Rating: 
Summary: The best film since To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: A movie with a soul. It is honest, sensitive, raw, and wonderfully entertaining drama. I didn't see this film in the theater. I rented it, then bought it. This movie transcends your typical teenage rock movie by documenting the loss of innocence - both of the main character, William Miller (brilliantly under played by newcomer Patrick Fugit) and the music industry as a whole. Miller discovers the world of rock from listening to his older sister's albums and through circumstances ends up on an assignment for Creem magazine to write an article on Black Sabbath. When he tries to gain entrance backstage to do the story, he ends up meeting band aid (NOT groupie) Penny Lane (played by Kate Hudson) and his life changes. Instead of meeting Black Sabbath, he falls in with one of their opening acts, a fictitious band called Stillwater, and Miller's early career as a writer takes off. Penny Lane befriends the young Miller and is his guide into the world of rock and roll. The achievement of this film is it manages to show the drugs and sex, the emptiness, and shallowness of the music industry without making the viewer lose fascination or obsession with its stars and glamour. The people are human, talented, affected, and driven. That's where the film so gloriously succeeds. As Miller follows Stillwater on their Almost Famous Tour on assignment for Rolling Stone magazine, we see him fall in love and get used, and he just keeps coming out of the trenches to face more because in the end - every one is in it for the music and living for the moment. Some of the most magical moments in the film are between Patrick Fugit and Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit and Billy Crudup, and Patrick Fugit and Frances McDormand. I find it hard to imagine all the attention heaped on McDormand and Hudson to the exclusion of Fugit. While the ensemble cast in this film is one of the best ever assembled (Altman eat your heart out), Fugit and director Crowe are the glue that hold this movie together and make it what promises to be one of the most enduring films ever made. Not to mention Academy Award winner Anna Pacquin and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Oscar-worthy roles. And Jason Lee proved in this film that he should never go back to skateboarding. Ever. Guitarist Peter Frampton was a technical consultant on this film, and Nancy Wilson (Mrs. Cameron Crowe) formerly of heart wrote the score for Almost Famous. Cameron Crowe said as he was accepting the Academy Award for best original screenplay for Almost Famous that the film was his love letter to the music industry. I just hope he sends a few more their way. Or ours. This movie proves he doesn't have to take a back seat to Harper Lee as long as he stays honest. The more we see of Crowe in his work and the less of Cruise the better. If dipping into his own experiences yields this kind of entertainment, I hope the well never runs dry. In Almost Famous, he bared his soul and created a cinema masterpiece that captures more about the human spirit than anything put on celluloid in two decades.
Rating:
Summary: Best film of 2000, Best DVD of 2001
Review: This isn't about the film that you may have seen in theaters, it's about the new "bootleg" cut available on DVD. This is a must own DVD. For the music fan. For the movie fan. For fans of great commentary tracks, extra footage, etc. If you aren't sure about forking over the extra few dollars for the director's cut after having spent already on the bare-boned version, then rent it. (But make sure you rent the 2-DVD version!) It's one of those titles that you'll want to watch when friends come over just to show them the commentary track with his mother, along with the 36 minutes of footage that was seamlessly put back into the film. Having seen the new cut, it now makes my list as one of the best films I've ever seen. I hope it finds the audience in video that it deserved while it was in theaters...
Rating: 
Summary: Not an improvement just a different take on the same film...
Review: Recut and re-released films should be treated the same as remakes--one has to ask why it should be redone. Any number of films have benefited from this type of "remake". Just as many, though, have had little added. In effect being able to go back and re-edit a film as allowed artistic second guessing. Sometimes it's to the disadvantage of a classic. Crowe's "bootleg" version of Almost Famous (released under it's original title "Untitled") kind of falls between these two camps as nothing essential is really added back to the film. A pity this wasn't released like this previously as the running commentary between Crowe and his Mom is actually interesting. Still, kudos to Crowe (and the marketing folks at Dreamworks)for the way this package is put together. The CD of unreleased songs and having both versions of the film make this an interesting boxed set. A pity that Apocalypse Now Redux wasn't released in this format (there's a good example of a film that would benefit this type of packaging. It would have allowed the inclusion of the original film, the re-edited version --in the slightly different aspect ratio--along with the stunning documentary Hearts of Darkness by Coppola's wife). SInce music is so essential to all of Crowe's films I can't help but wonder what he will do as a film director/writer once he finishes mining the past. What happens when he hits his midlife crisis? Who know what artistic explorations might be in store...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Film!
Review: I first saw this film on an airplane ride. At first glance I knew this would be interesting so I watched intently. Since the plane ride I must have watched the film more than 50 times and that is not an exageration. Every 15 year old boy would want to tour with a rock and roll group and this rivetting performance brought together with the music of stillwater, led zeppelin, and elton john is a sure win. This should have won best picture at the oscars!
