Μύ Newcomer Alex Etel stars as seven-year-old boy who happens upon a stash of cash in Danny Boyle's Millions. It was hailed by critics as "a clever morality tale", which was also more poignant than we're used to seeing from the director of Trainspotting. Unfortunately it didn't bag much loot at the box office, opening outside the top 5 in the UK and not even breaking the top ten in the US. Perhaps a home release will finally see this little gem unearthed.
Quids In!
"I would get a swimming pool with strawberry jelly in it," says the scampish Etel when asked what he would do with a million pounds. Meanwhile James Nesbitt admits he'd probably "put it on a horse" in one of four featurettes that go behind-the-scenes. We're guessing Boyle and Boyce don't have to dream what it would be like to have a million pounds so instead they talk us through their vision of the film. Boyle sums it up, saying, "It's all about Damian's imagination really," while Boyce reveals that it was the director who encouraged him to make the appearance of saints a bigger part of the story.
In the last of these behind-the-scenes featurettes cameras go on location for the robbery sequence, which has all the kinetic flourishes that we traditionally associate with Boyle.
Nine deleted scenes delve deeper into Damian's fantasy world while Nesbitt gets to play a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. An entire sequence involving a street-long queue of "chuggers" is perhaps the most interesting omission as it casts these charity workers in an unflattering light. It's funny too, with bizarre pitches for a boggling array of good causes, eg "With 100 bicycles we can drag Nepalese obstetrics into the 21st century!" Pregnant women on bicycles!? That adds up to a really bad case of saddle sore...
Children And Animals...
Boyle visited dozens of schools to find his lead players and a reel of audition footage brings together some of the brightest and frankly scariest candidates. When asked what he'd like to be when he grows up, one of the kids opts for policeman, because: "It's dead cool having a gun and walking around just arresting people..." Gee, we wonder why he didn't get the part?
Badgered is a delightful animated short by up-and-coming talent Sharon Colman, which Boyle has decided to showcase on this DVD just because that's the kind of guy he is! It's about a badger whose home is under threat and was inspired by environmental concerns relating to the storage of nuclear weapons beneath the Scottish countryside. Keeping in this charitable frame of mind, there's also an appeal for Water Aid. (You can find out more at: )
Boyle and Boyce are on top form for the audio commentary with plenty of behind-the-scenes titbits on casting, locations, story development etc. They're not short on anecdotes either with Boyle recalling the logistical problem of trying to direct a flock of homing pigeons: "They all flew to Warrington and it took us three hours to get them back to the set!" Moreover, wannabe filmmakers will be encouraged to know that there is a patron saint of filmmaking. Send your prayers to Saint Tula, Our Lady Of Cinema, and remember: "Look not through the Viewfinder, but let your Camera's Eye be guided by the Saint of Cinema's Holy Visions." Okay, so maybe you won't find this DVD to be a religious experience, but it's definitely cash well spent!
EXTRA FEATURES
