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Every film,
deep down inside, are all about the same thing: a quest. This
might be the quest for love. Or it may be the quest for adventure.
Now, for the first time in cinematic history, we have a quest
that may just be the noblest of all. Break out the face make-up
and the platform boots, here it comes, the quest for KISS!
Detroit
Rock City is the type of film that only gets made well if
the people responsible have a passion for it. Writer Carl
Dupre and director Adam Rifkin show just such a passion. Along
with their producers, the rock legends of KISS, everyone involved
with Detroit Rock City just seems to be into it. This isn't
a movie with a deep message, its only intent is to have fun!
It's 1978
and four high school kids are just one day away from their
existence at that moment, the KISS concert in Detroit. But
when one of the boys "Tipper Gore-esque" mother noses her
way in on the plans, she puts the kabosh on the whole satanic
deal and burns their tickets. With the clock ticking, the
bong-rich four make getting into the concert their mission
in life, no matter what!
Detroit
Rock City is a type of movie that doesn't really get made
anymore. They don't really make fun of the seventies as much
as they embrace them and use them with as their backdrop with
a genuine affection. The opening-credit sequence is visible
proof of their (and my) need to be somewhat nostalgic for
the polyester decade. Is Detroit Rock City juvenile? Absolutely,
but who cares if it makes you laugh. Don't care where the
joke comes from, just enjoy the laugh. Besides, There's Something
About Mary wasn't exactly Jane Austin you know.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Why do I
even review the New Line stuff anymore? This is the typical
bang-up job from them. The anamorphic widescreen transfer
is excellently detailed with strong colors and absolutely
no bleeding. That's a notable plus considering all the bright
colors that were so predominant in the seventies. The picture
does have a slightly diffused look to it, which was entirely
intentional. What this diffusion does is help bring the video
quality even closer to a film-like quality.
The dominant
element of the picture is a lean towards a seventies feel
and it pulls that off extremely well. From the De Palma-kickin'-it-seventies-style
split-screen stuff to the warm orange glow that is the primary
tone, the Detroit Rock City DVD is a pleasure to look at.
Black level and shadow detail are also both rendered with
strong clarity. High marks yet again for New Line.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The English
Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is loud and furious when it goes
into music mode. The KISS jams will have the bass thumping
and the walls rocking. Surround use is well defined with both
effects and especially the music in some cases. Dialog is
clean and free of distortion or masking from the effects or
thunderous rock tracks. This is a great soundtrack to accompany
the wonderful visuals. You're two for two so far, New Line!
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? On the surface,
Detroit Rock City doesn't appear to be all that fully loaded.
Dig a bit though and you'll find tons of valuable extras.
Commentaries
is first up and when they say "commentaries" they
mean three full ones! On track one, director Adam Rifkin energetically
discusses the production and some very entertaining behind-the-scenes
stories. It's a great track and I hope to hear another by
him very soon. Commentary track two is home to just about
anyone else that even walked near the Detroit Rock City set
at some point during the production. I generally don't like
commentary tracks with multiple speakers because I too often
find them confusing to listen to and keep track of. Not so
with this one. Did I have any idea who was speaking most of
the time? Not at all, but that's not the point of commentary
two. This is a party track, plain and simple with everyone
laughing and just having a good time, much like they did during
the film's actual production.
There is
something to keep in mind about these first two tracks. They
(especially the cast and crew track) are the most unique commentaries
that I've ever listened to. They have been given extra treatment
in the editing department to give each track a feel similar
to the film itself. Give them a listen, you'll probably be
hypnotized by their departure from convention.
Track three
is going to be what is considered pay dirt by KISS fans the
world (or at least region 1) over. All four members of the
legendary band have sat down to record bits for an interview
commentary. It's not screen-specific like the others, but
does that matter? I'm betting this is the first track that
everyone will immediately jump to when they crack this disc
open. I mean, it's KISS doing a commentary. How much does
that rock?
The Cutting
Room Floor is your door to several of the most unusual
extras on the disc: Rock & Roll All Night presents
alternate angle capability showcasing both the filmed version
of the song by our high school heroes and the original recording
session including one incredibly tone-deaf Edward Furlong.
SongXpress
will teach you how to play Rock & Roll All Night on the guitar
in under eight minutes. I don't have a guitar so I don't know
how affective this methodology is but it seemed really hard.
I'm probably wrong. Play
the Detroit Rock City KISS Concert is a performance by
the band with four selectable angles or a fifth that lets
you watch all four on one screen. Pretty cool stuff here and
something no one really uses like this. Interestingly, though,
the multi-angles don't highlight each band member solo, instead
offering four unique cuts of the performance. Sort of like
four videos in one.
Deleted
Scenes offers six of the omissions that had to be made
to get the film down to a runable time. One of the scenes
even offers an alternate angle that compares the final filmed
scene with the audition tapes used to cast the film. Again,
great use for an often avoided feature. Another of the deleted
scenes isn't even from Detroit Rock City. Well, you'll understand
when you see it...
Behind-The-Scenes
contains two making of featurettes. The first Look
Into The Sun is an eight-minute bit of random and completely
disjointed bits of stuff taped for use specifically for this
DVD. I was fully expecting the second featurette to be equal
in both length and content to the first. Instead, the second
look behind the camera, aptly titled Miscellaneous Shit,
is a more traditional type of making of documentary and runs
just over thirty-six minutes. This was more to my liking and
more extensive.
Music
Videos contains one for The Donnas' cover of Strutter
and one for Everclear's The Boys Are Back in
Town. (Editor: I love The Donnas, and so should you!
For me this is worth the price of admission alone!) The
film's Original Theatrical Trailer is presented in
anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 sound. Cast & Crew
close out the disc with filmographies provided for most all
of the main cast members, the members of KISS and many of
the filmmmakers.
One last
thing. The interactive menus are going to be the "talk"
of the DVD community for their unique approach, which are
devoid of text and instead uses audible guidance instead.
One hint. When these menus first appear on-screen, hit the
Title button to go to a text-based menu, unless you have considerable
time to kill and want to go through the audible navigation.
Thanks to New Line for not excluding the text menus, as I
found the voice menus to be somewhat tedious.
Parting Thoughts
Yet again,
New Line has pulled off a real hat trick, excelling in the
video, audio, AND supplemental portions of the disc. Detroit
Rock City is worth every cent and so much more. Highly recommended!!
(For
more on the making of the Detroit Rock City disc, read our
interview
with Director Adam Rifkin and Producer Tim Sullivan.)
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