The audio is the same mono soundtrack we've all enjoyed over the past 21 years.
Here it is... the most anticipated Troma DVD release of 2005, the 21st Anniversary Golden Edition of The Toxic Avenger. When the disc was announced, Troma fans began salivating for what looked like might be the ultimate release of the flagship Troma title. Fans were asked to submit their own videos re-enacting scenes, telling of their Toxic Avenger experiences, and anything else related to their fandom of the film. And for the DVD-philes that were bashing Troma's lack of widescreen releases, the DVD was announced as 1:85:1 "Tromamorphic Widescreen." But is it really the ultimate Toxic Avenger DVD? Let's take a look.
First off, the packaging for the disc is beautiful. Troma's latest discs have had the best graphic design in years, far surpassing the poor, choppy artwork they had on the DVD releases from the early 2000-era. The original poster artwork is featured on the cover and the DVD case is transparent, with a Toxie collage on the inside. It's the most impressive looking Troma DVD packages to date.
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Now, on to the disc itself. First off, the film is presented in "Tromamorphic"
widescreen, which has only happened once before on home video: the Troma Team
laserdisc release. Unfortunately for those with 16:9 displays, it's also
the same transfer from said laserdisc, meaning the Tromamorphic transfer is just
a regular letterboxed 4:3 image. This is surely going to be a major bummer
to those Troma fans who have HDTVs, but it's really not a huge deal for those of
us still with 4:3 sets. Not only that, but the transfer actually looks
pretty nice compared to this original disc. The colors are much more
natural looking, there's a brighter black level which looks a lot better on the
dark night scenes, and at least one small jump that's in every fullframe copy
I've ever seen (even VHS) following a dissolve about
7 minutes into the film. However, there's now another jump right after
Melvin's transformation. It's barely noticable, though. One thing
that I noticed is that Lloyd is certainly right in saying that the in-house
Troma movies are meant to be seen in 1:33:1. Though there's not a problem
with the letterboxing for most of the movie, I noticed at least one time
where you lost a bit of information on the top and bottom. However,
it's something VERY miniscule, which you can see below. The audio is the same mono soundtrack we've all enjoyed over the past 21 years.
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A few side-by-side comparisons of the new disc vs. the old
disc. Take note, these are screen grabs that can't accurately display the proper
look of the actual transfers.
Note the cropping on the last pic... Lloyd's aesthetics reign true.
Now that we have the boring technical stuff out of the way, it's time to get on to the REAL reason Troma fans want this disc: the extras! Disc one includes a brand new commentary with Lloyd Kaufman and a fan webmaster named "Lenny", who is actually Troma editor Gabe Friedman. The new commentary isn't as good as the original DVD commentary (which is unfortunately not carried over to this disc), but it touches on most of the same stories and adds a bit more (including stories of Leni Reifenstahl screening the film and fatherly experiences between Lloyd and his father Stanley). However, those with the original disc might want to hang on to it for that original commentary. However, one of the funniest parts of this new commentary is toward the end, where Lloyd and Gabe start to have a good bit of fun with the track. But you know, if they ever wanted to do a commentary with a real Troma fan webmaster, I'm available. :)
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Disc one also has
what might be the best extras on the entire DVD: interviews with the cast
and, believe it or not, a fifteen minute onscreen interview with the real
Michael Herz. Herz's interview is the most interesting of the bunch,
where he speaks of meeting Lloyd, what he contributed as a director,
thinking the film would bomb, and other films. He also makes several
jokes about losing money on Big Gus, What's The Fuss? and the similarities
between Swamp Thing and Toxie. After seeing Michael Herz and
understanding his personality, I can definitely see where his influence is
on Troma and The Toxic Avenger. The cast interviews include Mitch Cohen, the original Toxic Avenger. He speaks with the camera at Carbusiness Systems, the company where he is vice president. It's hysterical to see him go and ask those who work under him what they think of the movie, even asking them if they jerked off to it. Dan Snow's stories include him going on tour with The Royal Shakespearean Company, then returning to shoot with Troma during summers. Robert Prichard tells us all how he expanded his part by repeating everyone else's lines. Rounding out the interviews is a short, but sweet, interview with Toxie's Mom, Sarabel Levinson. All of these interviews are informative and have to be the best Troma DVD interviews since the Troma's War disc.
