Why… might you ask… should there be a collection of films by Kevin Smith? As evidenced by the power that he seems to wield on the fringes of Hollywood, there is an audience… a big audience… out there who enjoys the simplicity of films filled with angst, humor, uncomplicated acting and metaphoric truths about life all delivered with gut-bustingly raunchy, yet stylishly written rapid-fire dialogue. I would venture to say that most of those who outright proclaim not to like his work are those fans whose families and churches would ridicule them if they were to announce their reverence for the guy. I'll be the first to admit that the majority of Kevin Smith's films, going back to "Clerks" (the film that launched his career), are obnoxious, gross, disgusting, shocking, offensive and sick. They are chock full of childish, if not infantile, jokes based mostly on the lowest denominators of humor. But you know what? I laugh harder and longer at his movies than any others I can think of.

Only Kevin Smith can take material like this and elevate it to a high (and I do mean HIGH) art form. However, make no mistake, his movies are ABSOLUTELY not for everyone. You don’t need to have a high tolerance to offensive humor; you need a cast-iron shield of tolerance to appreciate Smith’s ‘elegant’ use of language, metaphor and gross-out humor. He’s still one of the sharpest and wittiest writers in Hollywood (New Jersey?) right now.

However Smith made some career choices over the last few years that both disappointed and pleased most fans all at the same time. First, he announced he was leaving behind the world of Jay and Silent Bob to try his hand at something different. Something really high profile. Something that promised to be great. He was going to direct a big budget adaptation of "The Green Hornet." This was exciting news for Smith fans as he had penned the scripts for several comic book properties, including Green Arrow, Spider-Man and Daredevil, all of which were met with wild acclaim. If anyone could do something as retro chic as Green Hornet, it would be Smith.

But it was not to be, he instead decided that a big budget film like that was going to be out of his range as a director. As opposed to taking a chance of delivering a crappy movie, he dropped out. Instead he returned to his roots and directed a sequel to "Clerks", allowing fans to once again re-visit the other dynamic duo. Now some of you might not know who Jay and Silent Bob are, so to prepare the uninitiated, they started with a brief but memorable appearance in “Clerks.” This movie also marked the first of his proposed ‘Jersey Trilogy.’ As portrayed by Jason Mewes (Jay) and Kevin Smith himself (Silent Bob), they were nothing more than a couple of goofy drug dealers hanging out in front of a convenience store. Over the course of the five movies in said Trilogy (“Clerks”, “Mallrats”, “Chasing Amy”, “Dogma” and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"), these two rascals had somehow been elevated from mere bit players to unbelievably popular cultural icons. They’ve been in MTV videos and even had a cameo in “Scream 3.” Finally, in that fifth chapter of the Trilogy, we found our heroes making their way across the country to Hollywood where a movie was being made using their comic book superhero alter egos, Bluntman & Chronic. Yes… that's how involved these characters got…

Anyhow, that said… Miramax has decided they are going to release a Bluray collection of Smith’s films. Included in this set are “Clerks”, “Chasing Amy” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” A nice collection to be sure… and if there was any possible disappointment it would be that the studio did not simply go a step further and release all 5 films, barring the need to possibly purchase another, fuller set down the road.

What they did do right was to add a LOT of supplemental materials to 2 of the 3 films that had not previously been available on Bluray. “Clerks” has included two brand new special features, the first of which being one of Smith’s infamous introductions to the disc. This is followed up by a Making of featurette for “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” Of course, this seems a bit odd to have this feature on the disc for “Clerks” instead of “JASBSB”… but the feeling here is that the studio might have had a stock of discs for “JASBSB” and did not want to create a new one just for this set.

Along with these new features, “Clerks” also includes just about every other extra ever created for the previous releases. Everything from old commentaries, introductions, MTV Spots and original auditions can be found on this disc. You’ll even find the documentary “Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks” here, which if you have never seen is a MUST watch. I was also pleased to see “The Flying Car” short that features Brian O’Halloran & Jeff Anderson in yet another hilarious and off-center discussion. So admittedly, this set is worth it just for this disc alone.

The next movie on the menu is “Chasing Amy”, which I still consider to be one of Smith’s best. The studio has added several new features including a commentary by Smith and Scott Mosier as well as a feature length documentary about the making of the film… which is also a MUST watch. Additionally there is a new interview segment featuring Smith and Joey Lauren Adams and a 10th Anniversary Q&A segment with most of the cast. You’ll also find some of the previously released deleted scenes and ouutakes.

Finally we have “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”, which is the most insane and irreverent of the series of films. It is an out and out farce and one hell of a funny movie. This disc only offers up the previously available commentary and a ‘movie showcase’ which briefly looks at how much better Bluray is when compared to DVD.

So there you have it… a set… albeit incomplete… of Kevin Smith’s films on Bluray.

Clerks:
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Jason Mewes, Lisa Spoonauer
Extras: (NEW) Introduction by Kevin Smith; (NEW) The Making of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; Theatrical Commentary by Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Jason Mewes, Brian O’Halloran; Enhanced Playback Track; “The First Cut” Commentary by Kevin Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Scott Mosier, Jason Mewes; 2004 Kevin Smith Intro; Clerks – The Lost Scene; The Flying Car; MTV Spots with Jay and Silent Bob; Theatrical Trailer; Music Video for Soul Asylum’s “Can’t Even Tell”, Clerks Restoration; Original Clerks Auditions; Snowball Effect – The Story of Clerks; Mae Day – The Crumbling of a Documentary (w/ Intro by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier); Outtakes from The Snowball Effect; 10th anniversary Q&A
Specifications: B&W, 1080p High Definition (1.85:1), DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Studio: Miramax
MPAA Rating: R

Chasing Amy:
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes
Extras: (NEW) Audio Commentary by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier; (NEW) Tracing Amy; (NEW) Was it Something I Said?; (NEW) 10 Years Later Q&A; Deleted Scenes; Outtakes; Trailer
Specifications: 1080p High Definition (1.85:1), DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Studio: Miramax
MPAA Rating: R

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back:
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Ben Affleck, Eliza Dushku, Shannon Elizabeth, Will Ferrell, Ali Larter, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Chris Rock
Extras: Audio Commentary with Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, and Jason Mewes; Movie Showcase
Specifications: 1080p High Definition (2.35:1), 5.1 Dolby Digital
Studio: Miramax
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: 11/17/2009

We'll give The Kevin Smith 3 Movie Collection (Bluray) a B.