My Own Private Idaho

Theatrical Release Date: 1991 09 29 (USA)

UPC: 715515015929

Studio: Criterion

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse]

Summary: Gus Van Sant's dreamtime riff on Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Parts I and II" features River Phoenix as Mike Waters, a narcoleptic male hustler who is first seen drifting on a stretch of highway in Idaho. Mike shifts from Seattle to Portland, where he has taken up with Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves), who is also a hustler. The difference between them is Mike's sleepy state betrays an uncertain future, while Scott is ready to inherit a fortune from his father within a week. Mike feels a real affection for Scott, but Scott does not believe men can really love each other. Besides, Scott is mostly hustling as a means of slumming and killing time before he inherits his money. Mike, however, delusionally thinks Scott will continue with his life as a drifter after receiving his inheritance. Mike's belief is shared by the dregs of Portland, who live out of an abandoned hotel with their spiritual leader Bob (film director William Richert). They're convinced Scott's fortune will benefit them all, when in reality Scott has other plans. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Volpi Cup for Best Actor – Venice International Film Festival Best Picture – Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Actor – Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography – Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography – Independent Spirit Awards Best Film Music – Independent Spirit Awards Best Actor – National Society of Film Critics

Features: New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
Original theatrical trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
Exclusive new audio interview with Gus Van Sant by filmmaker Todd Haynes
The Making of My Own Private Idaho
Kings of the Road
New video conversation between producer Laurie Parker and River Phoenix's sister Rain
New audio conversation between writer JT LeRoy and filmmaker Jonathan Caouette
Deleted scenes

My Own Private Idaho

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 03/01/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 104 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- My Own Private Idaho, Disc 1 - the Film
1. Idaho [:12]
2. Seattle [5:24]
3. "Immaculate Perfection" [2:37]
4. Pretty Rich Girl [3:14]
5. "Some Hustler, Huh?" [3:26]
6. Porno-Mag Shop [2:32]
7. A German Guy Named Hans [1:52]
8. Portland [1:54]
9. Worst Date [2:40]
10. Bob Pigeon Returns [2:44]
11. A Crackpot Scheme [2:02]
12. "When I Turn Twenty-One..." [4:18]
13. Rock 'N' Roll Money [1:39]
14. The Mayor of Portland [2:46]
15. "Tell Us, Bob" [1:31]
16. The Sheriff Comes for Scott [5:20]
17. Favor for His Cousin [2:22]
18. To the Potato State [1:58]
19. Around the Campfire [2:00]
20. Not a Motorcycle Cop [4:26]
21. "Me, You, and Mom" [1:17]
22. The Family Tree [8:09]
23. Room Service [1:07]
24. Der Adler [:43]
25. "Some Business" [3:11]
26. "You Like Your Bike?" [:15]
27. Roma [1:25]
28. "Mom?" [1:38]
29. Carmella [4:09]
30. In Love With Scott [2:18]
31. Left Behind [1:52]
32. In Italian [1:38]
33. Back in Portland [1:44]
34. "Headlong Into His Inheritance" [2:59]
35. "I Don't Know You, Old Man" [1:18]
36. Death From a Broken Heart [2:20]
37. Two Funerals [1:39]
38. "A Connoisseur of Roads" [2:35]
39. End Credits [3:47]
40. Color Bars [4:40]
Side #2 -- My Own Private Idaho, Disc 2 - the Supplements
1. Barn Crash [5:22]
2. Long-Term Project [4:36]
3. Third and Taylor [2:00]
4. Dream Cast [6:19]
5. Two DPs [3:33]
6. Fucked-Up Face [1:33]
7. Crew Sizes [5:30]
8. A Landmark Movie [:51]
9. Researching Their Roles [11:09]
10. William Richert [2:31]
11. Real Mike and Scott [2:11]
12. At Gus's House [2:40]
13. Blocking Scenes [15:32]
14. Gay Character [4:55]
15. Campfire Scene [4:14]
16. Breakout Scene [4:01]
17. Director's Expectations [3:06]
18. Scraps of Paper [4:18]
19. A Natural Performer [3:33]
20. River's Costumes and Hair [2:43]
21. Brother/Father [2:26]
22. Udo's Cabaret Act [2:37]
23. Mickey Cottrell [1:43]
24. Stereotypes [1:39]
25. The Simpsons [:31]
26. Music [5:30]
27. The Ending [3:54]
28. After Idaho [2:00]
29. Venice Film Festival [1:37]
30. Good Business Model [1:05]
31. Gay Kids [3:44]
32. Idaho Stands Out [2:15]
33. A Dedication [4:33]
1. Before Idaho [3:03]
2. Scripting Life on the Street [6:01]
3. Working With Gus [10:14]
4. Conventions of Idaho [9:03]
5. Working With River [4:42]
6. Shooting Intimate Scenes [3:46]
7. Trust in the Unknown [5:28]
1. Road Movies and the Western [5:31]
2. Male Identity [3:00]
3. Shakespeare's Henriad [4:10]
4. Van Sant's Cultural Baggage [3:00]
5. The Campfire Scene [3:05]
6. Between Two Worlds [1:57]
7. Calculated Transition [4:51]
8. Shakespeare's Subversive Edge [5:16]
9. A Film of Starts and Stops [5:09]
10. Van Sant Outs Falstaff [4:36]
11. Dance of Rebellion and Submission [3:35]
1. Play All [3:03]
2. Barn Crash With Scratch [6:01]
3. Scene #1 [10:14]
4. Scene #2 [9:03]
5. Scene #3 [4:42]
6. Scene #4 [3:46]
7. Scene #5 [5:28]
8. Scene #6 [:00]
1. First Impressions [6:40]
2. Tricks [2:05]
3. Super-8 [2:05]
4. Gutter Punks [1:46]
5. Streetwise and Strozsek [2:37]
6. Drugs and Time [3:52]
7. Seattle Vs. Portland [4:30]
8. In the Governor [2:49]
9. Sharks and Dolphins [7:03]
10. Shakespeare Stuff [2:00]
11. Cops [1:11]
12. Narcolepsy [4:42]
13. "Everybody was Naked" [3:30]
14. Family Portraits [2:56]
15. Audience Reaction [2:10]
16. Pimps in Hollywood [3:10]

Rebecca Flint Marx

Gus Van Sant's third feature further established him as a spokesman not just for alienated gay men but also for disaffected youth in general. A harsh, beautiful, and fervently original portrait of alienation, betrayal, and unrequited love, My Own Private Idaho was one of the defining films of both Van Sant's career and the New Queer Cinema of the 1990s. While Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Van Sant's previous film, had focused on a group of people driven to society's fringes by their drug addiction, Idaho dramatizes a group of people driven to society's fringes by their sexuality. As in Cowboy, Van Sant refrains from grand pronouncements about the lifestyle of the social/sexual outlaw; and his focus on the relationship between River Phoenix's Mike and Keanu Reeves' Scott gives the film emotional resonance. Phoenix in particular is heartbreaking as the lovelorn, narcoleptic Mike, whose campfire-side declaration of love for Scott remains one of the most poignant and honest depictions of male-to-male longing ever captured onscreen. Phoenix's quiet, raw portrayal of the young hustler would be constantly referenced in tributes to the actor following his untimely death in 1993, and the close association seems fitting: with its bleak, dreamy ambience and mournful yet unsentimental story, My Own Private Idaho feels less like a narrative than like an elegy for the romantic aimlessness of youthful alienation. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Cast and Crew: James Caviezel  Actor 
Robert Egon  Actor 
Eric Hull  Actor 
Vana O'Brien  Actor 
Mario Stracciarolo  Actor 
Mike Cascadden  Actor 
Missimo de Cataldo  Actor 
Joshua Halladay  Actor 
Melanie Mosely  Actor 
David Reppinhagen  Actor 
Tiger Warren  Actor 
George Conner  Actor 
Shaun Jordan  Actor 
Pat Patterson  Actor 
James A. Arling  Actor 
Tom Cramer  Actor 
Scott Patrick Green  Actor 
Oliver Kirk  Actor 
Robert Lee Pitchlynn  Actor 
Tom Troupe  Actor 
Brian Wilson  Actor 
Paolo Baiocco  Actor 
Sally Curtice  Actor 
Stanley Hainesworth  Actor 
Conrad "Bud" Montgomery  Actor 
Steve Vernelson  Actor 
Matt Ebert  Actor 
Greg Murphy  Actor 
Mark Weaver  Actor 
Ana Cavinato  Actor 
Wade Evans  Actor 
Shawn Jones  Actor 
Stephen Clark Pachosa  Actor 
Lannie Swerdlow  Actor 
Michael Parker  Actor 
Pao Pei Andreoli  Actor 
Mickey Cottrell  Actor 
Wally Gaarsland  Actor 
Udo Kier  Actor 
Douglas Tollenen  Actor 
Jesse Merz  Actor 
Laurie Parker  Producer 
Gus Van Sant  Director 
Gus Van Sant  Producer 
Gus Van Sant  Screenwriter 
River Phoenix  Actor 
Keanu Reeves  Actor 
James Russo  Actor 
William Richert  Actor 
Rodney Harvey  Actor 
Chiara Caselli  Actor 
Jesse Thomas  Actor 
Flea  Actor 
Grace Zabriskie  Actor 

Country: USA