Almost Famous Untitled: The Bootleg Cut (Director's Edition)

First of all, for a DVD called “Untitled,” it sure has a long fucking title, doesn’t it? That said, we have to admit that Cameron Crowe pulled out all the stops with this one. But like any other well-packed special edition DVD, your enjoyment of the features is directly proportional to your enjoyment of the movie. We’ll just assume that you’re a fan like we are, and proceed accordingly.

Actually, “Untitled” refers to the director’s cut of the movie, which is available on Disc One (disc two has the regular theatrical release Almost Famous). The rest is packed with all the behind the scenes footage and material that Crowe could possibly get his hands on. Rather than dig through all of this for you, we’ll just give you the greatest hits:

Interview with Lester Bangs—Short, but gives you a clue how right on Philip Seymour Hoffman was in his portrayal of the Creem editor.

Commentary—Crowe gathers producers, friends, and…his mom? Yep, Mrs. Crowe chimes in (actually, she and her son dominate a lot of it) and lets slide that Frances McDormand’s uptight and paranoid character wasn’t all that far from the truth.

“Stairway”—On disc two, Crowe allows you some Rocky Horror–type audience participation. Since he couldn’t get the rights to use “Stairway to Heaven” for this scene, he encourages you to grab your own copy and play it along (he even gives you a hint when to start it). Now if only Pink Floyd could have done that on the Wizard of Oz DVD…

Again, like a “bootleg” album it’s designed to imitate, the “Untitled” DVD gives plenty for fans to dig through, and shows that a director who feels close to his material is willing to go that extra mile.