Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper Blu-ray Movie Review

Oddball cinema at its oddest.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 23, 2010

Even if they went to the moon, I would chase them to the moon.

To say that Alice Cooper is an untraditional entertainer would be a drastic understatement, so it only seems fitting that an Alice Cooper "feature film" is no different. Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper is a film centered around concert footage of Cooper's 1973 Billion Dollar Babies Tour, intercut with a loosely-structured plot featuring a crazed German director tracking Cooper and his band, presumably across the country, seeking revenge for their failure to fulfill contractual obligations to his movie and costing him his shot at directorial stardom. The plot barely makes sense and the dialogue and acting are just this side of atrocious, but it works, oddly enough, as a means of doing something unique with an otherwise entertaining but structurally generic concert. The side story actually supersedes the concert footage as the film's highlight, not in terms of energy but rather for the novelty and train wreck-like attraction it engenders, despite all of the whacky trademark Cooper oddities that are present and accounted for in the concert proper. Originally conceived as a film featuring Cooper on trial for being "the Rock 'N' Roll Scourge of America" that was ultimately replaced with the German director storyline, Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper enjoyed but a brief theatrical run in 1974, first with the storyline footage removed altogether, and then several years later in what is now the final version. Released on home video for the first time ever in 2005 and now, five years later, on Blu-ray, this sensationally ridiculous but undeniably appealing low-rent film/concert hybrid is a must-see for both the insanity of Cooper's live performances and the hilarity of the no-budget film randomly inserted in between concert footage.

It wasn't that bad, Alice!

Alice Cooper (himself) and his band, clad in white tuxedos and looking cleaner and sounding more conservative than ever before, are performing a Sinatra-esque rendition of The Lady is a Tramp, all as part of a feature film they've signed on to perform in. A few minutes out of character prove a few too many for the radical entertainer, and he and his band promptly stop singing, get out of the clothes, and smash the fancy white set before heading out to put on a real show, the kind that made them famous and in which they're most comfortable performing. A furious Herr Director (Fred Smoot) vows to chase the "Cooper Gang" 'round the Moons of Nibia, and 'round the Antares Maelstrom, and 'round perdition's flames, or at least around the country as Cooper performs in his 1973 Billion Dollar Baby Tour. The film features a distraught Herr Director one year later and wearing the same clothes from the fateful day on the set, recalling the escapades to his psychiatrist, remembering chasing down the gang with the help of oddball characters like Baron Krelve (Jefferson Kewley) and The Lone Person (again Smoot), lamenting his lost chance at stardom and at making the greatest film of all time.

So, yes, this is one weird movie. Part traditional concert film and part Mystery Science Theater 3000 reject sort of lame-o no-budget picture, Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper is more of a curiosity than anything else. It's certainly not a movie to be taken seriously, and if there's a point outside of aiming for the most ridiculous and shoddiest movie ever made, it's not readily evident. For as flat-out strange as it may be, there are two built-in audiences that will want to give this rarely-seen "gem" a shot: Alice Cooper fans and cinephiles in search of anything that's about as far outside the mainstream as is humanly possible while still staying in somewhat good taste. For all of Cooper's strange and occasionally sadistic on-stage antics, the film surrounding his performances is surprisingly tame; it's low on foul language and free of any real violence. It plays as straight and clean Comedy for the most part, and that's in stark contrast to Cooper's decidedly adult-themed performance that sees the entertainer wearing knee-high leopard-print boots over tight, tattered, and filthy underwear, accentuated with a small green appendage between his legs that at one point has a gigantic plastic fly attached to it. That's not even to mention Cooper's unique uses for an anatomically-correct female torso, his chasing of a giant tooth with an oversized toothbrush, his slithery companion, a staged beheading, and a jab at 1970s American Conservative politics. It's not only that the film footage around the concert is bad, it's that it's so contrary to what plays out during the concert, and that complete randomness is the true star of the film and what makes it so strangely appealing.

One can only image how those extra filmed segments came to be. Who thought them up, how they were made, how much of the dialogue was improvised on the spot, and how many of the goofs were actual goofs that were simply left in the movie versus how many were staged to add to the inanity of the whole thing are all questions that are as fun to think about as the movie is to watch. When a "Lone Ranger" character appears out of nowhere and his mask falls off, was it planned? How in the world was it decided that one of the film's main characters would be a chubby guy wearing a metal breastplate, a winged plastic helmet, and who would say little more than "good to see you again!" every time he's on screen. What's with the repetitive joke of the "villains" riding animals backwards? Most of Good To See You Again, Alice Cooper is so completely idiotic that the very fact that someone, somewhere, managed to coordinate all of this and believe it to be good enough -- or bad enough, maybe -- to put into an actual movie that people were going to pay to see is in and of itself utterly fascinating, far more even than the finished product is a fascinating study in no budget, barely rehearsed, and likely ad-libbed filmmaking. Of course, in hindsight, it's easy to see that that insanity of it all is the real charm and attraction, but did this seem like a good idea at the time or was this merely a concentrated effort at making an instant cult classic? Considering that the movie was made for pretty much the cost of the camera and a few Halloween costumes, it has to be the latter. Otherwise, there's no explanation for allowing acting this bad and dialogue this goofy to make it into a movie promoting one of the world's top entertainers. Of course, that gets back to the out-of-left-field oddity that is Alice Cooper himself, so making a movie with zero production values -- but one that admittedly ties together its very loose story to the point that it makes just enough sense within the context of the whole experience to work -- seems like something crazy enough for the fringe entertainer to approve.

