ALMOST FAMOUS (DVD) DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 & DOLBY SURROUND 2.0/WS 1.85 DVD

Almost Famous
Writer and director Cameron Crowe's experiences as a teenage rock journalist -- he was a regular contributor to Rolling Stone while still in high school -- inspired this coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy hitting the road with an up-and-coming rock band in the early 1970s. Elaine Miller (Frances McDormand) is a bright, loving, but strict single parent whose distrust of rock music and fears about drug use have helped to drive a wedge between herself and her two children, Anita (Zooey Deschanel) and William (Patrick Fugit). Anita rebels by dropping out of school and becoming a stewardess, but William makes something of his love of rock & roll by writing album reviews for a local underground newspaper. William's work attracts the attention of Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), editor of renegade rock magazine Creem, who takes William under his wing and gives him his first professional writing assignment -- covering a Black Sabbath concert. While William is unable to score an interview with the headliners, the opening act, Stillwater, are more than happy to chat with a reporter, even if he's still too young to drive, and William's piece on the group in Creem gains him a new admirer in Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen), an editor at Rolling Stone. Torres offers William an assignment for a 3,000-word cover story on Stillwater, and over the objections of his mother (whose parting words are "Don't use drugs!"), and after some stern advice from Bangs (who says under no circumstances should he become friends with a band he's covering), Williams joins Stillwater on tour, where he becomes friendly with guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee). William also becomes enamored of Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), a groupie traveling with the band who is no older than William, but is deeply involved with Russell. Lester Bangs and Ben Fong-Torres, incidentally, were real-life rock writers Crowe worked with closely during his days as a journalist. Almost Famous' original score was composed by Nancy Wilson of Heart (who is also Crowe's wife). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Patrick Fugit as William Miller Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond Frances McDormand as Elaine Miller Kate Hudson as Penny Lane Jason Lee as Jeff Bebe Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs Zooey Deschanel as Anita Miller Anna Paquin as Polexia Aphrodisia Fairuza Balk as Sapphire Noah Taylor as Dick Roswell John Fedevich as Ed Vallencourt Bijou Phillips as Estrella Starr Eion Bailey as Jann Wenner Terry Chen as Ben Fong-Torres Jimmy Fallon as Dennis Hope Daniel Wilson as Journalism Teacher

Crew Clay Griffith - Art Director Clayton R. Hartley - Art Director Virginia Randolph-Weaver - Art Director Jerry Ziesmer - Associate Producer Scott M. Martin - Associate Producer Marty P. Ewing - Associate Producer Steven P. Saeta - Associate Producer Gail Levin - Casting Lisa Stewart - Co-producer Betsy Heimann - Costume Designer Jerry Ziesmer - First Assistant Director Cameron Crowe - Director Joe Hutshing - Editor Saar Klein - Editor Nancy Wilson - Composer (Music Score) Danny Bramson - Musical Direction/Supervision John Toll - Cinematographer Ian Bryce - Producer Cameron Crowe - Producer Conny Boettger-Marinos - Set Designer Robert Greenfield - Set Designer Mindi Toback - Set Designer Charisse Cardenas - Set Designer Jeff Wexler - Sound/Sound Designer Kelly Curtis - Technical Advisor Cameron Crowe - Screenwriter Charles Minsky - Second Unit Director Of Photography Ed Jones - Visual Effects Supervisor Michael Wilhoit - Supervising Sound Editor MVFX - Visual Effects Robert Greenfield - Set Decorator

