The movie critique portion of this review was written by my colleague Michele Arbir.
Everyone usually wants that five minutes of fame, even at a young age. But to become famous, well that is even better. Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Elizabethtown) got that chance at a very young age, then went on to write about, and even direct a movie about his experience. Almost Famous tells the story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine back in the early 1970s, his touring with the fictitious rock band Stillwater, and his efforts to get his first cover story published. You will love this movie if you haven’t seen it and if you have you will fall in love all over again. It’s a fantastic, heartfelt coming-of-age story with a great ensemble cast and it’s legit hilarious. Kate Hudson steals the show with her performance.
Set in 1973, it chronicles the funny and often poignant coming of age of 15-year-old William, an unabashed music fan who is inspired by the seminal bands of the time. When his love of music lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview the up-and-coming band Stillwater — fronted by lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup, Big Fish) and lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee, Mallrats). William embarks on an eye-opening journey with the band’s tour, despite the objections of his protective mother.
Casting is on point and stellar performances across the board. The characters feel like real people, as the actors’ onscreen chemistry is incomparably sweet. Fugit’s lead character is delightful from start to finish, pure adolescence, he is perfect for the part part – he’s sweet, odd, and real. The role was made for Patrick Fugit; his acting as he escapes the grasp of an overprotective mother (Frances McDormand) was so real, and the moment was accentuated by an equally-fantastic McDormand. Kate Hudson really stole the show and deserved her Oscar nomination for her electric performance as the free-spirited Penny Lane. You will fall in love with her from the start of this movie.
This film has a fantastic soundtrack filled with the music that defined the time period. The movie is a must-see for all who grew up during the era. For me, it brings back childhood memories. This is the music my parents used to listen to – Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, and The Who, just to name a few. The Almost Famous soundtrack album was awarded the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media. The music gives this film a picaresque feel to it.
Although the film only made $47 million at the box office against a $60 million budget it received widespread acclaim from critics. Receiving four Academy Awards nominations, including a win for Best Original Screenplay. It also won two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (Hudson). Roger Ebert hailed it as the best film of the year as well as the ninth-best film of the 2000s.
Almost Famous captures the essence of the 70s and rock and roll. It also balances a love story and coming of age story. There is serious attention paid to the pitfalls of fame and success, the glare of the media, and balancing journalistic and personal relationships. It’s a movie about living a life that is your choice. A film about making your own decisions and going the way you want to go in life. This movie just gives you that feeling at the end where you know it’s gonna change your life forever. So amazing.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray set of Almost Famous offers a noticeable uptick in quality over the Blu-Ray from a decade ago, which this set does not port over in favor of providing both the Theatrical Cut and the Bootleg Cut on two separate 4K discs. Both discs offer the same level of quality with both ranking among the most impressive the format has to offer. The Dolby Vision presentations really harnesses the vintage aesthetic that Crowe has on display and features it to its full potential. Colors are more rich, natural and accurate to what was intended by the creative team. Even the more drab colors such as the shades of brown and grey in some of the settings offer a glorious stability. The highlights in the film are more defined with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. The black levels are especially awe-inspiring in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail.
This transfer sports a picture that has glorious film grain that resolves perfectly without being clumpy or unnatural. There has been no digital tinkering on this transfer, so this disc is free of DNR, compression artifacts and other encode issues. Skin tones appear way more natural with healthy doses of fine detail apparent on faces such as pores. Where these discs really shine is the level of detail that is now able to be seen. The production design that is a signature of the film is presented with immense depth and perfect clarity. Take a look inside any radio station or dressing room to see a wide array of minute details that are visible for the first time ever on disc. The costumes and textural output of the scenery is simply marvelous to behold with everything rendering without any issues. This is a very natural looking transfer that offers up a flawless presentation that should please fans of the film.
Audio Quality
Paramount Home Entertainment brings us this new 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix that is a stealth powerhouse. As with any Cameron Crowe film, music is of utmost importance to the general aesthetic of the film with classic tunes being given great depth within the mix. Likewise, the Nancy Wilson score sounds nice and warm as it fills up the surround channels. The dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming though clearly without being stepped on by the music or sound effects. The environmental effects are delineated nicely and given a dynamic placement throughout the speakers. The sounds of the raucous times on the bus and Stillwater performing along with a slew of other sounds bring nuanced life to the rear speakers. This is a track that captures the sounds of this film quite perfectly.
