Synopsis:

Bob Roberts is the story of a fascist folk singer's rise to political power on a tide of demagoguery and Hitler-esque devotion on the part of his rabid followers. Filmed like a documentary, Bob Roberts takes us to Bob's hometown state of Pennsylvania where we follow him from campaign events to fundraisers. Filled with folk songs, music videos and a great deal of scandal, Bob Roberts will change the way you look at American politics.

Audio/Video:

Artisan Entertainment really goes out of its way to provide top-drawer discs in the way of extras and transfer quality. Bob Roberts is an incredible example of this. For starters there are three audio commentaries. Audio Commentary one is provided by Tim Robbins, the creative genius behind Bob Roberts. He points out just about everything you can think of in the film. Additionally, he provides an incredibly good commentary on the intricacies of the film. Actually, I found listening to the film with his commentary to be better than listening to the actual audio for the feature. Audio Commentary Two is done by Tim Robbins & Gore Vidal. Gore has an incredible perspective to speak from, as his Grandfather was a senator & Gore use to accompany him to the senate floor. His insights into the political process coupled with Robbins' quips make for a great aural experience. Audio Commentary Three is provided by political editors Alex Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair. The whole of their commentary deals with the actual political dramas of the time, primarily the Iran/Contra affair and the transformation of Oliver North from a treasonous officer guilty of High crimes and Misdemeanors to a man who was only "following orders". While interesting, their comments pale in comparison to the best commentary by far which is the first one provided by Tim Robbins. It's actually a far better film with the first commentary track running as opposed to the audio track for the film. The overall audio platform used is a 2.0 presentation that for the most part is rather flat. There is no depth to the audio experience and much like it's video presentation, the audio flounders between fair and poor. The video for the film is shown in a full frame presentation that for the most part had a fair amount of grain and flecking. The transfer for the disc is not terrible but it's imagery again is best identified as a first generation VHS copy rather than the stark, pristine imagery generally present on DVD. The flesh tones were rather pallid and the blacks showed a fair degree of shimmer and pixellation. Overall, the level of chroma noise in the film's transfer was far more than average and made for a fair/poor presentation of the film's video content.

Extras:

The extras on the disc are plentiful. There are deleted scenes that run without a commentary from the director and tend to be long and not at all a benefit for the film. A theatrical trailer for the film as well as TV spots, a photo gallery cast & crew information and the ever-present production notes round out the Extras segment. Then menus are somewhat difficult to navigate. Again, the theme of the film is a political campaign documentary and the menus are themed in that regard.

Overall:

I have mixed feelings about this film. IMHO, "A Face in the Crowd" starring Andy Griffith in his debut performance with Walter Matthau is the definitive political demagoguery film. In comparison, this film is not even close. What it does have in its corner is the wit and genius of Tim Robbins. In order for you to enjoy the film you'd have to have something of a bent toward the political and all the absurdity that politics/politicians eventually become. I found it disappointing that the film was unbearable without the commentary track from Robbins. While I though the concept was great, the execution left me wanting. I don't believe A face in the crowd is currently available on DVD so, I'd have to point you to its VHS edition before I could recommend watching this disc. Skip it.