The running time is 2 hrs. 3 mins..
First off, for those of you that are getting in a huff that this is not your typical war movie, go dig a hole somewhere and bury yourself in it. There is always talk of how movies are all the same, "If you have seen one war movie you have seen them all." So why are people complaining when Jarhead breaks the mold? This movie is not only a phenomenal story it is masterfully told and visually spectacular!
Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes returns to directing and brings with him a more than capable cast and crew with a film that is so underrated it is embarrassing. From the outstanding cinematography of Roger Deakins to the [should have been nominated for an Oscar] original music by Thomas Newman this film spans the gamut when it comes to filmmaking excellence. Jake Gyllenhaal gets nominated for an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain? Did the Academy not see Jarhead? Jake's performance here is light years ahead of his Brokeback performance, on top of that Jamie Foxx once again turns in one hell of a supporting performance as does Peter Sarsgaard. Come on people get aboard this picture and let’s get it to the top of the DVD charts!
So what is the big fuss about this DVD? Well let me first begin by telling you that if you think studios are screwing around when they say they are trying to protect against piracy guess again. This DVD came to me with three watermarked discs! Studios are spending more money protecting themselves and those of you out there forcing them to do such need to quit. Good Lord, spend a dollar and let’s get rid of all this cellophane, stickers and latches on our DVD cases. Does anyone else hate that it takes half-an-hour just to open these damned things? And now studios have to go so far as to put out a ton of watermarked and specially encrypted discs to the press just to protect their investments? I hate the world has come to this but I guess that is the way things go.
Anyway, back to the review.
For those of you interested in the single-disc edition, while you will be getting a fantastic movie and some good special features you aren't getting all the goods, but let's dive into these features first.
Along with the film you will be getting two stellar commentaries. Yes, both of them are good. The first one is with director Sam Mendes and the second one is with screenwriter William Broyles Jr. and author Anthony Swofford, the fella played by Gyllenhaal of which the film is based on. Mendes offers up some really cool comments on the making of the film and the best was definitely once the oil fields are set on fire. You won't believe some of the scenes in this film were shot in studio (not on location) and how much of it was green screen with CG work done by ILM.
Next you get what is described as Swoff's Fantasies. Now these are good, and I wish a couple of them had stayed in the film and despite what Mendes says in his commentary over the clips I think some of them could have, especially the scene where Swoff blows up the shitter with Major Lincoln (Dennis Haysbert) propped on the seat inside. Definitely worth the price of the disc all by itself.
The deleted fantasies are just a taste of the several deleted scenes that were removed from the film and once you get to checking these out the first one you will see is a cool little alternate opening, which starred Sam Rockwell as Swoff's father. Of the 19 minutes of deleted scenes I would say at least half of them I would have liked to have seen back in the picture, there was some good stuff that hit the cutting room floor.
Finally for you "single-discers" you get a look at the full news reels that were shot as the media came to the desert to interview the soldiers. The coolest thing you will learn here is that Mendes actually let the actors adlib most of their lines here. While there was some stuff they were told to say a lot of it was off the top of their heads.
Okay, so that wraps up the single-disc. A lot of stuff, but the best is yet to come.
Easily, the best feature of the bunch and an exclusive to the Collector's Edition is the "Jarhead Diaries" featurette with an introduction by Mendes. Mendes introduces the piece saying how he doesn't really like outsiders on his set filming behind-the-scenes stuff. So, instead of that, he gave the cameras to his cast and crew and came up with some great stuff, the best of which comes when Jamie Foxx is asked what Ray Charles would have been like if he was in the Marines. This is something you need to see for yourself, I can't even do it justice with a written description!
The next two documentaries are a bit different, especially the featurette titled "Semper Fi: Life After the Corps". This feature takes a look at real U.S. Marines and their lives after returning home from Desert Storm. These are some of America's heroes and you will see that these guys never really leave the field of battle.
Finally, the last feature takes a look at the "Background", or extras, as they are cast and learn the ropes and how to be Marines for the feature. It is probably the weakest of the three documentaries, but it is interesting for a once over.
Overall, I love this movie and I loved this DVD. The majority of the good features can all be found on the single-disc edition except for the "Jarhead Diaries" featurette, which I think is the best of the bunch. Either way, this is a DVD you should be adding to your collection and I truly hope this one catches on once it hits the stores. It deserves some recognition.