It’s been nearly a decade since Christopher Guest directed a feature film, and we’re all worse off for it. Happily that’s due to change later this year when his new movie, Mascots, premieres on Netflix complete with most of his usual troupe along for the ride. Until then though we’re forced to revisit his past films.
To that end, the recent (and long overdue) release of A Mighty Wind on Blu-ray from Warner Archive was all the reason I needed to give it another watch. Guest and Eugene Levy recorded a commentary track for the film’s initial DVD release, and it’s been ported over to the Blu. Are the duo as entertaining here as they are in every other facet of their professional lives? Only one way to find out.
Keep reading to see what I heard on A Mighty Wind commentary.
A Mighty Wind (2003)
Commentator: Christopher Guest (director, co-writer, actor), Eugene Levy (co-writer, actor)
1. The first character they conceived was Jonathan Steinbloom (played by Bob Balaban). “Originally it was me or Bob,” says Levy. “Really?” replies an incredulous Guest.
2. They knew they wanted to do a movie about music and musicians before actually landing specifically on folk music.
3. The Folksmen — the folk trio played by Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer — pre-existed the film. “We had opened for Spinal Tap,” says Guest, “for ourselves basically, over the years.”
4. Guest and Shearer shaved their heads for their characters. “Michael is wearing a $3 toupee,” says Guest. “Well maybe it was $2. But it’s definitely not in the real hair world.”
5. Levy asks the genesis of Shearer’s “whaler’s beard.” “Harry explains that,” says Guest, “in a scene that we don’t have in the movie he explains the history of that beard. It’s not really a whaler’s beard at all.” Forty five minutes later into the commentary Guest adds that “I just remembered the name of that beard. It’s called a Newgate Fringe, and it’s supposed to emulate a rope around your neck.”
6. The Folksmen album covers were shot and then had work done to make the trio look younger. “Once they photographed us we went into kind of a Adobe Photoshop extravaganza,” says Guest.
7. Catherine O’Hara learned to play the autoharp for the film.
8. Guest points out that the instruments are being played by the cast and they’re actually singing live. “That was tough for some of us,” says Levy.
9. Levy first met O’Hara at Toronto’s Second City where she started working at the theater before joining the troupe when Gilda Radner left.
10. The shot of The New Main Street Singers performing at a Florida amusement park was filmed in California, but they are actually performing live. “This was them just singing in front of a roller coaster which we thought was a funny idea.”
11. One of the guitar players in The New Main Street Singers is played by Castle Rock’s Head of Publicity, Dave Blasucci.
12. As with all of Guest’s mockumentaries there’s no traditional script with dialogue. They have outlines and the cast simply (or not so simply, depending) improvises their way through. The scene where Mitch (Levy) arrives at Mickey’s (O’Hara) home was Levy’s first appearance. “There’s no rehearsal in this process,” says Guest, “so that was the first time I heard the voice that Eugene was going to be doing.” Levy asks if he had “a few palpitations” upon hearing it, to which Guest replies “Yeah, there was a moment there.”
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