Director
Chris Columbus
Cast
Macauley Culkin”¦”¦”¦Kevin
Joe Pesci”¦”¦”¦Harry
Daniel Stern”¦”¦”¦Marv
Catherine O’Hara”¦”¦”¦Kate
John Heard”¦”¦”¦Peter
DVD Release Date: November 21, 2006
Rating: PG
Running Time: 103 Minutes
The Movie
Take one forgotten child and two would-be thieves and put them together in a fancy house at Christmas and what do you get? Perhaps one of the best holiday movies to ever come to pass.
Kevin is a young child who just can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble – even with a house full of family getting ready to go on a holiday trip to Paris. Through a bit of a hectic rush, he’s forgotten at home as his family goes on their trip across the globe. Little does he realize that this isn’t the only trouble waiting for him, as two burglars have scoped out this extravagant neighborhood and plan to do a little house cleaning. It’s then they realize that they are the ones in trouble.
Come on, it’s Home Alone. If you haven’t seen it by now, you need to just go out and get it before it comes on TV fifty times for the Christmas season. It’s a movie that you really just can’t help but enjoy. It’s got comedy, action, slapstick, and even a good story thrown in there to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
This was the movie that virtually made Macauley Culkin’s career, but to me Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are the ones that really stand out. Their performances are two of the funniest I have ever seen in any movie, and you just can’t help but enjoy it no matter how many times you watch it. Their characters are first made out so you are supposed to hate them, but my God, you can’t help but feel sorry for them. They get tortured in ways that no human being, even in captivity, should ever endure.
The Video
The film is shown in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and looks absolutely brilliant. This is a film with very bright colors considering it’s a Christmas time movie, and they all show up on screen wonderfully.
The Audio
The film is heard in 5.1 Dolby Surround and can be heard perfectly. Every scream and bucket to the face sounds great.
Special Features
Feature Commentary – From director Chris Columbus and star Macauley Culkin. Pretty interesting to see what they think of the film especially now for Culkin who is all grown up.
Deleted Scenes/Alternate Takes – A number of extra scenes that were just fine not being in the movie.
Gag Reel – Funny, but really short.
Mac Cam: Behind The Scenes With Macauley Culkin – A behind the scenes look at filming and the cast through the eyes of Macauley Culkin with a video camera.
1990 Press Featurette – Virtually an extended trailer with small bit interviews from cast and crew.
How To Burglar-Proof Your Home – An inside look behind all the stunts and people who made the painful scenes possible. I have a whole new line of respect for the stuntmen of this movie. I now see they didn’t have a big budget to have much protection, so most of those falls and hits are legit.
The Making Of Home Alone – Your normal run of the mill “making of” with stuff from the cast and crew as they are today.
Home Alone Around The World – Perhaps the best extra on the entire disc. Different scenes from the movie in languages from around the world. Absolutely hilarious.
Where’s Buzz Now? – The cast and crew’s opinions on where “Buzz” may be today.
Angels With Filthy Souls – A little bit into the movie within the movie.
Trailers – Three trailers for the film
Games – Three fun games including trivia, a head count, and a memory game dealing with the battle plan Kevin had drawn out for the crooks.
The Inside Pulse
It’s Home Alone, what more could you ask for? If you’re looking for a feel good, funny Christmas movie then you’ll most certainly want to pick this up. Even if you have already bought the DVD before, I suggest buying this one for the special features alone, because there are some very good ones included. It’s well worth it just to watch Culkin in his glory before he became a very strange adult.
