Almost Famous

Almost Famous Untitled: The Bootleg Cut - Director's Edition. I've decided to review the Bootleg Cut of "Almost Famous" as most of the other reviews are of the original theatrical release. This is a wonderful two-disc ( actually 3, more on this later ) DVD collection. First, the packaging. We are presented with a brown tri-fold package, much like the bootleg recordings of the seventies. Not a whole lot of artwork on the cover. Simply a small photo of Kate Hudson (Penny Lane). The first tri-fold presents us with a wonderful addition to this DVD set. Included is a STILLWATER Music CD. This music CD is only available in this collection and features songs from the film as performed by Stillwater. Four of the tracks are co written by Nancy Wilson ( of Heart ) and Cameron Crowe ( the director ). This little bonus CD is great and very appropriate to the theme of the set. I'll jump now to DISC 2 of this set which is the Original Theatrical Version of "Almost Famous". This is the academy award winning version that was released and it's great. The story is well told and very engaging. DISC 1 is "Untitled: Almost Famous : The Bootleg Cut" which is not rated. This version is a gift. Cameron Crowe has taken the time to ( lovingly ) recut his film and include an additional 36 minutes of film. The addition of these precious minutes change the film but do not deminish it's impact or watchability. The additional 36 minutes add mostly to the character of Penny Lane ( Academy Award Nominee Kate Hudson ) and expand on her history. Unlike many extended versions which add little to character development, this version of "Almost Famous" brings more insight and depth to nearly all characters. The acting is outstanding, and it's clear that the scenes not in the original release were cut strictly due to time constraints as the acting is right on. This is a great cast. Kate Hudson is a stand out, as is newcomer Patrick Fugit. Billy Crudup is wonderful as well, this is the movie which should have made him a movie star. Jason Lee ( of "Chasing Amy" and other Kevin Smith films ) is hysterical and just enough over the top to be believable. The movie, this version, rests soundly with Kate Hudson and Patrick Fugit. I would think, had this Bootleg version been released theatrically, then perhaps Kate Hudson would have actually won the Academy Award rahter than just being nominated. She's done a wonderful job with this complex character. The director's commentary is priceless, much like attending a film school seminar as conducted by Cameron Crowe. This two disc set is a must have for any film fan. Even if you've got the original DVD release ( rather than this special edition set ), this is still more than worth the purchase price. I would recommend this set. Strongly. Best Regards, turtlex PS - if you've enjoyed this review, feel free to add me to your favorite people list as I try to write reviews frequently. Thanks for reading.

