Danielle Solzman
The Chris Elliott-starring Cabin Boy celebrates its 25th anniversary with the release of an new anniversary edition on Blu-ray.
As Kino Lorber goes through the Touchstone Pictures catalog, they’ve released a 25th anniversary edition of Cabin Boy in late 2018. This collection will certainly be a must-have for fans of the 1994 release. Among the new content is an interview with writer-director Adam Resnick and star Chris Elliott. Meanwhile, the duo are joined by Mike Sacks in a separate audio commentary track.
To say that the film is divisive is certainly not an understatement. This is a film that is currently split among the critics who have published reviews of the film on Rotten Tomatoes. On IMDB, there are currently over 1,000 viewers who have given the film a 5.2 rating. If you look at both the front and back cover, they own up to the film’s reception upon release and over the years. On the front cover, the film’s description is as follows: “the contentious classic that angered a nation.”
I’m honestly not surprised at this heading on the cover. This is a film that had a $10 million production budget. At the box office, Cabin Boy did poorly with $3.6 upon release. Chris Elliott received a Razzie nomination for Worst New Star but Anna Nicole Smith won the award.
In viewing the film for the first time over the weekend, I can definitely say that it’s not a film for everyone. Is there a studio that would be willing to give the green light to make the film today? It certainly would not be one to come from Touchstone Pictures. At least, not as the studio currently releases under the helm of Bob Iger at Disney.
An excerpt of the synopsis:
Inspired by classic seafaring yarns like Captains Courageous, Cabin Boy has grown in reputation over the years as a truly offbeat cult comedy-fantasy with Ray Harryhausen-like special effects, a hilariously oddball performance by Elliott, and a treasure chest of eccentric supporting players including Brian Doyle-Murray, Brion James, James Gammon, Andy Richter and Russ Tamblyn, plus a seminal cameo by Elliott and Resnick’s old boss David Letterman as an antagonistic sock-monkey vendor.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- New Audio Commentary by star Chris Elliott and director Adam Resnick, moderated by writer Mike Sacks
- New Interview with star Chris Elliott and director Adam Resnick
- Limited Edition booklet essay by film critic Nick Pinkerton
- Archival cast interviews featuring Chris Elliott, Ritch Brinkley, James Gammon, Brian Doyle-Murray, Brion James, Melora Walters and Russ Tamblyn
- B-Roll Footage
- Edited outtakes
- Newly commissioned art by Jacob Phillips
- Audition Tapes: Melora Walters and Andy Richter
- 5 TV spots
- Limited Edition O-Card
- Reversible Art
- Theatrical Trailer
DIRECTOR: Adam Resnick
CAST: Chris Elliott, Brion James, Brian Doyle-Murray, James Gammon, Ritch Brinkley, Melora Walters, Bob Elliott, David Letterman, Ann Magnuson, Russ Tamblyn, Ricki Lake, Mike Starr, Andy Richter, Alfred Molina
