Double Dip Demands is a column in which I propose films that deserve a re-release on DVD/Blu-Ray with more special features, better transfers and other nerdy bits. Some of the films have no DVDs out there for Region 1 viewers, and some of them have a really crappy version that's bare bones or poorly put together. Who speaks for these films? I do.

The Film: Clue (1985)

Cast & Crew: Jonathan Lynn (dir. and co-writer); John Landis (co-writer); Eileen Brennan, Lesley Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Michale McKean, Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn, Colleen Camp, Howard Hesseman

Plot Synopsis (Via IMDB): Clue is a movie about 6 guests, a butler, and a maid, who are all involved in the murders of 6 people. The guests all meet at Hill House, where you learn that Professor Plum works in D.C., where everyone else lives. Colonel Mustard is a client of Miss Scarlet, who is the ex-employer of Yvette, the maid, who had an affair with the husband of Mrs. White, etc. When Mr. Boddy, who is blackmailing each guest, gives the guests each a weapon, he tells them they should kill Wadsworth, the butler, to avoid being exposed. With Mrs. Peacock's craziness, and Mr. Green's clumsiness, the whole group finds themselves tangled in a web of murder, lies, and hilarity.

Is it Out Currently? Yes on DVD with only the 3 alternative endings as an extra.

Why Does it Deserve Special Features? Clue is a hilarious comedy that is fondly remembered yet often overlooked. The movie is an ensemble piece and has plenty of work for each actor to do and leave an indelible mark. It also has the luxury of operating on multiple levels - it's not just the manic pace of the physical comedy or slapstick (though there is that), but also word play, innuendo, absurdism, character based schtick, plus a Go-Go as a singing telegram. The tightly wound script is a good example of the comedy that adheres closely to other genres in order to satirize - in this case it's the drawing room murder, or the Agatha Christie type "famous people meet up and someone dies" film. Clue arrived at a time when it was absurd to make a movie base on a board game, and yet the writers rose to the challenge and delivered a movie that is infinitely more fun and entertaining than the board game could ever be. Nowadays, everything is being optioned as a film (including Hasbro's latest rush to turn Battleship and Candyland into movies), for good or ill. A new disc would be a good way of highlighting what was done right in this adaptation and as a fitting tribute to its many fine performers. Also, the current DVD that is out looks like crap and the new version would at least clean up the picture and sound.

What Should be on the Disc?

• Commentaries
  • Writers John Landis and Jonathan Lynn (who also directed)
  • (Surviving) Actors: Martin Mull, Michael McKean, Lesley Ann Warren, Christopher Lloyd, Eileen Brennan, Tim curry
  • Comedians Patton Oswalt, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, Jimmy Pardo
• 3 Alternate Endings (with commentary) Played Alone or Play at Random
• Fourth Ending: The scripted and shot, but unseen, fourth possible ending in which Wadsworth kills everyone...and then is eaten by dogs.
  
• Deleted Scenes
• Trailers
• Outtakes
• Cluedo: A look back at the invention and various iterations of the famous board game. A profile of inventor Anthony E. Pratt and his game of murder. Examines how the various attempts to add different characters and murder weapons have been received by players and how the game remains essentially the same.
• Everyone's Got a Motive: Featurette that looks back at the making of Clue with the cast and crew. Includes remembrances by fans of the movies who describe their favorite parts, elements. All the people that almost ended up in the movie (Carrie Fisher, John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson), the many different and possible endings, etc.
• Solving the Case: An examination of the 3 alternate endings, why the gimmick was created and how it went over with audiences. Also - which ending do people prefer?
• Ms. White: A look back at Madeline Kahn, her life and work, and an example of her wit in the improvised monologue about Yvette.
• If Looks Could Kill: A look at the production design of the film and the costume design of the characters. How personalities are conveyed with wardrobe and how the time period of the film, the 50s, informed the look of the movie.
• A Bit More than Ten Little Indians: Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (a/k/a ...And Then There Were None) has been used as a recurring plot many, many times in film and TV - including Clue. A look at some of those including Family Guy's "And Then There Were Fewer," Neil Simon's Murder By Death, Scooby Doo, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends episode "7 Little Superheroes," Gumnaam - the Indian adaptation, the movie Identity and various other television shows (Saved by the Bell, Remington Steele, Adventures of Briscoe County Jr., Get Smart, etc.). Why does this story still work and what makes it so attractive to adapt to other times and characters? And a look at the book itself, along with its less than great original title (wiki it).