Cameron Crowe wrote and directed "Almost Famous", which is fitting since it is largely about his own beginnings. Cameron was the youngest writer for Rolling Stone magazine and, as a teenage journalist, he followed numerous bands as they went on tour. In this film, these bands are rolled up into a four-man group called Stillwater. These guys get my vote for the best band that never was. Since I was just out of kindergarten when the story was set, you should forgive me for thinking, after my first viewing, that Stillwater was an authentic recreation of some famous group from the early 70's. The realism is that perfect! But this movie is not about a band, at least not predominantly. It is a coming of age story. A young man raised in an unusual household, with an unusual mother, is taking his first steps to adulthood. The interesting thing is that his first steps are so large as to stretch past most people's entire careers. Through a combination of talent, luck and timing, young William Miller, played perfectly by Patrick Fugit, is recruited by Rolling Stone magazine to write an article on Stillwater. This strange occurrence actually makes sense when you watch the film despite sounding ridiculous as I write it. If William goes through dramatic changes in a short time, his mother is a rock of stability. Elaine Miller is able to "freak out" most people, with a few choice words but to her son, she is home, safety, love and in a way... imprisonment. She is very intense but caring and it is this combination which drives her eighteen year old daughter to a life of airline stewardship. We can see Elaine's true courage however, when she agrees to let the fifteen year old William go "on the road" with a drug taking, womanizing rock band. This, after we have seen her characterize Simon and Garfuncle as "stoned" and forbidden their music from her house. One of the most important people William comes into contact with, on his journey, is Penny Lane. She is a beautiful, glowing, perfectly permed young dryad who follows the bands and has a following of her own. Adamant that she is not a groupie, Penny has created a concept called "Band Aids." Her subscribers refrain from sex with the performers in an effort to more truly embrace the pure experience. She talks a good game but in the end, she's just a young woman in love. The object of her affection is Russell Hammond, the lead guitarist and Zen-master for Stillwater. Her situation is complicated after William falls in love with her, at first sight. Thus Alice enters Wonderland and many an adventure is had. Despite William's best intentions and the good advice of his mentor, Lester Bangs, the band manages to seduce him. His plan, to get in and out before missing a test, is soon discarded in the face of a larger than life rock and roll experience. There is one truly touching scene where the band, (and company), is riding their bus to the next gig and singing along to "Tiny Dancer." William leans over to Penny and says, "I have to go home!" To which she replies, with a magical pass of her hand, "You are home." That says it all. There are several contrasting character changes happening during the film. One stands out more than most. William starts his professional career as a fan, loving the band, the music and the whole lifestyle. As the tour progresses and his eyes are opened, he becomes, not jaded but more worldly, professional and wise. Conversely, Penny Lane is introduced to us as the epitome of sophistication. She is young but knowing, and handles William as an older sister might. As the film progresses we discover that Penny is not so all knowing as she seemed. She is just as fragile and naively hopeful as any other girl her age. In the end, it is William that has to send her a reality check. Everything about this film is fascinating. The music is just wonderful, with Billy Crudup and Jason Lee bringing authenticity to every performance. The band's interpersonal dynamic is almost a character of its own. This climaxes during the famous plane crash scare, when each confesses their deepest secrets to the unrestrained laughter of the audience. William, his Mother and Penny are all unforgettable creations. Crowe is a wonderful writer, so good in fact, that I am disappointed he didn't turn this story into a book. Watching the movie will just have to be enough, for now.

An excellent movie. Good music, interesting plot, and good acting with many young actors who are now famous. I had not seen the movie since its release 25 years ago, but I liked it just as much as I did then. It looks great in 4K on a large screen, and I am looking forward to watching it annually.

You will especially love it if you were a child of the 70's. They captured the atmosphere of that time period and made me long to go back, if only for a little while. Not the least of its successes was the casting and script. Right on, man!!

I loved this movie when it first came out. Great story of Cameron Crowe's life. Gives inside stories of what happens behind the curtains in the 1970s rock and roll bands, their lifestyle and partying. Groupies, tour buses and partying.

Well worth watching.

This is by far my favorite film of 2000 and one of my all-time favorite films ever! I have owned this film on every platform it’s ever been released on and this 4K version is simply put, absolutely beautiful and amazing in picture and technical quality! This autobiographical tale about Cameron crowes real life will make you feel envious about the life that the films director, Cameron Crowe himself has made here! Not many people get to live a life like his and this film is about his actual early teen years following around a band in the 70s instead of studying to be a lawyer as his mother would prefer. This film is full of nostalgia from a bygone era that many wish they could return to. This movie will make you laugh, cry, reminisce and rethink your life all at the same time! A must see and a must have for any film collector!

Great movie 🎥. The DVD 📀 arrived so quickly and was priced just right.

Gran película. Es la versión con escenas eliminadas, termina teniendo una duración de 2 horas y media. El contenido adicional también es muy bueno.

