DVD Release Date: July 12, 2005

Cast:

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By Ken Shallcross

Bill & Ted come to DVD again, sort of. This time around, it’s a more comprehensive collection for the excellent fans everywhere. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey were first released on DVD back in December 2001. Each movie was given Anamorphic Widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 treatment, but had a most heinous lack of extra features. The new Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Collection combines both prior DVD releases, plus a third "Non-Bogus Disc" full of the extras that many bodacious fans have been waiting for, in one complete and gnarly collection for about $20! Excellent!

MOVIES:
Who doesn't remember the Bill & Ted movies? First there was Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, our first introduction to the most outstanding - but not very bright - Bill S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves). Together they are… <cue music> Wyld Stallyns! Bill and Ted are in danger of flunking history class, and in turn, flunking out of school. If that happens, Ted's dad is going to send him to Oaks Military Academy in Alaska, and Wyld Stallyns will be no more. Since Bill and Ted are actually responsible for changing the world with the music in the semi-near future, the humans of the far future can't let these two guys get split up. Rufus (George Carlin) is sent from the future San Dimas, California, circa 2688, to San Dimas circa 1988, to help Bill and Ted get the required A on their final history report. How? By using a time travel machine in the form of a phone booth, of course. Bill and Ted soon realize their potential with the new machine, and travel all over time collecting famous historical figures, such as Billy the Kid, Socrates, Abe Lincoln, Beethoven and more, whom they bring back to the present. The idea (and object of the report) is to explain how these historical figures would view the world of San Dimas in 1988. What better place to bring the actual figures than the mall to experience late 20th century life. The end result is a totally awesome final presentation that gets them an A+, and therefore results in them passing history and keeping the band together. In Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, a most triumphant sequel, the duo are seen a couple of years later in post-high school life, living in their own place and practicing for the upcoming "Battle of the Bands." Unfortunately, a pair of evil robot twins from the future San Dimas (circa 2691) are sent back in time by the evil Chuck De Nomolos, Rufus’s old gym teacher and sit-up champion of the 27th century. Their mission: to kill the real Bill and Ted, take their place and sabotage the chance of Bill and Ted succeeding at the concert, thereby thwarting their rise to fame. The real duo is sent on a most heinous expedition – straight to hell! Their only chance of getting back to Earth, saving their girlfriends and winning the Battle of the Bands is by cheating Death (William Sadler) and using the help of the most brilliant scientist in the universe, Stations. Of course a most triumphant ending ensues for the Wyld Stallyns with Kiss's "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II."

I'm sure everyone remembers these two movies, especially if you are about my age (28). While the effects are rather cheesy and the acting not superb, both films are still very memorable in their genre and enjoyable to this day. The films seem a bit dated, but they still receive airplay on cable and will be remembered by the children of the '80s for years to come. In fact, I jumped at the chance to review this DVD collection mainly for the purpose of replacing my old VHS copies, which I still watch from time to time. Anyway, enough about the films, here is the scoop on Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Collection itself.

SOUND AND VISION:
The DVDs for each film are the same as the 2001 releases: each film is presented in its original theatrical release format. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey is in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. Unfortunately, since these DVDs are the same as before, neither received any digital remastering at all; there are still many film marks present. However, most of the graininess has been cleaned, so the overall representation on disc is still highly superior to the old VHS. For sound, each film has an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix. Only Bogus Journey comes with additional soundtracks: French, Spanish and Portuguese mono. The 5.1 mixes are cool to have, but aren't really used to their full potential, which is kind of bogus. For both films, almost all sound still comes from the front speakers, reserving the rears for really only the music. I was really hoping for more creative use with the "circuits of time" in Excellent Adventure; I will say that Bogus Journey's use of 5.1 is marginally better, as more of the special effects are channeled through the rears. Each movie is also equipped with English, French and Spanish subtitles; Bogus Journey comes with additional Portuguese subtitles. Most of the extra features on the bonus disc are presented in Full Screen format and there are no subtitles. Basically, you are getting the 2001 DVD versions of each movie plus the third disc of extras.

PACKAGING AND LAYOUT:
This collection is comprised of 3-DVDs, each in their own standard-sized jewel case. The three cases are housed in a sturdy cardboard case, which is protected and held together by a flimsy cardboard slipcase. The first two DVDs are reissues of the 2001 releases, reserving the new third disc entirely for the set's collection of extras (some minor extras are contained on each film disc). The cover art for each jewel case is the same as before: standard movie poster image; but the third DVD is something a bit more creative, made to look like an audio cassette demo tape from Wyld Stallyns. The box art is colorful and vibrant and reflects images and characters from both films. Unfortunately, there is no booklet for this collection. DVD menu screens are the same as before, fairly decent: live action clips from the film playing in a continuous cycle. Each movie is split into 16 chapters. All in all, the only bogus part of the packaging and layout is the repetition of prior releases – with no attempts at updating – and the lack of a booklet… and the minor fact that you won't be saving any room on your shelves – you’ll need three standard jewel cases worth of space.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Aside from having each of these movies on DVD, the main reason for buying this set is for the collection of special features contained on the third disc. Overall, the collection is very good; however, a major disappointment is the lack of standards such as deleted scenes, outtakes and audio commentaries. I was really hoping for a newly recorded commentary from Reeves and Winter, and potentially Carlin and Sadler, but alas – no such luck. Each movie disc does sport the same minor bonus features as before, but the "Non-Bogus Disc" is really where it's at. Here's a look at all the extras contained in Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection:

