MIGHTY WIND (DVD/W16X9/WS/1.85/ENG-FR-SP-SUB/AUDIO C/BIOS/15 ADD SCENES) DVD

A Mighty Wind
The writing and directing team who created Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show turn their satiric eye toward the world of folk music in this sly mockumentary. Irving Steinbloom was one of the great behind-the-scenes figures of the folk music boom of the late '50s and early '60s, and helped to nurture the careers of three of the best known acts of the era. The Folksmen -- Mark Shubb (Harry Shearer), Alan Barrows (Christopher Guest), and Jerry Palter (Michael McKean) -- were an earnest folk trio who sang of America's noble past and the challenges of the future; they split up in the early '70s after a failed attempt to go electric. Mitch & Mickey were a duo in both music and life, comprised of Mitch Cohen (Eugene Levy) and Mickey Devlin (Catherine O'Hara). They sang soulful songs of love until the collapse of their relationship sent Mitch into a deep and incapacitating depression. And The Main Street Singers were a nine-piece vocal group -- a "neuftet," as they prefer it -- who offered energetic good-time music, cranking out nearly 30 albums in the course of a decade; their current incarnation, The New Main Street Singers (played by Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, John Michael Higgins, David Alan Blasucci, Steve Pandis, Christopher Moynihan, Paul Dooley and Patrick Sauber) is still on the road. When it is announced that the legendary Irving Steinbloom has died (the character never appears in the film), his son Jonathan (Bob Balaban) decides that the best way to memorialize his father is through music, and with the help of Mike LaFontaine (Fred Willard) of Hi-Class Management, they set out to bring The Folksmen, Mitch & Mickey, and The New Main Street Singers back together for a special concert at New York's Town Hall. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer -- who previously teamed up for This Is Spinal Tap -- not only perform together as The Folksmen in A Mighty Wind, but composed most of the songs performed onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Bob Balaban as Jonathan Steinbloom Christopher Guest as Alan Barrows Catherine O'Hara as Mickey Devlin Crabbe Eugene Levy as Mitch Cohen Michael McKean as Jerry Palter Jane Lynch as Laurie Bohner John Michael Higgins as Terry Bohner Parker Posey as Sissy Knox Harry Shearer as Mark Shubb Fred Willard as Mike LaFontaine Ed Begley Jr. as Lars Olfen Paul Dooley as George Menschell Jennifer Coolidge as Amber Cole Michael Hitchcock as Lawrence Turpin Don Lake as Elliott Steinbloom Larry Miller as Wally Fenton Deborah Theaker as Naomi Steinbloom Christopher Moynihan as Sean Halloran

Crew Pat Tagliaferro - Art Director Richard Hicks - Casting Durinda Wood - Costume Designer Scott Andrew Robertson - First Assistant Director Christopher Guest - Director Robert Leighton - Editor Donna E. Bloom - Line Producer C.J. Vanston - Composer (Music Score) Annette O'Toole - Composer (Music Score) Eugene Levy - Composer (Music Score) Catherine O'Hara - Composer (Music Score) Michael McKean - Composer (Music Score) John Michael Higgins - Composer (Music Score) Harry Shearer - Composer (Music Score) John Michael Higgins - Songwriter Christopher Guest - Songwriter Annette O'Toole - Songwriter C.J. Vanston - Songwriter Harry Shearer - Songwriter Eugene Levy - Songwriter Catherine O'Hara - Songwriter Michael McKean - Songwriter Joseph T. Garrity - Production Designer Arlene Donnelly Nelson - Cinematographer Karen Murphy - Producer Dena Roth - Set Designer Mark Weingarten - Sound/Sound Designer Christopher Guest - Screenwriter Eugene Levy - Screenwriter C.J. Vanston - Music Producer

