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If you’ve seen Clerks, you know what I am talking about… and chances are you either love it or hate it. If you love it, as I do, please do yourself a favor and BUY THIS DVD! I will tell you right now I give this collection a solid A in every aspect, from the digital HiDef film transfer and 5.1 remixing, down to every little extra included, including the booklet (which is full of photocopied relics and a note from Smith declaring “Clerks 2 ‘05”!). I may be biased because this IS one of my favorite movies, but I am confident that no one could be left disappointed after soaking in all that is presented here. To make my case even stronger, here is a listing of what is on each disc. I will try not to spoil too much…

Disc 2 contains the original and unrated 103-minute first cut of Clerks that was shown at the IFFM presented in its rough, uncleaned, untouched gritty and grainy glory. It was slightly edited before Sundance, and then cleaned up and edited again when Miramax purchased the film, but this here is what actually started it all! THIS IS ESSENTIAL FOR FANS TO SEE, and a MUST HAVE for collectors! Accompanying this version of the film is an ALL-NEW commentary track with Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran and Jason Mewes. The best part about this commentary is that it is audio AND visual, so you can either listen to it with the film, or watch it as you hear the film play in the background… or – better yet – flip back and forth between the two using the rarely utilized angle-feature. The whole disc is a real treat, and this alone was worth the purchase.

10 years after it’s initial release, Clerks is once again released to the public, this time in a modern format – a 3-disc 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition DVD. This package is nothing short of GREAT, and is a perfect addition to any collection – whether a diehard, or you just ‘liked’ the movie. Between having the original feature in a remastered digital format, and all the extras and goodies inside, this is the essential Clerks volume for anyone!

The performances are excellent and go a long way towards making the movie work really well. Anderson and O’Halloran are nicely matched and have terrific chemistry together. Smith and Jason Mewes are also another nicely matched buddy team, despite the classic “wild thin guy/reserved heavy-set guy” comedic pairing. Although maybe it’s not quite as funny as it was when I originally saw it, “Clerks” still rings very real and holds up quite well.
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“Clerks” remains a terrific low-budget feature – an example of crude, clever dialogue and great, amateur acting making for a hilarious film. Miramax’s “Clerks X” is a superb 3-DVD set – viewers get a slightly/somewhat improved audio/video transfer and a ton of new supplements, including the outstanding “Snowball Effect”. Highly recommended.

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Two commentaries are offered: one with actor Ben Affleck and director Kevin Smith and the other with director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier and guest Jason Mewes. The commentary with Smith and Affleck is one of the funniest and most interesting I’ve listened to lately, as it rarely focuses on the picture at hand and instead ventures off into various aspects of dealing with the release of a film. Smith and Affleck discuss both the critical response to the movie (with notes on specific critics and members of the press) and the ridiculous amount of press that surrounded the relationship between stars Affleck and Lopez, as well as how that effected the film. They also chat about such topics as opening versus “The Passion of the Christ”, the structure of the film, the response to Smith making a more “conventional film” and working with the other actors. There’s some good information about the film within, but the commentary is mostly a very interesting and very funny conversation about working in film.

The second commentary is more informative and detailed about the film at hand, talking about the changes in the picture, working on the film, chatting about the cast and additional discussion of the test screening process Smith had to go through (it’s a little disappointing to hear that Smith seems to have cut some worthwhile dramatic moments due to a some low-class test screening crowds). Mewes, infamous for passing out on the “Clerks” commentary and acting wild on other tracks, has cleaned up his life and gone through rehab before this commentary was recorded. As a result, his participation is quite a bit more straightforward than Mewes usually is. Although not quite as entertaining as the very enjoyable Affleck/Smith commentary, this is definitely a very close second.