Secondly, Apatow produces amazing home video releases and all of the previously mentioned films have been featured packed discs with good sight and sound that is only hampered by source materials and sound design. Apatow is certainly on a roll and this is just the latest in a trend that I hope doesn´t stop anytime soon. At the end of the day, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" fits nicely on any bookshelf with "Knocked Up," "Superbad" and "The 40 Year Old Virgin."
It also features Profile 2.0 required BD Live material that wreaked havoc on my Playstation 3, but after some fiddling and deleting of a save file I was able to delve into the pinnacle of home theater technology. At the time of this review, my Playstation 3 had prompted me that new BD Live material was available and I allowed the disc to update my player, but as the time of the writing of this review only an introductory menu detailing how to register and browse the BD Live page was available. Either I´m missing something overly blatant or the features are not yet fully available. It looks similar to what Universal had done with HD-DVD and I look forward to playing with features once they become available. I still feel that Blu-ray should not have launched until Profile 2.0 was ready as most users of the format will not be able to enjoy the next generation interactive bonus materials. The HD-DVD materials were typically promotional, but there were some bonus scenes and such.
The disc contains a large number of features that are playable on any respectable Blu-ray player, although my Samsung BD-P1400 seems intent on not playing anything from the studio, even after a recent firmware update. Thankfully I am a gamer and have a Playstation 3 handy. The features list begins with the familiar My Scenes feature that allows bookmarking and shares scenes with the BD-Live functionality. Karaoke (17:42) includes six songs from the film and allows the user to switch between vocal and instrumental versions. The songs of this film are funny and while I´m not sure why somebody would throw a party for six songs, it is an interesting feature. The eleven Deleted and Extended Scenes (19:24) contain materials not included in either version of the film and those that enjoyed the film will probably find a few other decent scenes here. The extended scenes contain large parts of scenes already seen in the film. The Puppet Break-Up (2:29) is another deleted scene and features a moment from the puppet play seen at the end of the film.
Many of the next special features will seem familiar from "The 40 Year Old Virgin´s" Blu-ray disc and have to do with botched lines, impromptu moments and alternate takes. Line-O-Rama (7:49) is a number of outtakes and alternate versions of scenes from the film with a little more crudeness and impromptu hilarity. These were better than the deleted scenes. Sex-O-Rama (2:42) is a collection of alternate sex scenes that were not used in the film. There was far more nudity in this three minutes than the entire film. Drunk-O-Rama (2:29) is the third and final collection of themed outtakes and these center around alcohol humor. I heard ´snakebite´ in this film and started to miss my favorite bar that is now closed. The short Gag Reel (5:44) has a lot of funny moments and some not-so-funny moments.
The next few segments are more involved with the making of the film. "A Taste For Love" (6:17) is a short feature that talks about the making of the puppet play and talks about how Segel had intended to actually write a Dracula musical. The "Dracula´s Lament" (Table Read 4/7/07) (3:12) shows a very short piece of footage where some of the actors read lines from a scene in the film between Segel and Mila Kunis. Russell Brand: Aldous Snow (5:56) is s short vignette where actor Russell Brand auditions for the role and members of the cast and crew talk about Brand´s getting the part and his work to bring the character to life. The Letter "U" (3:45) is a mock video footage where Brand is in character as Aldous Snow as he tries to work with children on a children´s show with the Letter U in a "Sesame Street" parody. It is quite funny and one of the better supplements.
The remainder of the features are a nice collection of promotional and behind-the-scenes items. "We´ve Got to Do Something"Music Video (3:47) is a mock musical video featuring fictional band Infant Sorrow and singer Aldous Snow. Parts of it were seen in the film. Crime Scene is comprised of Alt Scenes (2:17) that were filmed of the show-within-a-show and not used in the final film. The second and final part of "Crime Scene" is the Hunter Rush Line-O-Rama (1:58) and has more bonus footage from the fictional TV show and some funny and crude lines in a feature reminiscent of the other "O-Rama" segments on the film. Alec Baldwin was funny here. Sarah´s New Show – Alts (1:15) is bonus footage from the other mock show "Animal Instincts." The Raw Footage – Video Chat (7:13) shows elements from the film before digital effects and other post-production elements were included and provides a nice look at the making of the film. The Red Band Trailer is the R-Rated advertisement for the film.
Two more lengthy items round out the impressive list of special features included on the "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" Blu-ray disc. The Video Diaries (35:16) is twenty one chapter look at the making of the film that covers various times during the fifty five day shoot, although there is nothing between Day 33 and Day 50. Jason Segel talks about how the film was based upon a terrible break-up and the cast and crew give an honest look at the making of the film. I find these video documentaries to be far superior to most fluff-piece making-of documentaries. The Feature Commentary with Director Nick Stoller, Executive Producer Rodney Rothman, Producer Shauna Robertson, Writer/Star Jason Segel and Cast Members Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russel Brand and Jack McBrayer is the same track as the video commentary, but without the ability to watch the cast and crew interact as they are recording the commentary.
Closing:
I must give Judd Apatow credit for two things. First of all, the writer, producer and director has found himself a niche with the mature comedies he has been churning out. I´m not going to fault him for the Will Ferrell trilogy as it pays the bills, but "Superbad," "Knocked Up," "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and now "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" are all very strong comedies with wonderful stories, great acting and plenty of good jokes. Secondly, Apatow produces amazing home video releases and all of the previously mentioned films have been featured packed discs with good sight and sound that is only hampered by source materials and sound design. Apatow is certainly on a roll and this is just the latest in a trend that I hope doesn´t stop anytime soon. At the end of the day, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" fits nicely on any bookshelf with "Knocked Up," "Superbad" and "The 40 Year Old Virgin."
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[release]24356[/release]