A Mighty Wind
If you've gotten an A+ more than once, no one ever seems to be entirely satisfied when your report card says A-, and that's the biggest bugaboo in reviewing A Mighty Wind. While it's a clever and thoroughly enjoyable comedy on its own terms, knowing that A Mighty Wind comes from the same creative team which made Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show sets up some unusually high expectations, and when one makes the inevitable comparisons, A Mighty Wind falls short. The film's biggest failing is that while much of the same superb comic cast from those two films is on hand this time out (and Harry Shearer is on board as Spinal Tap go undercover as the Folksmen), many of them simply aren't given enough to do, especially Parker Posey, Don Lake, and Michael Hitchcock, while Fred Willard, Larry Miller, and Jennifer Coolidge are saddled with roles that are simply beneath their abilities. While Guffman and Best in Show both had great moments where characters were able to strongly, clearly, and hilariously define their characters in a few brief moments, A Mighty Wind has more than its share of players who have funny shtick but not much of a persona to go along with it, and the film suffers for it. However, the moments that do work compensate for the flaws, and many of the film's best moments come in unexpected places. The songs brilliantly walk a line between sincere tribute and vicious parody of early-'60s folk tunes (especially "Old Joe's Place" and "Never Did No Wanderin'"), and Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are not only hilarious but unexpectedly moving as a divorced couple forced to deal with a lot of old baggage as they prepare for their reunion gig; would that every film about divorce could be as insightful. If -- to belabor the academic metaphor -- A Mighty Wind isn't the magna cum laude candidate you likely expect from Christopher Guest after his previous two directorial efforts, it's still strong enough to make the dean's list, and suggests Guest and his repertory company may have a few more surprises in store for their next effort. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
 

Annette O'Toole: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Annette O'Toole: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music (Runner-up) (winner) C.J. Vanston: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music (Runner-up) (winner) Catherine O'Hara: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music (Runner-up) (winner) Christopher Guest: Independent Spirit Awards, Best Screenplay (nominated) Christopher Guest: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music (Runner-up) (winner) Eugene Levy: Independent Spirit Awards, Best Screenplay (nominated) Eugene Levy: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music (Runner-up) (winner) Eugene Levy: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Harry Shearer: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music (Runner-up) (winner) John Michael Higgins: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music (Runner-up) (winner) Michael McKean: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Michael McKean: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music (Runner-up) (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: cc Feature-length commentary by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy Additional scenes Live TV broadcast of the concert: the climactic benefit show in its entirety "Vintage" TV appearances of the bands The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, and Mitch & Mickey biographies Interactive menus Theatrical trailer Scene access English and French soundtracks English, French and Spanish subtitles MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 92 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. The Steinbloom Saga [3:06] 2. The Folksmen (Old Joe's Place) [3:02] 3. Main Street Origins (The Good Book Song) [1:49] 4. Mitch & Mickey (When You're Next to Me, A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow) [4:09] 5. The New Main Street Singers (Just That Kinda Day) [2:53] 6. Mitch Arrives [3:38] 7. Beginnings [3:15] 8. First Rehearsal [3:20] 9. Sissy Knox [2:02] 10. Hi-Class Management [2:05] 11. Lars and Jonathan [2:09] 12. Tuning Up (Skeletons of Quinto) [4:24] 13. Witches [3:23] 14. Moby Dick (Loco Man, Fare Away, A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow) [2:48] 15. We're Professionals [:47] 16. Flashbacks [2:06] 17. The Toast [3:00] 18. Concert Day [1:47] 19. Before Showtime [4:02] 20. Wanderin' (Never Did No Wanderin') [3:48] 21. Potato's in the Paddy Wagon [5:00] 22. Missing (Eat at Joe's) [2:38] 23. Where's Mitch (Barnyard Symphony) [2:57] 24. A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow [3:53] 25. A Mighty Wind [5:22] 26. The Supreme Folk [2:49] 27. I'm a Musician Again (The Catheter Song) [1:45] 28. End Credits (Old Joe's Place, When You're Next to Me, The Good Book Song) [2:24]