Mask - Director's Cut [DVD]

[Minor Spoilers] At first glance, this doesn't seem to be a film that would radiate heartwarming and life-affirming qualities, but the Oscar-winning "Mask" (1985) actually improves with each viewing, as only the very best movies do. Hollywood embellishments and minor changes were, indeed, made to this true story (which has seemingly become more of a formality these days with most movies based on true stories), but anything lost in translation from true life to film is reclaimed by this film's yield as such an everlasting cinematic treasure. And the foundation of my claim here is Cher's delivery of what should be considered the best performance in movie history by a female without an Oscar nomination (and even one of the best in general), surely the snub of the century (what a cinematic travesty). Another testament to Cher's truly remarkable performance is her manner of elevating her character to such a level that she almost steals the movie from the central character, by no means an easy task. In "Mask," Cher plays Florence "Rusty" Dennis, the biker mother of young Roy "Rocky" Dennis, the also outstanding but sometimes forgotten Eric Stoltz ("Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Pulp Fiction"), though only because of heavy makeup and a facial prosthetic worn throughout the film (which won a special Oscar), who develops an extremely rare, disfiguring, and potentially fatal bone disease that causes calcium to build up in his skull. In fact, doctors gave him little chance for survival, since most patients with the disease rarely survive beyond childhood. Just the same, however, Rusty remains steadfast in seeing to it that Rocky has as normal a life as possible, even though that usually involves exceptional love, fittingly punctuated in an opening scene in which Rusty tells Rocky's junior high school principal, "Mr. Simms" (Ben Piazza), that it's a public school, not a "special" one, that fits Rocky's needs. And as Rusty exits the room in a huff because of Mr. Simms' reluctance to want to enroll her son, Rocky so naturally complements the unique bond he has with his Mom by saying, "Don't worry, Mr. Simms. I look weird, but otherwise I'm real normal." Sam Elliott, similarly overlooked by the Oscars, as Rusty's on-again-off-again boyfriend Gar (and Rocky's father figure for his absent biological father), also turns in his career-best performance, a mighty weighty statement considering his plethora of career roles, mostly westerns. But in "Mask," Elliott shows just enough of a tender side (i.e., always acknowledging Rocky's needs; helping Rusty write an I-miss-you letter to Rocky when he's away at camp because she's just too emotional to do so; telling Rocky the story of when his Mom took him to get his picture taken and how proud and beautiful she was on that particular day; and Gar just being there for the both of them when they needed him most, etc.) while simultaneously and convincingly displaying every ounce of his character's machismo. The film is diligently directed by Peter Bogdanovich ("The Last Picture Show"), and Bogdanovich fought (with surprising difficulty) to keep the film's original music, mostly Bruce Springsteen (with some Lynyrd Skynyrd and Steely Stan), when the studio wanted to go with the less expensive Bob Seger in the 11th hour, with Seger's music ultimately contained in the theatrical release and initial DVD release. The real-life Rusty, who passed away in 2006, always had agreed with Bogdanovich regarding the music, reportedly saying that Rocky didn't even know who Bob Seger was. But, thankfully, the original music was finally restored for the DVD Director's Cut (which also contains two additional, though not necessarily essential, scenes not in the original cut: Rusty and Rocky singing a mother-son duet around a campfire with their friends and a separate funeral scene). The supporting cast is equally strong, including a young Laura Dern as Diana, Rocky's love interest, and Dennis Burkley as Dozer, their mostly mute family friend, as well as the rest of Rocky's surrogate biker family. It doesn't take long for the viewer to realize that not only is Rocky loved but that he's just like one of us, someone with hopes and dreams (we even see Rocky's world-map tacks strategically pinned on his bedroom wall, denoting his dream destinations). We also see that his Mom's unwavering love has become instilled in Rocky when he, in turn, worries about Rusty's drug problems and sometimes reckless lifestyle, as well as covering up for his Mom's behavior when her parents arrive (the smartly cast Estelle Getty of "The Golden Girls" and Richard Dysart), essentially becoming the parent himself in these scenes. But, as intended, it's Rocky's extraordinary trials and tribulations that bring the sweetest fulfillment, in countless scenes, but especially in the school-awards ceremony, one of the most unforgettably moving moments you'll ever see on film, and Dozer's proud and poignant moment with Rocky outside the school afterwards. And, of course, the film's enduring message is that we're all the same on the inside, no matter what we look like on the outside and no matter who we call our family, for ultimately it is our hearts for which we will be judged. [Note: Although snubbed at the Oscars, Cher did get the smaller consolation of being nominated by the Golden Globes for Best Actress in "Mask" and would, indeed, get the last laugh, with her performance in "Mask" winning her Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, considered by some to be even more prestigious than the Oscars, since Cannes is international, not just national. And, as a kind of apology for the "Mask" snub, the Academy Awards would eventually award Cher with an Oscar for Best Actress, although it was for the less memorable "Moonstruck" in 1987.]

One of the best movies of all time. This movie has so many highs and so many lows. It really is a story about the human spirit and it’s sad that it’s not available digitally because a lot of the newer generations are missing out on this wonderful movie. Cher gives it truly amazing performance in this beautiful story. I highly recommend this movie.

Received movie in a timely manner. Love anything with Cher in it. Haven't seen yet ,but I'm sure it'll be a good movie!!!

Loved watching some of the old high movies that were really good!

