Uncut DVD shows ‘Almost Famous’ moments
Writer/Director Cameron Crowe says his 2000 film “Almost Famous” is all about “a feeling.”
Looking like a bootleg recording, tattered, creased and worn on the edges, “Untitled: Almost Famous the Bootleg Cut” is Crowe’s original edit of the film, now out on DVD.
The 35 minutes of additional footage are a revelation. And don’t worry about the length, the pace never drags a bit.
The extra time serves the characters well, adding depth to the coming-of-age tale and embroidery to its warm 70s tapestry.
Though loaded with features, the real gem on this set for music lovers is the director’s commentary. Listening in on Crowe bantering with his mother is timeless, whimsical and touching.
Together the pair reminisce about the real life events that inspired “Almost Famous.” This includes everything from Mrs. Crowe’s hippy floral dresses to the real family motto, “Don’t take drugs.”
And who better to give a tour of 70s rock music than former “Rolling Stone” editor Crowe. His anecdotes range from his first tour with the Allman Brothers in the early 1970s to watching a rough cut of the film with surviving members of Led Zeppelin in the late 1990s.
“Almost Famous” is the story of Crowe himself, but this is no jaunt down memory lane. There is no looking back through rose-tinted glasses.
Crowe’s alter ego is William Miller. An aspiring rock writer, the teenage William is portrayed with heaps of inspiration by newcomer Patrick Fugit.
According to the director’s commentary, 95 percent of the film is based on real events in Crowe’s life. Consequently, a surprisingly honest and heart-warming narrative emerges.
Fugit’s William wears no golden halo, is given no sacred quest and achieves no mythic triumph. His halo is a dirt brown mop top, his quest, interviewing a band, his triumph, growing up.
Leading the fictional Stillwater are Billy Crudup as guitarist Russell Hammond and Jason Lee as lead singer Jeff Bebe. Crudup and Lee’s razor sharp dynamic is palpable, as the talented Hammond and celebrity-obsessed Bebe constantly struggle for creative control of the band.
“Almost Famous” is set in the pivotal year of 1973. Like a musical fulcrum, the film captures perfectly the exact moment that rock music changed forever.
That year saw the last of the self-managed bands; the last harlequin gasp before corporate America finally swallowed up rock & roll too.
Not only shot beautifully, “Almost Famous” proves once again Crowe has a knack for clever and memorable dialogue.
“Give me a call if you ever need a rescue,” says Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane to an already adoring William at their first parting, “We live in the same city.”
“I think I live in a different world,” the young journalist replies sheepishly.
At the end of the picture, this theme is repeated when Hammond says to William, “You should give her a call. You live in the same city.” This time William only smiles to himself.
By the film’s end, he has lived the rock-and roll lifestyle, seen all of America and symbolically entered Penny’s world.
Roger Ebert called “Almost Famous” the best film of 2000, and he was right. This 3-disc director’s cut including many special features is a backstage pass to one of the greatest rock-and roll movies ever made.
Jeff Roedel