![]() Bill Murray’s bit looks like it was shot while he was on location in Japan making “Lost in Translation ” he insisted on doing his interview under black light. Personally, that seems like a great way to ensure actors and directors won’t do interviews for bonus features anymore.Īimed more at casual fans, “Stars & Stripes” offers up the usual trivia about the film’s conception and production (for example, it was originally a Cheech and Chong vehicle) and features plenty of interviews with the principal cast gushing over each other’s performances and how so-and-so was destined to be a star. My understanding is that any length under half an hour means the studio doesn’t have to pay the participants, so they get around that by splitting documentaries into different sections. The included documentary runs about an hour but is split into two parts. The rest of the track is fun, but it’s really only worth it if you’re a big fan of the film. They mention some outtakes that are nowhere to be found on this disc-I assume they were cut for space, since everything is crammed onto one disc. ![]() If you want to listen to the commentary track with director Ivan Reitman and co-screenwriter Dan Goldberg, you’ll have to watch the extended version. For whatever reason, this DVD’s producer decided to mark the beginning and end of each inserted scene if you watch the extended version. You can also watch all six additional scenes separately, if you prefer the theatrical version. And that’s saying a lot for a film that doesn’t unfold the story so much as simply throw its characters into one goofy situation after another. However, a later scene in which the two of them sneak aboard a transport plane for some unknown reason and wind up paratrooping into enemy territory is a nonsensical addition to the plot. For example, the first deleted scene, which shows Winger selling the idea of the Army to Ziskey, helps explain the abrupt jump in the theatrical version from them talking about it to them suddenly showing up at a recruiting station. It restores about 18 minutes of deleted footage, a hit-or-miss process. This DVD includes an extended cut of the film that can be viewed via seamless branching. Since I was born in 1970, that was a highlight for me whenever I caught this one on HBO as a teenager. (Don’t forget the Cold War was going on while this was made.) Oh, and plenty of naked breasts are exposed along the way. Never one to stay out of trouble, after boot camp he and some of his fellow soldiers wind up in East Germany and almost cause World War III in the process. He convinces his buddy, Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis, sporting very 70s hair), to enlist with him, and soon he runs afoul of the overbearing Sgt. The story starts with John Winger’s decision to join the Army after he loses his job (well, he basically quits after becoming fed up with it), his car and his girlfriend, all in one day. ![]() After all, it caught not only Murray in the early stages of his career but also John Laroquette as the childish Captain Stillman, John Candy as Dewey “Ox” Oxburger and even Sean Young as an MP who becomes a potential love interest. Sure, there’s plenty of sophomoric humor on display here, and, yeah, the story doesn’t always make a lot of sense, but it’s a fun ride full of great character actors. ![]() Hell, I bet if you went back in time with copies of “The Life Aquatic…” and “Lost in Translation” and showed them to the 1981 Bill Murray, he’d probably respond with “What the hell happened to me?” I can’t imagine he was thinking about such roles back then.īut back to “Stripes.” As goofy 80s comedies go, this one is right up there with “Better Off Dead,” “The Blues Brothers” and other classics of the genre. ![]()
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