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| Disc one also contains the deleted scenes from the previous DVD and the intro and outro to the laser disc release. The intro is possibly the funniest Lloyd intro I've ever seen, where Lloyd runs into Toxie on the street after his fame has declined. Ending the extras on disc one is an updated version (at least I think it was updated... there was some footage I don't remember seeing) of the Where In The World Is Toxie? extra which was featured on The Toxic Avenger 3 DVD. |
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Disc two mostly consists of fan submissions. The first submission is
from 14 year old Russel Vincent Porter, who speaks in the slowest monotone voice
I've ever heard. He shows off his short film Day of the Dead, which
Lloyd gave him advice on. The film is absolutely atrocious, but that's all
part of the fun... imagine what it feels like being a kid interested in
filmmaking and getting advice from head of the world's oldest independent film
studio. It's an unimaginable experience, which I'm sure has been elevated
to plains of unbelievability when Russel discovers his film is featured on the
21st Anniversary of The Toxic Avenger. The only negative aspect is that
the whole feature appears to transferred from a computer by videotaping the
monitor. Even the film's titles are typed on Microsoft Word and read aloud
by Russel. After that comes James Bernadelli's newest animated Toxic Avenger short. You may remember his Toxic Adventures cartoon from the 'net or on the Class of Nuke Em High 2 DVD. This new animated adventure shows what happens at Toxie's 21st birthday party and is full of the same humor found in the Toxic Adventures short. Bernadelli also contributes a cover of the theme song with his band Uncle Monsterface and a private testimonial. Another cover of the theme song, from accordion-wielding singer Richard Taylor is very funny and even features a very surprise location. Other testimonials include local pro-wrestler Blade, who gives his testimonial of what he learned from the Toxic Avenger, mixed with his own wrestling footage. It kind of reminds me of those little commercials for WWF shows where the wrestler would make cheesy jokes and they'd show footage of the wrestler doing something related. Also, a collection of comments from fans at a convention Lloyd Kaufman was at is included. Among those on the reel are some Troma Message Board members and Low Budget Pictures director Chris Seaver. All of the fan submissions are endearing to the Troma Team and their fans. I watched these little bits with a grin on my face, because I knew exactly where all of these people were coming from. Unfortunately, my submission didn't make it on the disc, though... which makes me wish I had put as much effort into my submission as the rest of these devoted fans (hey, you try finishing a feature film, going to high school, and running this site all at the same time!). Maybe I'll post my entry on this site soon... |
The best extra on the bonus disc is the clips from Toxic Avenger: The MusiKILL, the live-action play by Irajon Kortum. Unfortunately, due to agreements with actresses that appeared nude in the show, only a few clips are availible. It's a damn shame too, because it looks like a damned fun show. From the energetic opening by Ira himself (which the crowd unfortunately seems uncomfortable during), to Melvin's hysterical transformation, The MusiKILL is definately something fans would want to check out. Though Toxie is a hard movie to adapt to the stage, it looks like they did a great job and those scenes that would be impossible to portray are played on a projection screen above the set. Let's hope the play goes on tour outside of Portland, Oregon so we can all get a chance to see it!
Disc 2 is rounded out with some Tromatic Extras, such as trailers for Toxie 1-4, the Tromamercial (as featured on the promo MYODM class DVDs), the Make Your Own Damn Movie! DVD box set commercial, a promo for Troma.com, trailers for Cannibal! The Musical, The Children, Tales From The Crapper, Parts of the Family, Terror Firmer, Class of Nuke Em High 2, a commercial for the MYODM master class, and Peta2 documentaries. The only problem with any of these extras is that the trailer for Cannibal! has no audio... but surely you've seen the Cannibal! trailer before and hopefully you own the DVD. The trailer for The Children is pretty low-quality and appears to just be a scene from the film with some text added on... regardless, the film looks pretty damned cool and I can't wait to check it out.
Now, you may be wondering if this Toxic Avenger DVD is really worth buying. In my opinion, it's a must-have for any Troma fan. Though the transfer may not be anamorphically enhanced, which will surely piss off the HDTV-minded fans expecting to finally have Toxie in 16:9, the rest of the disc is absolutely amazing. A lot of love went into this disc, from both fans and the Troma Team, and it definitely shows. I'd keep your original releases around, just so you can have it in the 1:33:1 aspect ratio Lloyd intends and the original commentary, but there's a plethora of extras on this new disc worth checking out.
