REVIEW/THOUGHTS [MOVIE-RELATED] -- Swiss Army Man (Blu-Ray/DVD Extra Content)

**I already blogged about Swiss Army Man back in August, but with its recent release on Blu-Ray / DVD, I just had to blog about it again. I'll be briefly covering the Blu-Ray / DVD Extra Content.**
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Format Watched [Specific Edition, if any]: Blu-Ray

Approx. Runtime: 97 minutes (1 hours, 37 minutes)
Language Watched: English

Other Language(s) Available: No (Spanish subtitles available)

DVD Extra Content? Yes

Type of Movie: Comedy, Drama, Philosophical

OVERALL IMPRESSION

After watching it in theatres way back in August, it took a couple days for Swiss Army Man to completely win me over. Now it is one of my all-time favourite movies. Now that I know what it's trying to express, I love it with every inch of my being. Ahhh ~~ I am so happy that a movie like this exists! <3

"REVIEW" LINK

Here's the link to my "review" of Swiss Army Man. It is spoiler-filled except for the "Personal Standing" and "Overall Thoughts" sections: https://ironixgirl.blogspot.ca/2016/08/thoughts-movie-swiss-army-man-spoilers.html

BLU-RAY / DVD EXTRA CONTENT

While I enjoyed all the extra content on the Blu-Ray / DVD, I really could have done with more! What's there is quite standard stuff, but it is still very interesting, especially the "Behind the Scenes" and the "Audio Commentary". I just think a Swiss Army Man fan would want more -- of everything! lol :)

AUDIO COMMENTARY (movie length)

This commentary was done by both directors (Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan -- a.k.a. the Daniels), production designer Jason Kisardav, and sound mixer/fartist Brent Kiser. I really enjoyed this commentary. The Daniels have such a casual, laid-back tone when talking. Quite often, they would briefly describe how certain scenes were shot. It is totally worth checking out.

BEHIND THE SCENES (16.5 mins)

This segment really could have been much longer! Since most of the effects in Swiss Army Man are practical (i.e. not computer-generated), they could have talked about or showed at length all the "solutions" that kept the scenes practical. Granted, much of this segment was that, but -- I just wanted more, lol. I also would have liked more coverage on the various sets.

It was interesting to find out that four versions of the Manny dummy (Daniel Radcliffe's character) were created, each serving a different purpose in the movie.

Daniel Radcliffe carrying one of his dummies.

Various crew people prepping / checking one of the Manny dummies.

MAKING MANNY (3 mins)

I've actually seen this months ago. It is a featurette on A24's Youtube channel. It is a quick look at the process of making the Manny dummies.

If you haven't yet watched the movie, I wonder if the very 

last part of this video would make you wonder, "What? Talk about what???" Lol.

DELETED SCENES (9.5 mins)

There were only a couple deleted scenes, one shot scene but using an alternate music track, and footage of one actor coaching another actor with their lines. Thankfully none of the deleted scenes were vital plot points or character reveals, but they were interesting.

Q&A WITH THE FILM MAKERS (66 mins)

I'm not exactly sure when this took place (maybe during the Sundance festival?), but it is an interview with the Daniels, Brent Kiser, and the composers Robert McDowell and Andy Hull. The interview was done by Dolby, most likely because Swiss Army Man received the 2016 Dolby Family Sound Fellowship, a grant to assist with sound design / production.

Aside from the bits of praise for Dolby Atmos (since it is an interview from Dolby, I can't help but feel there could be some bias involved there), the interview was focused on sound design / composition, which was very neat.

One amusing bit was learning that some of the singing performances had to be "toned down" to be closer to the character's "singing potential".

SET UP: MUSIC-LESS MOVIE WITH INTRO FROM THE FILM MAKERS (movie length)

This wasn't a special feature, but was an audio selection in the "Set Up" section. If you select this option and then play the movie, you will be able to watch the movie with ALL MUSIC TRACKS REMOVED. I personally would have missed this option if I wasn't curious what Swiss Army Man image was used in the "Set Up" section.

The intro from the Daniels just explains why they included this option: pretty much for the heck of it! Lol. They go on to say that watching the movie without the music is quite ruining, but also makes certain scenes very ridiculous and funny. They also say to experience the movie WITH MUSIC FIRST, lol.

I bit the bullet and tried this option out. For the most part, the movie was still okay since acting, writing, cinematography are still strong. Any scene where music was used to enhance the atmosphere, though, suffered a lot, and was pretty amusing. The montage scene is... hahaha.

I wouldn't say this is a must-experience, but I do like that this option is available.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Swiss Army Man -- I highly recommend checking out the DVD or Blu-Ray. There are some amusing Extra Content and the movie itself is just plain awesome. Below are a couple Swiss Army Man-related interviews that I really enjoy. They have spoilers so only check them out if you have already watched the movie.

An interview with the Daniels by Q on CBC. I think they describe 

the movie's origin and core very well here.

An interview with the Daniels by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. This is where 

I first learned of the term "fartist". I really like their story of 

getting permission to use John Williams' score.

Thanks for reading! Happy Thanksgiving weekend to those in Canada and till next time! :)