This review was written by Scott Chitwood
Published on November 30, 2000

George Lucas in Love DVD Review

I (Scott Chitwood) recently got the opportunity to check out the new "George Lucas in Love" DVD. Now I've seen this movie a million times. TFN members have had copies since it was first distributed and I thought I knew the film pretty well. But this DVD was like watching it from a whole new perspective!

The packaging is very professionally done. The cover is pretty spiffy with the Drew Struzan-like artwork. It also appears on the DVD itself. Popping the disc in the player, you're hit with ads for Mediatrip.com. In fact, there's a lot of ads for Mediatrip on this disc, but that's not surprising.

The interactive menus are rather spiffy. Stars fly in the background while the music from the wonderful Deborah Lurie score plays. You can choose to watch the movie as is or with the commentary provided by Joe Nussbaum and Joseph Levy. Their commentary seems a little rushed due to the short running time of the film, but it is jam-packed with info about the production.

You can also watch an "enhanced" version of the film. It has pop up windows that spout trivia about the production. It's kind of like Pop Up Video on VH1. It points out all the elements of parody such as the character look-alikes, plot twists, dialogue, and more. It also points out trivia such as filming in the George Lucas theater at the USC campus, the fact that Lucas wears multiple plaid shirts in the film, and that Lisa Jakub was in Independence Day and Mrs. Doubtfire. One funny bit was that Lucas' dorm room number in the film is 1138. I thought I knew a lot about this film, but this pointed tons of funny and interesting trivia throughout.

Then there's a Behind the Scenes video that talks about the inspiration for the film, how it was made, how the actors were recruited, and more. One of the highlights is hearing Nussbaum and the crew describe Steven Spielberg's reaction while watching if for the first time and finally hearing from George Lucas. It sounds like it was a lot of fun to make and a wild ride!

The DVD has your other standard features such as chapter search and easter eggs. There's also a secret section of the DVD that you need a password from Mediatrip to access. (Hint - look for a letter from George Lucas to the creators inside the secret area.)

Also included on the disc is Evil Hill (a cross between Notting Hill and Austin Powers), Film Club (a parody of Fight Club), and Swing Blade (a cross between Swingers and Slign Blade). All are professionally made and great looking, but not as funny as GLIL.

So is it worth getting? If you're a Star Wars fan (and you probably are), then yes. It's most defintely worth picking up. Is it worth buying if you already have the VHS tape? That depends on if you want the extras. The DVD is the definitive edition, and I thought the extras were worth it.

The DVD is available at Amazon.Com and in many stores where DVDs are sold. I want to thank Mediatrip.Com for sending this copy to review!

 

After reading the review, are you tempted to buy this DVD release? Have you seen George Lucas In Love before (streamed from MediaTrip)? Email us at rebel@theforce.net.

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