• Original Theatrical Trailers – Each movie disc contains an original theatrical trailer for the respective film. Bogus Journey also contains a teaser trailer. I've said before – and I stick to this – for older films, these are a must have… very cool to watch, indeed.
• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette – Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey does come with a short behind-the-scenes featurette, circa 1991. This is real cool to see – I don't remember ever seeing it before – and even better to have as part of the collection. It's filled with on-the-set interviews with the director and cast, as well as footage from the movie. It runs typical BTS featurette length of about 6½ minutes.
• The Original Bill & Ted: In Conversation with Chris and Ed – Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon were the real-life Bill and Ted; guys in their 20s who acted like they were 7. This interesting featurette takes a look at how Matheson and Solomon came up with the now-infamous characters and eventually wrote the movies. The style of this extra is like many other “In Conversation” pieces, where the viewer is a fly on the wall observing the two subjects converse and reminisce about their history together. Some great background is revealed here and the history of both films is put into perspective. Running length is 20 minutes.
• A Most Triumphant Making-Of Documentary – This 30-minute documentary is a great look at the making-of for both films. New interviews with Matheson, Solomon, Alex Winter, producer Scott Kroopf, production designer Roy Forge Smith (Excellent Adventure), and directors Stephen Herek (Excellent Adventure) and Peter Hewitt (Bogus Journey) are used to tell the stories of creating both films. Supplemented throughout are behind-the-scenes stills and footage from the movie. While the usual aspects are covered (getting film off the ground, casting, shooting, impact, doing the sequel, etc.), I do wish there was a lot more detail – I could have easily sat through another 30 minutes. Aside from that, my only gripe: where is Keanu “Ted” Reeves? Still, what is presented here is a most triumphant and non-heinous documentary for the Bill & Ted series.
• Score! An Interview with Guitarist Steve Vai – I am a huge Vai fan. I have all his albums – one of them autographed – and have had the pleasure of meeting him. He’s is truly a genius on the 6-sting axe and was undeniably the perfect choice for scoring Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. This 12½-minute interview with Vai takes a brief look at the musician’s beginnings and then dives into how he came to score the film and the task he completed.
• Air Guitar Tutorial with Champs Bjorn Turoque & The Rockness Monster – This original featurette is a bit silly. I understand the correlation between the air guitar rejoicing in the movies and the theory behind putting this featurette on the disc, but it’s really just pretty ridiculous. Starting out with brief interviews with the champs, the extra launches into “10 Steps to Becoming an Air Guitar Champ,” and ends with brief demos by Bjorn and Rockness. The extra runs for about 13 minutes and is something I found really only worthy of watching once.
• The Hysterical Personages of Bill & Ted – Also called “Biographies of Nine Historical Dudes and One Babe Dressed as a Dude,” this featurette is available in both “Full Version” and – for those of you who don’t have 15 minutes to spare – a sped up “Play in 8 minutes or less” version. Basically, this is a quick tutorial of the historical figures featured in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, from Neanderthal through Freud; missing is Socrates and added to the mix, as #10, is Death. It’s definitely original and worth watching at least once – either way.
• One Sweet and Sour Chinese Adventure to Go – This is the 23-minute premier episode of the animated Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures series that aired in prime time on Saturdays on CBS. I remember watching this as a kid. The series debuted in September 1990 and lasted only 2 seasons, a total of 21 episodes. It was pretty fun to watch this again 15 years later, though it’s easy to see why it was cancelled. It’s a nice addition to the special features collection.
• The Linguistic Stylings of Bill & Ted – This quick featurette uses clips from the movie and plays like a video dictionary for the unique language of Bill & Ted. Despite its pointlessness, it’s still fun to watch and a cute part of the overall collection. Runs a little over 3½ minutes.
• From Scribble to Script – This gallery contains a set of images that give an example of Matheson and Solomon’s writing process, from the initial legal pad scribbled notes to the very first typewritten script of Excellent Adventure. Over 100 screens are here to scroll through manually. Though it’s sort of hard to read Chris’s hand-written notes, points are awarded for originality because it’s the first I’ve seen of its kind. The notes go back as far as 1984, and it’s real fun to see how things changed throughout the writing process.
• Radio Spots – A series of five 30-second radio spots are available as the final bonus feature on the “Non-Bogus Disc.” They are all vastly different and pretty fun to listen to at least once. Together they run just about 3 minutes.
• Other MGM Releases – For interested parties and DVDFanatics, trailers are also included for Spaceballs, Saved, Walking Tall and Hoosiers.

A MOST EXCELLENT CONCLUSION:
Here’s the deal: Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection takes the previous 2001 DVD releases of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, plus a third, new disc full of extras, and lumps everything together in one convenient set. If you are a fan of the two dimwit-duo classics and don’t already own the DVDs, this is certainly the version to buy. The bargain pricetag of $20 makes for a most excellent purchase incentive. If you already bought the DVDs for each movie, it comes down to a “how big of a fan are you” choice, as the movie discs are identical to the ones you own – so purchase would be entirely for the “Non-Bogus Disc.”

DVD Film Score: B+
DVD Sounds and Visuals Score: C+
DVD Packaging and Layout Score: B
DVD Extras Score: B+
DVD Overall Score: B

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