Noah Baumbach's - Kicking and Screaming

Directed by Noah Baumbach
USA 1995

Paralyzed by postgraduation ennui, a group of college friends remain on campus, patching together a community for themselves in order to deny the real-world futures awaiting them. Academy Award–nominated screenwriter Noah Baumbach’s hilarious and touching directorial debut was one of the highlights of the American independent film scene of the nineties, speaking directly to a generation of adults-to-be unable to reconcile their hermetic educational experience with workaday responsibility, and posing the eternal question, where do we go from here? Stingingly funny and incisive, Baumbach’s breakthrough features endlessly quotable dialogue, delivered by a stellar ensemble cast.

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Theatrical Release: October 4th, 1995

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DVD Review: Criterion Collection - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 249 - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:36:24
Video	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.52 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Noah Baumbach • Video interview with writer-director Baumbach • Video conversations featuring Baumbach and cast members Chris Eigeman, Josh Hamilton, and Carlos Jacott • Rare deleted scenes • Conrad and Butler in “Conrad and Butler Take a Vacation,” a short film from 2000, directed by Baumbach and starring Kicking and Screaming cast members Carlos Jacott and John Lehr • Brief 1995 interviews with Baumbach and the cast, originally broadcast on IFC • Theatrical trailer • Liner notes essay by Jonathan Rosenbaum DVD Release Date: August 22nd, 2006 Keep Case Chapters: 21

Comments:

The director approved image looks quite marvelous. Progressive, anamorphic and tight to the frame edges. Very dark in spots (as intended), sharp with passive, yet highly visible, colors. Contrast is excellent - optional English subtitles are offered. The extras are great for inducing further appreciation of the film. Baumbach's talks succinctly in the interviews and conversation. There are deleted scenes and a similar veined short. Jonathan Rosenbaum's liner notes are fluid, detailed and at his usual level of cohesive interpretation. Overall, nothing falls short with only a commentary wanting.

The film has the same stylish wit as Baumbach's more mature The Squid and the Whale also exposing some of the ironies of academia. Humorous, yes... but as the same time painful truths rise to the surface. Criterion have done their standard stupendous digital treatment with extensive supplements. A hard package to reject if you have even remote interest in the film.

Gary W. Tooze

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