DVD Pick of the Week - Big: The Director’s Cut
DVD Pick of the Week - Big: The Director’s Cut
Of all the films out there that lend themselves to, even demand, a longer, fuller edit… well, Big doesn’t immediately stand out as one of them. The 1988 comedy that launched Tom Hanks into stardom (and earned him, in this geek’s view, his most richly deserved Oscar nom… and it’s the one he lost), it’s a fairly airtight, heartwarming, odd and endearing tale as could only be told by that master of light comedy, Laverne DeFazio. (Well, at least Penny showed loads of promise then… this was before Renaissance Man and Riding In Cars With Boys. Oy.)
This week we finally get a Big special edition and what do you know, it includes 26 minutes of previously unseen footage in a director’s cut, giving us a deeper (tho still whimsical) look at 13-year-old Josh Baskin’s whirlwind trip into adulthood, courtesy of that totally freaky Zoltar nickelodeon at Coney Island. What’s the best part of this all-new cut, you ask? The same old stuff – or rather, its accessibility, as a branching feature on the disc allows you to watch the theatrical cut with no alterations, which more extended edition DVD’s ought to allow. (You listening, Walter Hill? Ultimate Warriors, my ass…) And frankly, it’s never going to get any better than that sublime improvised bit with the mini-corn at Baskin’s posh company party. (Nope, that wasn’t in the script. All hail Hanks!)
Then again, it must be acknowledged that some of the new material is pretty grand, especially back home in the ‘burbs – for example, we learn a lot more about the tough home life of Josh’s ornery best pal, Billy Kopecke (Jared Rushton), and there’s a very poignant moment in which Mrs. Baskin (future Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl) attempts to give a gift she intended for her “missing” son to his friend. All in all, a rare example of tampering with greatness that works both ways, and a must-buy. The set also includes an audio documentary by the producers, behind the scenes doc, featurettes and much more.
Also recommended this week: Cagney & Lacey: Season 1; Donnie Brasco: Extended Edition; The Guns of Navarone; Little Britain Live; To Catch a Thief: Collector’s Edition; That Thing You Do: Director’s Cut; Voltron, Vol. 3
—Nicole Campos
