From John Hughes: Home Alone - Family Fun Edition

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Home Alone is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when his family takes off for a vacation in France over the holiday season. Once he realizes they've left him "home alone," he learns to fend for himself and, eventually has to protect his house against two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) who are planning to rob every house in Kevin's suburban Chicago neighborhood. Though the film's slapstick ending may be somewhat violent, Culkin's charming presence helped the film become one of the most successful ever at the time of its release. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Subtitle: Eng/Spa
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • Feature audio commentary by director Chris Columbus and star Macaulay Culkin
  • Fun featurettes: The Making of Home Alone, How to Burglar-Proof Your Home: The Stunts of Home Alone, Home Alone Around the World, Where's Buzz Now?, Mac Cam: Behind the Scenes with Macaulay Culkin, Angels with Filthy Souls and 1990 press featurette
  • 15 Exclusive deleted scenes or alternate takes
  • Hilarious gag reel
  • Set-top games: Battle Plan, Trivia Quiz, and Head Count - And more!

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Score - 1990 (John Williams)
•     Nominated Best Song - 1990 (Leslie Bricusse, John Williams)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 1990 (Macaulay Culkin)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 1990

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Macaulay Culkin - Kevin McCallister
       Joe Pesci - Harry
       Daniel Stern - Marv
       Catherine O'Hara - Kate McCallister
       John Heard - Peter McCallister
       John Candy - Gus Polinski
       Alan Wilder - Scranton Ticket Agent

• Director:

  Chris Columbus

• Producer:

  John Hughes

• Screenwriter:

  John Hughes

• Cinematographer:

  Julio Macat

• Musical Arrangement:

  Angela Morley

• Composer (Music Score):

  John Williams

• Editor:

  Raja Gosnell

• Production Designer:

  John Muto

• Art Director:

  Dan Webster

• Associate Producer:

  Mark A. Radcliffe

• Executive Producer:

  Tarquin Gotch, Mark Levinson, Scott Rosenfelt

• Set Designer:

  Karen Fletcher-Trujillo, William Fosser

• Costume Designer:

  Jay Hurley

• Set Decorator:

  Eve Cauley

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  James R. Alexander

• Makeup:

  Kenny Myers, Kimberly Phillips

• Special Effects:

  Bill Purcell

• Stunts:

  Fred Hice

• Costume/Wardrobe:

  Lynn Bernay

REVIEW:

• After shifting from his 1980s teen cycle to general family dysfunction in Uncle Buck (1989), writer/producer John Hughes unexpectedly hit the blockbuster jackpot with the family comedy Home Alone (1990). Placing precocious Uncle Buck supporting player Macaulay Culkin center stage, the Chris Columbus-directed portrayal of a clever eight-year-old accidentally left behind by his vacationing family swiftly moves from the expected forays into ice cream gorging and late-night TV to an extended, Rube Goldbergian defense of his well-appointed suburban home from a couple of dim-witted burglars. With Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern executing some overly painful slapstick as the thwarted criminals, a number of critics objected to scenes of "cartoonish" violence that were a bit too intense, but Culkin's easy, wide-eyed charm won over audiences. The unheralded, inexpensive Christmas-season release went on to become a sleeper hit and one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time, turning Culkin into the top child star of the early '90s. Culkin also starred in the highly popular sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), but by the time the franchise got around to Home Alone 3 (1997), the thrill -- and Culkin -- was gone. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi