|
|
 |
Tropic Thunder: 2-Disc Director's Cut
R1 - America - Dreamworks Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: James Teitelbaum (30th November 2008). |
|
The Film
 The meta-film is an old and venerable plot devide, dating back to the earliest days of cinema. From comedies such as "Blazing Saddles" (1974) to dramas about films within films like Felinni's genius "8 1/2" (1964), movies about movies, or movies that take place within movies, seem to be favorite subjects for those who make movies. Now comes "Tropic Thunder", which brings the metamovie to whole new levels. The film begins with trailers for three fictional movies, each of them a parody of a different tired genre. Each of them stars a different washed-up fictional actor, played by three real-life actors: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr.. We then move to these same three actors in their roles as actors, shooting an ultraviolent war movie. They are joined by another pair of actors playing actors (Brandon T. Jackson as a rapper named Alpa Chino trying to break into the movies, and Jay Baruchel as a young actor in his first role). References to "Apocolypse Now" (1979) - not to mention every other war movie - abound, before things get all "This is Spinal Tap" (1984) on the happless actors and their crew, as the production grinds to a halt. With the production speeding towards disaster, the belaguered and frustrated director (Steve Coogan) decides to take his five actors into the real Vietnam jungle near the shooting location. His plan - hatched by the screen writer (Nick Nolte) and the pyrotechnics guy (Danny McBride) - is to leave his actors in the real jungle, and to film their trek home via hidden cameras. Things go badly. Life imitates art. Art imitates life. Art imitates life imitating art. Art imitates life imitating art imitating life. Things continue to go badly. Tom Cruise is in this too, in a supporting role. Crusie plays against type, and is so radically made-up that I didn't realize it was him until the last scene. How the hell did they get Cruise to play this role, with no billing? Maybe things didn't go so badly - at least not for director/co-writer Ben Stiller, who is ultimately responsible for this one. Had this movie had a lesser cast, there would have been a whole lot fewer celebrity cames involved, but more importantly, it probably would hav eneded up being called "War Movie". The reason being, that's what it is on the surface: another entry in the recent parade of genre-parody flicks ("Scary Movie" (2000), "Date Movie" (2006), "Epic Movie" (2007), et cetera). In this case, the people involved have elevated it to something far less then genius, but far ahead of the pack. I can't say that "Tropic Thunder" has done for war movies what 1980's "Airplane!" did for airline disaster films (there's a genre that needs to be revived... or not...), but it does rather rudely poke trash like "Scary Movie" and its ilk in the eye, giving us a taste of what a good spoof can be when the right talent is involved. But is this a spoof of war movies? Yes and no. More so than sending up everything from "Rambo: First Blood" (1982) to "Platoon" (1986), with healthy doses of "Apocolypse Now", "Tropic Thunder" parodies movie making. This is a bit of an insider piece, and it is clear that the more one knows about the process of making movies, the funnier this movie will become. This is a bit of a problem, since Stiller cannot expect the average viewer to get all of the inside jokes about catering or snarky grips that cinema professionals will probably find to be riotous. Who is this movie for? Fortunatley the war movie send-up works too. So, with two different movies layered on top of each other, perhaps there is somethig here for both the Hollywood insiders and the rest of us proletariats. Oh, and its kinda funny.
Video
Aspect ratio is 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Comedies don't usually look this good, but I guess if you've godt the budget to get Stiller, Black, and Downey Jr. on the same cast, then you've got the dough to hire John Toll to make the thing look better than it needs to. The jungle looks luch and verdant. The blacks in this movie are among the deepest I have ever seen (Tim Burton is salivating). The image is sharp and compression artifacting is minimal. A very nice looking disc. Running time is 2:00:59, divided into 24 chapters.
Audio
The film is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround as well as French and Spanish in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, with subtitles in the same languages. The surround system gets a workout on this one, since the audio tracks are just as self-aware in their parody as the performances of the actors. Explosions are huge, fly-bys are broad, and sloshy spilling entrail sounds are front and center in the mix.
Extras
Paramount has released this 'Director's Cut' as a 2-disc set along with two audio commentaries, a 7-part documentary, a make-up test, additional Tv clips and footage as well deleted scenes. Below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: Disc one contains two audio commentaries. The first one includes writer/director/actor Ben Stiller and he is joined by co-writer Justin Theroux. They discuss the creation of the film in a rather serious manner. Possibly more entertaining is the other audio commentary, which features writer/director/actor Ben Stiller again, this time with cast members Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. Viewers of the film might remember that Downey Jr.'s character - a freak for method acting - claims that he stays in character all the time, right up until the DVD commentary. Art imitates life imitating (etc.) once again, as Downey Jr. pulls another "Spinal Tap" on us, and does the track in character. He doesn't offer much good information, but he's livlier than Black, who says little aside from apoligizing for being late to the recording session. Jack, we are listening to this at home months later, it does not matter if you were late. Tell us something interesting, or produce another fart joke, but add something, man. Stiller is a bit drier and more serious here, offering simiar information as in the first commentary. DISC TWO: Disc two is where the bulk of the bonus features live. The main features is a 7-part documentary: - "Before The Thunder" runs for 4 minutes 50 seconds; The genesis of the idea for the film. - "The Hot LZ" runs for 6 minutes 24 seconds; Making the big battle scene at the beginning. - "Blowing Shit Up" runs for 6 minutes 17 seconds; Managing the many explosions. - "Designing the Thunder" runs for 7 minutes 29 seconds; Location scouting, set building, and production design. - "The Cast of Tropic Thunder" runs for 22 minutes 3 seconds; The seven principal caslt members are discussed and interviewed. - "Rain of Madness" runs for 29 minutes 58 seconds; A fictional documentary on the director character played by Coogan. - "Dispatches from the Edge of Madness" runs for 22 minutes 56 seconds; Eleven vignettes that take the mockumentary on the director character further than it needs to go. The disc continues with makeup test footage with Tom Cruise which runs for 1 minute 40 seconds and is exactly as the title suggests. "MTV Movie Awards" clip runs for 4 minutes 6 seconds; this clip made by Stiller, Black, and Downey Jr. to introduce "Tropic Thunder" on MTV. This is the funniest thing on either disc, including any part of the feature film. "Full Mags" footage runs for 33 minutes 18 seconds; A magazine is the cartridge that holds the film in a movie camera. In this cool and unique feature (I am surprised that no one else, to my knowledge, has done something like this already), we get to see big unedited chunks from several magazines, as they were shot. The actors improvise and try out new ideas, some of which made it to the finished movie. We see the bits between the takes, and hear the director giving advice and encouragement in the background. Interesting. Video rehersals runs for 3 minutes 4 seconds; this is videotape tests that Stiller used to figure out camera angles; sort of like video storyboards. There are deleted scenes: - "Water Buffalo Wrestling" runs for 1 minute 35 seconds; The cast discoveres a water buffalo in the jungle. - "Speedman Unpacking" runs for 1 minute 44 seconds; Stiller's character prepares for a night in the jungle. - "Snorkles" runs for 3 minutes 33 seconds; Extended version of the scene in which Downey Jr. and Black sneak into the drug camp. - "Eight Minutes in Hell" runs for 8 minutes 4 seconds; Extended version of the scene in which Downey Jr. discovers Stiller in a Major Kurtz ("Apocalypse Now") sort of scenario, and in which Black fights the little kid drug lord. - "Alternate Ending" runs for 3 minutes 30 seconds; additional fragments are added in at the awards ceremony and in the drug camp.
Packaging
This 2-disc set is packaged in an amaray case housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
|
|||||
|