Clerks (Three-Disc 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition)

Product Description Miramax Home Entertainment is proud to present this amazing, three-disc collector's set that includes two versions of the original indie classic, a killer, brand-new, 90-minute documentary -- "Snowball Effect: The Story Of CLERKS," and more never-before-seen bonus material than you can shake a salsa shark at! Additional Features Aimed squarely at its most devoted fans, the 10th anniversary DVD of Clerks is jam-packed with entertaining retrospective features. Kevin Smith's $27,000 film turned into one of the great legends of independent filmmaking, so it's only fitting that "Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks" should be almost as long as the film itself, chronicling the film's rags-to-riches history in inspirational and often hilarious detail, from ominous flooding in Smith's New Jersey hometown as filming was about to commence, to the film's dream-like discovery at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994. The "10th Anniversary Q&A" is almost as good, since it reunites the entire cast and primary crew for an amusing, heartfelt, and occasionally confrontational reunion, including an on-stage reconciliation between Smith and cast member Jeff ("Randal") Anderson, who had fought over Anderson's claim to a cut of Clerks profits. (Smith admits he was wrong.) While the 10th anniversary commentary (with Smith, producer Scott Mosier, and costars Brian O'Halloran, Anderson, and Jason Mewes) is mostly a rambling waste of time, the archival materials are extensive and fun, amounting to what is essentially a scrapbook (including Smith's personal journals) about one of the scrappiest success stories of the 1990s. The "first cut" is appropriately rough (it was mastered from a VHS tape), but it gives Smith's loyal followers a chance to see the original, slightly longer version of Clerks that attracted so much enthusiastic attention among influential indie-film promoters in late 1993. Overall, this three-disc set is a valentine to do-it-yourself filmmakers everywhere, offering that crucial glimmer of hope that Smith's good fortune could happen again, to anyone with a camera and a dream. --Jeff Shannon