Plot: What’s it about?
Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell) is a drag queen from East Berlin, but he was born as Hansel and has been through some rough times. As a young man, he fell in love with an American soldier and in order to marry him, he underwent a sex change operation. But the process was botched and he was left with a one inch mound of flesh, as opposed to a penis, vagina, or anything resembling either of those organs. Now some time has passed and Hedwig, with her band The Angry Inch, has embarked on a tour of seafood diners, where she performs her famous tunes and of course, shares some of her life’s woes. At the same time, her former lover and current rock sensation Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt) is also on a tour, but his is more popular, thanks to Hedwig. But Hedwig didn’t mean to propel his career at the expense of her own, it happened by crooked means. When Gnosis left Hedwig, he stole all of her musical numbers and now uses them himself, which is why he has rocketed to fame and Hedwig tours seafood dives. Perhaps Hedwig can find some solace as she pours out her soul, or will she simply find more torment?
The era of the musical has long since passed, but some rare efforts are still made to bring them to the screen, often with miserable results. By the same token, some great ones have also surfaced since the demise of the genre, such as Rocky Horror Picture Show. Although Hedwig and The Angry Inch is in a different vein than that film, it has broken the cycle of poor musicals and proved that good ones can be still be produced. Hedwig played as a stage production for over two years off-Broadway and now has hit the screen, complete with all the trimmings you’d expect from such quirky material. As Hedwig co-creator John Cameron Mitchell serves as writer, director, and lead performer, the same sense of style is brought to this screen adaptation and man, what an effort by Mitchell and his cast & crew here. The word that comes to mind most with this film is unique, as in every aspect of its being, I can’t think of another film that it’s close to, aside from being a musical, of course. I can’t praise this movie enough, it has offbeat & well written characters, excellent musical numbers, terrific performances, a sharply penned batch of dialogue, and wonderful visuals, all tied into one cohesive, enjoyable package. This movie is highly recommended and since New Line has issued a fine Platinum Series disc, this one is marked as of one 2001’s best DVDs, if you ask me.
In the lead here is John Cameron Mitchell, who plays Hedwig with immense skill and supplies a wonderful overall performance. Mitchell has done his share of acting prior to this, with multiple television, screen, and stage efforts, but I think this is his definitive turn, without a shadow of a doubt. He brings Hedwig to life with such energy and passion, which is vital in a film like this, where the main focus is placed on a sole character. As if his acting wasn’t enough to praise, Mitchell also cowrote the story & screenplay for Hedwig and The Angry Inch and made his feature film debut as a director, quite a lot of tasks, to be sure. Even so, Mitchell delivers on all front and as a result, this movie is loaded with charm, dazzling visuals, and memorable characters. You can also see Mitchell in such films as Book of Love, Band of the Hand, David Searching, Higher Education, and Girl 6. The cast also includes Michael Pitt (Tv’s Dawson’s Creek, Finding Forrester), Miriam Shor (Bedazzled, Snow Days), and Stephen Trask, who also served as co-creator.
Video: How does it look?
Hedwig and The Angry Inch is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. As always, New Line has issued a terrific visual presentation and while this was a low budget production, you wouldn’t know it from this transfer. The print used is very clean and shows minimal wear signs, so the visuals look sharp at all times. The film’s lush, intense color scheme is well preserved here, with bold hues and vivid shades throughout, but no bleeds or such in the least, while flesh tones seem natural also. I saw no real flaws with the contrast either, as detail remains high and black levels always seem stark & well balanced. The film’s low budget origins sometimes creep in, but too often and on the whole, this is an excellent visual effort.
Audio: How does it sound?
As this is a music driven picture, I am very pleased that New Line has included 5.1 surround options in both Dolby Digital & DTS here. And as such, the music sounds excellent and better than I ever expected, given the film’s low budget roots. The songs come through in rich, full form at all times, though the surround presence isn’t as distinct as I would like. But this is due to the source material and not these mixes, so there’s no reason to complain too much. The rest of the audio is well presented also, with clean & crisp dialogue and no issues with the sound effects, aside from being a little forced at times, though never to an extreme degree. As far as this material goes, I can’t imagine a better audio treatment and while the DTS holds a slight edge at times, both tracks are very good and should please fans. This disc also includes a 2.0 surround option, as well as optional English subtitles, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
It has been a while since New Line’s last Platinum Series release, but no signs of rust are present, as this is a knockout collection of extras. It all kicks off with an audio commentary track with director John Cameron Mitchell & director of photography Frank De Marco, who provide a chatty and worthwhile session. The two tackle all sorts of topics, but remain on technical issues more than not and while that was a surprise, I wasn’t let down as a result. I do wish Mitchell had talked more about the creation of Hedwig and such, but since there’s an expansive documentary on this disc, perhaps he didn’t want to overlap the information too much. The documentary I mentioned is titled Whether You Like It or Not: The Story of Hedwig and let me assure you, this is one of the finest documentary supplements you’ll ever see. The piece runs around eighty-five minutes and contains minimal fluff, as it takes us on a grand tour of all things Hedwig, to the creation of the character to the stage show to the film’s production and beyond. This is not your usual promo featurette by any means and I wish more studios would watch & learn from this piece, as it is superb in all respects. This disc also includes two deleted scenes (with optional comments from Mitchell & De Marco), some talent files, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