The following 13 live songs are included, separate of the studio performance of The Lady is a Tramp that opens the film:

1. Hello, Hooray
2. Billion Dollar Babies
3. Elected
4. I'm Eighteen
5. Raped and Freezin'
6. No More Mr. Nice Guy
7. My Stars
8. Unfinished Sweet
9. Sick Things
10. Dead Babies
11. I Love the Dead
12. School's Out
13. Under My Wheels

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper features a rough but serviceable 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Sourced from the original 16mm elements, Shout! Factory has done a commendable job in bringing this cinematic oddity to Blu-ray. The results are rarely stellar in terms of sheer eye candy, but this transfer handles the original source material -- which includes lessened details and poor colors -- well enough. Fine detail rarely proves eye-catching, and only close-up shots reveal much in the way of texturing on skin or clothing. Colors appear faded and worn, notably during the "film" segments; the concert footage is so dark that rarely is anything outside of the brightest splashes of color -- for instance the American flag seen at film's end -- even all that noticeable. The blacks are so overwhelming during the concert segments that all but the best-lit details vanish, leaving much of the screen covered in globs of impenetrable darkness. Additionally, there are some heavily jagged edges in some visible background objects during the concert scenes, making some musicians look like chunky digitized blocks rather than smooth and natural human beings. The film elements suffer from some heavy pops and scratches throughout, not to mention one spot where a giant green blob briefly covers about a third of the screen. Additionally, heavy grain coats the screen from beginning to end. The image isn't overly sharp, but it never gets excessively fuzzy or soft, either. This is by no means a handsome and slick high definition presentation, but given the 16mm elements and the history of the film, it's hard to be disappointed with the end results. If nothing else, the transfer's rugged and tattered appearance gives the film a handsome throwback character that can't be found on newer, cleaner films.

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper delivers a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that, like the video presentation, is decidedly rough around the edges but certainly beyond adequate given the conditions surrounding the film. The track lacks much in the way of absolute clarity; even the lossless presentation can't magically make everything sound like it was recorded yesterday, but fans should enjoy the somewhat more vintage presentation. Audible hissing is heard throughout the movie, but it never drowns out any of the music, dialogue, or sound effects. The film segments feature virtually nothing in the way of atmosphere. The track is pretty much focused up front and around the center speaker, with adequately clean and accurate dialogue the primary element. What sound effects there are -- such as a bulldozer smashing a stage a few minutes into the film -- play as crunchy and indistinct. The concert footage is, commendably, the best part of the track. There's an unmistakable energy at work, and even if the track is absent that pinpoint clarity, spaciousness, and seamlessness of the best modern tracks, it never really disappoints. Music flows freely and accurately through the front channels, with crowd noise seeming to come primarily from the rears. There is a fair bit of bass in the track, but nothing that's going to challenge the subwoofer. In short, the film elements play as passable bland and the concert footage sounds exponentially better, and neither are a match for today's spacious and realistic presentations. There's no shortage of energy and excitement in this track, but it definitely shows its age.

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper contains a few extras, highlighted by an audio commentary track with Alice Cooper. Sadly, Cooper's commentary has a patchwork feel; he occasionally has something interesting to say and he comes off as an intelligent individual, but he generally offers little more than a few brief words of little substance here and there, surrounded by plenty of empty space. The track really needs a second voice to fill in the gaps -- even if it was in the form of someone recorded separately and spliced in between Cooper's thoughts -- to make it a track that's more worthy of the listener's time. As it is, only diehard Alice Cooper fans will probably want to give this one a listen. Unfinished Sweet (Uncensored Edit) (480p, 3:57) is included, an uncut performance of one of the songs. Also included is the film's trailer (480p, 3:15), text-based band member biographies, a poster art gallery (480p, 2:57), and a deleted scene (480p, 2:00). The disc also allows viewers the opportunity to view the concert footage free of the added side story. In this mode, the film runs 59:35. Inside the case is a small booklet that offers a brief history of the film and chapter listings.

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper would probably run away with the award for "oddest Blu-ray release of the year" if such a thing existed, and the movie itself would have to at least be in the running for recognition as one of the strangest films ever made. Made up of Alice Cooper concert footage -- normal enough, with "normal" being a relative term when talking about Cooper -- and supported by several barely-coherent vignettes about a crazy German director lamenting his failed efforts to track down the "Cooper Gang" after ruining his movie, Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper falls into the "so awful it's good" category. Combining terrible film footage with Cooper's over-the-top antics makes for one of the most unusual films ever made, and it's a must-see for anyone who loves fringe cinema and/or Alice Cooper. Shout! Factory has granted this film a few extras and provided a good technical presentation when taking into account the film's age, budget, and state of the elements. Recommended.