Bottle Rocket

It was rather interesting, as a huge fan of the feature, to finally get a look at the original 13 minute short, which the director himself says he cannot watch without cringing. I didn't cringe at all, in fact I was elated to see the bare bones of a simple plot, simply worded and simply acted. It was great to see what two years, a great production crew, a great cast and 6 million dollars can do to a movie. Unfortunately it's hard for me to separate the original from the feature, but one can definitely see the potentially unique voices in this piece.

This is the FIRST Bottle Rocket, not the full length. This version begins after the breakout in th '96 version, and ends after the boys RECAP the bookstore robbery to Bob. This is interesting to watch for hardcore Wes fans, and if Criterion loves us, they will release a DVD including this original on it. Especially worth seeing is the "I bought the gun" scene, where Dignan flips out in a vulgar rage which only Owen Wilson could have executed the way he did.

The Bottle Rocket '96 trailer includes a shot of Anthony breaking into a car to steal a wallet, but the scene is cut from the actual movie. That scene is present in the short version.

This short was great. It's actually the first and only Wes Anderson work I'd seen, so I didn't know what to expect. But it was surprisingly well-made. Obviously not the best, but for a low budget screening, the cinematography was good, the dialogue was pretty good, and especially the main actors were good. Sure, they weren't Humphrey Bogart or Robert De Niro, but I thought they did great for first timers. Honestly, I was surprised that it was their first time. Of course, I did have an admiration for Owen Wilson before.

Overall, this short was better that I expected. I know Anderson's work now and I know the writer side of Owen Wilson. I'll see even more when I see the feature length version - this film made me want to see it.

This 20 minute short served as the trailer for and basis of "Bottle Rocket" the feature, which in turn launched Wes Anderson's long career as one of our most critically admired directors.

I remember how talked about the short was in film circles, and how it inspired Polly Platt (long time James Brooks partner) to get behind Anderson and champion his getting a shot at doing a feature version. There were many envious young film-makers and film students out there!

While the short is rough, it already has the odd, intelligent wit and strong comic acting along with the surprisingly complex characters that marks all Anderson's work. Visually it's nothing special, lacking the specific and idiosyncratic film language Anderson would make his own in films to come, but it tells it's enjoyable shaggy dog story just fine.

Luke and Owen Wilson are both very good, and amazingly young.

The short is available as an extra on the Criterion release of 'Bottle Rocket' and is well worth seeing - both as a piece of modern film history, and as an entertaining film in it's own right.

Wes Anderson's first film was this short film which he co-wrote with Owen Wilson. It was also Owen's first film as well as his brother, Luke's, first film. Apparently the reaction to this short was positive, as only two years later a full-length version was made and all three have gone on to exceptional careers since.

The short is really not a complete film--more like a snippet to show potential investors the type film it could become. And, you have many of the story elements you'll see in the later film--as well as a meandering style which both films possess. However, due to costs, the short is only about 13 minutes long, is in black & white and uses inappropriate music (such as a cheap sax piece as well as Vince Guaraldi's song from "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown"!). This isn't really a complaint--just an observation about the cost-cutting done to create this little film.

It's really very hard to rate this, as I mentioned it is quite incomplete. My advice is see it and then see the full-length version--otherwise you might not appreciate the short.