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Music Of The Heart - Special Edition
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Director Wes Craven has become something of a King for the horror genre with the "Scream" series lately, so he decided to take a little side trip recently to direct the "true story" of "Music Of the Heart". Unfortunately, the film itself is a pretty safe journey; neither terrible nor terribly interesting, the movie is a predictable drama that contains some good performances. Meryl Streep plays Roberta Guaspari, a single parent who finds something worthwhile in life when she's presented with the job of teaching a group of Harlem kids music.
Based on a true story (and also covered in the documentary "Small Wonders", which is also included here), the story itself is an engaging one, but I just wasn't held by this film. The film moves along with a slow pace, but that didn't bother me as much as the way the film moves from scene to scene. The film's conversations and confrontations feel overly dramatic and manufactured; rarely natural. Streep is actually fine, rising above the way the material is presented and giving every scene her all.
It's unfortunate that the movie itself just doesn't build up to much of a whole around her. Angela Bassett is wonderful as usual as the film's principal, but Adian Quinn is quickly gone as a possible relationship for Roberta. Maybe a little more of a subtle touch from the directing down to the music would have made this a more enjoyable picture to sit through. As is, we can almost totally see the plot developments headed our way, from the details of the relationship with Quinn's character to the loss of funding for the music program to the final concert.
Again, I actually didn't mind the performances at all. We're treated to a number of excellent actors including Streep and Bassett, but they aren't given much to do by this plot. The movie simply needs a little bit more snap and energy, and maybe that could have carried me over the more predictable moments.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is a very respectable transfer by Miramax for "Music Of The Heart". Although it's not a movie that's terribly visually interesting, the picture remains clear and clean, looking pleasingly sharp and detailed throughout. Colors do not stand out, with a couple of small exceptions. By intent, the picture seems to be going for a rather rough feel, and the transfer presents that intent.
There are a few small problems that pop up that are noticable, but didn't distract me from the movie. A minor mark or two on the print, and a little bit of shimmering in a couple of places were all that's at fault with the image.
SOUND: The audio for "Music Of The Heart" was really nothing more than what I'd have expected coming in. The musical passages come alive with some great sound and wonderful clarity, but aside from that, the movie closes back in to simply delivering the dialogue in a clear fashion, and to that point, it succeeds.
MENUS:: There should have been a note - "no creativity went into the making of these menus". With no animation and not even any score playing in the background, all we get for the menus on this film is basic shots from the cover art.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from Director Wes Craven and his partner, as well as the film's producer, Marianne Maddelena. While it's not a lively discussion, it does provide many tales about what the actors had to go through to prepare for the musical skills that they had to show in the picture, as well as a number of other stories from the set.
On the subject of musical skills, one of the biggest topics of discussion in this talk is what the kids (as well as Meryl Streep) had to go through to practice to play their instruments, which in the case of Streep, included a number of hours a day of playing with an instructor.
He also talks about a number of other subjects, such as the child actors that he had to work with. Rather than chat about how annoying they probably were(just kidding...), he compliments their performances and talks about their backgrounds. As for adult actors, Craven chats about the work that Streep does in the role, as well as the choices that she made in how to play the character, as well as how she would look. It was the first movie as well for Gloria Estefan, and we're told about her first days of work on the movie.
The producer leaves early on in the commentary, leaving Craven to talk on his own about the film. He does a fair job keeping the discussion moving, purposely pausing in some places to let the scene play, while other long pauses seem like simply silence. Overall, I thought parts of the commentary were alright, but it's not a track I'd listen to again.
Deleted Scenes: With or without commentary from director Wes Craven, viewers can choose to watch a number of scenes deleted from the movie, mainly due to the fact that the film's time had to be cut to a certain length. The commentary from Craven is quite good during these scenes, giving us in-depth details about how these scenes were shot and why they were deleted. He even talks about the fact that he likes the fact that DVD can offer these scenes that people might otherwise not see. All in all, there's about 10 and a half minutes of deleted scenes that this DVD offers.
