Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman  �  A Making of Rushmore Featurette  �  Max Fisher Presents from the 1999 MTV Movie Awards  �  Charlie Rose Interviews of Wes Anderson and Bill Murray  �  Cast Audition Footage  �  Wes Anderson's Hand Drawn Storyboards  �  Film to Storyboard Comparison  �  Theatrical Trailer  �  Production Photos

FILM
This was one of my favorite films from 1998. When Buena Vista originally released it on DVD, I was first in line to pick up a copy, but I was a little disappointed that there were no extras. A month or so later Criterion announced a deluxe edition and I knew this film was going to get the attention that it deserved.

This is a very hard film to describe to people. I will try in a few sentences. Max Fischer is a 10th grader at Rushmore Academy. He dresses in a blue sport coat and writes odd ball plays. He meets Mr. Bloom, an alum of Rushmore, and he and Bloom both fall in love with one of the first grade teachers at Rushmore. This turns into a small war between the two with Max eventually being kicked out of Rushmore and forced to go a public high school. His charm slowly starts to work the new school where he finds a new girlfriend and resolves all the issues in his life when he invites everyone to attend his Vietnam based played called Heaven and Hell.

When you go through the plot and describe the basic premise, it sounds very strange. I think the reason it is so hard to describe is that it takes place in its own world. No city is specified, we just know the name of the two schools and each of the characters seems totally focused on their own agenda. Although everything has a certain reality to it, everything seems just a little out of place. This is actually what makes the film so appealing. Max is one of those students who is absolutely awful in school, but has so much drive and will to succeed that when something does not go his way he barely knows how to handle it.

Every performance in this picture is dead on. Jason Schwartzman as Max is a godsend to this movie. This is his first film which makes his performance even more amazing. Every nuance is just right. Bill Murray also turns in a wonderful performance as the steel tycoon, Mr. Bloom. I love when big name actors do movies for up and coming directors at a reasonable price. What is great about these performances is that they typically allow the actor to stretch his/her abilities into areas that are not open to them in big budget, Hollywood films. A recent example of this would be Tom Cruise in Magnolia. I am sure he was paid next to nothing but he gave one of the best performances of his life. My favorite Bill Murray moment in the film is when Max introduces him to his dad. There is a look of acknowledgement on his face that is one of those great acting moments.

VIDEO
The transfer on this film is up to Criterion's usual standard. Absolutely gorgeous. No artifacts at all and the color reproduction is flawless. This is especially important to this film because some the color schemes used are very reminiscent of the old Technicolor movies. As Wes Anderson describes in the commentary, the whole movie has a very storybook feel to it.

AUDIO
The British Invasion soundtrack is perfectly reproduced. Solid bass all around and a great 360� sound design. This is not a sound effects film, but the sound goes a long way to putting you in the middle of Max Fischer's world.

EXTRAS
This disc is a perfect example of why Criterion is constantly at the top of the list for best DVD's and in the past for their laserdiscs. This disc has everything from great menus and audition tapes to a making of featurette and the shorts Anderson created for the 1999 MTV Movie Awards. The commentary with director, Anderson, co-writer, Owen Wilson and actor, Jason Schwartzman is very informative. I only wish the three had recorded the commentary together. The group commentaries always are a lot of fun. The audition tapes are very interesting because we get to see some of the scenes before they were trimmed down to their essentials. The Charlie Rose interviews with Bill Murray and Wes Anderson also contain some nice insights.

SUMMARY
If you are a fan of this film the  Criterion Edition is a must have. It is superior to the Buena Vista edition in every conceivable way. For those who have not seen the film it should move to the top of your rental list at the very least. I will admit that many people just won't get it, but that is their loss.