Almost Famous (2000)

I will definitely be listening to this sometime tomorrow .

Thanks ..

 

I love this movie, Crowe’s choice of songs was perfect. My Cherie Amour during the od scene was particularly inspired.

 

That is a great point and an inspired choice by Cameron. It expresses everything about William's relationship and feelings to Penny. Without the music the scene is a soap opera.
For me the strength of the movie is not the story or capturing the vibe, which is so cool, but demonstrating the depth of relationships in William's life. From his mom to Lester Bangs to Penny and Russell, these people mean so much to him.

 

You’ll never go back to the theatrical cut haha...

 

Mr. Crowe's other masterpiece is Jerry Maquire, again surprisingly deeply felt. I enjoy his other films (even Aloha!) though they all seem to be lacking something. wish they would have done a sequel to AF soon after when the actors were young, although he happened to have come of age at a time when Rock and Roll was sort of beginning to mature as a genre and as Bangs warned becoming 'more corporate'. In retrospect it seems the music from the early 70's seems more resonant and timeless than much of what came after. There's always good and bad songs floating around, but between disco beats and punk (which dated itself the second it appeared), awful 80's production and mannered grunge the suceeding eras just don't seem as interesting

 

Funny. Just posted today in the "Last movie you watched" thread that I watched Almost Famous last night for the first time since I saw it on its initial video release. It really is a great movie although I thought Fugit was merely good as the lead character. He definitely looked the part though.

 

As much as I love the movie, the "I am gay" scene still bugs me as one giant misstep. The older the movie gets, the more dated and awkward this scene feels.

 

Just listened to the casting episode. Very enjoyable, thanks for the recommendation.

 

Listening to the second episode right now. Very enjoyable, but this writer wouldn't last five minutes here at the Hoffman Forum.

In what universe was Heart "the first hard rock band fronted by women"?

 

I avoided this movie for years, from the title and poster I thought it was some sort of `Chick Flick`......I was wrong, it`s now in my top 20 movies of all time.

 

The poker game scene where Penny is used as a chip really speaks to how far away we are from the early '70s. I'm sure things like that actually happened, which is disturbing, but not at all surprising.

 

A masterpiece - and yes, the Untitled Bootleg DVD is the only way to see this. The longer cut is a little darker and the wealth of extras on the second disc are a joy - the "Stairway" scene is included (with a cue for you to start the song at home) as well as a sampling of Cameron Crowe's Rolling Stone articles of the era.

...and wow, what a soundtrack.

 

Me neither. I must see it too!

 

Went on a long solo drive and I'm at episode 4. It's pretty great. There is some repetition of ideas and stories between episodes and it's from a film perspective not a music knowledge perspective (to Chris's point which for us here is glaring. I said the same thing.) so there's that but it gets big points for what it includes. Lots of stories from Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Billy Cruddup, Kate Hudson and of course Cameron who is still in love with the film. Also big points for a brief interview with Penny Trumbull. And lastly a very revealing take on Phillip Seymour Hoffman as an actor on set. The podcast demonstrates how much of a vision someone has to have for an art form to have impact.

 

Of course things like that happened. The girls were groupies and was there for sex drugs and rock n roll, but they didn't pay for anything. The girls used the guys and the guys used the girls.

It still works like that in the hip hop and DJ world

 

I’ve seen it several times. For me, pretty nostalgic, and sad.

 

Also on Blu ray since 2011 : Almost Famous Blu-ray Release Date October 4, 2011

For whatever incredibly generous reason, a forum member sold me Various - Music From The Motion Picture - Untitled (Almost Famous Soundtrack) at an unheard of low price, and it's still valuable to this very day.

 

A new article:

Cameron Crowe on the 20th Anniversary of 'Almost Famous': 'It's Never Been as Popular as It Is Now'

 

The OD scene is an homage to The Apartment. I love it.

 

I recommend this Cameron Crowe interview. Lots of great stories.

 

Loved it. And the new Origins: Almost Famous Turns 20 podcast is also fantastic:

Origins

 

Agreed, especially the details on the cut Neil Young scene and screening the movie for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Need to re-watch this movie, it's been a bit and i remember loving it.

 

I can't believe it's been 20 years since this gem.
I don't know if thre is a 20th Anniversary UHD BD in the works but just for the record, I own both the Sony Japanese BD (with a very sweet front cover, I won't post it, find it out by yourselves and once you find it you'll be tempted to get this...) and the US Paramount one. The Sony Japanese BD looks much much better than the US one, there's no DNR on the Japanese BD, maybe some grain management at most.

 

Billy Crudup up on the screen: "I am the golden god!"
{Cameron Crow holds his breath in the back of the screening room...}
Robert Plant from audience: "Yeah, I said it!" Laughs.
{Cameron Crow: whew!...}

It's always nice when stars are self-aware and willing to acknowledge the foolishness of their youth.

 

I will gladly make the trip to NYC to see the musical when it premieres.