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Sam Posten · 06-13-2006, 12:55 AM

Fried Green Tomatoes: Anniversary Edition

Title: Fried Green Tomatoes: Anniversary Edition
Rated: Not Rated, movie originally rated PG
Screen format: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Studio: Universal Studios
Year first released: 1991
DVD released: June 2006
Director: Jon Avnet
Starring: Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson
Sound Formats: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Length: 2 Hours 17 Minutes
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Plot: 4.5/5

Despite my willingness to watch movies of just about any genre and repute, Fried Green Tomatoes somehow never made it into my radar until this “Anniversary Edition” was sent my way. FGT explores two extraordinary friendships between pairs of women: Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy as Evelyn Couch and Ninny Threadgoode, and Mary Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson as Ruth Jamison and Idgie Threadgoode. Told as a series of intertwined memory vignettes, FGT explores many aspects of friendship, living in the American south, racism, spousal abuse, death, and, perhaps most importantly finding out who you are, and taking charge of your life on your own terms. Academy Award winners Tandy and Bates are equally matched by the younger team and the supporting cast is equally strong.

One surprise note was the original author of this film. As a child I remember clearly watching writer Fanny Flagg on “Match Game” and never being quite sure what made her famous, I’m still not familiar with too much of her other work, but this is a fantastic tale well told. Flagg is extensively interviewed on the making of featurette and gives great insight into what worked and what didn’t in the transition from book to movie.

Sound Quality: 4/5

As a character driven drama you might expect the sound on this movie to be pretty low key, and for the most part you would be right. However the score is nicely fitting and surprisingly enveloping for both a drama and a 1991 production. There were several notable uses of surround, including during town get-togethers and key plot driving scenes such as a fight and those involving the trains passing the Whistle Stop Café, which serves the titular tomatoes. Dialogue was as clear as any movie I’ve seen, no worries on that front.

Visual Quality: 4.5/5

This is a brand new digitally remastered transfer and it is spectacular. Zero edge-enhancement, noise, grain or other artifacts are in any way visible. The color palette is wide ranging with some of the best (and cleanest!) saturation I’ve seen in a drama. Roses and other flowers and vegetables abound and are very rich and detailed with great color clarity, and there are plenty of establishing shots of food at the Whistle Stop that almost made me drool. All are super sharp. Major kudos on this transfer, I can’t wait to see if it can be improved on HD-DVD, which I’m sure will follow sometime soon.

Extra Features: 4/5

A nice little load of features is crammed onto this single disk, and I have to be honest that I haven’t gone through all of them yet. Starting off we have a feature length commentary with director Avnet. Next up we have some VERY short and scrappy looking deleted scenes and outtakes, 3 demerits for not having any menu control over them but they are nice to have!

A great (and lengthy!) featurette titled ‘Moments of discovery: The making of Fried Green Tomatoes’ takes us through the history of FGT from book to movie, plus interviews with cast and crew, very complete and professionally done. While you might not expect too much ‘making of’ to be necessary for a period drama, the complete rebuilding of the town of Juliet GA into Whistle Stop AK really required a lot of forethought and movie magic.

We have some PR puffs in the form of a Poster Campaign showcasing about 20 different poster designs and a deep selection of Production Photos. From the original book, 25 ‘authentic’ Whistle Stop recipes are included and they look as tasty as they are unhealthy =) Finally we have a selection of Jon Avnet’s production notes which scroll by waaaay too fast, but once I paused and stepped through them they were pretty neat. I wish there was a better mechanism for controlling it but it was interesting in the end.

The one omission I can ding this disk for not having is any original trailers.

Overall: 4.5/5 (not an average) RECOMMENDED
This is a fantastic packaging of a very entertaining film. The plot, pacing, cinematography and acting are all top notch. The special features are well rounded, professional, and informative. The audio is good if not great and the video quality is great bordering on reference quality. If, like me, you missed this film the first few go rounds, don’t be put off by the proposition of a dull chick-flick. FGT may have female leads but its themes are universal and this is simply great story telling backed with dedicated craftwork in every facet of the film.

Sam