What a surprise. I enjoyed the new version of The Producers in a theater-type screening room last December. I was well aware of its many shortcomings but I so enjoyed watching Nathan Lane's performance that I could mentally write off the negatives and walk out of there happy. Maybe it's just because it was my second time through but watching the newly-released DVD, the weaknesses won out over Nathan. He's still amazing, wringing every possible laugh out of every gesture and syllable, but the film still fails to come to life. (Maybe it was also the lack of an audience.)
I've seen the material twice on stage — once with Nathan and Matthew Broderick, once with Jason Alexander and Martin Short. I've also seen the movie. This was the first time I really missed Zero and Gene and Ken Mars and the less-hysterical (but still over-the-top) pacing. The previous viewings, the musical felt like a new work made out of the framework of the original. Suddenly now, it really strikes me as a remake of something that didn't need to be remade. Broadway-to-film conversions usually fail because they change too much. This one fails because what worked on the stage just isn't as good on the screen.
The DVD includes a mess of outtakes and deleted scenes, including the whole "King of Broadway" number and a shorter song called "Rio." Also cut was a short scene with Max Bialystock (Nathan) wooing a little old lady played by Andrea Martin. They apparently got to improvising as there are several versions on the DVD and they're all funnier than a lot of material that did get in. Director Susan Stroman also recorded a commentary track that sounds like she's reading a script…and not a particularly enlightening one. I wouldn't expect any director to air dirty linen and might not think much of them if they did. But you shouldn't do a commentary track unless you have something more to say than how much fun every scene was to shoot, how terrific everyone was to work with and how brilliant they are in the scene we're watching.
Here's a link to order the DVD in regular or widescreen versions. Obviously, this is not a glowing recommendation. It's a sigh of disappointment from someone who still retains an affection for the material. Just not this presentation of it.