As for scenes that work, there’s Maguire’s Peter Parkerian take on John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever strut, his jazz dance scene, and, if the homage to a bad film like Saturday Night Fever is not enough, how about one to a great film like It’s A Wonderful Life? Yes, there is one — just watch the scenes where Parker’s apartment door won’t open, and then, after a few times, his doorknob falls off when he goes to open the door. It’s a direct quotation from the great Capra film, wherein George Bailey has continual problems with his stairway banister knob, to the point where it also comes off in his grip.
It’s moments like this, that are not needed in a film (especially an action film), but which add to the scene and character by being there — something that takes no effort nor expense, yet shows a filmmaker generously rewarding his audience by tying in life’s little mundanities to the life of normal folk in the audience. It’s also scenes, like the above mentioned, that show why Spider-Man 3 is a much better film than The Dark Knight — a film that, with a villain named The Joker, was essentially humorless.
The DVD is a surprisingly good package. The two-disk version has the film on disk one, shown in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, with a music video, some photo galleries, a fifteen or so minute long blooper reel, and two audio film commentaries on it. One commentary is with the technical crew, who explain all the effects and how they came up with ideas, and, while it’s solid, the better commentary is with director Raimi and all the major cast members. The two best speakers, in terms of enjoyability and interest, are the actors who play the two main villains, Church and Grace. Church is consistently deadpan, and often delivers witty one-liners, while Grace shows he’s a true devotee of the comic book form by easily demonstrating a knowledge of the Spider-Man universe far in excess of even Raimi.
Oddly, Tobey Maguire says little throughout the film commentary. Disk two has featurettes on how the villains’ special effects were done, the trailers, and a few more minor features. All in all, a solid DVD package, with a sterling cast commentary; in fact, the more I think of it, it’s one of the best commentaries featuring three or more people I’ve ever listened two, for it is never dull, quite joyous in tone, and usually quite focused and informative on each scene as it plays out. Perhaps the best individual comment comes from Kirsten Dunst, who points to the appeal of the characters’ narrative arcs over the course of this film and trilogy as being the reason these films surpass other comic book franchises. And she is correct.
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