Rating:
Summary: True teenage Rock N Roll fantasy
Review: I've seen this movie several times and it gets better with each viewing. When I first saw it, I thought "very good movie" but as I see it again and again, the details emerge and this a truly well-written, well photographed and touching story. The performances in this film are terrific - even despite the robot-like acting of Zooey Deschanel. Even though the story seems to have some gaps in it, the dynamic between Fugit/Hudson/Crudup is amazing throughout. Francis MacDormand should have gotten an award just for her multitude of communicative facial experssions. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives one of the best performances and delivers some of the best quotes, "...the only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone when you're uncool." Crowe did an excellent job in selecting the music for this film. It captures the period and does well to capture the emotions of the moments that we get to hear them. What a great feeling it was to watch and listen as the whole band and crew sings "Tiny Dancer" together when the stability of the band is largely in question. Beautiful!!! In all honesty, this has become one of my all time favorite movies. The combination of the love interest and the fantasy of being on tour with a wild rock band as a teenager is magnificent. The characters are rich and realistic and the naivete of our hero (William) makes him that much better. You can do much worse than this film but not much better. A great movie with integrity and passion.
Rating: 
Summary: Faithful recreation of the 70's music scene.
Review: Great snap shop of the 70's music scene behind the scenes involving roadies, groupies, music reviewers, fans etc. Fairly faithful recreation of the seventies except for the contemporary beer bottles and winglets on the jumbo jets. Well acted.
Rating:
Summary: A Intriguing Flick
Review: The innocence and total lack of such in the different characters... the contrast between being naive, and being so naive that you don't know that you are. You have two worlds, one of sweet idolitry, and one of the life of a rock star. The intertwining and meshing of them is told very well by this movie. I would have to say it's one of the strangest (not from a content perspective, but one of style) movies I've seen ever. But also (easily) one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: Delivering on the Promise of a Great Director
Review: I love Cameron Crowe. 'Say Anything', 'Jerry Maguire', and 'Almost Famous' are all deeply moving films showing a film maker learning and improving on his craft and his storytelling with each year. My only complaint was that before seeing Almost Famous I started hearing rumors about a longer, richer cut of the film. It took an edge off the original experience. I found myself noticing jumps in the storyline. Character were left unresolved that needed to be resolved. I just wanted more! Now it's here, and it was worth the wait. The DVD fills in all the holes, and leaves me waiting for a release to the big screen in ten or fifteen years.
Rating:
Summary: Another DVD Release.
Review: Imagine if you will, a world without happiness, joy, or love. This is the world of anyone who has yet to purchase this DVD, and is clearly the reason why the reviewer below ("Another DVD release???, November 21, 2001") is so bitter - he has not seen the Almost Famous Bootleg Edition, and as a result his heart beats not warm, red blood, but cold, think black oil, like chocolate, only not tasty. Almost Famous Bootleg Edition is the result of Cameron Crowe's hours of work reediting the film to add content, plus adding extras and commentary - this DVD was done for no other reason than for the fans, the people who will buy this set. The reason the first disc wasn't this 'feature packed' is because Cameron Crowe was a little busy directing a movie, not sitting around all day writing negative Amazon reviews from his parents basement on discs he doesn't even own. Please, ignore this person, buy this DVD, and bring yourself a world of joy.
Rating:
Summary: This UNTITLED DVD is outstanding!!!
Review: I am so glad I decided to hold off on buying the first Almost Famous DVD, finally the moment has arrived when the film is worth buying. The extra features on this DVD make this a must own for anyone who loved, or even enjoyed this film. The 30 minutes added to the overall film really help out the movie as a whole. I always felt the last act of the movie happens to quickly and things kind of got cut away too soon. Not anymore. The movie feels more complete. Some scenes in the theatrical version of the movie are expanded here, and they really add something new to overall feel of the scene. I was afraid that the extra 30 mins, were just some ploy by the studio to slip in a few outtakes or worthless scenes, but that isn't the case. The commentary track on this film is truly one of the best and most enjoyable DVD commentaries out there. It's shamelessly personal and filled with interesting insights by director Cameron Crowe. The 6 song Stillwater cd is a great touch. It really makes Stillwater feel like they were the real thing, and the songs are great! The rest of the features are not exactly things that will blow you away, but they're fun to look at and nice to own. For example, the Cleveland concert from Stillwater. The Rolling Stone artciles written by Mr. Crowe give you a sense of what William Miller articles must have looked like. "The stairway to heaven" on disc 2 might be a little too much for some people. Those who love the song (myself included) and the idea Cameron Crowe was trying to get across in the scene, will find the scene very enjoyable to watch. I recommend this DVD to everyone who loved the theatrical version. If you haven't seen the movie, then WATCH THIS VERSION AND NOT THE THEATRICAL! It's all happening on this DVD :).
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