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American Movie
DVD Review by Yanman |
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"Every time I spoke with him and every time we got together there was something that seemed to go wrong…and he always seemed to forge ahead…" So, you want to be a big time movie director. Do you think that you are ready for the trials and tribulations? What? You don't even know what it takes to make a movie. Well let American Movie be your guide, it's a complete moviemakers how-to. OK, maybe not, but it is a documentary of what it takes to get a very very small budget independent film from the idea stage to the screen. Mark Borchardt is a man with a dream he wants to make movies. Armed with a black and white camera, serious ambition, and a sense of adventure, Mark pursues his dream. The only difference everyone else's dream and Mark's, is that Mark has allowed the process of realizing his dream to be caught on tape. Follow him step by step, from the first stages of developing his "feature film" entitled Northwestern, to the realization that he would have to think smaller, to the ultimate completion of the horror film short "Coven". You are intimately involved with all the money problems, cynical friends and family members, production issues, and the ultimate first screening of the movie. But, at the end of the day will Coven be a hit and if so, will it be the ultimate stepping-stone to the larger feature film? A DVD's sound and video quality is only as good as the master that it was created from. American Movie is obviously a "low budget" documentary about making "low budget" movies and this shows through with the poor film and sound quality. Full Screen and in mono, there is nothing to rave about here. Unless you are like us and only collecting DVDs now, then this one may be better purchased (for the cost) on VHS (Yuck). Extras include a director and cast commentary, the Coven short film, and a boatload of deleted scenes. Even though there are just an average number of extras here, there are more then expected considering the nature of the material. This may be the second reason to purchase this one on DVD as opposed to its VHS counterpart. As a movie reviewer and a long time movie buff, I have often thought about trying my hand at filmmaking. American Movie has changed all that, making me realize that there is a lot more to making a film then meets the eye, regardless of the production size. If you have any interest in filmmaking, then this one is a must see, non-filmmakers may not be as inspired. Now where did I put my 16mm black and white camera…
This DVD was reviewed on Yanman.com's Reference Theater #1, using a Toshiba SD-5109 DVD player, Toshiba TW56X81, and M&K 750 THX Speakers. Panamax protects all systems at Yanman.com. |
American Movie A documentary of what it takes to get a very very small budget independent film from the idea stage to the screen. Staring: Mark Borchardt Directed By: Chris Smith Running time: 104 Min
Bonus Materials
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