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Order this DVD from Amazon.com
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Love Actually
(Universal Studios Home Entertainment)
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| DVD Release Date:
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April 27, 2004
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| Length:
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135 mins.
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| Rated:
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14A
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| Format:
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Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)
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| Audio:
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Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Surround Spanish, Dolby Surround French
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| Subtitles:
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French, Spanish, Closed Captioned
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| Extras:
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Feature Commentary with Actors Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Thomas Sangster and Director Richard Curtis, Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Richard Curtis, The Music of Love Actually with Introductions by Richard Curtis, Music Video: Kelly Clarkson "The Trouble With Love Is"
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At last year's Toronto International Film Festival, there were some great movies that I saw and some decent movies that I missed. Now, after seeing Love Actually, I realize that in reality, I missed the festival's best. I can remember being in line at another movie and hearing people rave about Love Actually. I even remember there being talk of an Oscar. And it's not that I didn't want to see it - it's that I never had the chance. I'm wishing now that I had tried harder. Of course, the Oscar never happened, and the movie wasn't as successful in America as it rightfully should have been, but hopefully the movie will find its audience on the newly released DVD.
Director Richard Curtis' ode to love follows a series of love stories, both heart warming and heart breaking. The film boasts an all-star cast, including (but not limited to) Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney and Keira Knightley and while the movie follows several different stories, they are all somehow intertwined. And while each character has but a small part in the bigger picture, each is the star of their own little movie. It's difficult to summarize the movie in one little sentence, but the movie couldn't be more simple - it's all about love. If I had to choose a favourite scene, I'd be in a bit of trouble - they're all great - and if I had to choose my least favourite, I'd be in trouble again - again because they're all great. Some made me cringe, lots made me laugh and even more choked me up. There's nothing about this movie not to love, actually.
For the DVD release of the film, there are some great special features. First, there's an audio commentary featuring director Richard Curtis and actors Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy and Thomas Sangster. This is a great commentary, worthy of the film. Curtis and Grant dominate (Curtis wrote Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral, both of which starred Grant) and the two have great chemistry together. They share some great anecdotes and although you get the impression that a lot of what they say is an inside joke to them (ie. most every jab at Colin Firth), the commentary is still a great listen. Nighy had never seen the movie before doing the commentary, so he provided a fresh voice. Sangster's participation in the commentary seemed a bit odd considering the sexual nature of some scenes (he was probably only 12 years old at the time) but the veterans weren't too hard on him. They throw in some behind the scenes stuff you wouldn't have known otherwise - like how Emma Thompson wore a suit that made her appear heavier for the movie, or how they tried to convince Keira Knightley not to do Pirates of the Caribbean, telling her that it would be a colossal flop. Unfortunately, there were a few things I would have liked explained here (I wanted things to work out for Laura Linney) but we don't get that here. Overall, they talk about the usual stuff you hear in commentaries but they manage to make it fresh.
Also included in the special features are deleted scenes - some really good and some really deserving of being cut from the movie. Each of the scenes is introduced by Curtis with an explanation of how the scene fit into the movie, and why it was cut. Standouts include the Claudia Schiffer internet scene with Liam Neeson and the scenes filmed in Kenya. The deleted scenes with the school's headmistress, although heart breaking were best left on the cutting room floor. Running just about 40 minutes in total, there is a lot of deleted material here. A nice feature that should have been included is an index of scenes to choose from. Generally, this isn't found on discs from Universal Studios and it's something they should really think about.
This movie just wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for the music, so it's appropriate that the next feature is titled "The Music of Love Actually". With introductions again by Curtis, we learn about some of the songs featured in the movie, and how and why they were chosen. There are only a handful of people out there who put so much work into the music featured in their films (Cameron Crowe comes to mind first and foremost) and it seems that Curtis is one of those people. Although songs featured here are great, it's the powerful score that separates the soundtrack from being very good and being most excellent. As a matter of fact, I'm seriously considering going out later today and picking up the soundtrack. The final feature is a music video for American Idol Kelly Clarkson's "The Trouble With Love Is".
Given how many big names were involved in the making of this movie, I'm surprised that more of the features didn't involve the film's ensemble cast. Also, you don't get your standard making-of featurette. Still, the disc doesn't suffer in their absence.
I strongly recommend this DVD. If you are deeply in love... If you're cynical about the world we live in... If your heart was recently broken... Even if you've never been in love, this movie does everything right. It pulls all the right heart strings. It'll make you smile. It'll make you laugh out loud. It'll bring a tear to your eye. If after seeing this movie, your heart and your views about love and the world aren't forever changed, all I can say is that you must have ice running through your veins. But like it or not, no matter how miserable, no matter how many times your heart has been broken, there's somebody out there who loves you, because if there's one thing to be learned from this movie, it's that love actually is all around.
| The Movie: |
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8.5/10 |
| The Extras: |
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7/10 |
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