Special Features
One of the main appeals of this new release is to get the film in a sleek new matte Steelbook that is truly gorgeous in person. The front artwork is a shot of Penny Lane leaning against the counter of a dressing room, and the rear features a close-up of Penny’s legs and boots. The interior sports a still photo of the main cast. Photos of the Steelbook can be found at the end of this review.
Theatrical Cut
- New Releases
-
- Filmmaker Focus – Cameron Crowe On Almost Famous: A new eight-minute piece in which Crowe reflects on the personal nature of the film, working with Peter Frampton to make the film authentic, shooting the film in chronological order, the importance of the bus to the vibe of the film, the legacy of the film and more.
-
- Casting and Costumes: A lovely thirteen-minute featurette in which the voice of Crowe and cast members such as Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Jason Lee and Zooey Deschanel reflect on the film. It is so nice to hear about the experiences each performer had on the film with extra commentary from Crowe plus screen tests and costume tests that offer a fun look behind the curtain.
-
- Rock School: An eleven-minute piece which shows off some newly unearthed footage of the band members learning how to be the musicians they needed to be in the film with new insights from some of the previously mentioned talent plus Peter Frampton. There are many fascinating insights including how Crowe’s wife Nancy Wilson (of Heart fame) helped shape the sound.
-
- Extended Scenes: A nine-minute collection of unused footage including longer scenes of the band giving interviews, a longer hotel lobby scene and more.
-
- Odds & Sods: A nine-minute collection of unused takes and moments from the film strung together. There are some fun moments here.
- Greatest Hits:
-
- Intro By Cameron Crowe: A brief audio snippet is included here of Crowe introducing the special features package. There are microphones beside some of the supplements below that you can click to get more insights into the featurette.
-
- The Making Of Almost Famous: A 25-minute piece in which the cast and crew discuss the development of the film, the casting, the importance of music in the film, and more general insights into the process of bringing the film to life. The newer special features feel a bit more worthwhile through the benefit of hindsight reflection.
-
- Interview with Lester Bangs: A two-minute piece with the real-life Bangs as he excitedly discusses various topics.
-
- Cameron Crowe’s Top Albums Of 1973: A selection of some of Crowe’s favorite albums from 1973 that you can click on to gain a little more audio insight from the filmmaker.
-
- “Fever Dog” Music Video: A nearly five-minute music video for one of the film’s standout tunes is provided here.
-
- “Love Comes And Goes”: A four-minute demo of the song with Nancy Wilson vocals.
-
- Rolling Stone Articles: Seven Rolling Stones articles are provided here including pieces on The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell.
-
- B-Sides: A five-minute behind-the-scenes film captured by Cameron Crowe and Scott Martin.
-
- Cleveland Concert: The full sixteen-minute Stillwater concert is provided here.
-
- “Small Time Blues”: A three-minute musical moment that is quite nice.
-
- Stairway: A 12-minute excised scene is provided here of Elaine being convinced to let William take on the Stillwater assignment which goes to different places.
-
- Script: A digital script is provided for you to flip through.
-
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer for the film is provided here.
-
- Hidden Talent: A couple of odds and ends are provided here including an “eerie” outtake (0:45), a scene inspired by Truffaut (4:59) and a scene capturing Cameron Crowe’s perfectionism (9:03).
Untitled – The Bootleg Cut
- Audio Commentary: Director Cameron Crowe is joined by Scott Martin and Andy Fisher from Vinyl Films, Crowe family friend Ivan Carona, DreamWorks’ Mark Atkinson, and Cameron’s mother Alice for a very entertaining and informative commentary track. The participants take an “embarrassingly personal” approach to this track by focusing a lot on the real life inspiration for the film and how it is depicted on screen. This is one of the more enjoyable commentary tracks I have heard of late. Fans will want to seek this one out.
Final Thoughts
Almost Famous is not only one of the best films Cameron Crowe has ever made, but it is one of the defining films of the early 2000s. By creating something so deeply personal, Crowe told a universal story of growing up that cuts deeply. The entire cast is flawless from the obvious stars to the bit parts populated by people who would become well known in their own right. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a flawless new 4K UHD Blu-Ray set that features both cuts of the film in 4K with an A+ audio/visual presentation, all of the legacy special features, some new supplemental features, and even a lovely SteelBook packaging to top everything off. This is one of the contenders for release of the year. Essential
Almost Famous is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray SteelBook.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
