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Click above to purchase "Bedazzled" at amazon.com
Bedazzled: Special Edition
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: Fox
Running Time: 93 minutes
Starring Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley, Frances
O'Connor, Orlando Jones
Screenplay by Larry Gelbart, Harold Ramis and Peter
Tolan
Based on the 1967 film "Bedazzled", written by Peter
Cook
Directed by Harold Ramis
Retail Price: $26.98
Features: Commentary with Harold Ramis, Commentary
with Elizabeth Hurley and Producer Trevor Albert,
Featurette, Costume Design Featurette, Extended Basketball
Scene, Scoring Sessions, HBO Featurette: "The Making Of
'Bedazzled'", Theatrical Trailer, Three TV Spots, Music
Promo Spots, NUON Features
Specs: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround,
English Subtitles, French Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles,
Chapter Search, NUON-enhanced, THX Certified
I hate it when Hollywood makes remakes. Not only does it
ruin the credibility of the original film, but I never see a
point to them. What do hotshot executives see? Do they
really think they can get some writers, actors and directors
to make a good (or not so good) film better after buying the
rights? It never made any sense to me. Why see a remake when
you can see the original? It's like a few years back when
Gus Van Sant remade "Psycho" for Universal... shot by shot
no less. The film did bomb, but again, I really don't see a
point. While some directors may see a different vision for a
film, they end up failing usually when trying to improve it.
I really had high hopes for "Bedazzled", but my hopes
dissolved a little after Fox delayed it from an August 2000
launch to an October 2000. Still, "Bedazzled" is more of a
hit and miss movie.
In this remake, Brendan Fraser is Elliot, a computer
worker (I think in the original Dudley Moore had this role
as a cook), who's not so good with the ladies. Elliot is a
bit goofy and weird, but has a strong affection for Allison
(Frances O'Conner), a co-worker who has not noticed him for
the past four years. Elliot deeply desires Allison and will
do anything to win her... and that's where the Devil, played
by Elizabeth Hurley, comes into play. She offers Elliot
seven wishes for his soul. While Elliot is a bit reluctant,
he eventually gives in, and this takes us through numerous
"wishes" sequences, which are the bulk of the movie.
Elliot's wishes set the stage of the movie... it's pretty
much screwball comedy. The whole concept here Elliot is
never specific enough, leading to some funny (and some dull)
moments. The first sequence, where Elliot becomes a drug
lord lasts a good length, but most of the good parts were
revealed in the trailer. Next, Elliot becomes a really sweet
and caring guy... but he's too much of a baby to stick up
for himself and fight. Other sequences include Elliot
becoming a world famous basketball player than has a side
effect on a male body part, where in another sequence he's
really intelligent but it has a backdrop on his sexuality.
The sequence that I felt was the most stupid though was
where Elliot becomes president... I won't mention what
exactly happens to keep some surprises, but this is
incredibly short and has such elaborate sets and costumes,
that I was surprised and I felt it should have been
expanded.
I was pretty disappointed by this film, considering the
talent involved in it. While I do enjoy much of Harold
Ramis' work, I felt "Analyze This" was really overrated and
he doesn't do much here, sadly. If the script as a whole and
the sequences were better developed, this movie could have
been an instant comedy classic. While some jokes are funny,
others miss their mark usually. Most of the jokes are really
nothing new, and sometimes they get dull. While this movie
is really weakened by these points, a lot of strengths do
help bring it up.
The best thing "Bedazzled" has is the acting. Everyone is
likeable and great in this movie. Brendan Fraser brings his
loveable and excellent charm to Elliot, where he's just
innocent and looking for some love. Fraser, as he has proved
in the past with "George of the Jungle", has excellent
comedic timing. He plays well against the other actors, and
he's just a lot of fun to watch. It's a shame the material
is not as good, because I'm sure his role would have stood
out with critics more. Elizabeth Hurley is also excellent,
bringing a great sly tone to the Devil. Her role is a lot of
fun.
This movie also has a little bit strange things to it,
such as the symbolism of Heaven and Earth. While I felt it
was a really interesting symbolism, I felt it was a bit out
there (this is more toward the end of the film). Still, the
film touches on a nice moral about being yourself and
putting others first, though the latter is a bit stretched
out.
Despite some flaws, "Bedazzled" is definently a good
rental. While I wouldn't tell anyone to go to the theater
and pay $9.50 for it, it's a good hour and a half to rent.
Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, "Bedazzled"
looks terrific. This THX mastered transfer has some really
bright and bold colors, no artifacts or noise to boot.
Fleshtones and hues are really accurate, and the saturation
of the many vibrant colors (there are some great reds) look
perfect. There's some slight shimmer now and then, plus the
occasional piece of grain too, but this is a jaw-dropping
and really impressive transfer. While most comedies aren't
filmed really wide, the 2.35:1 aspect ratio gives off some
nice, long breathtaking shots and looks really good like
this.
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 is really active and won't
disappoint. There's some great directional effects
throughout the film, plus some great scenes to show off your
speakers. From the tremendous amount of action in the drug
lord fantasty, the cheers of the crowd during the basketball
game, flash photography going off (about 18 minutes into the
film). the engine of the Devil's car roaring and the loud
rock music, the rear channels really do electify and there
are some wonderful surround effects. It can be aggressive,
but this track doesn't overdo itself (thankfully). Really
nice and creative mixing here. This track is also THX
certified. Also included are English Dolby Surround and
French Surround tracks, plus English, Spanish and French
subtitles (the language selection screen is really funny).
Once again, Fox creates a fantastic special edition DVD
filled to the brim with some great and worthwhile
supplements. First off, I should mention the menus. The
menus are really well done. When you start the disc, you get
a choice of "Rich", "Famous", "Intelligent" and "Sensitive".
