Customer Reviews

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

5 star:		(181)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Pee-wee's Big Adventure is undoubtedly one of the funniest movies ever made. From the Rube Goldberg-esque breakfast machine to the Hollywood re-make of PW's life story, the laughs do not stop from start to finish. For months, I counted the days till the release of this DVD, and (with the exception of the cheesy cardboard "snap case") Warner Bros. has certainly done it right this time! The anamorphic widescreen picture is perfect; Danny Elfman's excellent score sounds incredible in Dolby digital stereo; and the extras exceeded my highest expectations. There's a commentary track with Paul Reubens (Pee-wee himself) and director Tim Burton; a music-only track with commentary by composer, Danny Elfman (timed so as not to interfere with the music); and a compilation of story boards and sketches with yet a third commentary by the production designer! In the deleted scenes, you'll learn the origin of "Amazing Larry", meet Boone the Bear, and see Pee-wee fling that (red) boomerang bowtie he bought at the magic shop. This is a disc you'll watch over and over again. Order it now...and be sure and tell `em Large Marge sent ya!

Tim Burton's directoral debut is so chock full of interesting bits and vision that a running commentary by Burton and creator/star Paul Reubens should have resulted in one of the best alternate tracks available on DVD. Unfortunately, their commentary becomes instead The Mutual Admiration Society, with long stories about how they came across each other, how great each thinks the other is, and who else was in the room when they met. Reubens and Burton spend too much time telling stories that ramble and don't go anywhere, and too little time commenting on the film itself.

When they DO manage to discuss the film, they are as interesting as you would expect, but these instances are few and far between. Burton for the most part sounds like he just woke up, and Reubens spends a lot of the film saying, "Uh-huh, yeah."

It's also rather appalling that Reubens can hardly bring himself to say the name of fellow screenwriter Phil Hartman (Reubens early on says "me and the other two guys who wrote the film...") -- in fact, you won't hear him mention Hartman by name until the very end of the film when Hartman makes his cameo.

Some gentle prodding during the taping of this sequence would have produced something that I think more fans were looking for and expecting.

Like some other reviewers, I too couldn't find some of the knick-knacks promised in the pre-release. However, the one real prize on this disc is the alternate track isolating the music, with commentary by Danny Elfman. Elfman's insights into the film and its music are first-rate, and while I'm pleased Elfman does NOT talk over his music, it might have made it even more interesting had he discussed some of the nuances of his work while the tracks were playing.

The film quality on the DVD is top-notch, and the menu screens are clever (when you make a selection, Pee-wee goes speeding over to the new menu on his bike). The film itself is brilliant -- no need on my part to give you a summary -- and the widescreen format and new sound for this film alone would make the DVD worth owning. But with the exception of the Elfman alternative track, many of the first-rate extras viewers are coming to expect in these packages are, sadly, missing here.

Five stars for the film itself, but a low two for the extras, bringing this one to a soft three. Darn it.

Leonard Maltin's just saying what he's supposed to say about a movie like this -- it's a skit stretched thin -- because that's what we've come to expect from the sorry run of the SNL mill turning hot characters into all-but-unwatchable films to make a quick buck. This is different. Just how different becomes clear upon repeat viewings. *Pee-Wee* is packed with liberatingly amusing incident. The film has its share of gags, but it's no *Airplane*-esque joke-a-thon -- the humor is character-driven, and the characters themselves (there's a lot more to this tale than Pee-Wee) are so marvelously strange yet at home in the odd America Burton et. al. have fashioned for them that the whole gloriously artificial enterprise takes on the air of an alternate pop-culture universe into which we are allowed to peer. It's as though everyone connected with the project were running on their own loopy fumes; see it once, and you'll want to breathe that rarified atmosphere again and again.

As a fan of Danny Elfman since his "Forbidden Zone" and Oingo Boingo days, I was pleasantly surprised by the interesting commentary Elfman provides between his compositions on the isolated audio track.

I, like many others, was very disappointed that not all of the originally-advertised extras were included on the DVD, but based on the overall quality of the released product, I still feel it earns "five stars".

This is one of the greatest films ever made. Not just comedies, but movies in general. Pee Wee Herman deserves to be remembered forever for this movie, because it was a stroke of pure genious. From Large Marge to Paris, Texas, this movie is a pure joy to watch that I cannot live without!

Paul Reubens does such an amazing job of playing an innocent child-like adult. His house is a kids dream house, and any grown-up who doesn't realize that place would be an absolute joy to live in doesn't deserve to be a grown-up! This movie is complete 80's nostalgia for me since I saw way too many times as a baby of the 80s. Oh yeah, and who can forget the pet-store scene! This movie rocks! That's right it does, it just completely rocks all!!!

