Something Wild



A straitlaced businessman meets a quirky, free-spirited woman at a downtown New York greasy spoon. Her offer of a ride back to his office results in a lunchtime motel rendezvous—just the beginning of a capricious interstate road trip that brings the two face-to-face with their hidden selves. Featuring a killer soundtrack and electric performances from Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, and Ray Liotta, Something Wild, directed by oddball American auteur Jonathan Demme, is both a kinky comic thriller and a radiantly off-kilter love story.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

- New, restored digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Tak Fujimoto and approved by director Jonathan Demme, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- New video interviews with Demme and writer E. Max Frye
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic David Thompson

DVD
Criterionforum.org user rating averages


Blu-ray
Criterionforum.org user rating averages

I'm pretty disappointed about the paucity of features on here, two interviews seems sub-par.

Yeah, the lack of contextual extras (no trailers or TV commercials? Is Demme too busy to do a commentary?) bites. Might still rent it though.

As this in one of my favorite films, I'm definitely in for the Blu-ray, but I am hoping some more features might be added. It's unfortunate that Daniel, Griffith, and Liotta seem to be unable or unwilling to contribute.

The lack of extras is a wasted opportunity, the film's tonal shift midway through is ripe for analysis and the yuppie in over his head reminds me of a Reagan-era Hitchcock tale. It's my favorite Demme, though I've only seen several of his films, what I love most about it is its portrayal of rural America, and it acts as much as a capture of Americana as it does a comedy-thriller. Too bad there's not more to this release, as more supplements could have increased the value of the film in some viewers' eyes through highlighting its virtues.

Jean Michel Jarre in the Collection!

You don't know how often I've tried to use the same argument to sell people on the 'merits' of Who's That Girl? (which come to think of it feels very Something Wild influenced, albeit fluffier and more family orientated)

Christ my heart leapt then sunk... I thought this was Jack Garfein's truly odd and wonderful Something Wild from '61. What a splat.

At the very least, we could get a feature length, ululating audio commentary by Su Tissue, on her band Suburban Lawns' half-minute appearance...

CRITERION REALLY DROPPED THE BALL - a.k.a., I'll probably buy this during a 50% sale eventually. It's a great movie!

Maybe, I'm misunderstanding your meaning here, but...Su Tissue appears in the film as actor. However, the band that performs at the dance is the Feelies (as the Willies), not Tissue's Suburban Lawns. I still wouldn't have minded hearing from Su on this disc.

Oh yeah, my bad. Forgot she actually had some lines. But yeah, fat chance. She's almost as reclusive as Jandek. Although, I did hear S. Lawns were getting back together... Anyway, thanks for out-nerding me, NERD!

Any chance this could lead to Criterion releasing 'Melvin and Howard'?

Very, very disappointed by the lack of features. Let's hope the Demme hour is a heft forty minutes or something. Still, it would have been nice to have an appreciation by a Demme fanatic like P.T. Anderson or something. Still again, it will be fantastic to own this on Blu-Ray and hopefully they can eventually bite into the equally wonderful Married to the Mob.

I was so excited about this release when word first came down a year ago. I really like the film, and couldn't wait to see it get a high profile Criterion release with lots of great supplements. In light of this extremely lackluster package though, I imagine that I too will be waiting until I can pick it up for under $20. I'm surprised they bothered licensing the title if they didn't really have more ambitious plans for it. Jonathan Demme has participated in commentary tracks for at least Melvin and Howard, Philadelphia, Stop Making Sense, The Truth About Charlie, The Manchurian Candidate, Rachel Getting Married, and Criterion's own release of Silence of the Lambs. I had just assumed that a Demme commentary was a foregone conclusion here. I also can't believe that there is no featurette about the music or a cameo guide. The Demme-directed Feelies video for "Away" would seem an obvious choice, though I can understand that rights might have been prohibitively expensive or unavailable.

Demme's unrelated (but contemporaneous) episode of the PBS anthology series Trying Times ("A Family Tree") would have certainly been welcome here, and Criterion has licensed from PBS before. Maybe Criterion is steering clear of Paul Thomas Anderson after his inscrutable introduction to The Earrings of Madame de..., but an intro or interview with him certainly seems an obvious choice. I also can't believe that Ray Liotta, Melanie Griffith, and Jeff Daniels wouldn't sit for an interview, as this is easily the best thing any of them have ever done. Overall, it's just a shame that Criterion picked up such a wonderful, unique film and gave it such a "Meh, We Got Nothin' " release.

I'm partial to Liotta's Shoeless Joe Jackson and Henry Hill, and very partial to Daniels' Jonathan Baumbach, I mean Bernard Berkman.

As much as I love Goodfellas, Something Wild is still Liotta's tour de force for me. I'd forgotten about The Squid and the Whale when I made that comment though, and must admit that it is probably Daniels' best role.

This is definitely my favorite Demme film and one of my favorite films, period, so I, too, am quite underwhelmed with the supplements here.

I think your suggestion of a featurette on the soundtrack is dead on. For me, this is one of the best, most vital soundtracks of the '80s and speaks to the music connoisseur that Demme is; there are almost none of the stereotypical, oft-recycled '80s tunes, and instead the focus is on more off-the-radar indie and D.I.Y. artists. Many of these songs appeared only in the film--not on the official soundtrack LP--and on very small labels in, presumably, very small quantities. This was a missed opportunity for sure...

Yes, others have mentioned things like GOODFELLAS and THE SQUID AND THE WHALE. As much as I like these films and Liotta and Daniels' work therein, SOMETHING WILD is absolutely my most preferred film in their filmographies--same goes for Melanie Griffith--and it's quite likely this is their only appearance in the Criterion Collection so their absence from this release is extremely disappointing.

Maybe there is time between now and May for the generation of some extra extras?

I'm guessing not, unless they are ready to go and just haven't been announced because of a rights issue or something similar.

More like Something Mild, amirite

When I saw that cover art I was Something Riled

Wait, people are actually up in arms about the artwork? I think it looks really cool! Not to mention, the color and subject matter dovetail w/ what goes on in the mubi.

You might want to fix this -- soon. Seriously.

Sorry - what I meant to write was "in the MUBI". ~_~

Not gonna establish much street cred around here with lines like this. Just saying. ;~}