Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Well, now that we’ve broken every sales record in North America for the first week of release for a DVD title...
... wait, what? We didn’t break sales records? Are you sure? Damn, I can’t retire to the Grand Caymans yet. Even more importantly, I guess that means it’s time for another weekly update of what’s hitting shelves that’s worth picking up on DVD this week. I’ll bringing back LASERDISC2K6 next week with what I hope is an interesting look at what’s going on with the launches of both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. In the meantime, you can find daily DVD content over at my DVD blog, including this past weekend’s special David Lynch weekend. Right now, let’s get to this week’s new releases:
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES’ SMARTER BROTHER
THE WORLD’S GREATEST LOVER
Gene Wilder is an undeniably brilliant character actor who made some classics over the course of his career. The first role where he made an impression was BONNIE & CLYDE, and I love his work in that film. He’s already a fully-formed movie personality. When he leapt to starring roles a year later with THE PRODUCERS, he gave one of the greatest comic lead performances ever. He’s a freak in that film, and he’s fearless about it. Gene Wilder’s great gift is sincerity. You believe that he believes, and that’s what makes even his most outrageous work somehow real and recognizable and relatable. BLAZING SADDLES, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, WILLY WONKA... one role after another, he knocked it out of the park.
And then he wrote and directed these two films back to back, starring vehicles for himself. He used a lot of the same actors who Mel Brooks had assembled for his films, which makes me wonder how Brooks felt about these movies. It was almost like Wilder decided he could make the movies without Mel. And the two of them never did work together again. HIGH ANXIETY might have worked better with Gene playing the lead instead of Mel, but we’ll never know.
The real shame of it is that Wilder had his own comic voice as a writer/director. These films never quite match the dizzy brilliance of BLAZING SADDLES or YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, but they’re charming in their own right. Wilder never met a joke too broad or a burlesque gag too threadbare, and these films play best to children in a way. They’re very innocent, and he plays these almost childlike characters who interact with the world in the most eccentric ways. You’ve got supporting casts including Carol Kane, Madeline Kahn, Dom De Luise, Leo McKern and Marty Feldman, and everyone seems totally hip to the tone. And at 9.99 each, Fox has them priced to be easily sampled if you’re at all curious. I haven’t seen them since I was very young, when they were early cable mainstays, but I’m going to definitely revisit them in the near future.
THE ANNIVERSARY
You wanna see somebody chew the scenery? Back in the ‘60s, Bette Davis went through her horror movie phase, where she made WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH... HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE, and THE NANNY and, for Hammer Studios, this film, THE ANNIVERSARY. Directed by Roy Ward Baker, one of Hammer’s most prolific filmmakers, this walks that same queasy line between dark comedy and psychodrama that so many of her films seemed to skirt. She plays the monstrous Mrs. Taggart, who calls of her children home once a year so that she can torture them anew, playing head games with them including leaving her glass eye sitting around. This year, though, the boys (all grown men who act like children around her) all have surprises of their own to spring, and things get crazier than they ever have before. In the end, it’s more about tension than it is about actual violence, but it manages to be a pretty harrowing ride. Anchor Bay includes an audio commentary on the disc with the director and producer, as well.
*BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CRASH: 2-DISC DIRECTOR’S CUT EDITION
Well. Here we are again. Universal/Focus staked out this date a while ago, and then, oddly, Lionsgate decided to put out this “director’s cut” of CRASH on the same day. Considering how little material appears to have been put back, I’m having a hard time believing that this is a purely artistic decision on the part of Lionsgate. Seems to me like they want to continue this bizarre either/or feud that developed during Oscar season. It makes me really want to visit this keynote panel this coming weekend, where Diana Ossama and Bobby Moresco are going to be sitting side-by-side onstage. Let’s see who brings a gun and who brings a knife. All I know is, this smacks of the same kind of smug opportunism and crass considered commercialism that CRASH suffers from onscreen.
On the other hand, I liked BROKEBACK quite a bit. I didn’t think it was the best film last year any more than I thought CRASH was, but I thought BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN was very much of a piece with the earlier work by Ang Lee. Here, at last, is the filmmaker who gave us films like PUSHING HANDS, THE WEDDING BANQUET, or EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. He was a keen observer of the human heart, and even in films like CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON or THE ICE STORM, he stayed focused on those themes. BROKEBACK works because it’s not a “gay film” in an exclusionary sense. Instead, it’s just a story about frustrated desire and having to bend your heart to the demands of society, something Ang Lee has returned to over and over in his work. Focus Films has put together a nice disc... nothing too elaborate. But the transfer’s exceptional, and worth picking up.
CAROL LOMBARD: THE GLAMOUR COLLECTION
MAE WEST: THE GLAMOUR COLLECTION
MARLENE DIETRICH: THE GLAMOUR COLLECTION
Universal’s putting these out today, and they’re packaged in a way that gives you the most bang for the buck. Don’t expect individual keep-cases or anything, and you’ll probably be quite pleased with the selection of previously unavailable titles suddenly flooding the shelves in these three collections. Altogether, for around $60, you can get your hands on sixteen films.
The Dietrich collection features BLONDE VENUS, reason enough to pick it up, but it also includes MOROCCO, THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN, FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS, and GOLDEN EARRINGS. Dietrich films are soapy, melodramatic, and very European in many ways. The Mae West collection features GO WEST YOUNG MAN, GOIN’ TO TOWN, I’M NO ANGEL, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (previously available as part of the W.C. Fields Collection from a few years ago) and NIGHT AFTER NIGHT. I don’t know how well these films hold up. It all depends on how funny you think the Mae West character is, since she was pretty much the same in everything she did.
