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DVD Review: THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 10th Anniversary Edition

Jan 25, 2016 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

The Devil Wears Prada is based on Lauren Weisberger’s best-selling novel of the same name. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) recently graduated from college and is looking for a journalism job in the city, but no one seems to be hiring. She finally receives a call from top fashion magazine Runway, for a second personal assistant position for editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Andy knows nothing about fashion, but figures this could be a stepping stone for another job within the magazine’s parent company.

As Andy waits for her interview, one of the Runway employees notifies everyone in the office that Miranda has entered the elevator. The entire office goes into full-on panic mode, shuffling to get everything in place for the boss’ arrival. As Miranda steps into the office we see the “dragon lady” in full force as she barks out orders to everyone she passes.

Miranda’s current personal assistant Emily (Emily Blunt) isn’t shy about calling Andy out on her poor choice of fashion. The last two assistants she hired didn’t work out, and she’s worried that Miranda is going to fire her for Andy’s lack of style. However, this is exactly one of the reasons why Miranda is interested in Andy—she isn’t like all of the other fashion fangirls who didn’t last long in the position.

Andy gets the job, and so Miranda’s right-hand man Nigel (Stanley Tucci) takes her under his wing, schooling her in fashion, which she understands and embraces pretty quickly. However, it’s not long before Miranda’s ridiculous demands and impossible standards start to take over Andy’s life, often making her choose between her friends and boyfriend Nate (Adrian Grenier), and her career. Can she find the right work/life balance, or is there no such thing if she wants to make it in this industry?

 

I had listened to the The Devil Wears Prada audiobook way back before this film was released, and I absolutely loved the characters, story, humor and tone of the book. So this film had a lot of expectations to live up to…and the great news is that it did! The filmmakers have managed to recapture the same magic from the book in this delightfully fun film.

While this movie takes place in the New York fashion world, the themes are universal, and it could have easily been set in any big company in the city. You don’t have to love fashion or even know anything about that world in order to appreciate this story—a lot of folks who see this film won’t be familiar with this world of high fashion. There’s a great scene early on when Andy snickers at a huge debate over two almost-identical belts. This leads to Miranda explaining to her how high fashion questions like these are what eventually led to the department store fashion that Andy herself was wearing. This scene immediately helps Andy (and the viewer) understand the importance of this world. Even though it may seem ridiculous at times, it serves a purpose and has major influence on everyone, even those who don’t think they are affected by high fashion.

The cast of the film is fantastic. Anne Hathaway is perfectly cast as Andrea, the smart young every-woman who’s just trying to make her way in the world, and try to balance a personal and professional career while dealing with a ridiculously demanding boss. She is always so charming on screen, and this is no different—I was constantly rooting for Andy to succeed.

Meryl Streep has amazing comedic timing. There are so many hilarious scenes where Miranda doesn’t even have any dialogue—Streep is able to convey so much just with just a single glance, and it makes you laugh out loud every time. She also delivers Miranda’s ludicrous demands so perfectly, in this matter-of-fact tone with a threatening undertone. Miranda could have been this one-dimensional horrible boss character, but Meryl brings her to life, giving her heart. In the moments when you see a break in her tough exterior, you find yourself really caring about Miranda.

Emily Blunt is also fantastic as Anne’s snarky mentor, Emily. The character puts on this Miranda-like tough exterior, but you can see this is an act and Blunt lets her character’s more vulnerable side shine through. I loved the interactions between Blunt and Hathaway. There’s a simple but beautiful moment when Emily thanks Andy for having her back at a gala, and another fun scene between these characters at the end of the film.

 

In celebration of The Devil Wears Prada‘s 10th anniversary, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has released new “The 10th Anniversary Edition” versions of the Blu-ray & DVD. However the only things that are new to these releases are the packaging (they sport a new slipcover) and the inclusion of an UltraViolet digital copy. The discs inside are exactly the same as the previous 2006 releases—the specs, extras and even old film trailers remain exactly the same. The good news is that the original releases were already great!

I usually only watch things in HD these days, but I was sent the DVD for review. I was actually quite impressed by the quality of the DVD picture, and the audio track was more than sufficient for the dialogue and soundtrack. The disc comes loaded with bonus features—a filmmaker commentary, over 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes, over 20 minutes of deleted scenes and a gag reel. I couldn’t really have asked for anything more.



What’s Included:

Film: (1:49:22)

    DVD:

    • 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
    • Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Surround
    • Subtitles: English, Spanish
    • Closed Captions

    Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 1/12/2019):

    • Digital HD Copy redeemable via Flixster (UltraViolet), Google Play or Vudu (UltraViolet)
       
      (I had issues redeeming this code in HD—when I selected Vudu, it only gave me the SD version. I contact FOX and never heard back, and Vudu told me that DVD’s only come with SD digital copies, despite the “HD” in the name.
      I suggest trying Flixster instead as they were quick to resolve the similar issue I had with Kung Fu Panda 2 digital copy.)

Extras:

  • Audio Commentary (1:49:22)
    The filmmakers provide an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. The participants include director David Frankel, producer Wendy Finerman, costume designer Patricia Field, screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, editor Mark Livolsi and director of photography Florian Ballhaus.
  • Featurettes
    • The Trip To The Big Screen (12:03)
      Director David Frankel, producer Wendy Finerman and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna discuss adapting the best-selling novel for the big screen, finding the right tone for the film and maintaining a respect for the fashion industry.
    • NYC and Fashion (6:25)
      The cast and filmmakers talk about the fashion in the film and filming in New York. Includes interviews with producer Wendy Finerman, director David Frankel, costume designer Patricia Field, and stars Emily Blunt (“Emily”), Stanley Tucci (“Nigel”), Meryl Streep (“Miranda Priestly”) and Anne Hathaway (“Andy Sachs”).
    • Fashion Visionary Patricia Field (8:46)
      Costume Designer Patricia Field discusses her career and working on the film. The cast and filmmakers also give their thoughts on what it was like working with the fashion icon. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with director David Frankel, producer Wendy Finerman, and stars Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep.
    • Getting Valentino (2:53)
      Director David Frankel and producer Wendy Finerman recount how they got fashion designer Valentino Garavani to appear in the film. Also includes an interview with the fashion icon himself.
    • Boss From Hell (2:36)
      This promotional featurette includes film clips, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with director David Frankel and stars Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci, and man-on-the-street interviews with regular folks recounting their own horrible boss stories.
  • Deleted Scenes (21:36)
    A collection of 15 deleted scenes that can be watching with or without optional commentary from director David Frankel and editor Mark Livolsi. Play All or select from “Andy’s Interview with Elias-Clark Human Resources”, “Emily Prepping for Miranda’s Arrival at Runway”, “Andy First Day”, “Any Welcomes Her Dad to NY”, “Andy Runs Into Nate After Meeting Christian”, “Rushing with Miranda to the James Holt Preview”, “Andy Waiting for ‘The Book'”, “Sleepless Night After Delivering ‘The Book'”, “Desperate to Get the Potter Manuscript in Starbucks”, “Dressing for the Benefit with Nigel”, “Spotting Nigel Outside the Benefit”, “Miranda’s Entrance at the Benefit”, “When Do We Eat?”, “Leaving for Work While Nate Sleeps” and “Andy Sees Her Hotel Suite in Paris”.
  • Gag Reel (5:09)
    A fun gag reel featuring blunders, flubbed lines, alternate takes and general hilarity on the set.
  • Trailers and TV Spots
    • The Devil Wears Prada Theatrical Trailer (2:56)
    • The Illusionist Trailer (2:29)
    • In Her Shoes TV Spot (:33)
    • The Family Stone TV Spot (:34)
    • The Devil Wears Prada Soundtrack Promo (:19)

 


Final Thoughts:

My Rating
Film:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Highly Recommended

The Devil Wears Prada is highly entertaining film, with a stellar cast, which has me laughing out loud every time I see it. It takes what could have been a one dimensional horrible boss story and turns in into a fun and interesting look at the world of high fashion with fully-developed characters you really care about. This 10th Anniversary Edition of the the DVD and Blu-ray contains no new bonus material in addition to what what already available on the previous 2006 home video release (though there’s already a lot of great stuff there). The only thing that’s new is the packaging and the inclusion of an UltraViolet digital copy. The release still comes Highly Recommended, but there is no need to double-dip if you already own the previous release (you can use Vudu’s disc-to-digital services to obtain the same digital copy).