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Best Blu-ray Discs of 2008 3

by Jason Rowan on January 6, 2009 at 12:01 AM


'Bottle Rocket'

The gist: Wes Anderson's graceful debut (co-written with co-star Owen Wilson) has an easy, oddball charm. The ambling, post-adolescent drift of these characters looking for some kind of fulfillment has its own logic that has made the film iconic for misfit dreamers of all stripes. There's a sweetness and authenticity to Anderson's first film that isn't as evident in some of his later more mannered, intricate constructed dollhouses of films. Both Owen and Luke Wilson give nuanced, naturalistic performances -- in particular Owen's deluded, ever-optimistic aspirant to a life of crime Dignan is a classic character. Director of Photography Robert Yeoman's captures the delicate hues of a Texas winter and helped define the slightly otherworldly, dream-like reality that the film defines.

Why it's on our list: A new transfer overseen by Anderson and DP Robert Yeoman is fantastic on Blu-ray and the film looks like it did in theaters. Copious extras include a recent 'making of' doc with interviews with the cast and crew that explore the lengthy journey of 'Bottle Rocket' from a short film to a feature. Deleted scenes indicate a considerably more sprawling film than the final cut. Anderson's lovingly handwritten storyboards are included in their entirety, along with an extensive wish-list of music cues that didn't make it into the final film but that provide a glimpse of soundtracks to come for 'Rushmore' and 'The Royal Tenenbaums.' Anderson and Owen Wilson's commentary is engaging and adds more sense of what was an ever-mutating storyline and development process -- and then there's the strange revelation of the influence of 'Miami Vice' on Anderson's oeuvre. A slideshow of wonderful photos by Wilson matriarch Laura covers the filmakers' journeys from the inside. The accompanying booklet features comments from Martin Scorcese and Dignan's original 75-Year Plan. But the jewel in the crown for 'Bottle Rocket' completists is the presence of the original Super 16 short film of 'Bottle Rocket' that showed at Sundance and caught the eye of eventual Executive Producer James L. Brooks.

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