Beastie Boys Video Anthology (2000)
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Adam Bernstein, Evan Bernard, Tamra Davis, Nathanial Hornblower, Spike Jonze, Ari Marcopoulos, David Perez, others
Written by N/A
Starring Adam Yauch, Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz, and Fred Kelly as "Bunny"

Features:

• 18 Beastie Boys videos, all with band and director commentary
  
• More than 100 different angles, alternate video sequences, or outtakes
  
• More than 40 remixes by a slew of artists
  
• "Ciao L.A."--a talk show featuring the actors from "Sabotage"
  
• Still photos, treatments and original storyboards
  
• Subtitles for those who are slow of ear
  
• Information on Beastie-sponsored non-profit groups and Beastie websites
  

Anamorphic: No.

My Advice: Own It.

One thing about the Beastie Boys, they have had a widely diverse range of music videos. They've done everything from personally my favorite music video to date, the 70's cop show homage "Sabotage" to the...whatever the hell "Netty's Girl" was supposed to be...to the home movie montage of "Holy Snappers." Even if you don't like the songs, the presentation of them makes them worthwhile (except for "Pass the Mic" which is filled with so many trite rhymes it makes my ear lobes throb--there, got that off my chest).

This, though, is the way to present a band's videos on DVD. This is the benchmark. Every song has at least some remixes to listen to, and most have some alternate versons or angles to go with. And the really insane thing is...you can basically make your own video. Listen to one remix while watching one alternate angle. Then, go back to the menu and choose the same remix with another angle. Or hell, just jump around all of them using your angle and audio buttons. And have subtitles on the screen so you can finally figure out what the hell they're saying in that one song that's been driving you nuts for years. Madness. You could literally spend hours going through everything--and believe me, I did.

Not to say that the thing is absolute perfection. Surprisingly, the band commentary track is pretty much useless, as they're either pointing out what's on the screen, making strange obscure references, or sitting in silence. They really needed a prompter to ask, "So, how did you guys do that?" or "Did you guys get to choose your own wigs?" or...anything. The director commentary track makes up for it though, especially phone interviews conducted by Mr. Spaulding. Also, once you're down in the alternate angles and mixes, you have to advance through your picks before you can back up to the previous screen--or just back all the way out to two menus previous. Navigation is a little wonky, yes.

But that's okay. We can live with those, considering the wealth of stuff on the discs. Granted, if you are not fans of the band to begin with, you probably wouldn't want to outright buy the thing. But it is worth renting just for the amusement of many of the videos involved and as a way to test out the bass on your TV. I recommend the "Don't Lose Your Head" section under "Body Movin'", the superimposed two-way view of "Shadrach" (you'll see what I mean) and the "Ciao L.A." extra under "Sabotage." These boys are sick in the head. But I respect that.