[Amazon migrated my original review of this great movie across to the Blu-Ray edition from the Region 1 "Boot Cut". Unfortunately this means that a lot of it is completely inaccurate! The Boot Cut has great extras, such as the superb commentary, and the Blu-Ray has nothing much aside from the extended version of the film. Quite why it was possible to do more with the DVD format than it is with Blu-Ray I'm not sure, but with no Stillwater CD, no "Stairway to Heaven" scene, no deleted scenes etc. this is an opportunity badly missed. Still, it's the extended version and the film really is wonderful ... so it keeps its 5 stars either way.] "Almost Famous" is a truly great film about music by someone who was also a great rock journalist. If you missed it in cinemas, this is a great opportunity to pick it up for home viewing. The three discs here are a short CD by "Stillwater" (the fictional band from the film), a DVD of the original theatrical release and the main event: a DVD of the Director's Cut with a commentary by Cameron Crowe and his mother. The longer version, it should be noted, takes what was already a brilliant autobiographical film and adds some key scenes, most of which explore further the rock world of the early seventies. Crowe himself wanted to tell not merely a love story, but - more importantly - the love story between a band and its fans. The additional detail really "sells" this aspect of the film, most notably in an extraordinarily moving scene when Kate Hudson's character is thrown a birthday party by the band. If you haven't seen this version, you haven't really seen the film: it really does make that much difference. Finally, the commentary, which is one of the most informative that I've encountered. Crowe's mom (played to great effect in the film by Frances McDormand) provides a wonderful foil to Crowe himself as they talk about how closely events in the film tracked the actual events of his life as a journalist with Rolling Stone. If you think that the movie is inauthentic before you hear the commentary, you will have changed your mind by the end of it. Both come across as really warm, funny people as well, which is more than can be said for most commentators on DVDs. One niggle: there's an important scene that was deleted presumably because Crowe couldn't get permission to use "Stairway to Heaven". It's here as an extra on the disc (you have to play your own CD along with it) but isn't incorporated into the "Untitled" Director's Cut. It's a shame that in this area the copyright holder spoiled what was in every other respect a great DVD version of one of the better films of recent years.

Este bluray edicion italiana viene con audio y subtitulos en castellano. Podeís comprarlo sin problemas porque es el mismo disco que en nuestro país. Espero haberos ayudado.

Love this movie and then I heard there was a directors cut of it with extra footage! This version was fantastic and really is the full movie experience. It also has great special features that I really enjoyed

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I stumbled across 'The Bootleg Cut' on DVD years back and quickly bought it. It was/is an excellent package, containing both theatrical and directors cuts, along with a Stillwater CD of all the songs from the movie. Those DVD special editions were always excellently packaged in gate-fold sleeves and nicely finished. Unfortunately Blu-rays are rarely of the same caliber except a few standouts such as Avatar's 3 disc version. I would love to review that part of this item in particular, but please see my 'gripe' further down. Onto the movie itself. This movie is full of excellent characters, extremely well written and believable. This movie always had a huge impact on me, likely from viewing it as a young teenager. It does make you feel like you ARE that 15-year-old, seeing rock history playing out before your eyes. It always made me wish I had a way inside the industry in my younger days, and I still wish I could experience it! But for most mortals this is as close as you will get. Since it is based on actual happenings but with many 'tweaks' and combined characters (so as to not expose a particular band's hijinx and for the sake of condensing the story), it gives quite a feeling of realism. Plus, you can always read Cameron Crowe's actual Rolling Stone articles, as well as the real life Penny Lane's book to find out some of the actual happenings for a greater look into this time. Now, I have viewed both cuts at different times, and to me, watching the theatrical cut gives me the same feeling as watching the LOTR theatrical versions - perhaps sharper and more to the point, but missing something. You can tell when you're missing certain scenes even if you can't quite put your finger on which exact one. I'm a completionist in some ways, and to me, spending more time in the world of your favorite movie is always worthwhile. That is why I highly recommend the director's cut. Now, onto my only gripe - this Blu-ray is extremely hard to find! Maybe it is representative of the movie itself - not hugely popular, but loved dearly by fans. I just wish it was more available. Even the regular Blu-ray is and always was very hard to find. Amazon sold out of the bootleg cut BR and has not re-stocked in a long time, meaning I have not even had a chance to watch this in Blu-ray yet!! Once I do I will append my review of this. Amazon, please restock so I can see this film the way it was meant to be seen!