Digital Entertainment NewsNews and reviews from the perspective of the average gamer.

Subscribe to DigNews

Kevin Smith 3 Film Collection

I’ve been a fan of Kevin Smith ever since I first rented Clerks… well, jeez, I don’t know when, but t was before his second film came out. Ever since I have made an effort to track his career and see his films. I truly believe that he can create characters and dialogue that rivals the best Hollywood has ever had t offer. His overuse of some comedic crutches hold him back from being taken seriously either among his peers or at the box office. Still, this is the kid who keeps handing in his B+ report card in “honors math” when you know he could be easily earning an A but just isn’t applying himself.

Now Miramax has brought over three of his titles onto Blu-ray. First up is the film that broke a few laws, but kicked off not only several careers, but also introduced the Jersey Saga, also known as the Askewniverse. Three of those films are presented here, Clerks, Chasing Amy and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.

This box set is clearly aimed at fans of the writer/director. I could say actor, but Silent Bob is merely a variation of himself, just Kevin Smith not talking. Some film fans may want Chasing Amy, some will want Clerks, but only the Kevin Smith loyal will want Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, and even then, picking up all three on Blu-ray isn’t going to be very high on most people’s priority list unless they are already familiar with these films.

Because this box set is aimed mostly at fans already familiar with the three films, I won’t go into too much detail. Clerks is a sort of “day in the life” which not only perfectly captures a time and place in these people’s lives, it also captures the mid-90’s “indie” sensibility not only in filmmaking but also music. Sure, there’s some plot, but this film is more an examination of these characters and where they are (or aren’t, really) going in life. Chasing Amy, my favorite Kevin Smith film has a twist on the “guy meets girl” romantic comedy – she’s a lesbian. Well, at least she used to be, and the guy s having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that she really does love him. Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back is pure comedic fan service, just another trip down the lane with these characters that have populated (at the time) 5 films.

So what do we get in this new collection? Well, this is an odd question because there is some new stuff, but a good number of stuff is missing. What is new is also poorly placed on these discs as well. Most notably, the wonderful documentary “Oh, What A Lovely Tea Party” which looks at the making of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back is placed on the Clerks Blu-ray. Don’t get me wrong. Oh, What A Lovely Tea Party is great and very much “must see” stuff for Kevin Smith fans. One expects this kind of in-depth treatment for a major science fiction film, not a comedy. Such is the nature of Kevin Smith and his fans, this is what gets produced. A wealth of behind the scenes footage and candid interviews make for a documentary that is almost worthy of being released on its own.

As for the previous content from the Clerks X DVD release, celebrating the film’s 10^th anniversary, it appears that everything is presented here. I can’t find my DVD copy, so I can’t compare the two directly, but we still get the film’s audio commentary as well as the “first cut” version of Clerks and that variation’s audio commentary. Also present are the various television spots with Jay and Silent Bob, the auditions, the animated “lost scene”, the Soul Asylum music video, 10^th anniversary Q&A, documentary featurettes, and more.

Chasing Amy is disappointing, in that the previous audio commentary had to be scrapped because the previous DVD was released by Criterion and won’t let go of the rights to it (though that DVD also included some outtakes and deleted scenes which are presented here). Actually, it would be interesting to have included the original audio commentary with its host of participants, including Ben Affleck. Also, I think there are still some deleted scenes still floating around that are not included here.

However, as disappointing as it is not to have all the previous bonus material, (still holding on to my Criterion laserdisc copy) there’s actually enough here to warrant a purchase of this disc as a stand-alone option. There’s over 2 hours worth of new bonus material, starting off with a documentary on the making of the film, titled Tracing Amy. Starting with Mallrats we see the conception of Chasing Amy and the evolution of the script, another great batch of behind the scenes footage and interviews makes for some compelling viewing. A Q&A 10 years after the film as well as a conversation between Smith and star Joey Lauren Adams are well worth checking out for fans of the film and combined make up about 45 minutes that are well worth watching for fans of the film, and are not interested in listening to an audio commentary or watching a lengthy documentary.

Jay& Silent Bob Strike Back, which is the lesser of the three films, being pure comedic fan service to supposedly wrap up the Jersey Saga (which would be revisited a few years later with Clerks II) also gets the lesser treatment. All of the DVD special features are missing except for the audio commentary. The great selection of still images, such as storyboards and comic art is missing, as well as the gag reel, documentary featurette, deleted scenes and lots more. There is no reason to own this film on Blu-ray, especially since this is just a reissue of the crappy initial Blu-ray release that was missing all the DVD bonus features.

So, after all that, is it worth buying the Miramax Kevin Smith 3 Movie Collection? Sadly, no. It’s like opening up that present on Christmas morning, getting the Red Ryder BB Gun, only to find out later that you do, indeed, shoot your eye out. Clerks will get re-released in a few years, most likely in a 2-disc Blu-ray with ALL of the content available, and in high definition along with a few more items. Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back is very much not worth the effort until Miramax rereleases it with the DVD bonus material as well as including Oh, What A Lovely Tea Party attached. Chasing Amy is worth the repurchase.

Fans of Kevin Smith and the Jersey Saga, however, are suckers. Unfortunately, Miramax knows this. If you can hold on to your copy of Clerks X and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back on DVD, as well as find Chasing Amy on Blu-ray individually, then pick it up. Clerks on Blu-ray may be worth picking up, but only for the documentary that will eventually get re-released attached on the right film.

[ Post the first comment | View related posts ]

Tags: Askewniverse, Misc DVD 2009

Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Nov 25th, 2009 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Enter your email address:

Related Posts

• The Limits Of Control
• Paper Heart
• Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
• All About Steve
• The Goods Live Hard Sell Hard
• Blu & DVD Together
• Moonshot
• The Open Road
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Blu-ray)
• Better Off Ted

Post a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.