Hedwig and the Angry Inch

MOVIE
VIDEO
AUDIO
EXTRAS
OVERALL

One Disc
Anamorphic 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
English Dolby Digital 5.1
English DTS
English Dolby Digital 2.0
English Subtitles
Run Time: 95 Minutes
Theatrical Trailers
Feature Length Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Select A Song Feature
Cast & Crew Filmographies
Snap Case

MOVIE
Rated R for profanity, nudity and a general sexual theme.

This past January, when it came time to compile my "Best of" list for 2001, I was in a sorry state. Three movies that I knew were most likely going to make my top ten had not yet arrived at a theater near me. The films were Amelie, In The Bedroom and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I managed to catch the first two in the theater, not until well into the new year, however, forcing my top ten to remain one of my many unfinished works in the drawer. Hedwig I missed entirely and then forgot about. Some time in February as I worked to compile the list, I was scanning through my Netflix Recommendations list and found that "Viewers who enjoyed The Rocky Horror Picture Show (as I had) also enjoyed Hedwig and the Angry Inch, so I dropped it into my queue and when it arrived, popped it in, put my arm around Fiancée Willow Rosenberg and enjoyed it more than I ever thought I would.
The film tells the story of Hansel, a young boy in Berlin, on the wrong side of the wall, who met an American Sergeant named Luther (Maurice Dean Wint), and was offered the chance to get out of Berlin via marriage and a sex change operation, taking his mother's name and becoming Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell). The operation is botched and Hedwig is left with "a Barbie doll crotch" just a "one inch mound of flesh" hence, her angry inch. She met a boy named Tommy (Michael Pitt) and with him began a music career. Then, Tommy became Tommy Gnosis and got famous, claiming Hedwig's songs as his own, and Hedwig became "the internationally ignored musical superstar you see barely standing before you."
The film is told in flashbacks as Hedwig and her band, The Angry Inch, tour a line of Pondarosaesque restaurants throughout middle America following the Tommy Gnosis tour. This format allows to keep the stage productions format of Hedwig telling her audience a story and then singing. It's a live concert here and has all the energy and passion of a concert performance with a truly dedicated performer.
A lot has been said comparing Hedwig to Rocky Horror, and it is similar in MANY ways. Both films feature an ambiguously gendered lead who spends much of the movie dressed and acting as a woman. Both feature rock songs and take place somewhere in mid-America while feeling vaguely British. But, they're very different. Rocky Horror is a light and cheesy send-up of fifties "They Came From Outer Space" movies and musicals. Hedwig, while on the surface light and cheesy, campy and fun, has real emotion deep below. When Hedwig is betrayed, you feel it. You hurt for her. You understand her rage and her need to control (thus holding her immigrant band hostage with their passports) and you sympathize.
It's the kind of movie that doesn't wear its weirdness on its sleeve but rather so firmly ingrains it within that you accept the strange things you're seeing and can fully appreciate and enjoy a truly unique film going experience.

VIDEO QUALITY
The film, with its wild colors and extremely varying color palate looks great here, reproduced in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. That being said, the picture looks a bit darker than it ought to be. This makes it difficult to see much of the amazing backgrounds in a few scenes. It's not bad enough to ruin the viewing experience but, after viewing on two separate TVs and finding it to be too dark, I have to take away a cookie.

AUDIO QUALITY
It's always impressive to see a relatively low budget film with a DTS track. Though, with Hedwig, both the DTS and the Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are extremely impressive and worth note. The dialogue, from the screaming songs to the quietest whisper are all audible and clear and the surrounds are used, in part, to amplify the surreality of the film. But, as with any musical, the true shining moments of surround are during the songs. I found the best sound experiences, however, were during the quieter songs like "Wicked Little Town" or "Midnight Radio," enveloping and inviting, friendly and warm. GREAT Audio for Hedwig.

EXTRAS
Man. New Line's not screwing around with their Platinum Series. When they say special edition, they mean SPECIAL EDITION. First and foremost we have a feature length commentary by writer/director John Cameron Mitchell, a friendly and amiable chap very happy with what he's brought to the screen and willing to do his best to bring the listener up to speed on the entire process.
A great companion piece to this commentary, and worth the price of the disc alone, is a feature length documentary called Whether You Like It Or Not: The Story of Hedwig following Hedwig from just an idea in John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's heads, through their tests at a punk/drag bar, through the stage show and its various incarnations (including one with Alley Sheedy as Hedwig!) on to the making of the film. The documentary is engaging and extremely informative, full of interviews with folks who caught Hedwig along the road to fame. Tremendous.
On top of those two items, we also have a handful of deleted scenes which are interesting, yet, like with most films, you can see why they were cut. There's a select a song menu, Cast and Crew Filmographies and the incredible theatrical trailer that hit the tone of the film so well.

CLOSING THOUGHTS
Our culture is evolving. Hedwig is still an oddity that would likely get horrible epithets hurled at her, but we've begun to accept the unusual to the point where we can allow ourselves to love them. The Golden Globes nominated John Cameron Mitchell for best Actor, but, of course The Good Old Stuffy Academy roundly ignored it, despite appearing on many top ten lists from well respected critics. I hope our society continues to evolve. After all, this year I saw Kissing Jessica Stein, an independent lesbian comedy, with an audience of mostly middle aged and older couples who just loved it. Maybe things are changing. Pick up Hedwig, be part of a revolution. Or just enjoy a good movie in the comfort of home.