Nickelodeon

"Special thanks to Allan Dwan and Raoul Walsh," reads the credit in the closing crawl of "Nickelodeon," Peter Bogdanovich's affectionate tribute to the early days of silent filmmaking. Directed in a silent movie slapstick vein, the erratic comedy of a film company cranking out two-reelers in the early teens was inspired largely by stories he was told by silent film veterans Dwan, Walsh and Leo McCarey. Ryan O'Neal (looking very much like Harold Lloyd, albeit with less charisma or physical grace) stars as a lawyer who literally stumbles into the movie business, and Burt Reynolds is the Florida rube who winds up their leading man. Bogdanovich had originally wanted to make the film in black and white (as he had "Paper Moon" and "The Last Picture Show") so he transforms the color film into beautiful black and white for the DVD release. "In color it feels made up," he explains in the commentary. "In black and white it seems more real." Whether or not it's funnier is harder to tell. While I'm fond of the movie history and camaraderie of the characters, it's not a particularly clever script or a very funny film.

The two-disc set includes both the original color theatrical version and the black-and-white director's cut of "Nickelodeon," which runs a couple of minutes longer, and the previously released director's cut of "The Last Picture Show." Both films include new commentary by Bogdanovich, who is always game to talk about his work and loves to point out his homages and his inspirations. Also includes a new interview with Bogdanovich and two previously available featurettes on "The Last Picture Show."