Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Scott Pilgrim comes home. Literally, of course, in the form of the DVD/Blu-Ray release of Edgar Wright's graphic novel adaptation Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, but spiritually, in the sense that the home viewing cult audience was always going to be where this incredible film would find its fans. It's the same fate that's befallen nearly ever Wright project ― higher profile feature films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and his short-lived British TV series Spaced. The genre mash-up at the heart of Pilgrim combines videogame tropes (defeated enemies burst into showers of coins), Hong Kong-style action sequences (the core plot involves "boss battles" with seven evil exes of Pilgrim's object of affection) and a sweet love story informed by a lifetime's awareness of movie-borne love stories. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) plays in an indie band, dates a high schooler (Ellen Wong) and pines for cool, distant, rainbow-hued import Ramona (a fabulous Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The references are nerd deep in pop culture references, many of which are Easter egg-y enough to zoom by upon initial viewing, just as they've been in pretty much everything Wright has done. Just as the film belongs with Monty Python, Office Space and Spinal Tap ― cult classics that get better with each memorized moment and line of dialogue ― Wright embraces this destiny by offering up as much nerdy cool out of the gate as possible. Even the DVD (which has increasingly become a dumping ground while higher-end Blu-Ray nabs the great features) contains plenty of nerd-goosing goodness. Almost 30 minutes of deleted and extended scenes come mostly in 20 second snippets, but include a divisive "alternate" ending that was actually written and shot before Canadian graphic novelist Bryan Lee O'Malley finished the last book of his seven-part series. (The theatrical ending more closely matches O'Malley's.) The blooper reel isn't much, but patient nerds who've exhausted the extras on The Lord of the Rings can delve into four different commentary tracks by its creators (Wright, O'Malley and screenwriter Michael Bacall), technicians (Wright and director of photography Bill Pope) and two cast groups (Cera, Jason Schwartzman, Winstead, Wong and Brandon Routh in one, Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick, Kieran Culkin and Mark Webber in the other). Wright nerds out like no other, including deleted scene commentaries, while the cast are more... desperately hung-over, at least the latter group. In a case like this, with intricate details embedded in every frame of time-manipulated action sequences, the higher end Blu-Ray might be the way to go, especially if you're a nerd's nerd looking for more in-depth behind-the-scenes features. The Blu-Ray includes the entire DVD's content, plus some extensive behind-the-scenes footage, including music, storyboards, Wright's on-set blog and more.