Choosing one will get you the main menu screen, where what
you choose the menu will represent the fantasy in the film.
It's just a fun little thing. The menus are nicely animated.
"Bedazzled" features not one, but two commentaries. The
first Commentary With Harold Ramis is pretty
interesting and enjoyable. While there are some pauses that
don't make this track flow as nicely as it should, he does
point out a few interesting shots and seemed to enjoy making
the film. Some of his comments are pretty funny too, and we
learn from this commentary that Ramis is anti-smoking
(hoorah). Ramis also shares some interesting ancetodtes and
tidbits. This track is worth a listen.
The Commentary with Producer Trevor Albert and
Elizabeth Hurley is the second track. Hurley sounds a
little tired (at least I think so) but Albert has a lot of
enthusiasm for the film. The two recorded the track
together, and their comments aren't always so screen
specific. And like Ramis' track, there are some gaps
(actually, there's a ton more). It can be interesting, but I
found it a little slow and the long pauses don't do much
good. Some of the comments are pretty obvious, but they do
point out some neat things and Hurley discusses how she got
the role. If you liked the film you'll probably absorb
everything in that this track has to offer.
The Extended Basketball Sequence is pretty much
complete, and is in non-anamorphic widescreen. This extended
version of the basketball fantasy sequence is pretty funny,
but it's obvious to why what is shown here was cut down for
the final film. It's sort of monotonous, and was probably
cut for pacing lengths. This sequence however does not
feature Elliot, but rather, two of his chums that really
don't like him as commentators and they babble on and on and
on and on. However, I felt maybe the final version was
trimmed a little too much. This scene is pretty long, but a
fun watch.
HBO Featurette: The Making Of Bedazzled is
presented in 2.0 sound and full frame. Elizabeth Hurley
hosts and sort of mocks the whole "promotional" tone that
featurettes tend to have. However, I feel this featurette is
pretty promotional anyhow. A lot of clips from the film are
shown, plus some interviews with Ramis, Fraser, Albert,
Hurley and others. There are some behind the scenes clips,
but it's really not so much on the making. You won't really
learn anything much here. It's pretty basic, but it can be
sorta fun to watch and some of it is intriguing. There's
also a little bio on Harold Ramis and his body of work, plus
there's also a focus on make-up plus the special effects. .
If you like these "making ofs", knock yourself out. It's one
of the better ones I've watched.
Still Gallery is made up of three sections: "DV8",
"The Devil & Her Office" and "Work, Brewery &
Fantasies". There is a good amount of concept, logos and
general artwork here, and it's pretty interesting to see how
they started out as and how they went into the final film.
Good for a browse once or twice.
Scoring Session 1 and Scoring Session 2 are
in full frame and show composer David Newman conducting and
talking briefly. Each session shows the musicians
performing, and a clip from the film is played at the bottom
left hand of the screen to see what the score for the scene
is being conducted. Each is pretty short, but it's pretty
cool to see the performance and how it was fit into the
film.
Bedazzling Designs With Deena Appel is a nice
featurette focusing on Deena Appel and her inspirations on
the costumes. She gives some pretty good insight on the
various and elaborate costumes the movie features as well as
what worked for what characters. We see some of her original
designs plus some other interviews about her work on the
film. This featurette also shows clips from the films to
point out what she says. This is a welcome addition to the
disc and lasts a very good length of time.
There's the Theatrical Trailer in non-anamorphic
widescreen and two channel sound, plus Three TV Spots
and a Music Promo Spot. Also, there's the THX
Optimode so you can adjust your home theater to
perfection.
"Bedazzled" is also a landmark DVD. It's the first movie
disc to enhance the new, game-set NUON players. While I
don't have a NUON player to test these special features,
those of you who do will have some really nice NUON
Features to look foward to. There's Viddies, a
special feature where you can create some montages, Hyper
Slides where the still gallery is a lot more animated
and comparison based, Gamma Zooms where you can
navigate and learn more about certain parts of the film with
some interactivity and finally, Scene Selection is
where at the chapter select screen, you'll see a clip from
the scenes displayed. So, it seems pretty nice, and I give a
hearty kudos to Fox for trying out and going foward with
some new technology. I'm sure over time, more and more discs
will have some NUON features, and I'm sure they'll keep
getting better and better.
Finally, there's an interesting Easter Egg. It's
not to hard to find, and pretty enjoyable for what it is.
I'm sure anyone who checks the movie out will be really
interested in it. It's more for the adults (not for the
kiddies). If you'd like me to go into further detail and
spoil it for you, please just highlight the page after this
statement. If you don't want it spoiled, simply ignore and
don't highlight. Either way, enjoy!
The easter egg is a deleted scene
in non-anamorphic widescreen, and is edited pretty well.
It's a fantasy sequence that has Elliot becoming a goth-ish
rock star, complete with sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. It's
a pretty funny scene, but I'm glad it was cut because it's
really out of context with the movie. But it's here... a lot
of work seemed to go into this scene, and I like how it sort
of mocks the whole angry rock stereotype with the guitar
bashing and cursing (which is bleeped, heh). It's pretty
long and stretches out a bit, but again, it's easy to see
why this was cut and it doesn't fit well into the film at
all.
Fox keeps topping themselves. This is a magnificent
release with a great presentation and excellent extras, all
for a very nice price. While I was a bit underwhelmed by the
movie, if you liked it, you'll certainly love this disc.
While the year has just begun, this is one of the best
releases so far, and I'm sure at the end of the year, it'll
still be one of the best. This is what a special edition
should be.
 (2.5/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
(4.5/5)
 (4/5)
(4/5,
NOT an average)
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