Customer Reviews

Something Wild (Widescreen)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Something Wild" is an early Melanie Griffith film from 1986. It went by unnoticed on its theatrical release, but quickly found an audience on video. It's full of laughs!

Melanie Griffith plays Lulu, a fun-loving lady with a shady past. She stumbles across Jeff Daniels one day in a diner and is drawn to him through his attempt to leave without paying. Next thing the two of them are on a wild journey full of funny situations. However, its not all fun! There are some genuine scary and tense moments in the film when Lulu's ex-husband turns up. But these help add spark to the film and make it one of the great films of the 80's.

Something Wild" is one of those special films that comes along once in awhile. It's also one of those films you can watch over and over, I just love it! Along with "Working Girl", this is one of Melanie Griffith's shining moments.

DVD SUMMARY: Let me begin by saying that I was thrilled to obtain this on DVD, after owning a rather poor quality pan/scan video version of it. The DVD is in widescreen anamorphic, and while the transfer is not exactly clear and pristine, it is accceptable considering its age. Special features include a trailor.

SOMETHING WILD is a must-own DVD. Grab it before it goes out of print.

I love this movie. It has all aspects needed for a great story. Sit back and enjoy the twists and turns, while the wonderful characters take you on a wild ride.

...I am flipped for road moovys and this is one of my faves. I get the feel that Hollywood doesn't know how to treat the fabuloso Melanie Griffith, but her range comes out nicely in this. (She has almost been placed in a Marilyn Monroe typecasting thing, but with this and a few of those lesser known Mela G. moovys, time is gonna show how great she really is.) And, boy! Wouldn't that be a trip to have evvybody's smarmy nightmare, Ray Liotta, as the (ex)boyfriend of some girl you've fallen for? Anyway, this is a good product that I don't mind watching over and over again.

I first saw this movie in the theaters, and I remember sitting spellbound, utterly enthralled by the adept manner in which Jonathan Demme blends comedy, romance, drama, and suspense in a single film. For years, I would catch it whenever I could on cable -- or, if I were hanging with a "virgin" friend who had never before seen the film, I'd scrounge up a rental copy (pan-n-scan, of course) at the local video store. All told, I've seen it about a dozen times, twice as many times as I have seen any other movie -- but only once in the widescreen format in which it was originally composed.

When people ask me what my favorite movie is, I tell them without hesitation, "Something Wild." Inevitably, a look of comprehension is absent from their face. I briefly explain the plot, describe Melanie Griffith in the black wig, Jeff Daniels as the nebbishy accountant, and Ray Liotta as the Lulu's sinister ex-con (IMHO, career-best performances for all three), and faces begin to light up. Most people have caught at least a part of this film on Comedy Central and recognize it (if only slightly) from those heavily edited screenings, which is a shame because this movie needs to be seen in its unexpurgated form in order to really gain an appreciation of its genius.

So you can imagine my delight when I opened a birthday gift from my girlfriend and found inside a copy of "Something Wild" on DVD. If I were capable of squealing, I would have. You see, I was under the impression that this was one of those "lost titles" that would never be released on DVD. Yet there it was, in my hands, a true cinematic masterpiece, one of the best films of the 80s, my favorite movie. Sigh. What a great birthday present!

Now that I have recovered from the initial giddiness of actually owning the flick and watched it once or twice, I can report objectively that the DVD release isn't perfect. The transfer is average (but nevertheless widescreen -- yay!), with a slightly washed-out look that minimizes some of the impact of the garish 80s couture. And the disk is pretty straightforward. You can select from 16 scenes, watch in the original English or dubbed Spanish, watch with French or Spanish subtitles, and view an irrelevant theatrical trailer. Or, you can just live with the fact that this great film is finally available on DVD and watch it start to finish, over and over again.

With only philadelphia and silence of the lambs to refer to, I never could fully understand why Johnathon Demme was so highly touted.But After viewing this film I can see That Demme certainly was an American voice to be reckoned with at one point. This film crackles and gyrates like no other American movie at the time , except for perhaps the categorically similar After Hours.The way this film seems to be so thematically aware of the time it was taking place in is almost revelatory. a true achievement that all too sadly illuminates the sheer and utter waste of Demme's later career, much like what My Own Private Idaho does to that of Gus Van Sant.Plus the great American rock band the Feelies make an unexpected cameo.

I haven't received the DVD edition yet so I have no comment on the quality, but I've been searching Amazon.com for it regularly for the past 6 months. The movie itself I give 5 STARS. Melanie Griffith is a delight in the role of Lulu (and led me to having a crush on her yow!). Lulu is a woman who's been leading a freewheeling, marginal life of a kind that must have reminded Ms. Griffith a bit of her own wild times, but with a better outcome. Anyway, the movie starts out lighthearted with Lulu essentially shanghaiing (sp?) Jeff Daniels away from his empty job in NYC and off to her high school reunion in PA. There, the couple run into Ray (Ray Liotta) who's Lulu's real husband and who is also fresh outta jail and looking to get the one good thang (Lulu) back in his life. At this point (about the last 30 minutes or so) the movie turns from freewheelin' fun to drama and violence. Kind of like life, eh? One minute you're up, the next.... I recall reading a review once that said the movie wasn't as popular as it should have been because it didn't fit neatly into being marketed as either a comedy or a drama. Pity it wasn't marketed as both. Go for it!