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Blu-Ray : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: January 30th, 2011 Movie Release Year: 2000

Almost Famous (Bootleg Edition)

Overview -

A high-school boy is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone Magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies it on their concert tour.

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
BD-50 Blu-ray Disc
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
162
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Special Features:
Seven Rolling Stone articles with audio introduction by Crowe
Release Date:
January 30th, 2011

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Art imitating life.

That may well be the theme of Cameron Crowe's 'Almost Famous' (which is also known as 'Untitled' domestically in its extended cut, the film's original title). A "semi-autobiographical" look at his own life as a teenager writing for Rolling Stone magazine, we get to follow a different band (not the Allman Brothers Band), but this is one of those films with your typical "the characters and events in this film do not represent real people and events, and any coincidences are purely coincidental" disclaimer that exists solely to prevent lawsuits. Apparently, far too many of the events in this film are based on the real life events Crowe saw firsthand while, even if characters are mish-mashes of famous people, and the events from his entire career are crammed into this single tour.

A fifteen year old in 1973, with a controlling mother (Frances McDormand), and a sister who had to escape the crazy household (Zooey Deschanel), William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is hardly your ordinary teen. He's been writing about music ever since his sister gave him her record collection, and has been sending his newspaper clippings to people in the industry. His enthusiasm lands him an assignment to cover Black Sabbath, but fate (and an asshole security manager) intervene, and instead, Miller finds himself implanted with the up-and-coming rock band Stillwater. It's his job to write a three thousand word article (which may land the band on the cover of the magazine), when he's never written more than a couple of pages, but this assignment of a lifetime will also prove to be an education that couldn't be found in public school, full of life lessons, new friends, and insight into the music industry he idolizes.

'Almost Famous' is a nostalgic trip through a great time in rock 'n roll, despite a certain pessimist saying that rock was already dying (and if the radio today is any clue, it's long dead), about a more innocent, less litigious time when the music was pure, the sex and drugs weren't every day gossip fodder, when even a kid, given the talent, could do (and did) the job. It's almost like a portal to a better age, a fond memory that would be impossible to conceive if the things portrayed didn't (mostly) happen in reality. It's the very definition of a whirlwind ride of a film, one that sweeps you off your feet, and doesn't let go, making the lengthy runtime whizz by in a second, leaving you with characters that feel beyond real, events that you can relate to, and lessons that can be learned vicariously through the naive William Miller. It's wall to wall awesome, the only shortcoming is the fact that it can be a bit too fanatical and, on occasion, a bit too much of a good thing.

Fugit is a perfect casting, a somewhat fresh face in a difficult role, a child among men, while Hudson is at her peak, back when she was still adorable, rather than simply annoying, artificial, and best known for her tabloid flings. The main members of Stillwater (Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond, Jason Lee as Jeff Bebe, with supporting actors filling out the group that talk so little they may as well not exist, and manager Dick Roswell as played by Noah Taylor) are wonderful in their roles, while McDormand is quite believable as an uptight, controlling mother. Don't forget the sheer star power hidden in this film, in the lesser roles. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a scene stealer every time he appears as Creem editor Lester Bangs, and a fun spot from Jimmy Fallon where he works best (you know, not leading the show), while the band-aids group includes Bijou Phillips, Anna Paquin (looking way, way young), and Fairuza Balk. We also see early in their career appearances of Jay Baruchel, Eion Bailey, Terry Chen, Rainn Wilson, and one of the few film appearances of Mitch Hedberg, on top of numerous, numerous musician cameos and supporting roles.

The music in the film feels real, perhaps because legendary musicians helped teach the actors how to be believable, while the music itself was written by Crowe, his wife, Nancy Wilson of Heart, and Peter Frampton, and with guitars recorded by a member of Pearl Jam, Mike McCready. Yes, it feels awkward hearing the singing that's supposed to be Lee, particularly to those of us who have followed his career, but it's the lesser of two evils, considering I never, ever want to hear him wail on his own.

'Almost Famous' is a great piece of fiction based on reality, covering the fictional Almost Famous Tour '73 for a band named after a real life band, though none of the events directly relate to them. The entire plot of the film, Miller's attempts to interview the band that go awry, while he instead witnesses their ups and downs to inspire his writing, is secondary to the music, atmosphere, and cornucopia of believable characters that will live on in film history, as anecdotes based on real rockers that may already be forgotten (the anecdotes and the rockers). A brilliant film, that deserves every award bestowed upon it, with more heart in any single scene than Crowe's later films have had in their entire runtimes, combined. Ah well, at least the Freebird scene in 'Elizabethtown' is pretty awesome.

The Disc: Vital Stats

Paramount released 'Almost Famous' exclusively in Best Buy stores, under the "The Bootleg Cut" moniker that indicates the lengthier version of the film that is also known as 'Untitled.' This cut is identical to the cuts of the film found on the UK and Japanese versions of the film made by Sony. As it stands, there is no way to view the theatrical cut of the film on Blu-ray. The is a BD50 disc, housed in a standard case, with a Paramount standard undersized (too short!) slipcover, that is very "earth toned" and somewhat bronze-ish.

There is currently no announced release date for this film at other retailers. Paramount took HD DVD's money, they took Samsung's money, so why wouldn't they take some of Best Buy's money?

Video Review

Ranking:

I didn't give high marks to the UK release (and my scores for the Japanese version would have been the same, even if there are a few tiny differences) of 'Almost Famous,' so what does one do when the American release is inferior in visual quality? Knock it down a point or two! Paramount's release of the Bootleg Cut of the film is a slight disappointment compared to the other releases, with an AVC MPEG-4 encode that screams, "Hey, I've been tampered with!"

The problems with this release of the film are a bit of a laundry list. Skin tones are more extreme than before, as what was once a somewhat mellow standard has become an extreme, too red or too pale, more often than not. There's some slight edge work visible, as well as minor noise, questionable shadow details, random white and black blips that are scattered throughout the film (and while frequent, are hardly prevalent), some light aliasing, and most troubling, a bit of the ol' DNR. Backgrounds can be unusually static, faces can be waxy and overly smooth sometimes, and there are even a few shots of Penny Lane's hair that have been messed with, as the once buoyant, wild hair becomes a flat wash out of nowhere, between shots that are normal. If the previous releases had some minor hints and allegations of criminal alteration, this release has police-outlined corpses and evidence markers.

The picture that was once consistent, good or bad, is now inconsistent and somewhat unpredictable. Whites remain busy and blacks a bit soft and weak. I'm a bit bummed out.

Audio Review

Ranking:

I will say, though, that this audio track is an improvement. No, going from a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix to DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 isn't the reason. Instead, scenes have some actual power, music stands out more, rock concerts actually sound like rock concerts. It's a bit more accurate to what we see on screen, this time around.

I did notice a couple of brief hiccups in the track that I didn't catch in any of my previous viewings of the film, though, so I won't say this is a dramatic improvement over the previous release. You get some bad with the good, I suppose. Still, I'm a fan of this audio track, especially since I don't have to crank the disc up to ridiculous levels anymore.

Special Features

Ranking:

Numerous features on this release include introductions by Cameron Crowe. Neatly enough, in the extras menu, you can highlight the microphones (save for the one designating what the mics mean) and you can listen to the intros on the screen you're on. Very cool stuff.

  • Audio Commentary - With Cameron Crowe, Scott Martin, Andy Fisher, Ivan Corona, Mark Atkinson, and Alice Crowe, also known as Cameron's MOM. If ever there were a perfect audio commentary, it's this one right here. There are few, if any, commentaries that come close to the amount of information and fun found here. Crowe and Crowe are a joy to listen to, as they discuss the nuances of the characters, the realism and the exaggerations, as they reminisce about times long gone, while the other participants mostly are just there for a listen. It's humorous, informative, sweet, gentle, yet still sometimes vulgar and crass. It's everything a commentary should be. Perfection.
  • The Making of Almost Famous (SD, 25 min) - Hooray, hooray for EPK. Alright, not really. This feature opens very heavy on footage from the film, and somewhat light on interviews and behind the scenes footage. It's an afterthought, one giant commercial. As it progresses, it gets to be far heavier on interview footage, and far more legit.
  • Interview with Lester Bangs (SD, 2 min) - The real life Lester Bangs acts like a lunatic, on film. Sorry, just callin' it how I see it. The Creem editor is fun and interesting, but yeah, nuts.
  • Cameron Crowe's Top Albums of 1973 - A screen that shows the director's favorite music releases of 1973. Really, that's it...wait, no it's not! Click on one of the albums to hear Crowe's thoughts about each! A silly waste of an extra just turned awesome.
  • Fever Dog Music Video (SD, 4 min) - You like the song from the film? Here it is, with audience noise and some random scenes cut haphazardly around it. Not a fan of how this one is presented.
  • Love Comes and Goes (SD, 4 min) - Is this a music video? A bunch of behind the scenes footage? Or just flat out awkward? I'll go with number three. What's shown on screen is pure nonsense, in the worst of ways.
  • Rolling Stone Articles - Read seven of Crowe's articles, covering the following music groups/performers: The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison, and Joni Mitchell. The plain text is easy to read, and super easy to navigate. I was wondering how this would be pulled off, but I'm quite pleased, honestly.
  • B-Sides (SD, 5 min) - Listen to Fever Dog some more, and watch some odd handheld cam footage as the "band" acts out a radio interview. Skip it.
  • Cleveland Concert (SD, 15 min) - Watch the fake band's performance in full. With audience members muted. Oh hell yeah.
  • Small Time Blues (SD, 3 min) - A deleted scene, featuring an acoustic duet starring Pete Droge. This would fit in the film about as well as that old dude from 'Up.' Yes, we see about four or five seconds of it in the film, and even that is too much.
  • Stairway (SD, 12 min) - Umm....why? More deleted footage, concerning the scene that doesn't get mentioned in the film one bit, but is somewhat necessary. Why would William's mother agree to let him do any of his assignment? That's right, it's convincing time! There's a cue for you to press play for 'Stairway to Heaven' on your CD/MP3 player/computer, and if you don't, this one gets awfully awkward. Did it get axed due to not getting rights to put it in the film? Or just because it's awful at first? You decide.
  • Script - Much like the Crowe articles in format and control, here's the script for 'Almost Famous.' It would take an awful long time to get through this one, folks.
  • Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 min) - The trailer for the film. Hey, a high-def extra, how about that!

Final Thoughts

By the time you're done weeding through this release, you'll be pretty sick and tired of Fever Dog, or, at least, I sure as hell was. This is a fantastic story, full of exaggerations and stretched truths, along with sketchy timelines condensed for dramatic purposes, is quite superb. It's got heart, brains, soul, and plenty of rock 'n roll. It's a step back from the other releases in video quality, but a step up in audio. Extras? Not everything from the DVD release of 'Untitled,' but still a crapload more than the import releases. If you haven't bought the import, buy this. If you did, and you own the DVD release, you may not need to purchase this one. No matter what, be sure you own 'Almost Famous' on Blu-ray.