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Pretty Woman - Special 10th Anniversary Edition
DVD Review by Yanman |
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"It was so good I almost peed my pants." While I'm not sure that I would use that exact quote to describe my thoughts on Pretty Woman, I would say that from the very first time that I saw this movie in the theater it has held a special place in my list of movies. This Cinderella love story from 1990 staring Julia Roberts as Vivian, the streetwise prostitute from Hollywood Blvd., and Richard Gere as Edward, a business savvy bachelor from New York, almost had a very different ending, but more on that latter. Although the special edition DVD does have extra footage and a director's commentary, the video and audio quality do not appear to all that special, non-anamorphic video and Dolby Digital 2-channel stereo only. Even with those caveats, this is a DVD that every fan of this movie will want to add to their collection. Edward Lewis is a corporate raider that buys companies that are in trouble and sells them off in pieces to the highest bidders. He quips that he makes no products and doesn't actually build or manufacture anything. Still, he does make himself and a lot of other people that surround him a lot of money. Sometimes thought, lucky in business leads to unlucky in love. Edward's girlfriend breaks up with him because she "talks more to his secretary then to him." While blowing off a little steam, Edward gets lost and somehow finds Vivian Ward walking the streets of LA. Vivian is a down on her luck streetwise hooker, walking the street looking for tricks on Hollywood Blvd. When she spots Edward in his jerky lawyer friend's (Jason Alexander) sports car, she knows he has money, just not how much. What starts off as a simple business transaction between these two starts to grow into something more. Can two people from different worlds really fall in love? The video quality is pretty good considering the age of this movie. The 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen picture shows some small amounts of dirt and softness, with an overall rating of average. The sound here is Dolby Digital 2-channel stereo (Pro-Logic Surround), and is adequate for the type of movie (Mostly Dialog) presented here. Still other, older, mostly dialog moves have been re-mastered recently, and we would have preferred to see that done here. For the age of this film the number of extras on this anniversary edition is very good. The list of extras includes, B-Roll, a featurette, a music video, and a very interesting Commentary by Director Garry Marshall. In this commentary (originally done for laser disc), he explains the original story (Called 3000 for the amount of money that is offered to the hooker), had a much different ending. In this earlier version, the girl is dumped, the millionaire leaves, and her friend overdoses on cocaine. Gee, I wonder why they didn't go that route. While the Cinderella type story may have been done many times in the past, the chemistry between the players has rarely been any better then the one assembled here. It's hard to believe that Julia Roberts was just getting started; Richard Gere was on a comeback trail, and Jason Alexander and Laura San Giacomo where unknowns, now that Pretty Woman is 10. Wait, what do I see? She's walking back to meeeee…
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Pretty Woman 10th Anniversary Edition This is a DVD that every fan of this movie will want to add to their collection. Staring: Richard Gere Directed By: Garry Marshall Running time: 125 Min.
Bonus Materials
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