Jane Austen's Emma was the inspiration for Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995). Painting a witty and wacky portrait of teenage life, the film's influence extended far beyond its Beverly Hills setting to become a pop culture classic. It was also a launching pad to stardom for the 17-year-old Alicia Silverstone who was, like, so spoilt as rich girl Cher, but like, What-Ever, ‘cause she was totally dope too...

As If...

Ten years after its initial release, this Collector's Edition presents a fresh batch of behind-the-scenes featurettes. The Class Of 1995 combines new and on-set interviews to explain the tricky business of casting. The process was made a little easier for Heckerling given that she didn't have a budget for big name stars. On the other hand, before Clueless, Silverstone was just "that girl from the Aerosmith video," and everyone had doubts about her ability to carry a film. However, those concerns were brushed aside in a classroom scene where she unwittingly mispronounced the word 'Haitians'. She fluffed the line with such aplomb that it was impossible to imagine anyone else in the role.

In Creative Writing, Heckerling reveals that studio execs at 20th Century Fox passed on her script because "it wasn't raunchy enough" to be a teen movie, plus there were "too many girls in it". The situation was looked similarly grim at Paramount. The script gathered dust for six months before producer Scott Rudin came along and realised its potential. Even so, with its heavy use of innovative slang, Heckerling admits, "It was a difficult script for people to understand."

FYI: For those who are still clueless about the lingo, Language Arts attempts to demystify terms like "Audi" - as in, we're outta here!

That's, Like, So Ten Years Ago...

Costume designer Mona May rifles through designer wardrobes in Fashion 101. From bright yellow plaid to boxy hats with patent leather bows, she clearly had a ball with a concept that Heckerling calls "hyper-style". It provided a cultural counterpoint to the grunge scene, which dominated at the time - although Brittany Murphy waves the flag for Nirvana fans as the dumpy-looking Tai. Meanwhile, cast and crew reflect on the film's influence on 90s fashion and slang in We're History. Actor Donald Faison (best known for TV's Scrubs) nicely sums up, saying, "Whether you were the cool one or the geek at high school, we were all clueless."

Just for fun, there's a featurette on the Driver's Ed freeway scene that includes raw footage of Silverstone, Faison and Stacey Dash (as Dionne) risking life and limb - for real! - on the manic LA roads. Finally, the Suck ‘N' Blow Tutorial uses behind-the-scenes footage to demonstrate a party game that's not quite as dirty as it sounds. It's a fun package with a peppering of sharp insights into the development of the story and its relation to the Austen novel. Unfortunately Heckerling doesn't provide a commentary for the main feature and Silverstone contributes nada in the way of new interviews. Still, fans of the film will be, like, totally buggin' if they miss out on this DVD.

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