Almost Famous Blu-ray Movie

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Almost Famous Blu-ray Movie United States

Remastered | Paramount Presents #21 / Blu-ray + Digital Copy
Paramount Pictures | 2000 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 162 min | Not rated | Jul 13, 2021

Almost Famous (Blu-ray Movie)

Price

List price: $24.99
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Movie rating

8.2
 / 10

Blu-ray rating

Users0.0 of 50.0
Reviewer4.5 of 54.5
Overall4.5 of 54.5

Overview

Almost Famous (2000)

In the 1970s, a high school boy is given an opportunity to follow and write a story about the hot new rock band Stillwater as they tour the USA.

Starring: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit
Director: Cameron Crowe

Drama100%
Period66%
Coming of age54%
Music49%

Specifications

  • Video

    Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
    Video resolution: 1080p
    Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
    Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

  • Audio

    English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
    French: Dolby Digital 5.1

  • Subtitles

    English, English SDH, French

  • Discs

    Blu-ray Disc
    Two-disc set (2 BDs)
    Digital copy

  • Packaging

    Slipcover in original pressing

  • Playback

    Region A (C untested)

Review

Rating summary

Movie5.0 of 55.0
Video4.5 of 54.5
Audio4.0 of 54.0
Extras4.0 of 54.0
Overall4.5 of 54.5

Almost Famous Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 31, 2021

Paramount has released Director Cameron's Crowe's signature film 'Almost Famous' to remastered Blu-ray as part of its prestigious 'Paramount Presents' line. This two-disc set includes both the Theatrical Cut (2:03:13) and the Bootleg Cut (2:41:29). No new audio track is included; Paramount simply recycles the existing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. A few extras are scattered across both discs, including a handful of new extras.


William Miller was once a decidedly uncool genius who skipped a few grades and was the object of his derision by his more "mature" classmates who might outnumber and outgrow the diminutive boy, but they certainly don't outsmart him. William's home life is in a bit of turmoil, too. His sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) is leaving home to find herself as she flies the friendly skies the world over, and she leaves her contraband record collection to young William. Their mother (Frances McDormand) disapproves of the pervasion that is then-modern-day Rock music, but that doesn't stop William from embracing the collection and becoming a walking encyclopedia of all things Rock. Now aged 15, William (Patrick Fugit) has landed a job as a writer for Creem magazine after impressing the jaded music critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) with his passion, writing style, and dedication to what Bangs calls a dying genre. On his first assignment for Creem (a 1,000 word article on Black Sabbath), William stumbles upon a group of "Band Aids" -- call them roadies, call them groupies, call them wandering souls -- led by the mysterious Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) while also immediately impressing a midlevel Rock band called Stillwater with his passionate and intelligent compliments. Though there's hints of conflict between the band's lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee) and lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), the group as a whole takes a liking to William "The Enemy" Rock Journalist; he's invited to join the group on tour and also lands himself a juicy gig with none other than Rolling Stone magazine -- believing William to be an adult -- with the task of writing a lengthy article on Stillwater. As William tours the country, gets to know the band, find himself attracted to Penny Lane (who has her eye on Russell), worries his mother sick, struggles with deadlines, misses graduation, lies about his age, and experiences the ins and outs of life firsthand, he comes to realize that this multitude of experience -- for better or for worse -- will shape his life and define who he'll be as he leaps headfirst into adulthood.

For a full film review, please click here.


Almost Famous Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality  4.5 of 5

For anyone who, for whatever reason, will not or cannot watch the film on the sublime UHD, this Blu-ray is a perfectly viable alternative. Paramount states that the film has been "meticulously remastered from a new 4K film transfer" and, indeed, this image is gorgeous. While it lacks the full commanding textures and lovely Dolby Vision colors the UHD has on offer, there is no mistaking that this is anything less than a classy 1080p/SDR presentation. It holds to its natural grain structure, yielding a flattering, accurate, filmic appearance that accentuates the image's finest textural qualities: well defined facial details, crisp environmental elements, and refined clothing lines. The UHD certainly spoiled this reviewer for its command of finer, sharper textural qualities, but Blu-ray only fans, particularly anyone upgrading from their well-loved 2011 disc, will find this a terrific upgrade. The color spectrum is full and pleasing, even as the picture maneuvers through some slight tonal adjustments for maximum visual and narrative impact. Whatever any scene or sequence's color proclivities, viewers can be assured to find a full, satisfying color output. While it lacks the distinction, precision, and nuance Dolby Vision affords the material, there is certainly no question this one handles broad spectrum colors, skin tones, and black levels very well. The entire picture is organic and accurate. With no major print wear concerns and no encode errors, this is Almost Famous looking its best on Blu-ray.


Almost Famous Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality  4.0 of 5

Almost Famous' Blu-ray discs include the legacy DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. For a full review, please click here.


Almost Famous Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras  4.0 of 5

Almost Famous' Theatrical cut disc includes a wealth of content, both new for this release ("New Releases") and legacy ("Greatest Hits") alike. The Bootleg cut disc includes only one extra: the legacy audio commentary track. For full coverage of the legacy supplemental content, please click here. This release is number 21 in the "Paramount Presents" line and incudes the standard issue fold-open slipcover with alternate (original poster) artwork inside.

Theatrical Feature Film Disc:

  • New Releases:

    • Filmmaker Focus: Cameron Crowe on Almost Famous (1080p, Dolby Vision, 8:06): Crowe reflects on the film's roots in his own life, the project's personal tone, shooting the film chronologically, characters, themes, shooting on the bus, favorite scenes, the film's setting, and more.
    • Casting & Costumes (1080p, Dolby Vision, 12:52): As the title suggests, this piece explores casting in retrospect and the costumes that brought the characters to life. The piece features Crowe discussing the film and cast and crew voiceovers atop audition footage and film clips.
    • Rock School (1080p, Dolby Vision, 10:48): Training the cast in the art of Rock 'N' Roll. The piece also covers writing the band's music.
    • Extended Scenes (1080p, Dolby Vision, 9:00): Several lengthier scenes.
    • Odds & Sods (1080p, Dolby Vision, 8:53): Additional takes and scenes.
  • Greatest Hits

    • Intro by Cameron Crowe
    • The Making of Almost Famous
    • Interview with Lester Bangs
    • Cameron Crowe's Top Albums of 1973
    • "Fever Dog" Music Video
    • "Love Comes and Goes"
    • Rolling Stone Articles
    • B-Sides
    • Cleveland Concert
    • "Small Time Blues"
    • Stairway
    • Script
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Hidden Talent: Included are Eerie Outtake, Stolen Kisses, and Cameron Crowe's Perfectionism.


Bootleg Cut Disc:

  • Audio Commentary


Almost Famous Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation  4.5 of 5

Paramount has gone the extra mile for this excellent new Blu-ray release of Almost Famous: two discs, two cuts, superb picture quality, and several new extras, along with the returning legacy content, make this a must-own. It's a shame the audio was not re-encoded into Dolby Atmos but the 5.1 track serves the film well enough. Very highly recommended.

Note that Paramount has also the film to the 4K UHD format in collectible SteelBook packaging.