MovieChat Forums > Serendipity (2001) Discussion > Question about the DVD

Question about the DVD

posted 15 years ago by miffedone
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I have the movie on TiVo and have watched it - or parts of it - about 20 times now. Lurve the first 15 minutes (the meeting) and the last half hour, and selected scenes in the middle, but there are a few which make it tough to watch it straight through (anymore, at least.)

Anyway, I got to wondering if anyone has the DVD, and if the the extras are worth the price. I'd be interested in a commentary track, maybe deleted scenes, and any other extras that might be included. Anybody have an opinion about them for this disc?

(I ask because there are some commentary tracks which are simply abysmal, and sometimes the extras are things better left on the cutting room hard drive...)

Miffed One

[–] RickStarr11 15 years ago

I enjoyed having the DVD. There aren't a lot of extras, but what is there is enjoyable. The first three scenes in the movie (they meet at Bloomingdales, they stand in line at Serendipity, they...) were completely discarded and reshot, because as Director Peter Chelsom says (in the commentary track) those scenes were shot first, and it was a little while before the "chemistry" of the actors took hold, and he knew it could be so much better. (The scenes were completely rewritten, and for my money turned out 1000% better.)

So there's about (guess) 15 minutes worth of "Deleted Scenes", some still shots, and not a lot else. I did enjoy the Director's commentary track, where he gives away some of the secrets "behind the curtain." For instance, the snow falling is actually soap flakes. The twinkling stars in the sky are actually dark cardboard with holes punched, tinfoil behind that's lit, and which is moved to create "twinkling", and so on.

On of the fun facts is that it was shot half in NY and half in Toronto. In July and August, so making it seem "Christmas" was a chore. The first scene at the skating rink, for instance, required them to move the outer walls in and light it in such a way so you wouldn't see the trees in full bloom - it's supposed to be December, after all.

Anyway, I found it fun, it gave me an excuse to watch the movie again, and contrast and compare with the scenes that didn't make it into the final cut - and it's almost 10 years old so you can probably find it for $10 or so now.

Oh, one more fun fact. Kate Beckinsale did two "marvelous" takes (according to Chelsom) when she rushes back to the Waldorf and finds out from the guy stacking chairs that the wedding has been called off. Chelsom went behind the door and talked with her about doing one more, and giving it a comic ending. And that's where her line "That's horrible" came from, which is one of the funniest lines in the movie. OK, to make it even, when John Cusak kicks the snow after Kate leaves in the taxi (at the beginning of the movie), that's an improvisation by John, not from the script either.