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The Movie:
"Steal This Movie" focuses on the story of radical Abbie Hoffman, starting in 1977 when he talks with a reporter about what it's been like to be in hiding for the past 5 years. The film then goes back from there, with flashbacks revealing the kind of acts of protest that he engaged in. We also find out more about his friends who worked with him and his wife, Anita(Janeane Garofalo, in her best performance).
Although I can't claim to know a great deal about the real history of Hoffman, I was engaged with the story from the begining. Both Garofalo and D'Onfrio as Hoffman play their parts perfectly and have good chemistry together. The film chronicles the imaginative ways that Abbie went about protesting the War and gaining headlines. Various characters enter in; Kevin Pollack does a fine job playing the lawyer who has to find a way to get Abbie out of jail; Donal Logue and Kevin Corrigan do wonderfully as Abbie's partners-in-crime, although neither character is too well-developed. Nor is Jeanne Tripplehorn, as the woman that Abbie has a relationship with when he goes underground.
This is one of those films that is entertaining even though it certainly has some problems. Although the acting is certainly good and the movie gets the look of the period right, it sometimes feels unorganized in the way that it presents Abbie's life. It covers quite a lot of information, some events better than others. Although we learn a lot about Abbie and Anita, the other characters get a less-detailed look.
Still, at the most basic level, I found the movie entertaining with D'Onofrio doing particularly strong work. "Steal This Movie" didn't do very well in theaters, taking in about $80,000 on only a couple of screens. I suppose there wasn't a great deal of interest in the subject, but it'll hopefully get a bigger audience on video.
The DVD
VIDEO: Trimark presents "Steal This Movie" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that, like the rest of the studio's presentations, is generally pleasing, but not without some minor problems. Sharpness is very good; whether in bright, outdoor scenes or darker, dimly lit sequences, the image remained crisp and well-defined.
Although print flaws weren't heavy, they were noticable at times. Speckles appeared occasionally, but weren't distracting. Some minor pixelation appears once or twice, and the picture sometimes appears slightly grainy. Colors are natural and often vibrant.
Overall, this isn't a bad presentation, but it simply varies from looking very good to somewhat problematic.
SOUND: Although I didn't find "Steal This Movie"'s Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation too remarkable, I at least did like the way it presented its music. There's a lot of great tunes from the era throughout the movie, and they sound crisp and clear, filling the room as they are also offered by the surrounds. Dialogue is clear and easily understood, sounding crisp and without problems. Although not an agressive soundtrack, it makes good use of the music.
MENUS:: The main menu does contain some slight animation of Hoffman and the American flag..
EXTRAS:
Commentary One: This is a commentary from actors Janeane Garofalo and Vincent D'Onofrio. It's a fun track, as the two continue their apparent chemistry together, the more energetic and sarcastic Garofalo playing off the slightly more flat, but still talkative D'Onofrio. The two have a great deal of laughs as they recall stories of shooting the movie on various locations and the obstacles that they had to go through with a fairly small budget. Although I really liked Garofalo's performance, she does goof on her own performance a couple times throughout the track, which is very amusing.
The track hardly has any pauses and the two have a great deal of fun commentating on the movie and each other's performances. There's not always a great deal of technical information about the movie, but I found it to be a really entertaining track. Definitely worth a listen.
Commentary Two: This is a commentary from director Robert Greenwood and cinematographer Denis Lenoir. This isn't quite as much of an "entertaining" commentary, but focuses more on the technical issues of the film. We hear more about the real history behind Hoffman as well, although this remains a more minimal part of the discussion compared to the talk about the filmmaking techniques that were used on the low-budget feature.
There are few pauses on the track and I actually really liked listening to the director and cinematographer. Although they can't compare to the fun that the two actors had on the other track, they do provide an energetic, insightful and informative discussion of both Hoffman and how they went about working with the actors and filming this movie on a low budget.
Interviews: There are several interesting interviews included with the DVD, each lasting a few minutes. There are interviews with - Anita Hoffman, Anita Hoffman and director Robert Greenwald, Anita Hoffman and Janeane Garofalo, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bobby Seale, Tom Hayden, Gerry Lefcourt, Gerry Lefcourt and Kevin Pollack and Stew and Judy Alpert.
Deleted Scenes: There are 8 deleted scenes included, with optional commentary from director Robert Greenwald , who does provide good insight about his thoughts on why the scenes didn't work in the final film.
Trailers: The theatrical trailer (1.85:1/Dolby 2.0) and 2 additional "Pigasus" promos.
Storyboards: Storyboards for 4 scenes; "Anita Sits", "Abbie Climbs Wall", "Shaking The Fence" and "Abbie Climbs Statue".
Designing Abbie: A short featurette that talks with a young graphic designer about the look of the images in the movie.
Final Thoughts: Although "Steal This Movie" wasn't outstanding, I still thought it was very good and certainly better than the $80,000 it took in at theaters. Trimark has also done a fine job with the DVD; although audio/video quality is just good, the extras are great and I'm glad the studio did so much work for a film that didn't particularly do well at the box office.
Film Grade
The Film B-
DVD Grades
Video 83/B = (332/400 possible points)
Audio: 85/B = (340/400 possible points)
Extras: 92/A = (274/300 possible points)
Menus: 80/B- = (160/200 possible points)
Value: 83/B = (249/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1355/1600
DVD GRADE:B/84%
FILM GRADE: B-
DVD GRADE: B
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