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	“Repo Man: Special Edition”
	Reviewer:	Wayne A. Klein	Studio:	Universal
	Genre:	Fantasy	Release:	1/24/06
	Special Features:	Commentary with director Alex Cox, Michael Nesmith, Victoria Thomas, Sy Richardson, Znader Schloss and Del Zamora; “Repossessed”, “The Missing Scenes” with introductions and commentary from Alex Cox and Sam Cohen; “Up Close and Personal with Harry Dean Stanton”
Review:	Otto (Emilio Estevez) is having a rotten day. He’s jobless, his girlfriend has taken up with his best friend and his parents have given away the money he planned to use for college to a TV evangelist. Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) a repo man takes a liking to Otto and decides to mentor him as a repo man. When Otto repossesses a car driven by a wacky scientist (Fox Harris) he discovers that his troubles were nothing in comparison; there’s something nasty in the trunk that disintegrates whomever opens it ( a homage to the classic noir thriller “Kiss Me Deadly”). Alex Cox’s (“Sid and Nacy”, “Straight to Hell”) bizarre tough fantasy is clearly informed by the noir graphic novels popular during the 80’s with its bizarre characters and conclusion. It’s probably the closest we have to a graphic comic novel on film that doesn’t dwell on superheroes. Featuring a winning soundtrack of classic punk inspired rock by The Clash, The Pogues and other popular bands of the early 80’s, “Repo Man” gained cult status very quickly creating a career for talented but iconoclastic Cox. Cox’s film reminds me of something David Lynch might have made if his pet obsessions hadn’t overwhelmed much of his film work. Oh, look for a cameo by Jimmy Buffett as an FBI agent, director Cox as a carwash attendant and character actor Tracey Walter in a pivotal supporting role. Actor Zander Schloss will be familiar to punk fans as he plays bass for the Circle Jerks. He also appears on the commentary track as well. Image & Sound: This is the third DVD release for “Repo man”. Flesh tones are natural looking and detail is sharp although there are some minor problems digital blemishes such as edge enhancement. Colors are robust and faithful to the original look of the film when it premiered theatrically. Audio sounds fine with a nice 5.1 mix although you’ll notice most of the action is up front with the rear speakers relegated to the music and sound effects. We also get the original 2.0 mono soundtrack.
Special Features:	Universal has chosen to carry over the commentary track done for the superb Anchor Bay release from a couple of years ago. Producer Michael Nesmith (yes, the guy that wore the wool hat in The Monkees and a talented solo artist as well who made a number of fine films), director Cox, casting director Victoria Thomas and character actors Zander Schloss, Del Zamora and Sy Richardson all appear on the commentary track as well providing a balanced, thoughtful and frequently funny discussion on the making of the film. “Up Close and Personal with Harry Dean Stanton” is one of the new extras here. An interview with Stanton about his career and why he has made some of the choices he has over the years working in the film business. “Repossessed” features Cox with producers Peter McCarthy and Jonathan Wacks discussing the pre-production and shooting challenges they faced in making the film. We also find out about the original ending of the film which is quite a bit different from the final one shot. “The Missing Scenes” covers Alex Cox with Sam Cohen discussing and presenting the scenes cut from the film. They also delve into politics and a discussion of the neutron bomb (Cohen evidently came up with the concept for the neutron bomb). The cut scenes don’t add anything of importance to the film. ---
Final Words:	Is this worth a double dip? It depends on how essential this film is to your film collection. The extras amount to almost another feature film when combined. The image quality here is comparable to Anchor Bay’s fine edition but that edition only had the commentary track. If you feel you’ll spend a lot of time watching the extras here this will be a worthwhile investment. Otherwise you should stick with the previous edition you already have and pick up something else. If you haven’t purchase the film before this funny, outlandish fantasy flick (and we’re not talking about Kansas, Toto or the Wicked Witch here folks) is definitely worth adding to your collection. Keep in mind it’s rated R for the level of violence and the bad language.