Yesterday, Wes Anderson's fourth film, The Life Aquatic, came out on DVD. As I had previously blogged, I dug the film quite a bit when I saw it in the theater. Now on DVD, I can dig in even more with all of the extras.
First of all, I am thrilled that there is an interview with film composer, Mark Mothersbaugh. You know him from Devo, but his talents truly shine as a composer. Each score he's done for Wes' films is different and unique but compliment each other very well. Seeing an interview with Mothersabaugh sans the goofy get-ups and costumes of Devo was a nice change. Not too long but very straight to the point, the interview answers a lot of questions I've had about him for a while.
Secondly, showing Seu Jorge's full performances of his David Bowie songs is a tasty extra. Granted, there is only so much you can watch of a man and his acoustic guitar, but hearing those songs in Portugese is great. His arrangements remind me of Jose Feliciano's transpositions (in a good way). Sure, there is a rather silly element to the sound, but they are great covers. Hearing the rather simple melodies of "Rebel Rebel" rearranged in a slower tempo shows off the beauty of the melodies.
Third, the commentary track between Wes and Noah is interesting. Yes, the track was recorded at the restaurant where the wrote the script. Yes, they have to talk over other people talking in the background. Yes, the bleeped-out references to Jacques Costeau are annoying. However, Wes and Noah work very well off of each other. Solo Wes can be a little slow and cold, so having him talk with someone else was a nice change.
I have yet to get to all the other extras but these extras are actually worthwhile. Let's high-five the Criterion Collection once again.
First of all, I am thrilled that there is an interview with film composer, Mark Mothersbaugh. You know him from Devo, but his talents truly shine as a composer. Each score he's done for Wes' films is different and unique but compliment each other very well. Seeing an interview with Mothersabaugh sans the goofy get-ups and costumes of Devo was a nice change. Not too long but very straight to the point, the interview answers a lot of questions I've had about him for a while.
Secondly, showing Seu Jorge's full performances of his David Bowie songs is a tasty extra. Granted, there is only so much you can watch of a man and his acoustic guitar, but hearing those songs in Portugese is great. His arrangements remind me of Jose Feliciano's transpositions (in a good way). Sure, there is a rather silly element to the sound, but they are great covers. Hearing the rather simple melodies of "Rebel Rebel" rearranged in a slower tempo shows off the beauty of the melodies.
Third, the commentary track between Wes and Noah is interesting. Yes, the track was recorded at the restaurant where the wrote the script. Yes, they have to talk over other people talking in the background. Yes, the bleeped-out references to Jacques Costeau are annoying. However, Wes and Noah work very well off of each other. Solo Wes can be a little slow and cold, so having him talk with someone else was a nice change.
I have yet to get to all the other extras but these extras are actually worthwhile. Let's high-five the Criterion Collection once again.
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