Unseen + Untold: Animal House (2003)

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the release of the classic "raunch comedy" National Lampoon's Animal House, the Spike TV cable channel offered this behind-the-scenes special on the making of the film. Amidst a sea of anecdotes concerning the mercurial behavior of the film's star, John Belushi, the documentary offers a number of hitherto unknown factoids. Though filmmakers John Landis and Ivan Reitman, National Lampoon editors Matty Simmons and Chris Miller, and Animal House stars Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert, Karen Allen, and Bruce McGill are among the noteworthy interviewees, the real "star" of the documentary is the original film's script, which spoke more eloquently to its generation than many another more serious efforts of the era. Also featured are outtakes, alternate scenes, and clips from the dead-at-birth TV series spin-off, Delta House (which co-starred a very young Michelle Pfeiffer). The original telecast of Unseen + Untold: Animal House coincided with the DVD anniversary edition of the film, which contains even more bonus material. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi