That Guy Dick Miller

Have you ever found yourself asking “You know that movie that has that amazing scene with that one guy from that other awesome movie with that great scene?” Chances are better than 50/50 “that guy” you were referring to was Dick Miller. From Roger Corman productions like Little Shop of Horrors to mega-hits like The Terminator to hilarious Joe Dante dark comedies like The Burbs, Dick Miller enjoyed a legendary career of scene-stealing performances. Ever since his first turn as Tall Tree in Roger Corman’s 1955 production of Apache Woman until his unfortunate passing in 2019, Miller gave all 185 of his credited performances everything he had. That’s not even mentioning all of the films he was cut out of entirely - like Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. 

With such a career, a 90-minute documentary like That Guy Dick Miller almost doesn’t feel like enough time to enjoy such a memorable actor, but this doc acts as a visual fan love letter to the actor. Made prior to his passing, Miller is an active participant in his story alongside his wife of 42 years Lainie Miller. Together, the pair hilariously detail his career highs and lows and his successes. Along for the ride are any number of people who were lucky enough to work alongside him including Roger Corman, Joe Dante, and Robert Picardo, among numerous people honored to call him family or friend.

As a love letter documentary, the film doesn’t get too gritty or pry too deeply into any dark closets, but it doesn’t need to in order to understand the man. Through the stories he shares personally or the ones coming from those closest to him, things weren’t always the best of times, but he gave it all for every role. If you needed an actor who had the ability completely upstage everyone else in the film and run away with the show inside of 30 seconds, Dick Miller was your guy. 

To buttress the point this film makes that Miller could do so much with very little screen time, Dekanalog also includes the 1978 comedy Starhops. Directed by Barbara Peters, the film itself is pretty basic late 70s comedy fare, not altogether amazing or memorable, but fun with a cheeky sense of humor. Why is this film included in this set? Why else? It has Dick Miller in it! Like 99.9956% of his roles, it’s a brief supporting role, but again in mere moments he steals the scene and is the most memorable piece of the picture!

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 
That Guy Dick Miller comes to Blu-ray paired with a Blu-ray of Starhops thanks to Dekanalog and OCN Distribution. Both discs are pressed on a pair of Region Free BD50 and BD25 discs. The discs are housed in a two-disc clear case and comes with an 18-page booklet featuring essays about Dick Miller and photos of the actor.

Like any documentary, That Guy Dick Miller is something of a mixed bag of footage. We have everything from recently shot footage on top-of-the-line digital cameras to rough film footage to private home videos to still photos. While you could argue it’s visually inconsistent, it works beautifully to tell the long story of Miller’s career. Where it counts most, the image is richly detailed and clean with bright bold colors. For films where footage is in the best shape, these scenes look terrific. All of these clips and stills weave together to tell his story. 

For Starhops we have a lovely 1080p presentation. For film edging past 46 years old, the transfer is quite something. It has the look of a transfer struck from an archival print, but it’s in relatively good shape. A couple of scenes could look a little rough around the edges, but others are remarkably clean and clear without any age-related issues to speak of. Fine details and facial features shine through with n appealing veneer of cinematic film grain. Colors are bright and bold with strong primaries, healthy skin tones, and appropriately inky black levels.

Sporting a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, That Guy Dick Miller offers a clean audio experience. It might not always make the most active use of the soundscape, but when and where it counts, it delivers. Much of the film is obviously dialog heavy so voice overs from the participants get front/center priority. Every now and again through a film clip or a tour of Miller’s home, we’ll get a more immersive audio experience. 

For Starhops we have a clean and effective DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio track to handle the workload. Obviously, Miller’s scene sounds amazing - no other actor could make destroying a diner look or sound so much fun! Dialog and music cues for the film all sound great. Some sound effects have a sort of cartoonish heightened quality to add a little zing to the silliness. All around a clean track.

Bonus features for That Guy Dick Miller are rather robust. Personally, I look at Starhops as a bonus feature and not the main draw for buying this set so I’m including it in this list. In addition to that we have a very healthy assortment of extra features specifically for the documentary including a very informative audio commentary, featurettes, home movies, and outtakes. 

• Starhops Feature Film (HD 1:22:00)
• Audio Commentary featuring Elijah Drenner, Lainie Miller, and Elle Schneider
• 8mm Home Movies (HD 11:46)
• Los Angeles Premiere Footage (HD 48:36)
• Outtakes (HD 4:49)
• Theatrical Trailer

That Guy Dick Miller is a loving tribute to one of the greatest underappreciated character actors to work the grind side of Hollywood. Often relegated to small roles, the man would get in, do his 30-second scene, and end up stealing the whole show. Why do you think he was promoted to a main character for Gremlins 2: The New Batch? Who else are you going to get to memorably fight a bat-gremlin on a New York City street and make it look amazing? Hearing from the actor and his wife is one thing, but this film finds a parade of close friends, family, and coworkers to sing his praises. Dekanalog gives fans of Dick Miller a wonderful Blu-ray set to work through. With a great A/V presentation and extras for the main film, we’re also treated to a nice copy of Starhops on disc. Why that film? Because Dick Miller is in it of course! The best thing about a doc like this one is you don’t need to know every film he’s ever been in to enjoy the hell out of it, but you're going to want to watch one of his films immediately after! Highly Recommended