Why the Scott Pilgrim Vs The World DVD will make it a cult classic

November 10th, 2010

How did Scott Pilgrim Vs The World kinda, sorta, really tank at the box office back in August?

Despite a smart-as-a-whip viral marketing campaign and strong Comic Con buzz at the end of July, somehow Edgar Wright’s brilliant and clever adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic failed to register with the movie-going public. Perhaps it was holding more preview screenings than normal, which resulted in most die-hards having the ability to see it for free. Or perhaps it was just that as familiar as the cast was there were no marquee names to draw the numbers to beat a film like The Expendables (to which some credit is deserved for casting far too many marquee names, despite the fact that they’re all dinosaurs).

We’ve seen awesome films fail at the box office only to become cult classics with rabid followings. Office Space, Blade Runner, Brazil, Heathers, The Big Lebowski, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Warriors and virtually any film helmed by David Lynch, were all box office disasters that went on to become some of the most treasured films ever put to celluloid thanks to finding a second life through regular midnight screenings or video and DVD sales.

The definition of a cult film (according to Wikipedia) is “a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans.” This is the destiny of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.

While it petered out at just under $32 million (almost half of its $60 million budget), the Blu-ray edition of Scott Pilgrim ~~should be~~ will be what helps it reach cult status. The movie itself is an amazing amalgamation of genres brought to life through the eyes of one of this generation’s finest auteurs. Wright’s unique style of clashing humour and action with an underlying yet crystal clear theme of love helped make Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz both commercial and critical successes. The fact that Scott Pilgrim is a better film bodes well for its future.

O’Malley’s comic centres on Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), an early 20something floater in Toronto who meets the literal girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). There is one hitch though: in order to date her, he’s gotta defeat her seven evil exes, which includes Hollywood’s most in-demand young stud (Chris Evans), a vegan bassist in the world’s coolest rock band (Brandon Routh) and a music/club mogul who invented the mysterious Subspace that first connected Scott to Ramona (played by Jason Schwartzman).

It’s an atypical love story that doesn’t hold back on the flash, using zippy dialogue, jump cuts, video game graphics and in-jokes (a lot of which are in honour of Toronto, where O’Malley lived while he began writing the comic).

Why the Blu-ray edition is what will help give it such a legacy is not just in the super crispy, ultra vivid digital transfer or the speaker-shaking DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, but all of the special features that come. Prepare yourself: there is somewhere between 15 and 20 hours of bonuses, including three (count ‘em), three commentaries, including one with Wright and O’Malley, as well as another with the cast.

Here is a complete list of the Blu-ray’s features (don’t forget to wipe that drool):

-Commentaries:
Director/producer/co-writer Edgar Wright, co-writer Michael Bacall and author Bryan Lee O’Malley
Technical Commentary with director/producer/co-writer Edgar Wright and director of photography Bill Pope
Cast commentary with Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong and Brandon Routh
Cast commentary with Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Kieran Culkin and Mark Webber
-U-Control: Storyboard picture-in-picture (BD-exclusive)
-Trivia track
-Deleted and alternate scenes with commentary from Edgar Wright
-Insider documentaries (BD-exclusive)
-Making of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
-Music Featurette
-You Too Can Be Sex Bob-Omb
-Alternate footage: A special look at alternative edits to the film (BD-exclusive)
-Pre-production: A look inside the film’s pre-production process including storyboards, pre-visualizations, animatics, motion capture tests, rehearsal footage, casting tapes, hair/make-up tests and more (BD-exclusive)
-The Music of Scott Pilgrim vs. the world: including four complete music videos and video remixes from legendary DJ Osymyso (BD-exclusive)
-Visual effects (BD-exclusive)
-Sound work (BD-exclusive)
-Trailers and TV spots (BD-exclusive)
-Scott Pilgrim vs. the Bloopers
-Behind-the-scenes
-Adult Swim™: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation (BD-exclusive) (BD-exclusive)
-Scott Pilgrim vs the Censors: TV-safe version (BD-exclusive)
-Behind-the-scenes production blogs by Edgar Wright from the set of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (BD-exclusive)
-Behind-the-scenes photo galleries including Edgar Wright’s photo blog
-Galleries: production photos, art galleries and marketing concepts
-Pocket Blu (BD-exclusive)
-Advanced Remote Control
-Video Timeline
-Mobile-To-Go
-Virtual Keyboard
-BD-Live