Almost Famous
Depending on when you walk in, Almost Famous is either a coming-of-age drama, a love story, an often funny but sometimes painful look at the bonds of family, or a celebration of the glorious, liberating intoxication of rock & roll. And what's most remarkable about Cameron Crowe's fourth (and best) film is that it covers all these bases with equal skill, and an amiable, sure-footed grace. Crowe has made no secret that this film was based closely on his own experiences as a teenage rock journalist, and he certainly knows the nooks and crannies of life on the road in the 1970s; from the backstage rituals to the endless rounds of hotel parties, the film never hits a false note as it follows Stillwater's steady rise to fame. But more importantly, Crowe knows how to draw characters, and what could have easily been a collection of two-dimensional stereotypes emerges instead as an ensemble of credible, flesh-and-blood people. Elaine (Frances McDormand), the mother who dislikes and distrusts rock & roll, isn't a narrow-minded harridan, but an intelligent and socially progressive woman who doesn't want to see her children fall into a destructive adolescent conformity. The "band-aides," most notably Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), aren't fame-obsessed sexual predators, but devoted fans who have their own way of showing their loyalty to the musicians whose work means so much to them. And 15-year-old William (Patrick Fugit) isn't some youth lost in rock & roll Babylon, but a kid jazzed at living out his dreams and going on his first great adventure, while remaining smart (and grounded) enough to see both the peaks and valleys of the life he's capturing in words. One of Crowe's strongest suits has always been his ability to draw fine performances from his actors, and that's hardly failed him here. Newcomer Patrick Fugit is a marvel of boyish wonder and mature-beyond-his-years perception as William, Frances McDormand does an Oscar-worthy turn as his mother Elaine, Billy Crudup and Jason Lee are superb as the battling frontmen of Stillwater, Kate Hudson delivers a star-making, thoroughly charming performance as Penny, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is superb in an all-too-brief appearance as gonzo rock journalist (and part-time mentor to William) Lester Bangs. And Crowe's strong, clear, but unobtrusive visual sense, as well as his superlative ear for pop music, serve this material splendidly. If Almost Famous has a flaw, it's the noticeable upshift in the rhythm of its last act, which feels like an attempt to rush the film to its conclusion. But if the worst thing you can say about Almost Famous is that you wish it had been a bit longer, it says a lot about how thoroughly pleasurable a film it really is. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
 

Cameron Crowe: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Original Screenplay (winner) Cameron Crowe: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Original Screenplay (winner) Cameron Crowe: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Original Screenplay (winner) Cameron Crowe: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (winner) Cameron Crowe: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (nominated) Cameron Crowe: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) Cameron Crowe: Writers Guild of America, Best Original Screenplay (nominated) Frances McDormand: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Frances McDormand: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Frances McDormand: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Frances McDormand: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Frances McDormand: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Frances McDormand: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Frances McDormand: Screen Actors Guild, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Joe Hutshing: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Editing (nominated) Kate Hudson: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Kate Hudson: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Actress (nominated) Kate Hudson: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Breakthrough Performer (winner) Kate Hudson: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Kate Hudson: Screen Actors Guild, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Nancy Wilson: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Music (nominated) Patrick Fugit: Chicago Film Critics Association, Most Promising Actor (winner) Saar Klein: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Editing (nominated)

American Film Institute, AFI's Top 10 Films of the Year (winner) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Picture (nominated) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Sound (winner) Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Picture (winner) Golden Globe, Best Picture - Musical or Comedy (winner) Screen Actors Guild, Best Ensemble Acting (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects 2: PCM stereo Additional Features: Stillwater's "Fever Dog" music video HBO behind-the-scenes featurette "The Making of Almost Famous" The Rolling Stones articles Cast and crew bios Theatrical trailers Production notes DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 123 min   DVD Chapters: Scene Index. 0. Scene Index. 0. Menu Group #1 with 24 chapter(s) covering 02:03:05 1. The Chipmunk Song. [:21] 2. Sparks. [:08] 3. Search and Destroy. [3:23] 4. Teacher. [4:55] 5. Your Move. [3:13] 6. Fever Dog. [:20] 7. Something in the Air. [4:46] 8. Go All the Way. [3:14] 9. Simple Man. [2:13] 10. That's the Way. [3:13] 11. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. [2:07] 12. Future Games. [1:56] 13. Tiny Dancer. [5:20] 14. Reeling in the Years. [:04] 15. Love Comes and Goes. [3:39] 16. The Wind. [5:28] 17. Slip Away. [2:19] 18. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. [3:31] 19. My Cherie Amour. [3:33] 20. Cabin in the Sky. [2:04] 21. Brutalis. [4:07] 22. The Rain Song. [:16] 23. Tangerine. [3:30] 24. Feel Flows. [6:12]