Welcome to The ‘Stache’s newest installment, DVD reviews. To kick things off, let’s get to the bloody hilarious, “Hobo With a Shotgun.”
If you’re interested in my original review of the film, click here. My interview with the film’s director, Jason Eisner is also available.
“Hobo With a Shotgun”, out on July 5th comes in a two-disc DVD and Blu-ray edition. The special features include two feature length commentaries (one with Eisner and Rutger Hauer, and the second with Eisner and his writing and production team). The content of the commentaries are fun and informative, but seem to cover a lot of the same material you may have seen and heard in previous interviews. Nonetheless, Rutger Hauer always makes for a fascinating listen.
Also included on the first disc, is the “shotgun viewing mode”. In this mode, when a gun site appears on the screen, hit your remote’s enter button to be transported to a special behind-the- scenes clip that further explains the scenes’ genesis, or clues you in to the methods the filmmakers used to present their ultra-violent vision. The best thing about this feature is, all of the clips are available separately in the special features section of the disc, allowing you to access them on your own.
The second disc of the set is packed with trailers for other Magnet films. The original “Hobo With a Shotgun” trailer that was submitted as a “Grindhouse” contest entry, the red band U.S. trailer for the feature film, and a section of interviews. Some deleted scenes are added, but are fairly
underwhelming and can be best described as a let down. There’s also an alternate ending that’s more of an extended ending and should have maybe just been a tack-on after the credits of the original release.
That being said, the star of the whole package is the behind-the-scenes making-of-documentary, “More Blood, More Heart.” Setting aside the fact the featurette provides a wonderful glance at the madness behind the camera, it also helps the viewer understand the true love and devotion that went into making such an insane film. Bloody, gory, over-the-top and mad, “Hobo With a Shotgun” is the type of movie that would make your Grandmother think the people who made it were from an insane asylum. “More Blood, More Heart” just shows you how down to earth and passionate the people behind the scenes really are.
For me, “Hobo With a Shotgun” is a must own DVD Set. The behind-the-scenes content and documentary, as well as the inclusion of a digital copy code make up for the lackluster deleted scenes section. The set as a whole get a rating: Three out of Five ‘Staches.
