{"id":30822,"date":"2019-03-26T18:35:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T22:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=30822"},"modified":"2019-03-26T18:40:20","modified_gmt":"2019-03-26T22:40:20","slug":"get-shorty-1995-collectors-edition-blu-ray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/26\/get-shorty-1995-collectors-edition-blu-ray\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Shorty (1995): Collector\u2019s Edition [Blu-Ray]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019m one of those people that always saw many of the Elmore Leonard cinematic adaptations very dull and often painfully smug in their cooler than thou attitudes (\u201cJackie Brown\u201d excluded). \u201cGet Shorty\u201d attempts to mix gangster cinema, with Hollywood satire and neither of it is ever quite as interesting as its think it is. \u201cGet Shorty,\u201d even at its darkest, is never quite as clever or immensely cynical about filmmaking as Robert Altman\u2019s \u201cThe Player.\u201d It proves it with a climax that\u2019s more of an ending based on a more comedic look at the filmmaking process rather than the dark world void of creativity it can be and often is.<\/p>\n

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John Travolta plays Chili Palmer, a mobster in Miami who is sent to Hollywood by his new boss, the vicious and violent \u201cBones\u201d to collect a debt from screenwriter and producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman). Zimm specializes in terrible horror movies, and owes a lot of money to many bad people. When Chili meets Harry, he begins taking a liking for his wife Karen (Rene Russo), a B movie actress. While pitching his own idea for a movie to Harry, Chili begins working with him to get his movie made, and work toward taking out both Chili and Harry\u2019s problems. Through this they\u2019re secretly trying to get their movie made with the help of a big movie star.<\/p>\n

A lot of \u201cGet Shorty\u201d attempts to be very meta but it comes off way too clumsy, with jokes that tend to drop on the spot. Travolta is far fetched and miscast as an Italian mobster and the screenwriter tends to draw attention to that fact, such as when Chili asks out Rene Russo\u2019s character to see \u201cTouch of Evil\u201d insisting they go watch Charlton Heston \u201cbe Mexican.\u201d The efforts at self-awareness fail to register as anything other than a movie packed with flaws acknowledging them. There\u2019s also the running gag of James Gandolfini\u2019s side character consistently being beaten up, which feels like a limp running gag after the first instance, and then becomes sad when he\u2019s transformed in to a sympathetic anti-hero mid-way. \u201cGet Shorty\u201d aims toward unfolding as a neo-noir, when often times it feels like Barry Sonnenfeld offering up his own \u201cPulp Fiction\u201d ensemble piece (\u201cBe Cool\u201d is further evidence).<\/p>\n

Travolta leads with the obvious nod to the Tarantino\u2019s crime comedy, along with a large cast of folks like Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Dennis Farina, and ironically a cameo from Harvey Keitel. For all intents and purposes, the cast is stellar, with Farina and Hackman bringing in great turns. I also enjoyed the short walk ons by Danny DeVito and Bette Midler as a modern cinema sex siren. That said, though, any kind of tension or suspense is accidental, pushed aside in favor of a lot of characters attempting to double cross each other in an effort for self preservation. \u201cGet Shorty\u201d has aged poorly as a pseudo-\u201cPulp Fiction\u201d that uses Hollywood as a platform for its crime story. I just couldn\u2019t finish it without continuously considering that \u201cThe Player\u201d just confronted the concept so much better.<\/p>\n

The Collector\u2019s Edition features an audio Commentary with Director Barry Sonnenfeld<\/strong>, which includes some interesting anecdotes from Sonnenfeld. Look At Me<\/strong> is a twenty six minute featurette from 2004 focusing on the characters played by Travolta, Hackman, an DeVito respectively. Wiseguys And Dolls<\/strong> is a twenty minute segment from 2004 focused on the respective characters played by Delroy Lindo, Russo, and Farina, along with a look at the film\u2019s action and violence. Going Again!<\/strong> Is a five minute look at the scene where Travolta meets DeVito\u2019s character and the improv that didn\u2019t make the film\u2019s final cut.<\/p>\n

Get Shorty<\/strong><\/em> Party Reel<\/strong> is a so-so five minute gag reel, Page-To-Screen Of <\/strong>Get Shorty<\/strong><\/em> is a twenty nine minute episode of the Bravo Channel show hosted by Peter Gallagher looking at the behind the scenes production of the film. There are six minutes of Vignettes<\/strong>, which includes four various interviews with Sonnenfeld and DeVito. There\u2019s the single deleted scene entitled The Graveyard scenes, with an introduction by Sonnenfeld and actor Ben Stiller. Finally there\u2019s the film\u2019s original theatrical trailer<\/strong> presented in HD. The Collector\u2019s Edition comes with Reversible Cover Art<\/strong> with the original poster if you want to switch from Shout\u2019s new cover art.<\/p>\n