Prairie Home Companion DVD

A Prairie Home Companion
Acclaimed filmmaker Robert Altman (Short Cuts, Nashville) brings National Public Radio stalwart Garrison Keillor's long-running radio program to vivid life on the big screen in a intricately woven backstage fable centering on the final performance of a fictionalized version of his variety show. As if the result of some strange mass-media fluke, the popular radio program A Prairie Home Companion somehow managed to survive the television age to entertain its audience every Saturday night from the stage of the historic Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN. Week after week, hangdog host Garrison Keillor serves as unflappable emcee to an amiable hodgepodge of radio-friendly acts that include the likes of popular country duo Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin) and singing cowboys the Old Trailhands (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly). This is one show where the under-the-line antics are nearly as entertaining as the program itself, though, and in between the efforts of down-on-his-luck private dick and backstage doorkeeper Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) to discover the true identity of a mysterious blonde (Virginia Madsen) and aspiring teen singer Lola (Lindsay Lohan) to find her true voice before a live audience, there's still plenty of fun and mystery to be had at the old Fitzgerald before the final curtain falls on A Prairie Home Companion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Cast Garrison Keillor as Garrison Keillor Meryl Streep as Yolanda Johnson Lily Tomlin as Rhonda Johnson Kevin Kline as Guy Noir Lindsay Lohan as Lola Johnson John C. Reilly as Lefty Woody Harrelson as Dusty Virginia Madsen as Asphodel Maya Rudolph as Molly Tommy Lee Jones as The Axeman Tim Russell as Stage Manager Susan Scott as Makeup Lady L.Q. Jones as Chuck Akers Marylouise Burke as Lunch Lady

Crew Jeff Schoen - Art Director Lowell Dubrinsky - Associate Producer Pam Dixon - Casting Catherine Marie Thomas - Costume Designer Vebe Borge - First Assistant Director Robert Altman - Director Jacob Craycroft - Editor Fisher Stevens - Executive Producer John Penotti - Executive Producer George Sheanshang - Executive Producer William Pohlad - Executive Producer Richard Dworsky - Musical Arrangement Dina Goldman - Production Designer Edward Lachman - Cinematographer Tony Judge - Producer Wren Arthur - Producer Joshua Astrachan - Producer Robert Altman - Producer David Levy - Producer Drew Kunin - Sound/Sound Designer Ken LaZebnik - Screen Story Garrison Keillor - Screen Story Garrison Keillor - Screenwriter Michael Barry - Re-Recording Mixer Martin Czembor - Re-Recording Mixer Eliza Paley - Supervising Sound Editor Tora Peterson - Set Decorator John H. Stout - Co-Executive Producer Gerard L. Cafesjian - Co-Executive Producer Armenia FilmStudios - Co-Executive Producer Patricia Payne - Co-Executive Producer Fred Green - Co-Executive Producer

A Prairie Home Companion
This big-screen adaptation of Garrison Keillor's long-running radio show A Prairie Home Companion, directed by an octogenarian Robert Altman, offers a beautiful synthesis of two unique artistic visions. Both an ode to old-time radio while a sly parody of it, Keillor's program has always attempted to achieve nostalgia through humor, music, and song. His pining for a lost time carries over to the fictional version of the show presented in the film, but Altman, just a few years removed from a heart transplant, obviously has mortality on his mind. He infuses this material with a sense of foreboding that dovetails nicely with Keillor's nostalgia to create a somber, downright sad film that still manages to produce smiles and laughs thanks to the actors and the performance material. Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep play a sister singing act, and their conversations in the film offer a clear example of everything that Altman does well with actors. To each other, and to Streep's daughter (a very game Lindsay Lohan), they spend much of the film telling long, rambling stories to each other about the history of their family during which they step on each others lines, digress to seemingly random topics, and offer unexpected but truthful emotional expressions of love and grief. Altman gives them plenty of room in the frame, so much so that after a while the audience may feel like they are eavesdropping on the conversations rather than watching written material being performed. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly perform a hilarious song about telling dirty jokes, and the scenes of Streep and Tomlin singing together on-stage are as subtly and fully engaging as their dialogue scenes. Although A Prairie Home Companion will probably never be considered among Altman's classic works, it does offer the opportunity to witness a great artist never questioning the purpose of creating art and entertainment even as death feels closer than ever before. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
 

Garrison Keillor: Chicago Film Critics Circle, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Garrison Keillor: Satellite Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Lily Tomlin: Satellite Awards, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Meryl Streep: National Society of Film Critics, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Robert Altman: Independent Spirit Award, Best Director (nominated)

Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Ensemble Acting (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DDS: Dolby Digital Surround Additional Features: Additional Scenes Behind-the-scenes documentary Commentary with famed director Robert Altman and Kevin Kline DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 106 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1 -- Prairie Home Companion 0. Main Titles 2. Guy Noir 3. Preshow Prep 4. On the Air 5. Slow Days of Summer 6. End of an Era 7. Softly and Tenderly 8. Old Plank Road 9. My Minnesota Home 10. Chuck 11. Whoop-I-Ti-Yi-Yo 12. Happy Baked Beans 13. Gold Watch & Chain 14. Duct Tape 15. Lighthouse 16. "I'm Not Here for You" 17. The Day Is Short 18. Axeman 19. Guy's Favor 20. Goodbye to My Mama 21. Bad Jokes 22. Frankie & Johnny 23. Red River Valley 24. A Prairie Home Reunion 25. End Credits