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Almost Famous is the movie Cameron Crowe has been waiting a lifetime to tell. The fictionalisation of Crowe's days as a teenage reporter for Creem and Rolling Stone has all the well-written characters and wonderful "movie moments" that we expect from Crowe (Jerry Maguire), but the film has an intangible something extra--an insider's touch that will turn the film into the ode to '70s Rock & Roll for years to come. We are introduced to Crowe's alter ego, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), at home, where his progressive mom (a superb Frances McDormand) has outlawed rock music and sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) has slipped him LPs that will "set his mind free." Following the wisdom of Creem's disheveled editor, Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman in an instant-classic performance), Miller gets on the inside with the up-and-coming band Stillwater (a fictionalised mixture of the Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, and others). A simple visit with the band turns into a three-week, life-altering odyssey into the heyday of American rock. Of the characters he meets on the road, the two most important are groupie extraordinaire Penny Lane (Kate Hudson in a star-making performance) and Stillwater's enigmatic lead guitarist (Billy Crudup), who keeps stringing Miller along for an interview. From the handwritten credits (done by Crowe) to the bittersweet finale, Crowe's comedic valentine is an indelible, heartbreaking romance of music, women, and the privilege of youth. --Doug Thomas
Product Description
Billy Crudup, Zooey Deschanel, Patrick Fugit, Jimmy Fallon, John FedevichDirectors: Cameron Crowe
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
[Amazon migrated my original review of this great movie across to the Blu-Ray edition from the Region 1 "Boot Cut". Unfortunately this means that a lot of it is completely inaccurate! The Boot Cut has great extras, such as the superb commentary, and the Blu-Ray has nothing much aside from the extended version of the film. Quite why it was possible to do more with the DVD format than it is with Blu-Ray I'm not sure, but with no Stillwater CD, no "Stairway to Heaven" scene, no deleted scenes etc. this is an opportunity badly missed. Still, it's the extended version and the film really is wonderful ... so it keeps its 5 stars either way.]
"Almost Famous" is a truly great film about music by someone who was also a great rock journalist. If you missed it in cinemas, this is a great opportunity to pick it up for home viewing.
The three discs here are a short CD by "Stillwater" (the fictional band from the film), a DVD of the original theatrical release and the main event: a DVD of the Director's Cut with a commentary by Cameron Crowe and his mother.
The longer version, it should be noted, takes what was already a brilliant autobiographical film and adds some key scenes, most of which explore further the rock world of the early seventies. Crowe himself wanted to tell not merely a love story, but - more importantly - the love story between a band and its fans. The additional detail really "sells" this aspect of the film, most notably in an extraordinarily moving scene when Kate Hudson's character is thrown a birthday party by the band. If you haven't seen this version, you haven't really seen the film: it really does make that much difference.
Finally, the commentary, which is one of the most informative that I've encountered. Crowe's mom (played to great effect in the film by Frances McDormand) provides a wonderful foil to Crowe himself as they talk about how closely events in the film tracked the actual events of his life as a journalist with Rolling Stone. If you think that the movie is inauthentic before you hear the commentary, you will have changed your mind by the end of it. Both come across as really warm, funny people as well, which is more than can be said for most commentators on DVDs.
One niggle: there's an important scene that was deleted presumably because Crowe couldn't get permission to use "Stairway to Heaven". It's here as an extra on the disc (you have to play your own CD along with it) but isn't incorporated into the "Untitled" Director's Cut. It's a shame that in this area the copyright holder spoiled what was in every other respect a great DVD version of one of the better films of recent years.
"Almost Famous" is a truly great film about music by someone who was also a great rock journalist. If you missed it in cinemas, this is a great opportunity to pick it up for home viewing.
The three discs here are a short CD by "Stillwater" (the fictional band from the film), a DVD of the original theatrical release and the main event: a DVD of the Director's Cut with a commentary by Cameron Crowe and his mother.
The longer version, it should be noted, takes what was already a brilliant autobiographical film and adds some key scenes, most of which explore further the rock world of the early seventies. Crowe himself wanted to tell not merely a love story, but - more importantly - the love story between a band and its fans. The additional detail really "sells" this aspect of the film, most notably in an extraordinarily moving scene when Kate Hudson's character is thrown a birthday party by the band. If you haven't seen this version, you haven't really seen the film: it really does make that much difference.
Finally, the commentary, which is one of the most informative that I've encountered. Crowe's mom (played to great effect in the film by Frances McDormand) provides a wonderful foil to Crowe himself as they talk about how closely events in the film tracked the actual events of his life as a journalist with Rolling Stone. If you think that the movie is inauthentic before you hear the commentary, you will have changed your mind by the end of it. Both come across as really warm, funny people as well, which is more than can be said for most commentators on DVDs.
