Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have a confession: I rented this on video as soon as it came out back in 1999 & I hated it. In fact, my friend & I turned it off in the middle of the film. Actually, I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but the real reason is b/c we didn't know we were watching an actual documentary... Looking back on it, I feel like one of those stupid people who went to see The Blair Witch project, threw up, & thought it was real. So I eventually watched this again in one of my film classes. Yes, by then I knew it was real, but I had never felt like giving it that 2nd chance.
Well, upon that second viewing, I quickly came to the realization that this film is amazing!! I can't believe how stupid I was to give up on it before!
As far as documentaries go, American Movie is near-flawless. It's got humor, sympathy, inspiration, old guys eating Polish sausage, you name it- it's there. No really, we laugh at the "characters," but there's actually a really inspiring & uplifting message to it all. It follows the life of one major film buff from Milwaukee who sets out to make a feature film (Northwestern) but becomes sidetracked with funding problems, so he decides to finish up a short horror film (Coven) to sell for profits. The trials & tribulations of Coven's production make up American Movie.
As for the DVD, it's excellent. There are deleted scenes galore, many of which are GREAT! And they're not just throw-away junk scenes, which is always a plus. There are commentary tracks & trailers, but best of all, the mother of all extras is... COVEN. Yes, the 22-minute short film is included in its entirety. I can die happy now.
I saw my friend recently & told her that I not only watched American Movie again (which we vowed never to do), but that I loved it! She then told me how she was "forced" to watch it again for one of her film classes & that she loved it too!! So there's hope for all us imbeciles yet.
Do yourself a huge favor & see this movie if you haven't already done so. And if you watched half of it before & hated it, please give it a second try. Once you loved it, come back & purchase this DVD like me!
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AMERICAN MOVIE - DVD Movie
