Staying on the “Clerks” theme, the Genesis of the Jay and Silent Bob empire begain 10 years ago (man I feel old now). Kevin Smith is a master, and this piece of cult classic is where, for all intents and purposes, is where it all began.
The Clerks 10th Anniversary Edition DVD has 3 disks (yes, you read that right), and is just loaded with good stuff. There’s a fantastic review of the DVD over at DVD Town. Here’s an excerpt:
Disc two of the set contains the original, unrated version of the movie, the “The First Cut” as it’s called. It is about thirteen minutes longer than the theatrical version, it is in its original camera-negative ratio of 1.33:1, later matted to 1.85:1, and it is not restored. It’s rather a chore to watch, actually, because it looks like a bad video tape, blurry and besieged by flecks, specks, and scratches. But it was the original product and worth a look for the faithful. It is accompanied by an audio-video commentary with Kevin Smith, Scott Moiser, Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran, and Jason Mewes. By clicking on your remote’s “angle” button, you can alternate between a video commentary or the actual movie with the audio commentary only. English is the only spoken language available on this version, with English captions for the hearing impaired.
Disc three contains most of the traditional bonus items. The first and most important is a ninety-minute documentary, “Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks,” divided into thirty-nine chapters. It’s very personal, very biographical, and, needless to say, very informative. It may, however, be more than the average viewer wants or needs; it seems geared toward the true believers, who will adore it, and beginning filmmakers looking for a little encouragement. Next is Smith and Moiser’s first film together, “Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary,” an eleven-minute documentary on a documentary that didn’t happen. After that is a forty-two minute “10th Anniversary Q&A” session in front of a live audience, followed by thirteen outtakes from “Snowball Effect,” for me more than a bit of overkill. Finally, there is a still photo gallery, several of Kevin Smith’s text journals, and articles and reviews by Amy Taubin, Robert Hawk, John Pierson, and Peter Broderick.
Do yourself a favour and go read the full review.
