Distributed by
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Cert:
Cat.no: BUA 0003701
Running time: 89 minutes
Year: 1994
Pressing: 2005
Region(s): 2, PAL
Chapters: 18 plus extras
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English for the hearing-impaired
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Super 35)
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: 3*DVD 9
Price: £19.99
Extras:
Clerks Lost Scene: Animated Short, The Flying Car, MTV Spots with Jay and Silent Bob, Theatrical Trailer,
Music video, Clerks Restoration, Auditions, DVD-ROM features, Classic Commentary, Enhanced Playback Track,
New 2004 Audio Commentary, The Snowball Effect feature, Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary,
10th Anniversary Q&A, Outtakes from The Snowball Effect, Still photo gallery, Original Kevin Smith Journals,
Articles and Reviews.
Director:
Kevin Smith
(Chasing Amy, Clerks, Clerks 2, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Mallrats, Red State, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, TV: Reaper)
Producers:
Scott Mosier and Kevin Smith
Screenplay:
Kevin Smith
Cast:
Dante Hicks: Brian O'Halloran
Randal Graves: Jeff Anderson
Veronica Loughran: Marilyn Ghigliotti
Caitlin Bree: Lisa Spoonhauer
Jay: Jason Mewes
Silent Bob: Kevin Smithn
Willam Black/Angry Hockey Playing Customer/Angry Mourner: Scott Mosier
Woolen Cap Smoker/Egg Man/Offended Customer/Cat Admiring Bitter Customer: Walt Flanagan
Rick (Trainer): Ernest O'Donnell
Indecisive Video Customer: Donna Jeanne
Caged Animal Masturbator: Virginia Smith
Clerks is a film set around the everyday life of the customers that come
into a convenience store and the clerks that have to serve them, the former including a man, who we assume to
be a Doctor, who is carrying round a diseased lung in his bag and after showing it to a guy who just wanted
to buy a pack of cigarettes is asked to leave, but he doesn't and the day just goes from bad to worse from
there, especially since Dante (Brian O'Halloran, right with Jeff Anderson as Randal) has had to open up after pulling a late shift the night
before and was expecting to be taking the day off...
Of the random happenings in his life, after a heated debate between Dante and his girlfriend Veronica (Marilyn Ghiglotti) where she
tells him she only slept with 3 men including him but she's sucked 37 dicks, he shouts at the next customer,
"37!! My girlfriend sucked 37 dicks!", to which comes the inquisitive and calm reply, "In a row?"
We also learn of Caitlin Bree (Lisa Spoonhauer) who he dated for five years and clearly still has a thing
for, but it's been announced in today's paper that she's getting married...
Elsewhere, a discussion takes place about the construction of the second Death Star, in Return of The Jedi,
and how it was only half-finished at the time so this made for a worse situation as thousands of independent
contractors were killed as part of a war they had no part in. There's an obsessive man who checks all the eggs
in the store to find the perfect dozen, and this is also the first of many films that saw the presence of Jay
and Silent Bob, played by Jason Mewes and its director Kevin Smith, respectively (together in the
picture below)
Made for just $27,000, we see great long exchanges between characters, done in a single take with fantastic
comic timing. There's the occasional hitch as someone comes in late with a line, but that's better than having
to retake and the rest of the conversation sounding less than natural as a result.
And who could forget Dante's loquacious best friend Randal, who runs the video store next door, who sums it all up with,
"This job would be great if it wasn't for the fucking customers." In fact, that reminds me of the time
I spent in the hellhole that was a Little Chef. Like a convenience store, you saw all manner of crazies from
7am to 10pm...
The picture is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen ratio and was shot in black and white for budgetary
reasons, as has been explained in the low figure, but while it's a bit grainy this does not detract from the film
in any way and actually ads to the starkness and boldness of the picture. The sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 but
this only really benefits the music. Dialogue remains clear throughout.
Extras wise, disc one is as follows:
Clerks Lost Scene: Animated Short (10:05):
Including a 90-second introduction about it being too expensive and prohibitive for a number of reasons, so
the equivalent was done in an animated version, and it's also possible to watch the film with this included
in the right place.
Either way, it makes for an excellent little interlude and is a style that could fit in well with films made
in future.
The Flying Car (8:16):
A short film made in 2001, with Dante and Randal and it's hilarious!
MTV Spots with Jay and Silent Bob (18:00):
Eight random pieces of amusing nonsense, with an intro first.
Theatrical Trailer (1:55):
Presented in 4:3, with an assertion that in 1994, only this and Pulp Fiction had the best trailers made that
year, both having been made by the same man. Hmm... Pulp still has the edge, for sure.
Music video (5:41):
Soul Asylum: You Can't Tell, introduced by Kevin Smith.
Clerks Restoration (12:54):
Three featurettes, about the restoration of the sound, the look of the film (short but sweet at 36 seconds),
and also an intro to the Theatrical Cut.
Auditions (14:01):
An intro from Kevin Smith (this is a habit on here), plus auditions for Brian O'Halloran (who went on to play
Dante), Jeff Anderson (Randal), Marilyn Ghigliotti (Veronica) and Ernest O'Donnell (Eric, the trainer).
DVD-ROM features:
Even more bang for your... er... pound.
Classic Commentary: An audio commentary from 1995 featuring various cast members.
Enhanced Playback Track: View the film with a Bonus trivia track.
Special editions give a film a new breath of life, and disc two presents the original cut with a new
commentary from 2004.
Moving on to disc three and there are even more supplmentals for your delectation:
The Snowball Effect (1:30:31):
A long feature with just about everything you need to know about Kevin Smith and his progression of Clerks,
from start to finish, its subsequent success and it begins with comments from the fans about the film.
Presented in 16:9 letterbox, like most of the footage on here, it's a must-see for all fans of Kevin Smith who want to know more about him. Cut up
into 39 bitesize and easily accessible chunks, it's the best way to present such a feature, but it's a shame
there are no subtitles for this.
The term 'The Snowball Effect' is explained as the culmination of Smith's achievements, but something very similar
is mentioned in the film...
Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary (11:38):
10th Anniversary Q&A (42:09):
Extensive and does exactly what it says on the tin.
Outtakes from The Snowball Effect (41:29):
13 clips taken out of the aforementioned feature, the total length continuing the fact that Kevin Smith is
dedicated to giving his fans what they want.
Still photo gallery:
Many an on-set picture.
Original Kevin Smith Journals:
Before the internet, these were what blogs are now called, and there's one from his days prior to making
Clerks and one about presenting it at the 1994 Sundance Festival.
Articles and Reviews:
Eight of them here.
On top of that, the dialogue and subtitles are in English only, the latter being for the hearing-impaired,
there are 18 chapters which is fine for this length of movie, and the menus contain inventive uses of sound
clips on occasion.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Clerks is a film set around the everyday life of the customers that come
into a convenience store and the clerks that have to serve them, the former including a man, who we assume to
be a Doctor, who is carrying round a diseased lung in his bag and after showing it to a guy who just wanted
to buy a pack of cigarettes is asked to leave, but he doesn't and the day just goes from bad to worse from
there, especially since Dante (Brian O'Halloran, right with Jeff Anderson as Randal) has had to open up after pulling a late shift the night
before and was expecting to be taking the day off...
The picture is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen ratio and was shot in black and white for budgetary
reasons, as has been explained in the low figure, but while it's a bit grainy this does not detract from the film
in any way and actually ads to the starkness and boldness of the picture. The sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 but
this only really benefits the music. Dialogue remains clear throughout.