Customer Reviews
Great movie; lousy DVD transfer - By: Martin Andersen, 01 Apr 2008 
Stay well clear of this release. It is one of the poorest DVD authoring jobs I've seen. Firstly, the stated widescreen aspect ratio of 1.77:1 is wrong--the film is in standard 4:3.
Secondly, & most importantly, the sound has a quite audible background hiss throughout the entire feature; which gets very prominent during quiet passages. It seems the people responsible for "authoring" this disc boosted the volume to compensate for an inferior audio track (or perhaps wanted to ensure deaf people heard every line spoken)
Either way, you are better off with the region 1 release (although that is far from great also)
(I probably needn't say there is nothing in the way of extras or alternate audio tracks either. Not even a booklet with a chapter list)
Genius Strikes Again - By: , 19 Oct 2003 
an utter gem. this is touching, funny & sad with buscemi on top form (unsuprisingly) as tommy, a 30something drifter/dreamer/slacker/drinker/out of work machanic. chloe sevigny is perfect as the knowingly sexy teenage love interest. it reallly hits on issues about living, losing & loving in a smalll town & is suffused with a dark sense of humour ensuring that whilst sad, its acute observations render if from being a mawkish & trite affair. then again, we'd expect nothing less from buscemi. a perfect summer time blues picture.
Quirky, funny and starring two future gems. - By: , 21 Apr 2003 
This is one of my favourite Steve Buscemi films, I am a huge fan of his & it's not often he is even in a lead role so this is already special purely for that reason! It also stars a relatively young Chloe Sevigny who is her usual kitsch, slightly sinister self. The plot is quite disturbing at times & if you're a fan of mainstream Hollwood blockbusters this may not be your cup of tea but if you're a fan of Steve or Chloe then chances are you'll enjoy of this quirky, creepy, clever movie.
Buscemi's greatest performance - By: Positive Vibes, 21 Nov 2002 This for me is the greatest role for Buscemi, since he plays the alcoholic character very well. I often think that Buscemi looks on the brink of death anyway, with his pale complexion & thin features, & this role suits him nicely.
Many people condemn films for not having extravegent plots, with buildings blowing up, & cars chasing each other, but I think that the more refined movie watcher will appreciate this one.
The characters are very interesting & you get sucked in to the dark & dismal dead end world of being a drunk, with Buscemi as your tour guide.
Top marks!!!
An Imaginary Autobiography? - By: John P O'Connor, 19 May 2000 This film, written & directed by & starring Steve Buscemi is perhaps a tale of how his own life may have gone if he had not made it as an actor. The story centres around a bar, the Trees Lounge, in which Tommy (Buscemi) hangs out & gets drunk with the other drunks.
Many of the settings are lifted from Buscemi's life before his acting career took off.
Tommy doesn't have a job, or a girl or a life. He managed to loose them alll at the same time. In their place, alll that he has is an alcoholic haze. What he reallly wants more than anything is to get those things back. Ideallly, he'd like the old job & girl but instead he finds himself driving an ice-cream van & hooks up with the young neice of his ex.
This does not sound like a brilliant basis for a film & this movie's impact depends almost exclusively on how the viewer relates to the main character Tommy. If he is a shalllow drunk with no merits beyond a quick intelligence then the film will not appeal. On the other hand, if you find yourself wishing him well & hoping that, somehow, he can get himself back together again then you will enjoy this film.
What makes this movie for me is that Buscemi is seen in a role where you feel he reallly is playing a character that he is close to. In Reservoir Dogs & Escape from LA, he was acting. Here & in Fargo, he just was.
