The Work of Director-Spike Jonze (2003)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Main Menu Audio & Animation-Jonze Animations Audio Commentary- Musicians discuss the music videos Interviews-Cast & Crew-Musicians discuss the music videos Featurette-Making of "Drop" by The Pharcyde Short Film- How They Got There - Short Film with Mark Gozales Short Film-Mark Paints - Another Short Film with Mark Gozales Short Film-The Oasis Video That Never Happened Short Film- Rockafella Skank Short Film-The Woods Short Film- Torrance Rises Short Film-What's Up Fatlip? Short Film-Amarillo By Morning Booklet-52 Page Book
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	120:22
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Sided	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Spike Jonze Lance Bangs Roman Coppola Kim Gordon
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Ashley Barnett Beastie Boys Brian Bell Björk The Breeders Sofia Coppola Rivers Cuomo Kelley Deal Kim Deal Mike D Fatlip Spike Jonze Christopher Walken
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	$29.95	Music	Fatlip Sam Spiegel Daft Punk

The Work of Director Spike Jonze is released by Madman Entertainment and the AV Channel under the Director’s Suite label and is the first volume of The Directors Label Series which was originally released in Region 4 by Palm Pictures, Kaleidoscope Film and DVD and Shock Records in August 2004.

Palm Pictures have produced the music video compilation with affection and care and while the Spike Jonze directed compilation does not include all of his music video directorial work it includes Jonze’s most celebrated and well known collaborations with Weezer, The Beastie Boys, Björk, Daft Punk and Fatboy Slim.

Video

The aspect ratios of the music videos vary, some are presented in 1.33:1 full frame, while others are preserved in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. However none of the content on this DVD is 16x9 enhanced. Jonze is widely noted for changing the music video industry in the 90s as he often changed film speed and choose to shoot in one shot ("Undone (The Sweater Song)" by Weezer), opted for washed out colours and film grain ("Sabotage" by Beastie Boys) and filmed on DV ("Praise You" by Fatboy Slim). The transfer is relatively clean, although some of the older videos have film artefacts and aliasing, however the production value of this DVD is very high.

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Audio

The single audio soundtrack is Dolby Digital 2.0 and it is sharp and perfectly accompanies the music videos. There are no faults with this soundtrack.

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Side A:

Main Menu Audio & Animation

The ‘Side A’ main menu opens with a hand drawn Jonze animation and is then branched into three categories; “Music Videos,” “Commentaries and Info,” and “From Our Friends.” The menu is relatively easy to use with a Play All feature with commentary and without commentary and the videos can also be selected individually. 'Side B' includes a similarly themed menu which also branches into three categories; “Rarities”, “Documentaries” and “Credits and Thanks.” Overall this is a well themed menu and perfectly suits the numerous features on the DVD.

Audio Commentary

‘California’ by Wax – Commentary by Loomis.

‘Sure Shot’ by Beastie Boys – Commentary with Beastie Boys.

‘Drop’ by The Pharcyde – Commentary by Tre.

‘Sabotage’ by Beastie Boys – Commentary by Beastie Boys.

‘Da Funk’ by Daft Punk – Two separate commentary soundtracks are available including one by Daft Punk and another Tony Maxwell who portrayed Charles the “Dog Boy.” Also the music video can be played with a French language dub with or without subtitles.

‘What’s Up Fatlip?’ by Fatlip – Commentary with Fatlip.

‘Undone (The Sweater Song) by Weezer – Commentary by Weezer band members Brian Bell, Patrick Wilson and Rivers Cuomo.

‘Praise You’ by Fatboy Slim – Commentary by Norman Cook.

‘Feel the Pain’ by Dinosaur Jr. – Commentary by J. Mascis.

‘Sky’s the Limit’ by The Notorious B.I.G –Three separate commentary soundtracks are available including one by Puffy, another with actor Conrad Sokalski and finally one with actor Jeremy Butler.

‘Weapon of Choice’ by Fatboy Slim – Two separate commentaries are available including one with Norman Cook and another with Christopher Walken who starred in the award winning music video.

‘Buddy Holly’ by Weezer – Two commentary soundtracks are available including one by Weezer band members by Brian Bell, Patrick Wilson and Rivers Cuomo and another one with Tony Maxwell.

‘Electrobank’ by The Chemical Brothers – Commentary soundtrack provided by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons.

‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ by Björk – Commentary by Björk on perhaps one of her most recognizable music videos.

Special Running Commentary by the Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys provide commentary on their music videos 'Sure Shot,’ and ‘Sabotage,’ as well as ‘Da Funk’ by Daft Punk, ‘Drop’ by The Pharcyde, ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ by Björk, ‘California’ by Wax , ‘Buddy Holly’ by Weezer, ‘Cannonball by The Breeders, ‘Undone (The Sweater Song) by Weezer and ‘Praise You’ by Fatboy Slim (52.58)

The Interviews

The commentaries are largely excerpted from interviews and this feature includes segments of interviews which were not previously used for the commentary soundtrack. (11:35)

The Making of ‘Drop’ by The Pharcyde.

This feature focuses on one of Jonze’s most complicated videos. This brief feature provides an interesting insight into the unusual vision Jonze had for this song.

Music Video Cast and Production Credits (Text)

Weblinks

A list of links to the artist’s websites and also production and media company websites.

From Our Friends

Trailers for “The Work of Chris Cunningham,” "The Work of Michel Gondry” and Yeah Right! Also included is the theatrical trailer for the award winning 2002 Spike Jonze film Adaptation.

Side B:

How They Got There - Short Film with Mark Gozales (2:31)

An interesting short film which displays Jonze’s dreamlike look at reality.

Mark Paints - Another Short Film with Mark Gozales (1:06)

This short film is a single shot on a blank canvas and captures Mark Gozales creating an image.

The 'Oasis' Video That Never Happened (5:59)

At the height of their fame Oasis decided against Jonze’s idea for a music video. In this feature we get to see Jonze’s approach to the video that never was.

Rockafella Skank - "Richard Koufey's" audition tape (4:35)

This is the audition tape for a non-existent Fatboy Slim video by a peculiar character named Richard Koufey. This video became the basis for Praise You by Fatboy Slim.

The Woods - A film excerpt from "Mouse, A Girl Skateboards film (1:27)

What's Up Fatlip? (31:00)

A 2002 documentary which follows the trials and tribulations of a candid Fatlip after he was kicked out of The Pharcyde.

Amarillo By Morning (28:48)

This 1998 documentary was original intended to be a series of commercials for Wrangler Jeans Europe. Instead Jonze was fascinated by two teenagers who happened to be involved in the professional bull riding circuit.

Torrance Rises (34:21)

A mockumentary which follows the Torrance Community Dance Group led by Richard Koufey on their way to the 1999 MTV Music Video Awards for a special performance.

DVD Credits and Thanks (3:12)

Book

Also housed with the DVD is a wonderfully presented 52 page book which includes an interview with Spike Jonze regarding the music videos he has directed and his celebrated film career. Rare photographs, storyboards and sketches are replicated in the book.

The NTSC R1 and PAL R4 are identical in terms of features.

A beautifully presented music video compilation for film and music enthusiasts.The abundance of extra features are a novelty.

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