Full Frontal DVD: Review By mikestickel

The movie itself seems to be an experiment of many different levels. That's the only thing I could think after watching it for the first time ever. The story though, is based around seven people that, through various circ*mstances end up meeting at a birthday party for a film producer.

After taking time to reflect on the what has been coined the slightly unofficial sequel to "Sex, Lies and Videotape" the only feeling I'm left with is that this is an character driven peace that experiments with film quality, scene structure and reality TV.

Although there is a veritable who's who list of A-class names on the box most movie-goers probably won't like this movie. This isn't your typical, hollywood action or drama story about good vs. evil, it is more of a reality TV to filmmaking and there really is no plot. Not only was it an experiment to see how far the actors and actresses would go to make a film but also to see if a well made film can be made on a relatively small budget ($2 million).

The biggest thing about this movie that peaked my interest was the fact that all the actors and actresses had to provide their own make-up/hairstyles, costumes, food and they were encouraged to improvise more often than read lines.

This particular DVD is full of several additions that will give you an inside look into the why, how and what of this movie and it's making.

The Commentary

Of course there is the standard commentary with director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Coleman Hough. This is simply your standard commentary that gives you the inside track to some of their thoughts while making the film.

Deleted Scenes

There are also several deleted scenes on the DVD that come with an optional commentary as well. My favorite part about these deleted scenes is the option to "Play All" the scenes.

In Character Interviews

One of the more original additions to this DVD are the In character interviews. This is the first time I've ever heard of this feature on a DVD. Basically Mr. Soderbergh created a huge list of questions to ask each actor/actress and told them they had to answer them in character. A fair amount of the answers to these questions were actually used in the final cut of the film.

The Rules

My favorite feature is entitled "The Rules". This section tells you the rules that Mr. Soderbergh and Coleman Hough created, and needed, to make this film what it is. This is where you find out what the actors/actresses had to go through and what they thought about the whole experience.

Interview with the Director

My second favorite feature is the interview with director Steven Soderbergh. Simply put this is where you can find out why he made the movie and what his intentions were while making the film.

Director's Spy Cam

Lastly, the director's spy cam, where you actually get a REAL behind the scenes look at some of the moments during filming. Basically what Mr. Soderbergh did was get some hidden camera's and conveniently placed them around the sets to catch the actors and actresses in the act.

The DVD matches the movie itself in both simplicity and look. Even though this film is shot with both commercial digital camera's and professional 35mm camera's the transfer is true to the vision of the film.

First of all I must admit that I don't have the best sound system out there but from what I can tell the sound was arranged to echo the film quality. You are offered two options in the audio setup menu including Dolby Digital 5.1 English and Dolby Digital 5.1 French.

As much as I would like to say I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience of this DVD I'm not even sure I would be truthful in saying that. My first thought is that I'm glad I watched this movie alone so that I could concentrate on the technical side of the making of this film because of the slow pace, the lack of plot or heightened drama every 5 minutes. My thoughts now are that this DVD is perfect for the real students of film and die hard film fans that can keep an open mind before, during and after watching a movie.