Rushmore, The Royal Tennanbaums, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Three wonderful Wes Anderson films that have all been give then royal Criterion treatment. In fact only two of his films, Bottle Rocket and The Darjeeling Limited, have yet to be released by the prestigious company.
For one of those two films, that will change.
November 25th Criterion will be releasing a two-disc edition of Wes Anderson’s first film, Bottle Rocket, probably his most underrated and least known film.
Originally released in 1996, Bottle Rocket follows the story of three friends, Anthony (Luke Wilson), Dignan (Owen Wilson) and Bob (Robert Musgrave) who set out to become professional thieves, but are just too darn nice to get the job done right. James Caan has a superb small role as Mr. Henry, the leader of a small crime ring who tries to nurture their evil side and sets them up with a job. It’s funny, endearing and completely worth Criterion’s time and energy, as well as you’re hard earned money. SRP $39.95.
Director Approved Special Features:
– New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Wes Anderson and director of photography Robert Yeoman
– Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
– Commentary by director/co-writer Anderson and co-writer/star Owen Wilson
– The Making of Bottle Rocket: an original documentary by filmmaker Barry Braverman featuring Anderson, James L. Brooks, James Caan, Temple Nash Jr., Kumar Pallana, Polly Platt, Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Musgrave, Richard Sakai, David and Sandy Wasco, Andrew and Luke and Owen Wilson, and Robert Yeoman
– The original thirteen-minute black-and-white Bottle Rocket short film from 1992
– Eleven deleted scenes
– Anamorphic screen test, storyboards, location photos, and behind-the-scenes photographs by Laura Wilson
– Murita Cycles, a 1978 short film by Braverman
– The Shafrazi Lectures, no. 1: Bottle Rocket
– PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by executive producer James L. Brooks, an appreciation by Martin Scorsese, and original artwork by Ian Dingman
Cover Art and DVD features courtesy of Amazon.
