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One of the unexpected hits of 2006 was fashion expose The Devil Wears Prada. Anne Hathaway stars as an ambitious PA at Runway magazine, but the big draw is Meryl Streep and her "smoulderingly sinister" turn as the editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly. Although based on real-life Vogue honcho Anna Wintour, Streep made the part her own and has since gone on to awards success.
The Devil's In The Detail
Adapting the memoir by former Vogue employee Lauren Weisberger was a tricky business as director David Frankel reveals in one of six petite featurettes. Apparently the biggest hurdle was finding the right comedic tone, somewhere between "broad and quirky". In NYC & Fashion he talks more about wanting to avoid "mocking" the fashion industry because it's such a big part of urban life. A few soundbites from Streep and Hathaway (on how they view their characters) supports this sympathetic approach. Costume designer and fashion guru Patricia Field quite rightly gets her own forum to discuss the myriad costume changes in the film - although we're forced to sit through her life story first...
Rudolph Valentino pops up briefly to explain why he agreed to shoot a cameo when most designers turned up their noses, and elsewhere, the real-life editor of Italian Elle chats about her daily routine. She describes herself as "very calm and very simple..." in stark contrast to the horror stories aired in the featurette Boss From Hell. Among the walking wounded is a former PA who recalls having to redecorate her boss' kitchen. Thankfully she resisted slipping strychnine into the cookie jar.
Cutting The Cloth
13 deleted scenes are mostly extended versions of moments that already exist in the final cut. We get to see a little more of Emily Blunt and her brilliantly dry portrayal of Miranda's senior assistant, but we could really do without more soppy love scenes between Andy (Hathaway) and Nate (Adrian Grenier). In an optional commentary with Frankel and editor Mark Livolsi, most of the cuts are explained as an effort to up the pace.
Frankel is joined by all the key crewmembers in the main commentary. Naturally the aforementioned Ms Field is on hand to talk us through the "fabulous" outfits and there are a few more insider secrets about the fashion industry, courtesy of screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna. According to her, models habitually tip perfume into their food to resist eating it all (which seems like a terrible waste of perfume...). Later on, Frankel admits to being "totally intimidated" by Streep and once again bangs on about how the fashion industry - and those at the top of it - shouldn't be mocked but "respected" by us mere mortals. However, like a green salad dressed in eau d'toilette, we find that a little tough to swallow...
Finally, a gag reel demonstrates the perils of trying to run in five inch high heels. (Ouch.) Altogether this DVD offers a neat ensemble of extras, although not surprisingly it does tend towards style over substance.
EXTRA FEATURES
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The Devil Wears Prada DVD is released on Monday, 5th February 2007.
