As great as it is to have these guys back verbally assaulting faulty films again, I do have a few minor quibbles with the presentation of The Film Crew on DVD. First off, there’s no chapter selection on the DVD, and the chapters that do exist on the disc are broken into huge chunks. What this means is that when I start the main feature and skip ahead twice, I’m already at the middle of the movie. If I want to skip ahead to a favorite scene I have to manually fast forward to get there. The few chapter breaks that exist on the disc serve only really to scoot the viewer ahead to the “skits” Nelson, Murphy and Corbett perform in the middle and at the end of the feature.
These bland and disappointing sketches are even more of a nuisance when you have to buy a DVD to see them than when you’d get them alongside commercials on free TV, but thankfully they are fewer in number with The Film Crew than with MST3K. Occasionally on MST3K you could run into a pretty funny sketch, but for the majority of them it’s clear that these guys are most adept at pointing out the foibles in others’ works instead of creating original, amusing content of their own. The only “extra” on the DVD is another of these skits, wherein Corbett performs a sonnet he wrote about his sack lunch. Yawn. Several of the MST3K DVDs featured a trailer, interview or even a commentary-less version of the riffed film. This humdrum treatment of the Film Crew’s first feature does not bode well for future installments. Hopefully Shout Factory will beef up their presentation as the further episodes are released.
Minor quibbles with the DVD presentation aside, it’s wonderful to see and hear these guys back together again. The more opportunities given to Nelson, Murphy, and Corbett to mock bad movies the better, I say. Any fan of MST3K will feel right at home with The Film Crew and should thank and support Shout Factory for bringing these guys back into our homes again with all new riffs on more of Hollywood’s worst.
Article comments
1 - Lisa McKay
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States, and Boston.com, which will allow even more readers to enjoy it.
2 - Frederick Royce Perez
This personal attack basically takes issue with the reviewers relative pleasure in opposing heights of fun and hilarity measured against the S.O.L. Crew from MST3K aka The Film Crew . In their own sketches versus the 'riffing' on flawed execution from other esteemed artists I gain insight , however clumsily , into the fundamentalist essence of wisecr(qu)ackery . I disagree with the reviewer that these derivative sketches were or can be flat in comparison . I disagree to the point of abuse . Oh I so disagree . So there . I get so mad it hurts . I think I may be feeling a reaction in a sketch coming on to me . Oh how you will pay in painful costumes and flawed delivery and obvious to excruciatingly pointless revelation . The airless pristine environment where pure fun can grow unhindered by the germ laden real world where gross idiocy has real consequences , outside of politics . Yes that is it you must be shown the inescapable Soupy Sales logic of life . Only then will it be possible for you to conclude this work is measurable in gross tectonic weights .
3 - Frederick Royce Perez
I thought this might be interesting FRP
On Aug 7, 2007, at 11:17 AM, Barry B. Sandrew, Ph.D. wrote:
Hi Fred -
No, Legend Films has nothing to do with The Film Crew. My understanding is that The Film Crew was a gig that Mike, Kevin and Bill did a couple of years ago. There were only four DVDs produced in total. After that, Mike joined Legend Films and created RiffTrax. While Kevin and Bill have no obligations to Legend Films, Mike is currently on the Legend Films production staff as Creative Producer and it would be a conflict of interest for him to do any more DVDs for The Film Crew. Indeed, he's deeply involved in making RiffTrax as much of a success as MST3K. Both Kevin and Bill join him frequently, both individually and together creating the latest RiffTrax. The also do live RiffTrax appearances in San Francisco. So it would appear that The Film Crew is a flash in the pan that was likely released now because of the huge success of Rifftrax.
Thanks,
Barry
Barry B. Sandrew, Ph.D.
President/COO
Legend Films, Inc.
[Personal contact info deleted]