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Today's Date is:

Magnolia

Reviewed by: Rachel Hughes
Genre: Drama
Video: Anamorphic 2.40:1 Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0
Language: English
Subtitle: English
Length: 3hr 13min
Rating: R
Release Date: August 29, 2000
Studio: New Line
Commentary: None
Documentaries: Magnolia diary, a day by day look at the entire production.
Featurettes: None
Filmography/Biography: None
Interviews: Interviews featured on the magnolia diary, but no formal interviews.
Trailers/TV Spots: Teaser trailer, full theatrical trailer, and 9 commercials including one that never aired.
Alternate/Deleted Scenes: color bars features out-takes, bloopers including footage never used in the movie.
Music Video: Amiee Mann's "Save Me"
Other: Frank T. J. Mackey seminar that includes material not used in the film. Mackey infomercial
Cast and Crew: Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise, Melinda Dillon, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Jason Robards, and Melora Walters.
Screenplay by: Written by P. T. Anderson
Produced by: Joanne Sellar
Directed By: P. T. Anderson
Music: NA
The Review: After watching this movie for the first time you want to run out and tell all your friends that they must go see this movie. They will invariably ask you what it is about. That question completely floors you. You suddenly realize that you have no idea how to convey the plot of this movie. You just end up staring at them blankly and saying things like there are all these people who don't seem connected, but they really are in the end, kind of, maybe, trust me, just go see it. I know this is true because it happened to me over and over again. And now I have the daunting task to convince you that you must see this movie Just be thankful that you don't have to see me stare blankly at you. Magnolia is the second writing and directorial effort of P. T. Anderson, with his first movie being "Boogie Nights." The time span of the film is one day, morning to morning. As the film moves on you are introduced to character after character. You see how all their lives seemingly so different are all effected by one anothers actions. The thing that makes this film so grand is that all the characters are real. They all are so human. You can identify with their emotions. There is guilt, remorse, anger, joy, helplessness the full range of human emotion. However Anderson does not over do it. You never feel like you are in a melodrama where the emotion is over acted. These are real people living real lives not so different from our own. If I had to pick a theme of magnolia, as opposed to a plot, it would be that things like this happen everyday. Not only is the writing and directing brilliant, but I challenge anyone to assemble such a fine ensemble cast. Tom Cruise, who earned a Golden Globe Award, and an Oscar nomination, is particularly outstanding. In a way it is because he plays a character that we are not used to seeing him play. He is a bit slimey, not the most likable guy. Philip Seymour Hoffman is the quintessential supporting actor. He brings so much to every film he is in, and this is no exception. If I went on to mention everyone this would run forever. Suffice it to say that no one in the cast can easily be forgotten.
Image and Sound With DVD one has come to expect a higher quality of picture clarity than with standard VHS tapes. This film does not disappoint. Anderson was a supervisor on the transfer assuring great quality. The camera work of the film is incredible and there is nothing to distract you from it. The sound is also clear. With such a dialogue driven movie you need to be able to hear every word. For the bulk of the movie there isn't a problem. However during the beginning and the end when the songs are playing I had difficulty hearing, and had to turn on the subtitles to make sure I didn't miss anything.
The Extras This DVD is unusual in that the movie is on one DVD and all of the extras are on a second one. The menus for both are not interactive. You simply select and move on. On the extra disc the first item is color bars. When you select this you have the standard television color bars. If you let this play for about 20-30 seconds it will change to a wonderful assortment of out-takes. It runs for about 8mins. There are even some out-takes for scenes which did not make the final cut. The next two items are closely related. The have to due with Tom Cruises self-help guru Frank T.J. Mackey. He has created a system that guarantees any man can turn any woman into his personal sex kitten. The first extra is an infomercial for the "Seduce and Destroy" program. This alone is worth the price of the DVD. They perfectly mimic the chessieness and over seriousness of the million of infomercials we see today. The second contains more of the seminar scenes that we see in the movie. Mackey explains two of his techniques and then for each one it cuts away to a scene of him taking his own advice. Next are the trailers and television commercials. There is a short teaser trailer and then the full length. There are also 9 television commercials including one that never aired. There is also Aimee Mann's "Save Me" video. This is an original film written for the movie. It received an Academy Award nomination. The video was also directed by P. T. Anderson, so it flows wonderfully with the rest of the movie. Finally there is the magnolia diary. With a running time of an hour and twelve minutes it is not for the feint of heart, but then neither is this movie. This is a semi documentary. It appears that someone took a hand held video camera and followed everyone around for every aspect of the film. It runs from the beginning with a brief interview with Anderson on how and why the story came about. Then we get a glimpse of pre-production. It shows how much work goes into a movie before the first frame is even shot. It then takes you through the actual shooting of the movie. There are brief discussions with Julianne Moore, Jason Robard, and William H. Macy. You see all the difficulties that a movie of this size must face. Next there is what you do with a movie once it is finished. They talk about marketing, commercials, and you get to see what a press junket is all about. There are scenes of the movie premiere. Finally there are the accolades. The lists of awards the show won and was nominated for. It truly runs the gambit
Commentary None
Final Words: The only thing I was surprised about was the lack of a commentary. That is the only thing that would have been needed to make this absolutely perfect. If you enjoyed the movie then owning this DVD is a must. If this has peaked your interest enough to rent the movie then do so on DVD even if it is just to see the Mackey infomercial.


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 June 16, 2001