Mallrats 10th anniversary DVD
As most know, I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan. So much so that I happily defend most of his work and even his propensity to take advantage of his fans devotion by releasing far more products than any one can reasonably be expected to need. He went for the dreaded "double-dip" last year and released a Ten year anniversary edition of Clerks. Far from a thrown together package, it was a 3 disc monster of a set featuring a great documentary, an extended cut of the film with commentary and many other goodies any good View Askew fan can't be without. So when I heard he was releasing a 10th anniversary edition of Mallrats, I was completely on board to re-buy the film (even though I own the original version on DVD).
Unfortunately, just as Mallrats disappointed alot of Smith fans after Clerks, this set did the same for me after the great Clerks X set. For starters, it's a single dual sided disc, which assures that it will become horribly dirty upon multiple viewings. But more disappointing is what was added. The new stuff amounts to three additions: a new featurette about the film with recent interviews with key cast, crew, etc., a Q&A with most of the cast and an extended cut of the film.
The featurette is fairly entertaining albeit covers very little new ground. There is alot of comments from the producers and studio execes which is sort of interesting, but if you've seen the original featurette (which is also on this set), it's familiar territory.
The Q&A is your typical Kevin Smith Q&A. Meaning, if you enjoy the format of An Evening with Kevin Smith, you'll probably enjoy it. It sort of sucks that the three biggest females leads aren't involved and usual Askew staple Ben Affleck is missing, but those involved keep it entertaining.
Finally, there's the extended cut of the film. Smith prefaces it by saying his original intention was to re-cut the film as he would have done since it was the only film he's done that he wasn't involved in that process. In the end, he changed his mind and ended up just cutting a version that is basically an unedited version of the shooting script. And suffice to say, it adds about a half hour to the front to add a new/old plot device that doesn't work at all. In fact, all the "new" footage is available on the original dvd, albeit in a less clean version.
In summary, if you don't have Mallrats on DVD and want it, definitely go for the 10th anniversary cut. Otherwise, save your $$$.
Unfortunately, just as Mallrats disappointed alot of Smith fans after Clerks, this set did the same for me after the great Clerks X set. For starters, it's a single dual sided disc, which assures that it will become horribly dirty upon multiple viewings. But more disappointing is what was added. The new stuff amounts to three additions: a new featurette about the film with recent interviews with key cast, crew, etc., a Q&A with most of the cast and an extended cut of the film.
The featurette is fairly entertaining albeit covers very little new ground. There is alot of comments from the producers and studio execes which is sort of interesting, but if you've seen the original featurette (which is also on this set), it's familiar territory.
The Q&A is your typical Kevin Smith Q&A. Meaning, if you enjoy the format of An Evening with Kevin Smith, you'll probably enjoy it. It sort of sucks that the three biggest females leads aren't involved and usual Askew staple Ben Affleck is missing, but those involved keep it entertaining.
Finally, there's the extended cut of the film. Smith prefaces it by saying his original intention was to re-cut the film as he would have done since it was the only film he's done that he wasn't involved in that process. In the end, he changed his mind and ended up just cutting a version that is basically an unedited version of the shooting script. And suffice to say, it adds about a half hour to the front to add a new/old plot device that doesn't work at all. In fact, all the "new" footage is available on the original dvd, albeit in a less clean version.
In summary, if you don't have Mallrats on DVD and want it, definitely go for the 10th anniversary cut. Otherwise, save your $$$.
posted by Mike at 12:02 PM
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