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Almost Famous | Year: 2000 Directed: - Cameron Crowe Actors/Actresses: - Billy Crudup - Fairuza Balk - Anna Paquin - Zooey Deschanel a movie you won't forget Almost Famous is an autobiographical movie, based on Cameron Crowe memories. It is a story about a naive boy (William Miller) who has the most exciting experience of his life when he is given the chance to cover the US tour of a new band, stillwater, for Rolling Stone magazine. During this trip, William becomes more mature and aware of what happens on rock shows backstages, which represents a new world to him. Doing his job, he mets some "groupie" girls, who belong to music bands universe and make this film even better. The soundtrack is great and the characters have complex plots. The cast was very well chosen, and the best performers in scene are Kate Hudson, as the crazy groupie "penny lane", and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who has a small part, but does it extremely well, as always. Frances McDormand is also great as William's repressive mother. Most part of the film she is worried with her son, and the influence sex, drugs and rock'n roll may cause in his teenage life. This movie has memorable moments, such as the dialogs between "penny lane" and william, and the airplane scene, when the stillwater, the groupies and even william start confessing their sins. I also enjoyed the "groupies girls". Actually I know a few girls like that, which follow some local bands in my country and behave the same way as the characters of this film. Really unbelievable nowadays! I will never understand what makes these girls so devoted to group members and why they need to follow them and enjoy the sucess they do not deserve. It's kind of depressing, if you consider they have very low self steem, getting envolved with everybody in the bands. This DVD also brings HBO Behind the scenes, which I really recommend. In order to fully understand this movie, it is necessary to watch this special, in which Cameron Crowe reveals how autobiographical this film is, showing real pictures he took with rock stars on the 70's and also telling us about his early days experiences at show backstages. As over 150 critics agreed: Almost Famous is one of the top 10 films of the year! A Triumph! Immensely Entertaining! 6 Stars Out Of 5!! I had the awful feeling that I was going to hate this movie when I popped in this DVD for my inaugural look at the film. But my initial apprehension toward the picture vaporized almost instantly upon watching the film's first scene. I couldn't believe how much I liked this movie. In my view, Director/Producer/Writer Cameron Crowe has done the near-impossible with this motion picture. That being: He's taken a group of people that could have been so easily looked down upon and intensely disliked, and instead turned this assorted band of musicians, groupies, mothers, sisters, and rock-n-roll managers into some of the most interesting and fun-to-watch individuals ever to share a movie set together. Add to this mix one very likeable-right-off-the-bat young 15-year-old would-be music journalist (played to perfection by Patrick Fugit), and what you have in your midst is a highly-entertaining movie about ambition, music, a devoted mother's love, soul-searching, friendships, and chasing dreams. Every scene in this film is a memorable one. The whole movie feels "real", in this writer's opinion. Nothing seems faked, or phonied, or Hollywoodized. A reason for this, of course, is in large part due to the fact that the film is a great deal auto-biographical, with Fugit portraying Crowe when Cameron was a teenaged writer for Rolling Stone Magazine. And while it's rated "R" (for language and drug content), the film never once bogs itself down with the cliched rock band negativity of drugs, sex, and booze. Sure, these elements are shown through Mr. Crowe's camera lens; but it's never displayed in such a way as to be a turnoff. If this film were in the form of a book, it would indeed be described as a real "page turner". The viewer anxiously awaits the next "page" (scene). There are two scenes in this film that are true "set pieces" in my mind (and after just seeing the movie one time). One such piece occurs as the fictional band with which our talented young "Rolling Stone" journalist (William Miller) is travelling encounters severe turbulence on a plane flight taking the group to its next concert date. As the severe thunderstorm batters the plane to the point where all aboard are nearly convinced they'll soon be meeting an untimely demise, one by one the passengers begin to confess their inner-most secrets and indiscretions. This fabulous scene is at the same time comical, bittersweet, and poignant. As the aircraft finally breaks free of the turbulent air, much to the delight of the exuberant pilots, our band of passengers is too mentally drained from the confessions they've just offered up to each other to join in the celebration of the fact that they are, in fact, going to survive the ordeal. The scene concludes comically with a member of the group, who has just informed everyone of a dark secret concerning sexual orientation, slamming the cockpit door closed to silence the cheers of the pilots. Great, great scene! Another highly-memorable portion of the film takes place on the band's tour bus. Elton John can be heard on the bus radio, singing "Tiny Dancer". Gradually, the vehicle is filled with singing, as everyone begins joining Elton in belting out the tune. This scene is one to play over and over again, as the feeling of togetherness and harmony fills the bus at that moment. The DVD presentation here is as flawless as the film contained on the disc. Picture quality is exceptional via the nice 1.85:1 Widescreen Anamorphic transfer. And the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack is definitely robust enough to give those speakers a nice workout, especially during the many musical numbers heard throughout the movie. There's an adequate Making-Of featurette included as well, which contains several photos of a young Cameron Crowe "on the road" as a Rolling Stone scribe. For anyone who hasn't seen this picture who might be thinking (as I did before viewing it) that this is a movie filled with loud, obnoxious, cocaine-snorting booze-heads and the less-than-desirable environs that people of that ilk generally inhabit, let me assure you that "Almost Famous" will pleasantly surprise you. These characters are well-written, never "over the top", and totally engaging from the first chapter of this DVD until the last. It immediately has zoomed into my Top 25 of all-time favorite flicks! I still can't believe how truly good this movie is. It's one that could easily be viewed time and again, and enjoyed just as much with each successive screening. "I AM A GOLDEN GOD!" -Russel (Billy Crudup) I loved this movie. Really, that's all that needs to be said. It is one of those films where you know there are flaws here and there, but it is so utterly engrossing and the tone is so perfect you forget that there are moments when there should have been more drama, but it was toned down for inexplicable reasons. This is one of my shorter reviews, but really, there isn't much you can say except: -Kate Hudson was mysteriously intoxicating. You believed every guy wanted her.<BR>-Frances McDromand made you feel sorry for her despite some unnecessary strictness. And she was hilarious.<BR>-If you find rock awesome (like I do), you'll appreciate this portrait of the genre, the bands and the fans, and what drives it all.<BR>-The writing was often clever and involving, if a little on the lighter side (sometimes, not for the best). So I recommend this film to fans of entertaining, breath-takingly sweet (but not over-the-top), unbelievably "cool" movies, and to fans of classic rock. There's nothing left to say except: have fun. Buy Almost Famous at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Almost Famous Search with the Priority Search Engine on Almost Famous This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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