Featurette: A fairly interesting featurette that is fairly "promotional" in nature, with some behind-the-scenes looks at the production at work, as well as the kids preparing to play their music. Interviews with everyone involved are included as well, including Streep, Quinn, and Craven, who talks in detail about how the project came into his control from Miramax, as well as his reasons behind chosing to do it.
Behind-the-Scenes - Scoring: This lets the viewer into the recording sessions with composer Maison Derrick, as he directs the tone and other elements that went into the music of "Music Of the Heart".
Music Video: The music video for "Music Of My Heart" by N'Sync and Gloria Estefan, as well as a featurette about the making of the music video.
Behind The Scenes At Carnegie Hall: Without much discussion, this featurette simply lets us watch as the scene is being filmed. It's interesting to watch all of what is going on behind-the-scenes without any narration, and I enjoyed this small addition.
Wisdom/Soundbites: Short discussions on music from various musicians.
Deleted Score Scenes:3 scenes from the movie that have the original score that was taken out for the final movie.
Also On Disc 1: The theatrical trailer, cast/crew bios and musician bios.
"Small Wonders": On the 2nd DVD included, there is the original documentary "Small Wonders", which does a more natural and more successful job of tracing the history of Roberta Guaspari's story. Because it's a documentary of the story we saw in "Music Of the Heart", we are allowed to see the events as they unfolded and spend time with the real characters that were found in "Music Of The Heart". I suppose if you want to see what Hollywood did with the story, and then see the reality, this disc provides that opportunity. Personally, I was more engaged with this tale when I was watching the real thing on this documentary.
The picture quality is fair at best, with a soft image and some additional artifacts that are somewhat distracting, but the picture is not unwatchable. The sound quality is basic, but pleasing, with a clean and clear but unremarkable sound that presents the music adequately.
Final Thoughts: If you were a fan of "Music Of The Heart", you'll probably love this 2 DVD set that tells you everything that you would need to know about the story behind the film. While I didn't care that much for the commentary, I really liked the fact that Miramax has included "Small Wonders" on the second disc of this 2 DVD set. While I think this is generally a good effort from Miramax, I didn't care enough for the main film itself to recommend $39.99 on this special edition disc. A $34.99 retail price would likely be more acceptable.
Director Wes Craven has become something of a King for the horror genre with the "Scream" series lately, so he decided to take a little side trip recently to direct the "true story" of "Music Of the Heart". Unfortunately, the film itself is a pretty safe journey; neither terrible nor terribly interesting, the movie is a predictable drama that contains some good performances. Meryl Streep plays Roberta Guaspari, a single parent who finds something worthwhile in life when she's presented with the job of teaching a group of Harlem kids music.
Based on a true story (and also covered in the documentary "Small Wonders", which is also included here), the story itself is an engaging one, but I just wasn't held by this film. The film moves along with a slow pace, but that didn't bother me as much as the way the film moves from scene to scene. The film's conversations and confrontations feel overly dramatic and manufactured; rarely natural. Streep is actually fine, rising above the way the material is presented and giving every scene her all.
It's unfortunate that the movie itself just doesn't build up to much of a whole around her. Angela Bassett is wonderful as usual as the film's principal, but Adian Quinn is quickly gone as a possible relationship for Roberta. Maybe a little more of a subtle touch from the directing down to the music would have made this a more enjoyable picture to sit through. As is, we can almost totally see the plot developments headed our way, from the details of the relationship with Quinn's character to the loss of funding for the music program to the final concert.
Again, I actually didn't mind the performances at all. We're treated to a number of excellent actors including Streep and Bassett, but they aren't given much to do by this plot. The movie simply needs a little bit more snap and energy, and maybe that could have carried me over the more predictable moments.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is a very respectable transfer by Miramax for "Music Of The Heart". Although it's not a movie that's terribly visually interesting, the picture remains clear and clean, looking pleasingly sharp and detailed throughout. Colors do not stand out, with a couple of small exceptions. By intent, the picture seems to be going for a rather rough feel, and the transfer presents that intent.
There are a few small problems that pop up that are noticable, but didn't distract me from the movie. A minor mark or two on the print, and a little bit of shimmering in a couple of places were all that's at fault with the image.
