A mockumentary following a group of 60s folk musicians preparing for their comeback concert, A Mighty Wind was something of a letdown for fans of the side-splitting This Is Spinal Tap, which comes from the same stable of talent. Writer/director and star Christopher Guest may be guilty of "a joke stretched too far and too thin", but this movie makes a hefty package on DVD.

A Fiddle Dee DVD

Aside from the soundtrack promo and theatrical trailer, this selection of bonus features is made up entirely of extended and deleted scenes, all of which come with optional audio commentary by creative cohorts Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy. They include the full, unplugged TV broadcast of the comeback concert featured in the movie. So, if you're down with that folksy vibe, you can enjoy uninterrupted renditions of ditties like Barnyard Symphony and Potato's In The Paddy Wagon. Yeehaw!

If that gets your toe a-tappin', then the 15 additional scenes will have you do-si-doing till the cows come home (including Catherine O'Hara's truly pant-wetting performance of The Catheter Song). But there are also a few dialogue-based vignettes that will leave you heehawing. Such comic gems include Christopher Guest trying to figure out his "hey, noni, nos" from his "nani, nini, ohs", and in another scene, explaining why droppin' the g is essential to the folk philosophy.

Well, Slap My Thigh!

The four TV appearances by The Folksmen and Mitch & Mickey are basically extended sequences from the film. The best of these is Mitch & Mickey's hammy guest spot on a 60s cop show, which also features a fabulously deadpan Patrick Warburton (aka David Puddy from Seinfeld) as the squinty-eyed dick.

The only behind-the-scenes footage you'll see are a couple of snippets concealed on the guitar strings of the special features menu. The funnier of the two sees a bunch of scruffy, sweaty crew members pounding the wall of a hotel room to give the impression of raucous lovemaking on the other side. (Note: jiggling belly detail is definitely not sexy.)

Aside from these Easter eggs, the only insight into production is offered by the ubiquitous commentary track. Thankfully the observations of Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy are witty as well as enlightening. For instance, Guest reliably informs us as that Levy's famously bushy eyebrows are actually controlled by an off-screen puppeteer - surely a job for two puppeteers though...

If you were swept away by A Mighty Wind, this compilation of extras will leave you singing a happy tune.

EXTRA FEATURES

Note: This version of the DVD is only available from HMV.