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Tootsie - 25th Anniversary Edition by Sydney Pollack
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DVD Cover InformationActor: Charles Durning, Dabney Coleman, Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr Director: Sydney Pollack Brand: Sony DVD: Region Code 99 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.0; Spanish (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.20:1 Running Time: 116 minutes DVD Release Date: 2008-02-05 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of Tootsie - 25th Anniversary EditionMovie Review: Tootsie - 25th dvd review - Bill Murrays best role? Summary: 5 StarsWonderful little package!
When Tootsie came out on dvd (up to that point I had the video, the soundtrack on cassette and possibly the sheet music) I was bitterly disappointed by the lack of extras..
Or should I say the extra - a trailer for the film..
So I'm pleasantly surprised with the 25th aniversary release of this film (February 2008 released). Ok, the deleted scenes aren't much cop (5 brief scenes - mention of "Terry Bishop" but not much else - Terry Bishop we learn is Michael's old roommate who took his role on The Iceman Cometh, which is why Michael was so furious and had to see his agent early on in the movie..
Ok - well, what can you say? One of the best films ever made? with an unbilled Bill Murray (Jeff) (not listed in the credits! what gives?!) I remember reading in one of Roger Ebert's reviews or something how Bill didn't ask for a credit. He very nearly steals the film!
He's kind of a Greek Chorus, commenting on the action here and there, very wittily too I might add: "You slut!"
It probably is the best film he has ever been in. Rushmore is great but the replay factor isn't so great as Tootsie's.
What I like most about this package is that theres an hour long Making of Tootsie. This is the best bonus feature on this dvd (the deleted scenes are about 10 minutes, not really watching more than once to be honest; and theres a few minutes of Dustin Hoffman's screen tests as Dorothy Michael, fairly early on?)
But quite a lot of interesting stuff gets covered - first, the script.. It went through many different hands, lotta different perspectives. An (uncredited) woman writer fleshed out the female characters (Sandy (Teri Garr), etc))
You get Dabney Coleman, Jessica Lange, Dustin Hoffman, Teri Garr talking about the film, and its clear they absolutely love it, thoroughly enjoyed their time acting in it, that it was just a breeze to do so. Hoffman's talking about his alter ego Dorothy, and you can tell hes very close to her, discussing who she was and what made her tick (and how she would have a difficult time finding a love, in his opinion, cos she really wasn't physically attractive, which upset him when talking it over with his wife)
WELL worth watching, this making of..
Back to Bill Murray - probably his best role. I know its a supporting character, and hes only in it here and there, but hes really quite wonderful. The voice of sanity throughout the film: "Do not do this!" he tells Michael at one point when hes about to go away with Julie upstate, eating lemons (a detail which makes for a richer film, though of course it makes no sense, and noone knew Bill would be eating them in that shot.. Murray seems to have had the filmmakers in thrall - at one point its mentioned how Murray was pissed off with his room in the apartment in the film and TRASHED IT!
The apartment is on 17th street, which is an interesting detail - as this is a New York City film. The Russian Tearoom is where Dorothy accosts his agent of course. You get the action of the film ending on a street with passers by, very rich detail. Very moving stuff. You totally buy into the reality of the film because it looks so real. The apartment kitchen is tiny, hardly a mirror to look at yourself into, wonderful improvised scene with Sandy there..
I remember watching this on laserdisc.. I don't still have laserdisc, but I think the picture quality is better than the old video (widescreen of course, with subtitles if you like)
The music is lovely (sadly the soundtrack cd is out of print and only available as a Japanese import). And Dabney Coleman plays a jerk so wonderfully! "Tootsie take ten!"
A few bits were late additions to the film, curiously: Jeff's rambling on at the party in the beginning (where hes rambling on about wanting to open a play "only when it rains"); Michael Dorsey's teaching of actors (actually, he was addressing actual acting students.. this undoubtedly adds to the films reality)
The film could've gone wrong so many ways. Dustin could have looked perfectly ridiculous in drag (he does mention Some Like It Hot as reference, another wonderful screwball comedy). But the story if affecting, the support work is wonderful. (Jeff is a GIFT to an actor - rather like Shakespeare's Mercutio)
Summary of Tootsie - 25th Anniversary EditionMichael Dorsey is a talented actor, but his demanding nature and stubborn temperament have antagonized every producer in New York. Now his agent insists no one will hire him. But Michael needs money - eight thousand dollars to be exact - and to earn it, he's willing to play the role of a lifetime. Dustin Hoffman stars with Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray and Geena Davis in director Sydney Pollack's heart-filled classic that heralded a new era of Hollywood wig-flipping and set a new standard for unpredictable laugh-out-loud comedy. One of the touchstone movies of the 1980s, Tootsie stars Dustin Hoffman as an out-of-work actor who disguises himself as a dowdy, middle-aged woman to get a part on a hit soap opera. The scheme works, but while he/she keeps up the charade, Hoffman's character comes to see life through the eyes of the opposite sex. The script by Larry Gelbart (with Murray Schisgal) is a winner, and director Sydney Pollack brings taut proficiency to the comedy and sensitivity to the relationship nuances that emerge from Hoffman's drag act. Great supporting work from Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray, and pre-stardom Geena Davis. But the film finally belongs to Hoffman, who seems to connect with the character at a very deep and abiding level. --Tom Keogh
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