(the biggest laugh comes from the realization that this goofy little novelty picture somehow spawned three sequels and a cartoon series!), but the film re- mains strangely endearing and easier to take than later, far more calculated and mean-spir- ited attempts to manufacture an instant cult favorite. TOMATOES is presented here at 1.33:1, which is cer- tainly not what it measured the- atrically. On the other hand, many shots are so awkwardly composed that 1.85:1 matting might not have improved things very much. As befitting a $90,000 production, the im- age is hardly pristine. Grain and/or digital noise reduction flaws are frequently in evidence, while a faint white scratch comes and goes. The audio faithfully preserves all of the original production and editing flaws, but otherwise gets the job done. The DVD is approxi- mately 4m shorter than the original release. When the film was issued on VHS in the ’90s by Walt Disney Home Video (!), it was presented in a so-called “Director’s Cut” that dropped “The Mindmaker Song” (one of the picture’s funniest scenes and thankfully included here) and some gags, while adding a few others. We don’t have that version or the original theatri- cal edition handy for compari- son but our memories of the Media Home Entertainment re- lease from the early ’80s reveal some changes right off the top. The crawl at the height of the picture (“No one is laughing now”), originally silent, now has musical accompaniment. Shortly afterwards, the first victim’s demise is now accom- panied by a parody of Bernard Herrmann’s PSYCHO shower cue. The opening credits origi- nally just consisted of the
46
theme song but various foley ef- fects are now heard whenever a tomato splatters across the screen.
An extensive collection of extras has been assembled for this “Special Collectors Edi- tion,” which is packaged in a cardboard box with a folded rep- lica of the original poster. Writer/ director John DeBello, writer/co- star Peace, and “creator” Costa Dillon joke about the film in an enjoyable commentary that says little about the origins of the pic- ture but touches upon the vari- ous production mishaps and problems caused by their lack of experience (“Well, there’s an- other 10-second scene that took 40"). They also point out some of the more obscure in-jokes (like a reference to GORGO), and mention how some MPAA mem- bers wanted to give the film an R rating for “cumulative off- screen violence” (thankfully, to the relief of children every- where, the movie escaped with a PG). They also spend much time chuckling over the hideous ’70s wardrobes and interiors, and how shameless most of the gags are. A weird electronic buzz is heard on the track about 10m into the picture, but the remainder of the recording is fine. Viewing the movie in “To- mato Mode” causes various icons to appear in the right hand corner. Pressing “Enter” on your remote during these bits will show you either a cor- responding moment from the group’s original Super 8 version of the project or one of two brief interviews with John Astin (who stars in the sequels).
The Special Features section
opens with LEGACY OF A LEGEND (14m 13s), featuring new inter- views with the creators, Jack Riley (a good sport, consider- ing that he was almost killed during production), film critic
Kevin Thomas (whose com- ment “hopelessly inane” ended up on the poster as a badge of pride), and fans like comedian Bruce Vilanch. CRASH & BURN (3m 39s) is about the chopper accident and includes some ac- tual TV station news footage and Riley reminiscing about it on THE TONIGHT SHOW. There is also a section devoted to baseball mas- cot The San Diego Chicken (2m 20s), who is seen during the cli- max; three deleted scenes (with commentary over top of the original audio, largely defeating the purpose of including them); the theatrical trailer and radio spots; and a jokey text section on production design that is not worth the read. Yet another batch of supple- ments can be found in the Bo- nus Materials section but the majority are throwaway comedic bits shot outside a 25th anniver- sary screening in Hollywood. More noteworthy is the afore- mentioned Super 8mm version (1973, 17m 23s), which can be viewed with or without commen- tary. While a few of the more fa- mous gags originated here, the short is only of interest as a ref- erence. Some new music has been added, presumably to re- place copyrighted cues heard originally. Also included is an- other Super 8mm short, the more enjoyable GONE WITH BABUSULAND (1972, 32m 16s), also with the filmmakers’ com- ments. David Miller and Steve Peace star in this spy spoof, which was originally silent but has been augmented with new music and foley work. There are also six sing-along segments (complete with a bouncing to- mato over the lyrics!) and a trivia game. For those who pre- fer their tomatoes sliced thin, Rhino also offers a no-frills keepcase version with a trailer as the sole extra for $14.95.
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