Almost Famous [DVD]

[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.

My favourite movie of all time

Good coming of age film

very good quality

Ambitious journalist William Miller (Fugit) sets out on tour with a rock and roll band who is trying to make it into the music businessWith everything printed in gossip magazines and internet blogs it is sure difficult to think of a time when we were reliant on a minimal selection of reading material to find out about the rock stars of the 60's and 70's.Almost famous makes me sad. I am nearly 21 and having seen this film a couple of times have felt I have missed perhaps the greatest segment of music to exist, the rock and roll, the raves, the parties, the time when no one cared, the time of individuals, the time of proper meaningful music.Cameron Crowe's picture is a provocative look into the aftermath of the apparent dying faze of rock and roll. The descent of music culture is apparent when scripting is shockingly poignant in some opening sequences here. Phillip Seymour Hoffman's protagonist Lester Bangs makes the point of how certain bands meet the right criteria to defy the odds and play with soul and purpose. When watching his portrayal of the journalist it is hard to disagree with him as he is so accurate.Rock and roll and music practically has died. U2 have lost their originality and meaning, Led Zeppelin has been replaced by a number of pretenders whilst your rock stars have fallen by the wayside. Now we have repetitious artists such as Cascada clogging up the charts with pretentious dance music.The point of this film of course is to show the decline of the industry by depicting a wannabe band trying to make it big in the difficult business. Living the life of a rock star certainly seems glamorous for the stars as they enjoy parties, take drugs and have sex. But Crowe's scripting leaves an underlying feeling of sadness for the music industry and the central character, of himself played with quiet solitude by Patrick Fugit.Fugit balances the need to do the right thing and the urge to be his own person well, balancing on teenage hormones and aspirations, whilst a sparkling sophisticated Kate Hudson gives him food for thought. Billy Crudup is your most interesting star being that little too arrogant and overly pretentious with a quite demeanour to fit the portrayal of a modern musician.As based on Cameron Crowe's experiences as a journalist growing up in this industry it is unfitting to question realism in context and whilst jokes and humorous ideologies such as confession of sexual orientation are squeezed in, this believes and intrigues.As before, this 2000 picture does make me feel sad. Our music has dissolved into overly repetitious dance music with no purpose.Fittingly the score for this picture encodes the classics from the day and brimming with drama and humour, is an important viewing9/10

Love this movie

Having grown up in the 70s, where going to concerts was a big part of my life, I have always found this depiction of those days to be very accurate. In addition, it's a moving story, one of Cameron Crowe's coming of age as a journalist writing about, and traveling with, rock bands.The long version of this movie is so much better than the theatrical release; with an additional 40 minutes of material, it fills out the characters much better. This set includes both versions, and a CD of music by Stillwater, unavailable otherwise. The director's commentary - by Cameron Crowe and his mother - is also interesting to learn about how this film relates to Crowe's life.Whenever I hear Elton John's Tiny Dancer, I immediately think of this movie...