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| Secondhand Lions DVD Review |
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Order this DVD from Amazon.com
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Secondhand Lions
New Line Platinum Series
(New Line Home Entertainment)
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| DVD Release Date:
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February 3, 2004
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| Length:
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110 mins.
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| Rated:
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PG
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| Format:
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Widescreen (1.85:1)
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| Audio:
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English EX 5.1 Surround Sound, English Stereo Surround Sound
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| Subtitles:
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English, Spanish, Closed Captioned
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| Extras:
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Feature Commentary with Director Tim McCanlies, Deleted/Alternate Scenes, Featurettes: Secondhand Lions: One Screenplay's Wild Ride in Hollywood, On the Set with Secondhand Lions, Haley Joel Osment: An Actor Comes of Age, Visual Effects Comparisons, Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots, DVD-ROM Content
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There aren't too many movies like Secondhand Lions out there. It's a movie that's good for the whole family. It's a movie with a positive message about people and society. The world needs more movies like this.
In Secondhand Lions, Haley Joel Osment plays Walter, a boy who has been dumped by his mother (Kyra Sedgwick) at his two screwball uncles' (Michael Caine and Robert Duvall) house while she heads off on her own misguided adventures. Why does she leave him? Rumor has it that the uncles, however crazy they may be, are loaded and she hopes that Walter will uncover the family riches. Of course, Walter doesn't really want to leave his mother, and his uncles don't want him much either, but his mother doesn't really care - poor kid. Anyways, things are a bit strange at first (the uncle really are a couple of crackpots) but they begin to grow on the boy, and he begins to grow on them. Soon enough, Walter learns about his uncles, their loves and adventures and of course, about their riches, and soon enough, Walter's mother comes back to collect. By this time though, Walter doesn't want to leave. Want to know the rest of the story? Pick up the DVD to find out.
Secondhand Lions has a lot going for it. Besides a great story (it almost reminded me of The Princess Bride), the movie boasts and all-star cast. Caine and Duvall in particular are worth the price of this movie. The two are Hollywood legends, and to be able to see them work together is a treat. Haley Joel Osment was good too. We've practically watched this kid grow up in the movies, and this movie is just another step in his young but already well-established career. Sure, his voice cracks, and I cracked up along with it, and his performance felt awkward at times, but the kid is growing up. He's not Forrest Gump Jr. anymore. He no longer sees dead people. If you can accept that, you'll enjoy him here. And finally, Kyra Sedgwick. She made me hate her - she made my heart break for Walter, and that's the best thing I can say about her.
For the release of Secondhand Lions, New Line has added another great title to their New Line Platinum Series, loaded with some decent special features. On the first disc, you'll find a commentary with the film's writer/director, Tim McCanlies. McCanlies provides a pretty good commentary. You can tell he's passionate about the project, which makes for a great listen. What else is great about this commentary? He rarely stops talking. In too many commentaries, it's as though the filmmakers don't have enough to say. You don't have that problem here. McCanlies goes over everything very thoroughly and with enough enthusiasm to make it entertaining. Well done.
Also on the first disc, you'll find some DVD-ROM extras. First up, there's the almost standard "Script-to-Screen" feature. Next, there's a feature called "Scene Medley" which pretty much sums up different parts of the movie in a nutshell. Finally for DVD-ROM enthusiasts, there's a commentary digest, which is a brief look at the director's commentary, going over the highlights from the movie. If you can't be bothered to watch the whole commentary, you can at least listen to this abbreviated version. Other features include the standard links to the official site and the studio site.
Flip the disc, and you'll get the film's remaining features. First up, there's ten deleted/alternate scenes. I enjoyed each and every one of them. You have the option of watching the scenes alone, or with director's commentary. Both are worth checking out. (As a little aside, during one of the commentaries, the director refers to an Easter Egg on the disc that shows footage of the difficulty they had filming the animals. You can find this Easter Egg by going to the Deleted Scenes feature, highlighting "Play All" and pressing the Up Arrow on your remote.)
Next up are a pair of great featurettes. The first is titled "Secondhand Lions: One Screenplay's Wild Ride in Hollywood". The title is self explanatory. It's a great look at what goes on to get a movie made. For ten years, this script made the rounds in Hollywood before being picked up by New Line Cinema, and it's funny to see it's evolution and to hear Tim McCanlies trash some execs for their lack of vision in originally getting the movie made. Thankfully, it finally did. The next featurette is titled "On The Set with Secondhand Lions". In this featurette, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the movie. Much better than your run-of-the-mill behind-the-scenes featurette, we get to hear from the filmmakers and stars about making the movie. What makes it great is that it focuses on the characters and the people involved, which makes it a much more personal, and therefore interesting feature. One other featurette to mention is titled "Haley Joel Osment: An Actor Comes of Age". Here, we get an interview with Osment about his career and this movie as part of that career. If you're a fan of this young actor, this is worth checking out.
More extras include a Visual Effects Comparison feature, the theatrical trailer, lots of different TV Spots and some previews for a couple of other New Line titles. One other Easter Egg I should mention - from the main screen, highlight the "On The Set" featurette and press the Left Arrow on your remote. You'll get a look at some nutty outtakes from a scene in the movie.
I'll give Secondhand Lions high marks for doing something that not a lot of movies dare to do - and it's a theme that mentioned throughout the special features. It's a movie about a young person who's growing up and learning some adult lessons. It's a family movie with universal themes, and I'd recommend it to anybody who is looking for a great piece of entertainment - not only with the film itself, but with the entire DVD package. Kudos to the filmmakers for daring to make something original and lasting - and for succeeding.
| The Movie: |
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7.5/10 |
| The Extras: |
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8/10 |
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Liam Cullin - Editor
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