Good movie

Great movie, So much better than on tv. Enjoying to watch it again soon.

This was a fantastic movie when it came out in 1985 and remains a beautiful film now almost 30 years later. The true story of a teenage boy who suffers from a cranio-facial deformity was touching and tragic. The performances were outstanding- Cher in her first leading role was incredible. Many people have made reference to the fact that her performance was wrongly overlooked by the Academy Awards and I have to agree. She should have won an Oscar- I thought her performance here was even better than in "Moonstruck." Eric Stoltz should also have received a Best Supporting Actor nod. Everything about this movie worked on so many levels. If you haven't seen it, it is definitely worth seeing. Sam Elliot is always wonderful to watch (and to hear!) too. For a price of about $7 this is a good buy. There are some great bonus features such as a featurette with director Peter Bogdanovich as well as his commentary throughout the film. Both are very interesting. However, if you are a fan of the original theatrical release you should be aware that this is NOT that. This dvd is the director's cut which means it is presented the way he had originally intended it to be seen. Some of the scenes that were cut out of the theatrical release have been restored to the movie- literally reinserted to where he had intended them to be, not added later as "deleted scenes" like in most dvd bonus features. I was skeptical when watching this because many times I want to be loyal to the original and don't want to see any alterations. However in this case it did not interfere with the story or my enjoyment of it. It would have been nice though if both versions had been put on the dvd so that each was available for the viewer. The other big difference is that the original movie's songs by Bob Seger have been replaced here by Bruce Springsteen's music which was the director's first choice. According to the director's commentary, Springsteen's songs were to be used throughout the movie as the singer himself and his music played a small part in the story. For whatever reasons and despite the fact that Springsteen himself gave his permission to use his songs, the songs were removed from the original theatrical release and replaced with songs by Bob Seger. Oddly, Bogdanovich never once in his featurette or commentary thanks Seger for his contribution or even mentions the fact that Seger was nice enough to allow his songs to be used in the movie. I thought this was rude but I suppose he had his reasons? Anyway, being a Bob Seger fan (as well as a Bruce Springsteen fan) I loved the songs originally used and to this day think of Rocky Dennis looking longingly at his map of Europe whenever I hear Bob Seger singing of getting out of here in "Katmandu..." I guess I just really like Bob Seger's music and since that is what ended up being used in the film it seems a little weird to hear Springsteen instead. Maybe some people would prefer that. I guess if you are gonna have to hear different songs then Springsteen is certainly not a bad choice, but again, it would have been nice if both versions of the film were made available on this dvd so that we could have the original film with Bob Seger's music and the director's cut with his choice of Bruce Sprinsteen's songs. One interesting thing Bogdanovich mentions in the commentary, which by the way is pretty cool itself, is that Rob Lowe came very close to getting the part of Rocky before Eric Stoltz secured it. I always like to hear behind the scenes stuff like that... Anyway, I'd give the movie itself 5 stars but because they changed it here from the original theatrical release to the director's altered cut and replaced some great Bob Seger songs with some also great but different Bruce Springsteen songs, I could only give the dvd 4 stars. It looks like the 1998 dvd with the theatrical release of the movie is no longer being made and is only available used and way overpriced at over $17. I'm glad I at least have the VHS version- sure hope my vcr never gives out!

I have seen this movie many times because I'm a Cher fan, but the movie itself tells a great story. Mask is the true story of Rocky Dennis (played by Eric Stoltz), a 16 year old boy with a rare craniofacial disease that disfigures his face and in addition to dealing with the ridicule this disease brings to him on a daily basis, he also is dealing with his hard living, drug addicted, biker chick mom, Rusty (played by Cher). He finds acceptance within her circle of bikers and once people at school get to know him, he does make friends, but sadly it's hard for people to get past his looks. The disease he has eventually puts pressure on the spine, so people who have it don't have a long life expectancy. I won't say more about the plot so as not to ruin the ending if you haven't already seen it. The real Rusty Dennis was actually a consultant on the film to help maintain the accuracy of the film. Cher gives a career performance in this movie, even though many didn't recognize her acting abilities until she won the Oscar for "Moonstruck." The range of emotions she portrays in the movie is perfectly done and she does a wonderful job of portraying the loving, but flawed Rusty Dennis. This is the Director's Cut of the movie, so until this DVD was released, viewers never got to see the two deleted scenes in the movie, one of Rusty and Rocky entertaining at a campfire and one at a fellow biker's funeral. To me the extra scenes didn't really add anything to the version I've seen many times, but what I did like was the behind-the-scenes extras of director Peter Bogdonavich talking about how he auditioned actors to portray Rocky (including Rob Lowe), the sometimes troubled working relationship he had with Cher, how Eric Stoltz delved into the role by wearing the disfiguring makeup out on the streets to get the real reactions Rocky was given during his life, how murdered actress Dorothy Stratton shaped Peter for directing this movie, the story behind why Bruce Springsteen's music was replaced (the real Rocky Dennis was a Springsteen fan) with Bob Seger's music in the final theatrical version, and much more. Personally, I'm disappointed that in this DVD version, Springsteen's music replaced Bob Seger's music that I am used to being in this movie because I'm not a Springsteen fan at all and don't find his music as good as Seger's. But most interesting in the DVD extras was Cher's actual screen test footage auditioning for the movie! Interesting treat for her fans!