Forty seems an odd anniversary to be having an “Ultimate Collector's Edition.” Twenty five is vintage, fifty is classic, but with movies as with people, forty doesn't mean much more than middle aged.
So this giant three-disc box set seems a little superfluous, especially considering at the center is the same Blu-ray edition that came out last year. The only thing the “40th Anniversary” tag really adds is the weighty procession of time. Not for the movie, which remains timeless as ever, but for the cast: forty years means all those kids are now well into their 50s. Seeing them all gathered together in their bald-spots-and-grandkids glory puts a slightly depressing gloss on an already ambiguous film.
Of course, the Blu-ray edition is solid and has some great extras. The high-def treatment does the best it can with the uneven quality of the visuals, which is fine. Half the fun of Willy Wonka is how the whole movie seemed made out of spit and aluminum siding and whipped cream. The excellent documentary included on the disc, “Pure Imagination,” confirms how much of this was a labor of amateurs. It was directed by a documentarian, funded by a cereal company, and all botched together in a factory in Munich out of junk and spare parts and chocolate.
How it went from humble beginnings to the classic it is today was clearly as much luck as it was skill, and yet, somehow, everything worked. It hit the right balance of seriousness and levity, it didn't shy away from the disturbing, and above all it played the story realistically (the main failing of that terrible, terrible remake). This is a movie that didn't talk down to kids or up to adults, the way even the best Pixar movies of today are guilty of.
Also on the disc is some hilarious commentary by the now grown-up child actors, who catch fun little things while watching, like lines where the other kids pick up on Veruca's accent (Mike Teavee: “Am I coming in cle-ah?”). But these are all things you can get on the Blu-ray edition. So what, you might ask, would persuade you to instead get the giant purple box of the 40th Anniversary Collectors Edition? Well, first we have a regular DVD version of the film as well as the Blu-ray. Also included is the book of the Pure Imagination documentary, a glossy and colorful 130 pages of director Mel Stuart going through all the problems and triumphs of making this little picture. It's definitely worth a look, and full of fascinating bits of trivia. For example, did you know the Oompa Loompas were all party animals and went out every night in a limousine to terrorize the pubs of Munich? Drinking all night, back in the morning to put on orange makeup and green wigs. That, my friends, is hardcore.
Also there is a small packet of internal correspondence from the film. Most of it's useless, but there is a great copy of a handwritten note from Gene Wilder about his thoughts on costume design, which just goes to show how much thought Wilder put into every aspect of his performance.
Beyond that, there is a tin of scratch-and-sniff pencils and an eraser, which do little besides add weight to the already weighty package. The most disappointing bit though is the bonus DVD, which only has two fifteen-minute featurettes. The first does nothing but update the Pure Imagination documentary by a few years, with Mel Stuart and Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket) and Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt) showing their ages even more. It adds little to the original documentary, and what it does add was already covered in the book. The other featurette is a short promotional documentary from the 70s, which is interesting but not very necessary.
So if you knew someone with a lot of shelf space, the three-disc 40th anniversary collector's edition might make a pretty good gift. It's just weighty enough to seem expensive, has some interesting knickknacks in it, and of course a pretty good cut the film on two formats. Otherwise, you might be better off holding out for 50th Anniversary. Imagine how depressingly old all the kids will be then!
The suspense is killing me!
Blu-ray special features:
Cut of the movie in high- and standard-definitions, bonus featurettes DVD, film correspondence, color booklet Pure Imagination, vintage Wonka Bar tin, scratch-and-sniff pencils in Snozzberry and other flavors, Wonka eraser. Also a Golden Ticket for a chance a win a trip for two to Los Angeles, which is not where they make candy.
"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition)" is on sale October 18, 2011 and is rated G. Children & Family, Musical. Directed by Mel Stuart. Written by Roald Dahl. Starring Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum.
