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Dom Robinson reviews

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.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2008.

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: