Rating: 
Country: USA
Release Date: June 6, 2006
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Director:
· Doug Liman
Cast:
· Brad Pitt
· Angelina Jolie
· Vince Vaughn
Related Sites:
· IMDb: Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Grade: A-
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DVD Review: Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Unrated)
by R.J. Carter
Published: June 5, 2006
"Unrated". In the DVD release world, the word carries with it the burgeoning promise of salacious material that the powers that be known as "they" refused to let you see in the theaters. And when the lead actors in question are beautiful people Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, that couple who dominate the news by performing together a miracle that no one in history has ever accomplished before (i.e. conceiving a child), that promise seems even greater.
Let me burst that bubble for you know before moving on: the extra five minutes added to the running time of this film are far from turning it into "Last Tango in Paris". The love scenes inserted into the film may be steamy, but they're hardly scorching, nor do they affect the original story a bit.
If you somehow missed the original release of the DVD, the plot revolves around two assassins who each work for competing "Man from U.N.C.L.E." types of agencies. They just happen to be man and wife, neither knowing the other's secret. When they each get assigned to the same case, however, they are set at odds. Each believes the other has played them for a sucker for the past five years, that it was strictly business -- which probably accounts for why the marital bliss has been less than blissful in the recent past. Failing to kill each other, they discover that they've both been played for patsies by their employers, and their resultant bond (and romance) becomes all the hotter for it.
This release contains most of the special features available on the first release except for a featurette that focused on the car hood scene where Jolie's character attempts to run over Pitt's. However, the second disc (the first release was only a single disc) contains far more material. The "Confidential Files" contains over 15 minutes of deleted material and includes an alternate ending. There's an easter egg here as well: the menu is designed like a recipe box, and clicing on the tab labelled "Confidential" unlocks another deleted scene.
There's also a half-hour featurette, "Shooting 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'", whereing screenwriter Simon Kinberg and producer Akiva Goldsman talk about the making of the movie. Several scenes are shown as viewed from multiple views, with various frames-per-second comparisons of same shots.
A special treat is "Doug's Film School". This is another set of deleted and alternate clips, as well as some side-by-side animatics (scenes from the film as though they had cast "The Sims" instead of Pitt and Jolie). Here you basically get to see the movie you never saw, involving a framing sequence involving a man in a bar trying to pick up Estella Warren by telling her the story that is "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". You also get to see the characters of "Mother" and "Father" played first by Jacqueline Bissett ("Domino") and Terence Stamp ("Superman II", Smallville), and then by Keith David ("Transporter 2") and Angela Bassett (Alias). Finally, there are galleries of photos taken during the shoot by Liman, Producer Lucas Foster, and the rest of the crew at large.
If you loved the original release, you might consider replacing it with this copy for the special features. However, your expectations about the feature presentation itself should be held in check.
Previews on this disc include "Kingdom of Heaven", "Man on Fire", and "Elektra".
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Unrated)
Disc Guide
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Disc One
Main Feature
Disc Two
"Confidential Files" (Deleted/Extended/Alternate scenes and Gag Reel) (16:46)
"Domestic Violence - Shooting 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'" (33:03)
Doug's Film School
- Framing Device (5:59)
- Mother and Father (10:08)
- Snowy Ravine (19:38)
- Hood Jump (3:46)
- Underground Garage (3:56)
- HomeMade (11:49)
- Previsualizations (7:46)
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CD Giveaway - Paper Bird, "Rooms"
Ends May 28, 2013
Drifting ever so slightly away from traditional folk music, this Colorado band delivers harmony and energy aplenty. |
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