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Live From New York: The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live
Given that "Saturday Night Live" seems to be constantly taking flak for sucking these days (everyone wave to Horatio Sanz!), it's no wonder that the recent spate of "SNL"-themed memorabilia deals with the show's glory years, when the cast was lauded, not derided and when applying the moniker "The Beatles of Comedy" was not merely gilding the lily. In 1975, Canadian expat and comedy writer Lorne Michaels created a timely fusion of up-to-the-minute variety show and improvisation sketch comedy by bringing "Saturday Night" (later changed to "Saturday Night Live") to NBC's struggling weekend night.
The first cast – Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner – reads like a who's who of American comedy circa the late Seventies. Bursting at the seams with talent and determination, these "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" took the world by storm and revolutionized TV comedy – and its boundaries as well as helping catapult little-known comics into the spotlight.
Taking a cue from Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller's excellent oral history, "Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live," writer/director Kenneth Bowser's Live From New York: The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live, originally broadcast on NBC on February 20, 2005, is a smart mix of talking heads, well-chosen music clips and a willingness to embrace some of the more salacious stories that have long circulated about the early days of "SNL."
Running almost 90 minutes, Bowser eschews narration or title cards, preferring to let most of the major players, crew and guest hosts do the talking, as well as indulging viewers in an ample collection of vintage sketches. There's a wealth of interview footage and not surprisingly, some of the key cast members (Jane Curtin in particular) are absent. John Belushi's widow, Judith, speaks on his behalf and no one really speaks up for Gilda Radner, but almost everyone else is represented. Taken in tandem with the Shales & Miller book (which is arguably more clear-eyed and truly uncensored than this documentary), one can get a really sharp sense of the hedonistic madness that fueled the first half-decade of this late-night TV comedy institution.
The DVDThe Video:
Live From New York: The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live is presented in a clean, crisp 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen image, as originally broadcast on NBC. The archival footage is understandably worn, but the new interview segments look very sharp.
The Audio:Dolby 2.0 stereo is the only option included and it serves its purpose – all dialogue is heard clearly and even the music snippets pack a little bit of punch. A very well-done mix.
The Extras:To look at the case, it would seem as though very little bonus material is included, but such is not the case – a documentary titled "Live From New York: The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live ... The Rest of the Story" runs nearly as long as the feature itself at one hour, seven minutes. "The Rest of the Story" hits some of the points not touched upon in the feature, as well as further fleshing out some of the stories told or alluded to. It's a great companion piece, although I'm curious as to why this footage couldn't have been re-integrated for the DVD release.
Final Thoughts:Those unfamiliar with the origins of "Saturday Night Live" would do well to check out this entertaining and somewhat informative documentary – it's not nearly as raw and gritty as maybe some would like, but if it's dirt you're after, then by all means, check out the Shales & Miller oral history. Recommended.
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