SOUND: The audio for "Music Of The Heart" was really nothing more than what I'd have expected coming in. The musical passages come alive with some great sound and wonderful clarity, but aside from that, the movie closes back in to simply delivering the dialogue in a clear fashion, and to that point, it succeeds.
MENUS:: There should have been a note - "no creativity went into the making of these menus". With no animation and not even any score playing in the background, all we get for the menus on this film is basic shots from the cover art.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from Director Wes Craven and his partner, as well as the film's producer, Marianne Maddelena. While it's not a lively discussion, it does provide many tales about what the actors had to go through to prepare for the musical skills that they had to show in the picture, as well as a number of other stories from the set.
On the subject of musical skills, one of the biggest topics of discussion in this talk is what the kids (as well as Meryl Streep) had to go through to practice to play their instruments, which in the case of Streep, included a number of hours a day of playing with an instructor.
He also talks about a number of other subjects, such as the child actors that he had to work with. Rather than chat about how annoying they probably were(just kidding...), he compliments their performances and talks about their backgrounds. As for adult actors, Craven chats about the work that Streep does in the role, as well as the choices that she made in how to play the character, as well as how she would look. It was the first movie as well for Gloria Estefan, and we're told about her first days of work on the movie.
The producer leaves early on in the commentary, leaving Craven to talk on his own about the film. He does a fair job keeping the discussion moving, purposely pausing in some places to let the scene play, while other long pauses seem like simply silence. Overall, I thought parts of the commentary were alright, but it's not a track I'd listen to again.
Deleted Scenes: With or without commentary from director Wes Craven, viewers can choose to watch a number of scenes deleted from the movie, mainly due to the fact that the film's time had to be cut to a certain length. The commentary from Craven is quite good during these scenes, giving us in-depth details about how these scenes were shot and why they were deleted. He even talks about the fact that he likes the fact that DVD can offer these scenes that people might otherwise not see. All in all, there's about 10 and a half minutes of deleted scenes that this DVD offers.
Featurette: A fairly interesting featurette that is fairly "promotional" in nature, with some behind-the-scenes looks at the production at work, as well as the kids preparing to play their music. Interviews with everyone involved are included as well, including Streep, Quinn, and Craven, who talks in detail about how the project came into his control from Miramax, as well as his reasons behind chosing to do it.
Behind-the-Scenes - Scoring: This lets the viewer into the recording sessions with composer Maison Derrick, as he directs the tone and other elements that went into the music of "Music Of the Heart".
Music Video: The music video for "Music Of My Heart" by N'Sync and Gloria Estefan, as well as a featurette about the making of the music video.
Behind The Scenes At Carnegie Hall: Without much discussion, this featurette simply lets us watch as the scene is being filmed. It's interesting to watch all of what is going on behind-the-scenes without any narration, and I enjoyed this small addition.
Wisdom/Soundbites: Short discussions on music from various musicians.
Deleted Score Scenes:3 scenes from the movie that have the original score that was taken out for the final movie.
Also On Disc 1: The theatrical trailer, cast/crew bios and musician bios.
"Small Wonders": On the 2nd DVD included, there is the original documentary "Small Wonders", which does a more natural and more successful job of tracing the history of Roberta Guaspari's story. Because it's a documentary of the story we saw in "Music Of the Heart", we are allowed to see the events as they unfolded and spend time with the real characters that were found in "Music Of The Heart". I suppose if you want to see what Hollywood did with the story, and then see the reality, this disc provides that opportunity. Personally, I was more engaged with this tale when I was watching the real thing on this documentary.
The picture quality is fair at best, with a soft image and some additional artifacts that are somewhat distracting, but the picture is not unwatchable. The sound quality is basic, but pleasing, with a clean and clear but unremarkable sound that presents the music adequately.
Final Thoughts: If you were a fan of "Music Of The Heart", you'll probably love this 2 DVD set that tells you everything that you would need to know about the story behind the film. While I didn't care that much for the commentary, I really liked the fact that Miramax has included "Small Wonders" on the second disc of this 2 DVD set. While I think this is generally a good effort from Miramax, I didn't care enough for the main film itself to recommend $39.99 on this special edition disc. A $34.99 retail price would likely be more acceptable.
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