When I went to the Buena Vista Home Entertainment event a few weeks ago, this was the title Kevin Smith was obviously most invested in, and seeing the disc, it’s obvious why. This is a celebration of Kevin’s roots, a look back at the thing that started everything else in his career. It’s also one of the most inspirational looks at low-budget filmmaking since Robert Rodriguez’s REBEL WITHOUT A CREW. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this became the thing that sets off a whole new batch of indie voices in the years ahead.

Miramax has packed these three discs full, so it’s worth picking up even if you already have the film on DVD. The first disc should look familiar. It’s the film you’ve seen before (although it’s a nice new transfer of it) along with the old audio commentary. You know… the one where they’re on the set of MALLRATS and Mewes falls asleep under the editing console. I’m glad they preserved this one, because it’s a record of a particular era in Smith’s development. The rest of the disc has some great stuff on it, like the animated segment, “CLERKS: THE LOST SCENE,” a music video, some funny MTV spots, new intros to the restoration, and audition tapes for the film. Disc Two is the original cut of the film, the one that first caught John Pierson’s attention, and it’s nice to see what a big impact a few small specific changes can have on a film’s overall effectiveness. The new commentary track here is loads of fun with Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Scott Mosier, and Jason Mewes all taking part. They are different people now, a decade down the road, and comparing this to the other commentary is fascinating.

What really makes this set special is disc three and the documentary “Snowball Effect: The Story Of CLERKS.” Plain and simple, it’s a great film in its own right, enormously entertaining and brutally honest. The film traces Smith from childhood to the release of CLERKS, and you can see just how he became the person he is. Smith can make the most innocuous biographical detail hilarious, as in “My brother is three years older than I am. To the day. My sister is five years older than me to the week. So we figured out when we were all fairly young than our parents really liked to fuck in November.” It’s hard not to like Smith and Mosier as you watch the film. These aren’t guys who got handed their careers on silver platters. They made their luck. They put their balls on the block and were rewarded for it. I’m also impressed by how many of Smith’s friends from the pre-CLERKS era show up in the documentary, and how many of them he’s helped since his success. He’s always seemed to be a well-grounded guy, but this documentary really drives the point home. It’s feature-length, but there are lots of outtakes and extras as well, all of them equally interesting.

There’s a 10th anniversary Q&A that was filmed at the Arclight that made me laugh several times, highlighting that odd mix of antagonism and adoration that Smith and his fanbase share. All of the articles referenced in “Snowball Effect” are included on the disc, and not just the ones that are about Smith, but also the ones that inspired him. In a way, I’m sure I’m preaching to the converted here, and the most rabid View Askew fans have already purchased this one, but if you’re curious and not sure if the price justifies picking up a film you’re this familiar with, it is. This is one of the most overstuffed and enjoyable DVD packages so far this year.