I had no idea who Tim Burton was when I first saw this amazing movie back in '85, but I've been following his career since. And jaded as I was, when Large Marge sprouted that twisted, burning wreck of a face at me, I JUMPED, no lie. It takes talent to scare viewers like that. (Imagine what Burton would've done with GODZILLA, instead of those derivitive hacks) I'm not ashamed to admit that I've seen this gem countless times. Any of you future parents will want to get the DVD version so you can introduce your kids to this bizarre mix of fairy tale, horror, and dark comedy. They'll thank you for it, because Pee Wee is just the right antidote for all that hip-hop macho posturing out there in the streets and in the schools. Danny Elfman's score is incredibly hard to forget, and so is Francis Buxton, and even Amazing Larry! One of the best movies ever to be released in the 80s. (Despite the lag near the ending). I pity the fool that don't buy this video!

This is like the wierdest movie ever, hand's down, all around brilliant filmmaking in it's most artistic form. C'mon who would'nt want a bike like that? Nothing could ever reach the genious of this masterpiece. Pee Wee should have won an Oscar for his performance, this was obviously the peak of Tim Burtons career. Pee Wee's Big Adventure is not a movie it's an experience. Highly recommended?????

First off, this is such a great movie, and I would have bought the DVD even with ZERO extras, but having read in Amazon.com's description that there's supposed to be MTV premier footage, and footage of Pee-wee on stage in Chicago, I was rather dissappointed to notice the complete and total absence of these two items from the disc. Are they on there, but just hidden or something? Like Easter Eggs? If anyone knows, please let me know.

The extras that ARE included are great, and Amazon.com should update their description of the DVD details to mention that there are several cut scenes in the bonus material, and a SECOND audio commentary by Danny Elfman, discussing his musical score.

Pee-Wee's famous laugh still manages to crack me up more than most things which people consider to be funny. Before the whole scandal surrounding Paul Reubens' public... err, display, he was entertaining kids all around the globe with his saturday morning show, "Pee-Wee's Playhouse." That show was a gem in it's own right, but this is Pee-Wee at his most childish, naive best.

The plot is as follows - a weird man-boy loses his bike and goes on a cross country road trip desperately trying to recover it. It's dumb, but it works. This is a simple movie which finds enough room for outrageous situations (the most crazy one being the studio lot chase). I mean, where else are you going to see Godzilla ride in a sleigh with Santa Claus? From start to finish, the film is quite a kick and can be enjoyed by anyone of any age. By never taking itself seriously, it does what it's supposed to do: entetain.

This was Tim Burton's debut studio film. While not quite as dark as his later efforts, he still manages to include some pretty bizarre and scary sequences (Large Marge and Pee-Wee's nightmares about his bike). But in some ways, this is an ultimate Burton flick. There are colorful backdrops which coincide with Danny Elfman's weird scoring, like Edward Scissorhands, and it blends splendidly. And, like Edward Scissorhands or Beetlejuice, no matter how dark it gets, you still get the impression that it's a very high-spirited movie. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think this is one of Tim Burton's crowning achievments.

The DVD is also pretty good, considering it was distributed by Warner Bros. If you've never seen "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" before, you know you're in for some madcap antics once the main menu pops up and you witness Pee-Wee fly back and fourth on his bike, laughing hysterically. Special features include two commentaries, deleted scenes, storyboards, cast & crew bios and a theatrical trailer. This is a great DVD to buy, and if you grew up with Pee-Wee, get ready to be magically whisked back to your childhood. I had a smile on my face for the entire length of the movie.

"I pity the fool who doesn't eat my cereal! Ha-ha! Heheheheheh..."

...and she said that if you don't get this feature-packed DVD, you'll be missing out on a real treat! We all know the film is funny and inspired: Mr. Reubens and Mr. Burton made magic on a budget. But this picture holds up like Miss Yvonne's hairdo and the generous additions take full advantage of the DVD format. The commentary by the star and the director is quite casual and down-to-earth. No pretense here. It's as much a treat to hear them covet certain props and reveal which they "kept" after the film as it is to learn how Tim Burton got the director's job. There is also an interesting, informative piece that features production sketches set to commentary from the set designer. Extremely cool. Danny Elfman also talks about his memorable score on an isolated track. The salvaged bits in the "Deleted Scenes" section are a bit rough visually but worthwhile nonetheless. Cool DVD interface, too. Your money will be well-spent on this. Paging Mr. Herman, Mr. Pee-wee Herman...