Hot Fuzz 3-Disc Collector's Edition

Fans of the creative brain trust behind Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz can rejoice, because following the single-disc DVD for Hot Fuzz (itself not exactly light on bonus features) comes this three-disc version. The 3-Disc Collector’s Edition is so crammed full of everything Hot Fuzz-related that the creators (writer/director Edgar Wright, co-writer/actor Simon Pegg and better half Nick Frost) joke about doing commentaries on the commentaries for the next DVD version, to be released in six months time, of course, as there’s nothing else left to include. Much like what they accomplished with Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz works so incredibly well because it’s not a parody of a genre (in this case, action/police films) but because, more than anything it’s a homage made by people who love those works but can also see the humour in them and translate it without crossing over into mean-spirited mocking. Simon Pegg plays Detective Nicholas Angel, the best cop in London, who’s reassigned to a small, quiet town because he’s making the other Bobbies look bad. Of course, this quite, small town isn’t so peaceful and Angel has to go about uncovering the town’s dark secrets while saddled with a new, bumbling partner (Frost). The film is unquestionably brilliant (marrying action and humour seamlessly) and is accompanied by almost every type of extra there is (video blogs, featurettes, commentaries, deleted scenes, and so much more). Amongst the, count ’em, five commentaries is one with director Wright and Quentin Tarantino. And while it’s frustrating that Quentin won’t give commentary on his work (seriously, Quentin, nut up already), it’s almost more frustrating that the two spend the majority of their track discussing British action cinema or Reservoir Dogs instead of the film at hand. However, it’s also incredibly interesting, as both are encyclopaedias of filmic knowledge. One of the "anticipated” extras here is Wright’s first "cop” film, Dead Right, a super-lo-fi spoof/interpretation of American cop films he shot on video when he was 18. "Come on, Edgar, learn the fucking lessons!” sarcastically screams Pegg during his and Nick’s commentary. And while Simon has a point, and throughout the commentary they rag relentlessly on Wright’s first effort (and not without justification), you can see the seeds of talent that would eventually blossom. As well, you can also see the commonalities (the supermarket setting, the ginger kid, etc.) between Dead Right and the "vastly superior,” in Pegg’s words, Hot Fuzz, and just how far Wright has come. Their next project together can’t come soon enough.