Almost Famous Untitled: The Bootleg Cut

Writing in VL-3/01, I called writer-director Cameron Crowe's "fond fictionalized account of his first assignment for Rolling Stone as a 15-year-old cub reporter a born crowd-pleaser honed into an entertaining cinematic paragon of rock 'n' roll that boasts sharp performances from a sublime cast." Although originally released in a semi-special DVD (with a "making of" featurette and Stillwater music video that are absent from this new version), the double-disc Almost Famous Untitled: The Bootleg Cut is a marked step up, featuring both the theatrical and the director's cut (with about 35 minutes added). Extras include a sublime commentary track with Cameron Crowe and his mom (full of remembrances, cinematic bon mots, and cues to the dozens of little homages to films, songs and rock stars sprinkled throughout the film), 15 minutes of footage from one of the concerts Stillwater staged for the film, a presentation of Crowe's top albums of 1973 with an audio track explaining why he considers them important and influential, the screenplay, a sampling of Crowe's Rolling Stone articles, and more. To top it off, there's even an accompanying CD of 6 Stillwater songs. Highly recommended. (R. Blackwelder)