It’s been a long time since I have enjoyed a DVD or Blu-ray release as much as I enjoyed this one. Sure, some good movies have come my way, but for the most part the majority of special features and extra content never really does anything to get me too excited. The Tropic Thunder Director’s Cut DVD and Blu-ray not only offer an extended look at the funniest film of the year, but it also comes equipped with features you are going to want to watch as opposed to features you will skim through. This isn’t to say all of the features are good, but there are a couple that make the release worthwhile on their own.
Throughout this review you will see screenshots taken directly from the DVD release accompanied by captions either describing what you are seeing or quoting what the actor was saying when the image was captured.
First for the director’s cut of the film, this release is about 13 minutes longer than the theatrical release and several of the scenes that have been tossed back in the film were taken out for good reason and would have brought the film down when it comes to a theatrical release, primarily for their redundancy or the fact that they just didn’t need to be in there. However, on home video these scenes serve as a bonus because they are just as funny as the scenes in the film, and considering this is a comedy isn’t that the overall goal? On top of added scenes there is also an increase in the violence, primarily the gory gutting of Jay Baruchel’s character at the beginning of the film.
The 2 disc DVD and the Blu-ray release comes with a pair of audio commentaries: one boring and one worth the price of the entire disc. The boring one involves Ben Stiller along with co-writer Justin Theroux, cinematographer John Toll, editor Greg Hayden and producer Stuart Cornfeld. This is basically your run-of-the-mill commentary that you couldn’t care less if you listened to or not. There are a few interesting nuggets in it (such as learning the Booty Sweat ad was shot on Thanksgiving morning at 2 AM) but overall nothing too great. The commentary with Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, however, is one of the best audio commentaries I have ever listened to. This commentary is so good I actually started watching the film a second time and switched to the commentary instead of the actual film.
I am not sure if any of you remember in the film where Downey’s character says, “I don’t drop character until after I’ve done the DVD commentary.” Well, he wasn’t lying. When the commentary began I started to think they may have taken the joke too far, but as it gets going it is as if it is an alternate cut of the film as Downey mirrors the accent of his character in the film jumping from Lincoln Osiris, to his Vietnamese impersonation, into Australian and finally his normal voice as the credits begin to roll. You will thoroughly enjoy this commentary, trust me.
The features continue on disc two of the DVD and on the single Blu-ray disc with a large group of making of featurettes, a mockumentary, deleted scenes, extended scenes, an alternate ending and so much more. One of the most impressive bits is the “Full Mags” featurette teased above where you actually get to look at a complete magazine of film, approximately 11 minutes, as an entire moment of dialogue is performed over and over again and you get to see the process of how it was made and how the actors improvised. One strange thing of note, however, is that the DVD version actually carries four different scenes whereas the Blu-ray disc only has one. My assumption here is that the rest will be made available once the BD-Live feature goes live for the Blu-ray, but I just thought it was odd the DVD actually carried more than the Blu-ray disc in this instance.
Another fantastic feature is the mockumentary Rain of Madness, a making-of the film inside the film kind of deal spoofing Hearts of Darkness which was made based on the making of Apocalypse Now. During promotion for the film Paramount released mini featurettes called “Dispatches from the Edge of Madness” (which can also be found on the DVD and not the Blu-ray), but now the full meal deal is available. If you want a taste of what I am talking about you can watch the “Dispatches from the Edge of Madness” over on the official “Rain of Madness” website.
Rain of Madness simply builds a story beneath the story and it all actually ties into the film rather well except for a couple of instances that are ultimately explained if you listen to the audio commentaries.
Another feature of note would be the Tom Cruise make-up test in which Cruise is just seen dancing around for about 90 seconds as music plays over the top of the scene. However, the interesting thing to note is that even though music is playing during the featurette there wasn’t actually any music playing while Cruise was dancing. In fact the dancing was never even part of the film until this make-up test. It was ultimately written into the script, and as those that have seen the film know, it dominates the end credits.
Other features look at the cinematography of Oscar award winner John Toll (Legends of the Fall, Braveheart), the production design of Jeff Mann, the explosions, the casting and the whole idea behind the film, which Stiller actually reveals was initially a story about actors going to an acting boot camp of sorts and coming come back with post traumatic stress disorder. It’s a funny idea that is actually explored in Rain of Madness with Downey’s character, but obviously not worthy of an entire film.
Finally we get to the deleted and extended scenes and the alternate ending. Most notably, the alternate ending brings back Matt McC’s character Rick Peck who is Tugg Speedman’s (Stiller) agent in the film. The alternate ending shows Speedman giving his Oscar award acceptance speech and then transitions back to Vietnam where Peck has been captured by the jungle drug lords and they are sitting back watching the Oscars together. The capture above is Peck’s reaction to Speedman’s Oscar win.
So there you have it. That’s about as in-depth as I can get on this one. You know what it offers and you know what to look for and you know exactly where to look for it. If I was to recommend one format over another I would definitely say Blu-ray because, for a comedy, this film looks fantastic! Honestly, the decision to bring in an Oscar award winning cinematographer to shoot a comedy film may seem silly, but as the commentary is playing Stiller points out that Toll even managed to make Jeff Portnoy’s Fatties Fart 2 trailer look amazing.
If for no other reason than to listen to the audio commentary with Stiller, Downey and Black I say you have to buy this title. I can’t imagine anyone regretting it.