The Lombard collection is what I’m looking forward to the most. Lombard was a dazzling comedienne, and when her life was cut short at the age of 36, Hollywood lost one of its most promising stars. Even so, she left behind work in a staggering 70-plus films, something that was only possible in the days of the studio system. Here, we’re treated to six of her vehicles. WE’RE NOT DRESSING co-stars Bing Crosby, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Ethel Merman, and it’s a musical. TRUE CONFESSION, THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS, HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE both co-star Fred MacMurray, while LOVE BEFORE BREAKFAST co-stars Cesar Romero. The one I’ll buy the set to see, though, is MAN OF THE WORLD, since it reunites her with William Powell, who appeared so memorably with her in MY MAN GODFREY, one of my favorite comedies of the era.
THE FILMS OF FAITH COLLECTION
Here’s another of those Warner Home Video collections where they find a reason to put out several films together, normally a mix of already-available films and new-to-DVD titles. In this case, there are three religious-themed films coming out, presumably since Easter’s coming up this month. I believe all three of these are new to DVD, and THE MIRACLE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA appears to be new to home video in any format, which is nice.
THE NUN’S STORY is a great Audrey Hepburn vehicle as she spends two and a half hours wrestling with her devotion to God. FATIMA is a very romanticized Hollywood take on the Fatima visions from 1917. And SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN features a huge cast (Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, and more) in the story of the election of Pope Kiril Kakota.
Warner has put some special features on each title, but nothing spectacular. As with many of their catalog releases, the reason to buy these discs is to finally see these movies, and this is a great collection for just that reason.
*THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE: SPECIAL 2-DISC COLLECTOR’S EDITION
I’ll have a full review of this one up at the blog later today, but I’ll say this... no matter what you think of the film, it’s a handsomely-produced special edition, and it should make fans very, very happy.
*NEW YORK DOLL
Excellent. This film played at the Sundance Film Festival, and it seems like it’s harder and harder for a documentary to get traction coming out of that fest unless it has some sensational easy-to-market element. NEW YORK DOLL isn’t as obviously mainstream as SUPER-SIZE ME, but it’s a beautifully crafted look at the life of Arthur “Killer” Kane, bassist for the influential New York glam-punk band, The New York Dolls. It’s funny, sad, and deeply moving by the time it concludes, and I urge you to check it out.
*PATTON OSWALT: NO REASON TO COMPLAIN
I somehow ended up on Comedy Central’s mailing list, so I get a lot of their CDs these days, and I’ve heard some very funny ones recently. I thought Jim Gaffigan’s latest was excellent. But I’ve said for several years now, starting waaaaaaaay back in 2000, when I saw him open for Aimee Mann and Michael Penn... Patton Oswalt is one of the funniest men working today. And this uncensored version of his most recent Comedy Central one-hour special is a great primer for anyone who is not already familiar with his work. You’ve seen him, though, even if you don’t know you have. He’s one of the lynchpins of the current LA comedy scene, and he’s worked with pretty much everyone at some point.
And for all his tough talk about babies in his routine, I’ll give him credit... he sent Toshiro the single coolest baby gift when he was born last year. If you want to laugh till you black out, try whippets or this special... whichever you prefer.
THE PRESIDENT’S LAST BANG
This was enormously controversial when it was released in South Korea, since it’s a loosely fictionalized account of the assassination of President Park Chun-Hee, both the build-up and the aftermath. I haven’t seen this yet, but I plan to pick up the disc that Kino Video’s releasing this week.
THIS WEEK’S DOUBLE-DIPS
When studios offer us double-dips of titles we’ve already purchased each and every week right now, part of that is the same desperation that is causing the format war that’s brewing right now, and part of it is a genuine need to update certain titles that were released in the early days of DVD and that were never given great transfers. Frequently, it’s buyer beware with these, so the least we can do is check to see if there’s some significant change between these new editions and what was available before. There are a few double-dips this week, so let’s run them down real quick:
*THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY
*MONA LISA
Anchor Bay frequently picks up titles that are no longer licensed to companies that have previously released them, and these two films were once available through Criterion. I’ve got those discs, and these releases are a mixed bag by comparison. The Criterion LONG GOOD FRIDAY has pretty much nothing in the way of extras. Anchor Bay not only paid for a new transfer, they also put on a commentary by director John Mackenzie, a making-of featurtte, a Cockney slang glossary, and the full screenplay on DVD-ROM. On the other hand, Criterion’s MONA LISA had a great commentary by Bob Hoskins and Neil Jordan that has, unfortunately, not made its way onto this new release. It’s a great transfer, though, and it’s half the price, so if you’re just interested in checking out a wonderful film, then it’ll do.
*SEVEN BEAUTIES
*SWEPT AWAY
With these two films, you’re not getting a real double-dip. Basically, Koch Lorber films put out a box set of director Lina Wertmuller’s work that included SUMMER NIGHT, THE NYMPH, FERDINANDO AND CAROLINA, and these two films. All Koch-Lorber has done was break the set up, put new covers on them, and sell them as individual titles. If nothing else, they’ve reminded me that I need to get the box out and finally sit down to watch the films for review.
BLUE THUNDER: SPECIAL EDITION
This is one of those discs that was released back in ’98, with pretty much nothing on it. This edition features an anamorphic transfer of the 2.35:1 film, a commentary by John Badham and his editor, a making-of feature, and storyboard galleries, as well as a new Dolby Digital soundtrack. It’s a great action movie with an engaging pair of performances from Roy Scheider and Daniel Stern, and I’ll gladly take the hit to get a nice print of this one in the library.
Double-dips don’t have to be a bad thing. Just last night I was talking to someone about a special edition that’s being put together that is going to blow fanboy minds around the world. I can’t wait for next year, when it’ll finally be available. For now, though, it looks like a fairly light week at the stores, with a few highlights. I’ll have more for you later this week. Until then...
"Moriarty" out.
