Music Appreciation 101 [3 Discs]

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 3
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Surround
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Brendan Fraser - Chazz Darby
       Alex Winter - Bill S. Preston
       Adam Sandler - Pip
       Bernie Casey - Mr. Ryan
       Chris Farley - Wilson
       Amy Locane - Kayla
       Bruno Kirby - Tommy Pischedda
       June Chadwick - Jeanine Pettibone
       Fran Drescher - Bobbi Flekman
       Ernie Hudson - O'Malley
       Clifford David - Ludwig van Beethoven
       Hal Landon, Jr. - Capt. Logan
       Patrick Macnee - Sir Denis Eton-Hogg
       Amy Stock - Poynton - Missy/Mom
       Fred Willard - Lt. Hookstratten
       Ed Begley, Jr. - John "Stumpy" Pepys
       Howard Hesseman - Terry Ladd
       Al Leong - Genghis Khan

• Director:

  Michael Lehmann, Stephen Herek, Rob Reiner

• Producer:

  Mark Burg, Robert Simonds, Robert W. Cort, Stephen Deutsch, Ted Field, Michael S. Murphey, Karen Murphy

• Screenwriter:

  Rich Wilkes, Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer

• Cinematographer:

  John Schwartzman, Tim Suhrstedt, Peter Smokler

• Composer (Music Score):

  Carter Burwell

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Douglas Axtell, Russell Fager

• Composer (Music Score):

  David Newman

• Songwriter:

  Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer

• Editor:

  Steve Semel, Larry Bock, Partick Rand, Kent Beyda, Robert Leighton, Kim Secrist

• Production Designer:

  David Nichols, Roy Forge Smith, Bryan Jones

• Art Director:

  Edward Mcavoy, Gordon White

• Co-producer:

  Ira Shuman, Scott Kroopf, Joel Soisson

• Executive Producer:

  Todd Baker

• Set Designer:

  Jennifer Williams

• Costume Designer:

  Bridget Kelly, Jill M. Ohanneson, Renee Johnston

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Robert Eber

• Makeup:

  Daniel Marc

• Special Effects:

  Barry Nolan

• First Assistant Director:

  Joe Camp III

• Stunts:

  Dan Bradley

• Choreography:

  Brad Jeffries

• Casting:

  Billy Hopkins, Glenis S. Gross

REVIEWS:

• After the cult hit Heathers, Michael Lehmann was hired to make Hudson Hawk. That infamous turkey bombed so spectacularly that it was another three years before Lehmann could follow it up. Airheads feels like the work of a man learning to direct all over again, and protecting himself by organizing a dependable cast. Although the screenplay is not nearly as smart or funny as it could be, the film is full of actors who put just enough of a spin on the material to give it some life. Steve Buscemi, Joe Mantegna, and even Adam Sandler are given enough space to get whatever laughs they can from the limited material, and Brendan Fraser holds it all together just enough by giving one of his typically dependable (if less than inspired) performances. Given the script, Lehmann and his cast make Airheads about as good as it could possibly be. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
• If there has ever been a funnier and truer film about rock music than This Is Spinal Tap, no one has had the courage to show it in public. Rob Reiner's hilarious mockumentary chronicle of the misadventures of a group of intellectually challenged British rock musicians touring the U.S. manages to laugh at and with its protagonists at the same time. While the unending cluelessness of Spinal Tap's core members, David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), is a marvel to behold (especially the scene in which Nigel is baffled by the miniature pumpernickel on the deli tray), the leading characters also exude a goofy charm. As we watch their career slowly collapse around them, it's difficult not to feel a certain sympathy while laughing at their travails (it helps that they've seen enough of this coming to be more annoyed than despairing about their careers). Guest, McKean, and Shearer, who improvised most of the film's material, all did time in rock bands in the 1960s and '70s, and it seems as if they didn't forget a thing; no one who has ever been in a band, no matter how lowly, will fail to recognize the arguments at rehearsal, the on-stage screwups, the frustration of getting lost en route to a show, the thrill of hearing yourself on the radio, the chore of playing for an audience that doesn't care, and the excitement of a show that goes over. While This Is Spinal Tap takes deadly (and wildly funny) aim at the absurdities of the music business and the pompous excesses of the heavy metal scene, it's also made by people who understand the kick of a good rock show (for both performer and audience), and much of the humor comes from the fact that this seemingly absurd tale is not far at all from the truth. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
• This slacker comedy provides some good low-brow laughs and, sadly enough, delivered many teenagers some history lessons when it was released. Keanu Reeves' breakthrough role as the loveable dunce Ted resulted in typecasting that would plague his career until The Matrix. The film aggravated some educators with its frivolous treatment of academia but brought praise from others for making history fun and palatable. It also stamped words like "bogus" and "gnarley" firmly into the '80s slang lexicon. George Carlin's appearance as the time-traveler Rufus adds a little comedic legitimacy to this little film, which essentially boils down to engaging and well-paced silly, mindless fun with a fairly well-written script. The legacy of Bill and Ted can be traced to the slacker comedies of Adam Sandler, and the film itself was popular enough to spawn an ill-fated sequel and a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon. ~ Mike DiBella, Rovi