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The story
behind Good Will Hunting's journey to the screen is the classic
underdog story that Hollywood just loves. Flashback to four
or so years ago, to then-nobody's Matt Damon and Ben Affleck,
two pals sharing a small one bedroom apartment who decide
to write a screenplay. Of course, the Hollywood gloss version
is that a couple of years later the two sell the script to
Miramax for six figures, the film is made into an Oscar-winning
sleeper that grosses over $135 million domestically, and Mr.
Damon and Mr. Affleck become overnight stars.
Of course,
in the real world, the story wasn't quite so simple. I actually
got the opportunity to read the original script (another perk
of being a film student at USC), and the differences between
the original the finished product are most interesting. You
probably won't believe it, but the original script was quite
different, with the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck characters
are involved in a suspense/thriller plot where they inadvertently
crack a secret code or something similar. Really, I'm not
making this up. Although this story didn't really get very
far, but there have been some rumblings within the industry
that the Oscar win for Best Screenplay wasn't all that deserved
for the two young Hollywood upstarts. Although the genesis
of the the film is way too long to go into here, Castle Rock
originally bought the screenplay, hired some writers to flesh
it out, and still rejected it. Then, Damon and Affleck sold
it to Miramax, and the rest is history. But, the nagging question
remained...just how much of the success of the script is owed
to Mr. Damon and Mr. Affleck?
Of course,
we'll never know if there is any validity to the claims of
who really deserved that Oscar, but personally I don't care.
I think Good Will Hunting is great movie, regardless of what
happened. The writing (by whomever) is terrific, the acting
by all involved stellar, and Gus Van Sant directed his best
work by far with the film. Some have called it a "guy's chick
flick," and there may be something to that moniker. It has
many classic weepie elements (girls' love turns around louty
loser), but the film, perhaps due to its somewhat blue collar/indie
feel, escaped the dreaded chick flick tag. Although at first
Matt Damon's character seemed to be headed for the Smug Prick
Of The Year award, Robin Williams' psychiatrist quickly enters
the scene to teach the brilliant but emotional immature Damon
a thing or two about what constitutes a man in the real world.
What is
perhaps most impressive to me about Good Will Hunting is that
it managed to take what could have been stock characters and
situations and yet avoided becoming a bad indie version of
Ordinary People. Even though deep down I probably new what
the outcome would be, I was constantly surprised at how the
film seem continually fresh and surprising, always avoiding
big scenes most lesser films would wallow in (i.e., a big
therapy session breakdown, sappy romantic montages, overwrought
male bonding scenes, etc.). Mr. Van Sant, a surprising choice
to some to direct this film, fits it like a glove and brings
a really smart, borderline art-house aesthetic to the visual
compositions and editing rhythms, and pulls out subtle, nuanced
performances from the entire cast. A really understated, great
film.
So, anyway,
Good Will Hunting has been released on DVD in three versions
(!). First, Buena Vista nd Miramax have released a Collector's
Series edition and a movie-only verison in the U.S., and
due to a licensing arrangement made before Miramax was bought
by Disney, Alliance has the Canadian distribution rights to
Miramax titles on DVD. So, we have two special editions
and one movie-only edition (not counting a Pan & Scan
version on DIVX!). How do they all stack up?
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
All versions
contain only the 1.85:1 widescreen version of the film from
the same master print. The transfer overall looks very good,
and improves upon the slightly muddy laserdisc. Black level,
color saturation and fleshtones are all perfect, as would
be expected for a recent film. Although the film has a somewhat
low-budget look, and is a bit grainy as intended, it still
looks very good and clean. However, there are a couple of
minor artifacts as a result of the MPEG compression being
tripped up by the film grain, but hardly distracting or problematic.
Also, I thought the colors were a bit too saturated and didn't
reflect my original theatrical experience, but the transfer
was supervised by the filmmakers themselves, so I supposed
it looks the way it should.
Most interesting
is the fact that only the Alliance edition is enhanced for
16x9. This is inexcusable on Buena Vista and Miramax's part
given the Collector's Series banner and high list price. If
a 16x9 transfer exists, why not use it? Although in comparing
the 16x9 and none 16x9 images side by side, apart from the
decreased resolution and occasional "shimmy" on some hard
edges, the image is very good overall. But, still, what is
the deal here? The Alliance version wins the image race hands-down
on this one.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
All three
versions feature the same 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, which
is a clear winner, sounding on par with the recent laserdisc.
This type of film is not really the type to give your 5.1
setup a real workout, but a nice ambient soundfield is created,
dialogue is very well balanced with the music and sound effects.
Thankfully, the soundtrack also belies its low-budget by never
sounding tinny, harsh or "cheap." Interestingly, I listened
to the 2.0 downmix, and it sounds quite a bit weaker, to the
point where I didn't hear any surrounds at all. If you can
do 5.1 or pure 2.0 stereo, definitely go with those over the
2.0 matrixed surround downmix. There are no alternate language
tracks provided on the U.S. versions, but again Alliance comes
through with a French 5.1Surround track on their version.
Need I say who wins the audio battle again?
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? As the first
Miramax Collector's Series title (along with Scream
from partner Dimension), I was overall impressed with the
depth of the supplements provided in this initial Collector's
Series title, although not blown away.
The main
supplements provided are 11(!) deleted scenes (12 on the Alliance
version), and a great commentary track with Director Gus Van
Sant, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (which, not to be snippy,
was originally recorded for the laserdisc). Further, the deleted
scenes also have a commentary track option, which is a nice
bonus. Although as with most cut scenes many of them should
have been left out, there is some interesting shadings about
the characters illuminated in these scenes, and they are fun
to watch. I enjoyed these two features very much, and they
are certainly essential to any true Good Will Hunting special
edition. However, it is interesting to note that the Alliance
version has an extra deleted scene (of Robin Williams' character
doing a wicked Jack Nicholson impersonation), but they are
not indivdually accessible from the menu as on the Miramax
version. But, you can access the scenes using the skip buttons
on your remote, which is passable if not as desirable as having
them as menu options. However, you can switch between audio
tracks from the remote on the Alliance version, while on the
Miramax one you cannot, so the Canadians get the nod there.
In addition,
there are some other nice if minor tidbits added as well on
both versions. There is the usual theatrical trailer (two
on the Alliance version, one in English and one in French)
and TV spots, as well as Cast Biographies on the Alliance
version only. All of which are all very nice but certainly
no great shakes, and nothing you can't find on the average
Universal or Warner $24.95 or $19.95 DVD. But, there is some
additional behind-the-scenes footage (in a rather cheesy and
brief featurette), a Academy Award Best Picture montage which
is basically just another trailer, and a "Miss Misery" music
video (which is the only supplement also included on the Buena
Vista sllimmed-down version).
These extras
are all very nice, but truth be told, when adding up all the
features, it really didn't seem worth $39.95. Yes, it is a
nice package, but other companies like Columbia, Warner and
Universal have been putting commentary tracks and deleted
scenes on their discs for a while now and pricing them cheaper,
and nothing here really seems to justify the $39.95 price
tag. So, since the Alliance version is cheaper ($29.95 I think),
I felt it won the supplements and price battle as well. I'm
beginning to see a pattern emerge here, aren't you?
Parting Thoughts
So, in the
end, a very good disc with strong video and audio quality
and a nice set of supplements. But, due to the fact that there
is no 16x9 enhancement on the U.S. versions and the extras
just a bit more fleshed out on the Alliance version, I'm lead
to think the U.S. release is just a little bit undernourished
comparatively. Don't get me wrong...it is a fine effort and
better than the insulting Scream Collector's Series release,
but it would be a better deal if it had been priced at around
$29.95 or less. So I recommend the Alliance version without
hesitation, and if you can get it, definitely choose it over
the U.S. versions. And, by the way, Buena Vista really needs
to get with the program...the Canadians are beating us!
(Note:
If you are interested in purchasing the Alliance version of
this disc, please visit DVDepot,
a great Canadian-based Region 1 retailer. They ship throughout
Region 1.)
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