One niggle: there's an important scene that was deleted presumably because Crowe couldn't get permission to use "Stairway to Heaven". It's here as an extra on the disc (you have to play your own CD along with it) but isn't incorporated into the "Untitled" Director's Cut. It's a shame that in this area the copyright holder spoiled what was in every other respect a great DVD version of one of the better films of recent years.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Crowe's partially autobiographical story about a gifted but naïve young rock journalist prematurely entering the world of his idols is moving, hilarious, thought-provoking and as good as any of his previous films. William comes of age as he deals with the rock and roll lifestyle, journalistic pressures, sex, jealousy and the questionable sincerity of his new 'friends' - all this with his over-protective mother demanding to know his every move.
The acting is fabulous - my favourite performance is the stunning (in every way) Kate Hudson as 'band-aid' Penny Lane ("not a groupie!"). Also an awesome debut from Fugit - perfectly cast and totally believable. My favourite film moment is when the characters reveal their deepest secrets on the tour plane because turbulence makes them believe they are going to die.
The DVD offers excellent extras including a documentary and actual Rolling Stone transcripts, written by Crowe. The soundtrack is impressive but the best feature is the picture of Hudson on the cover - almost perfect.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Almost Famous is a nostalgic look at the director Cameron Crowe's life, how he wanted to be a writer for a Rock and Roll magazine .The central Character William(newcomer Patrick Fugit) has the chance to go on the road for Rolling Stone Magazine with up and coming new Rock Band 'Stillwater',much to the disapproval of his overbearing,rock and roll hating mother(the perfectly cast Frances McDormand). Along the way he meets a number of great people, lead of the band Russell(played by Billy Crudup)and Penny Lane (played by Kate Hudson), this young writer has a huge effect on all the characters in this film as they help each other live the rock and roll life in the 70's. Cameron Crowe picked an excellent cast, young and inspiring who let you have just a taster of life on the road with a rock band. This is a film that is not to be missed.A Film for all aspiring writers and Rock Band hope to be's.
Almost Famous more like Absolutely Fabulous!
Almost Famous more like Absolutely Fabulous!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Almost Famous... Cameron Crowe's classic...
This film makes me miss a time that I've never even lived.
There is a scene in which the characters all sing along to Tiny Dancer (Elton John's classic) on a tour bus, this is... Read more
There is a scene in which the characters all sing along to Tiny Dancer (Elton John's classic) on a tour bus, this is... Read more
Published 5 months ago by steph
Hold me closer tiny dancer...
Great movie with a fantastic soundtrack to accompany it. That pretty much sums it up I think although some amount of elaborating might be useful to you. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jaffacake
Not everyone's cup of tea
Apart from Zooey Deschanel, who is breathtakingly beautiful, and a funny scene involving an imminent plane crash, I found this film presented a depressingly upbeat picture of rock... Read more
Published 14 months ago by William Cohen
Almost Famous: Extended Edition
This Is A Excellent Movie The Way It Was Supposed To Be Seen. How 40mins. Were Cut Out
Of The American Version Is Beyond Me. Read more
Of The American Version Is Beyond Me. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sinisterkat
Almost Perfect
Great movie. BD played fine in my US player and the shipping worked well from the UK. I really enjoyed the extended version of this movie.
Published 23 months ago by Stuart Walker
A Masterpiece
My Thoughts:
Almost Famous is truly a masterpiece that makes it the classic that should set off the shelves of any DVD collection no matter your age or favourite... Read more
Almost Famous is truly a masterpiece that makes it the classic that should set off the shelves of any DVD collection no matter your age or favourite... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Dismal Angel
Much better than expected!
In short, the package arrived sooner than expected, and the blu ray version of this movie was far better than the DVD version. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Silent B
Good story, cast, soundtrack
My attraction to this movie was Frances McDormand (sorry, Kate).
I found Almost Famous to be a fun movie to watch. Read more
I found Almost Famous to be a fun movie to watch. Read more
Published on 15 May 2010 by Albatross
The extended edition makes this great film so much better!
To start off with I wasn't that interested about the lack of extras with this Blu-ray edition - I just wanted to see for myself what the extra 40 minutes of the originally intended... Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2010 by Simon M
Almost Perfect ....
Well, I've just got a PS3 and wanted to try a Blu-ray movie, so i found one of my all time favourites here in Amazon.co.uk ...
This became my first Blu-Ray ... Read more
This became my first Blu-Ray ... Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by Rui Filipe Goncalves
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