Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3.0 out of 5 stars
There's a lot of stuff packed in here - but only for the right fans, March 3, 2009
Chick flicks seem to pour forth from Hollywood with little to no attention paid to the quality of writing or directing. It's not entirely without explanation, in order to keep up with the plethora of male-demographic skewed titles they have to work hard to keep the female viewers interested in the casual trip to the cinemas. Which is why, considering all of the hastily made chick flicks that exist (i.e. The Women), when a genuinely well-made piece like The Notebook comes along there's an interested murmur from both female and male crowds alike.
Now, before you revoke my membership to the Hall of Manhood, please just hear me out. I'm not one to read books by Nick Sparks (the author of The Notebook) - but to deny the brilliant casting and respectable direction therein is just an act in stubbornness. Performances by Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands and James Marsden make what could have been just another forgettable exercise in period-piece drama an enjoyable, albeit sometimes sappy, cinematic experience.
The Notebook's plot is well-worn territory - two star-crossed lovers, from opposite sides of the tracks, find themselves drawn to each other almost magnetically. Overcoming parental disapproval, the obstacles of time and circumstance Noah Calhoun (Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (McAdams) fight for the magical romance they sparked all those summers ago. Telling the story in flashback format, James Garner sits by Rowlands, now in failing mental health, trying to fan the flames of any remaining memory of who she used to be.
It's Nick Sparks people. The man's made a name for himself writing love stories for the modern age. Besides the casting, The Notebook is classic romance through and through. Every conceivable element arises (apart from dinosaurs) to keep the two lovebirds apart. In the case of The Notebook, the performances of Gosling and McAdams are key - they keep a story, whose twists and turns aren't exactly hidden, rich and interesting. With equally compelling performances from the supporting cast (James Marsden and Joan Allen), The Notebook only ever falters when it strays too far into the realms of cliché.
Without James Garner and Gena Rowlands, I feel that The Notebook would have been outright dismissed as just average chick flick fare. These two experienced thespians, provide the film's twist as well as the proven acting chops that make you willing to take a chance on Gosling and McAdams as the lead roles. Or at least this was the case when the film first debuted - the subsequent take off of both their careers should lend a certain air of credibility to the idea that The Notebook might have more to offer than just another sappy romance.
The Notebook: Limited Edition Giftset, simply put, is a brick. The DVD case is absolutely huge as its been modeled after a rather wide bound book; the case is as wide and tall as a normal DVD case but it's about three times as thick - and you'll soon understand why.
DVD Extra Features:
Besides the general soundtrack notifications and trailer, The Notebook: Limited Edition Giftset has more than its fair share of goodies tucked into its digital underbelly.
12 Deleted Scenes:
Unlike many DVD deleted scenes, these scenes seem to have been cut after the final mastering of the film as they look about as pristine as the in-film footage. The scenes themselves don't feel all that bloated or unnecessary, they could've been featured in the actual film, but with an already impressive run time 2 hours, I guess leaving that extra 20 minutes seemed too much.
Commentaries:
When I first saw that they offered commentaries on the film, the first thought that jumped to my mind was: "What about a commentary with Nick Sparks?" And yeah, there it is. The Nick Sparks commentary is, in my opinion the better of the two because, as a non-reader of the book, it was interesting to see what he personally thought were the triumphs and failings of his translated work. There is also a commentary with Director Nick Cassavetes.
Featurettes:
"All in the Family: Nick Cassavetes", "Nicholas Sparks: A Simple Story, Well Told" and "Southern Exposure: Locating The Notebook" come together to form about 30 minutes of content. While the general presentation of the featurettes seems somewhat amateurish, the content comes through. Of the three featurettes I'd personally recommend "Southern Exposure: Locating The Notebook" wherein we learn of the possible choices faced by the Director and crew in choosing which towns to use for the story's numerous backdrops. It's a pretty interesting watch when all is said and done.
Casting Features:
In this section you'll find the musings of the Director and The Notebook stars themselves discussing the story, their place in its creation and what it was like to be a part of the Noah and Allie combo. The narrator is actually kind of funny here as he treats their casting like a National Emergency. There's more intended suspense in his voice than in the entire feature film.
The Notebook Photo Album:
The honkin' big DVD case houses the official The Notebook: Photo and Scrapbook that features a scrapbook for the romance of Noah and Allie (in full color) in the first half with the rest of the pages blank. Why are they blank? So you can use the included scrapbook stickers to make a journal of your own budding romance. Although if you trust the scrapbook's already finished section - there was an indefinite amount of time travel involved as the photos of Noah and Allie, young and old, are the same with no aging of the photos themselves. Suspicious, yes? So if you can travel into the future, snap a few pictures of your older self and come back to the present, your scrapbook will be equally complete. I feel like maybe they're setting a very high standard on that note?
Set of 16 The Notebook themed cards and envelopes:
Just as Noah wrote to Allie everyday for an entire year, you can now to the same to your own love - for at least 2 weeks. With prints of scenes from the film on the cards and envelopes, it almost seems more appropriate for a man to use them to write to the woman (...or man, I guess) as I'm not sure the man would get any real kick out of seeing Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams smiling back from the stationery. Maybe I'm wrong.
Overall, the presentation on The Notebook: Limited Edition Giftset should impress even the most hardcore DVD collector. With such hefty packaging and extensive digital and physical extra features it'd be hard to imagine a fan of the film not finding everything they'd want on this set. Own it on DVD starting January 20, 2009!
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