Category: DVD & Blu-ray

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DVD & Blu-ray dvd releases

UK DVD Releases: Monday 13th October 2008

DVD PICKS

Rashomon – Special Edition (Optimum): Akira Kurosawa‘s classic 1950 film about the rape of a woman and the apparent murder of her husband seen through the widely differing accounts of four witnesses. They include: the bandit Tajōmaru (Toshirō Mifune), the murdered samurai (Masayuki Mori), his wife (Machiko Kyō), and the nameless woodcutter (Takashi Shimura). The film was massively influential on Western cinema and still stands up very well and explores the nature of seeing and believing in a way that few films have matched since. 

The extras on this disc are much better than the BFI release from 2001 and they include:

  • A 67-minute documentary called ‘A Testimony for an Image: Rashomon’, which interviews many of the original crew members. The key surviving player is screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, although it is interesting to hear stories from the crew members about the conditions in which it was made.
  • A six-minute introduction from director John Boorman and the original theatrical trailer. 

Although the transfer isn’t massively improved from the 2001 BFI version, this is still a classic film worth owning from one of the most important directors in the history of cinema. 

The Last House on the Left (Metrodome): Wes Craven‘s infamous 1972 horror film is finally released uncut and uncensored on UK DVD for the first time in a 3-disc ‘ultimate edition’. The story is a brutal tale of revenge that explores what happens when a group of teenage girls hook up with a gang of drug-addled thugs. It has a long and interesting history of being censored in the UK and because of that this DVD package has a bunch of extras that are spread over the 3 discs:

> Disc 1

  • Feature commentary by writer/director Wes Craven and producer Sean S.Cunningham
  • A 2nd feature commentary by stars David Hess, Marc Sheffler and Fred Lincoln
  • ‘Celluloid Crime Of The Century’: A 40 minute making of… documentary
  • ‘Scoring Last House…’: A featurette with composer and actor David Hess 
  • ‘Krug Conquers England’: Featurette charting the theatrical tour of the first ever UNCUT screening of the film in the UK
  • 20 mins of outtakes and dailies
  • US theatrical trailer
  • TV spots
  • Radio spots

> Disc 2

  • ‘Krug & Company’: A rare and complete alternate cut of the film
  • An exclusive interview with Carl Daft of Exploited Films, who took the BBFC to courts over the film’s banned status
  • Rare and world exclusive never-seen-before footage that was only recently discovered.

> Disc 3

  • ‘Going To Pieces: The Rise & Fall Of The Slasher Film’: Feature length documentary on the ‘slasher’ film phenomenon that followed “Last House…”
  • Filmmakers’ commentary
  • Deleted scenes
  • Horror film quiz

Although the film isn’t the horror classic it’s reputation might suggest, this DVD package is still worth getting for horror fans or those just curious about why it was (wrongly) banned for so long.

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    ALSO OUT

    Adulthood (Pathé): From director, writer and actor Noel Clarke, the sequel to Kidulthood (which Clarke wrote) is set against the backdrop of contemporary London.

    Babylon (Icon): Directed by Franco Rosso and starring Aswad front man Brinsley Forde, Karl Howman and Trevor Laird, this is a mix of music and social commentary to recount the everyday experiences of a small group of working class black youths living in South London in the early 1980s.

    Big Love – Season 1 (HBO): Bill Paxton plays as a practicing polygamist who lives in Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children. An businessman who runs a growing chain of hardware stores, Bill faces the challenge of meeting the emotional, romantic and financial needs of his wives: Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) while dealing with their kids, three houses, bills and the opening of his newest hardware store. 12 episodes are spread across 5 discs with extras that include commentary on two episodes and a short – Big Love: A Balancing Act on Ice.

    Boston Legal – Season 4 (Fox): James Spader, William Shatner and Candice Bergen are joined by John Laroquette in the fourth season of David E. Kelley’s law comedy drama series. The 20 episode fourth season is spread across five-discs. There are no announced extras. 

    Death Note 2: The Last Name (4Digital Asia): Picking up immediately where the first ‘Death Note’ movie left off, the sequel sees the deadly psychological duel between Light and L enter a thrilling new phase. Released as a two-disc limited edition release that includes a 24-page ‘Death Note 2′ book.

    Hellsing Ultimate – Volume 1 (Manga): This retelling of the manga series created by Kouta Hiran is described as a much closer adaptation of the Hirano’s original work. Originally announced as a two-disc set featuring the first two episodes of the OVA, Manga have since been forced to revise those plans and will now issue each OVA as a single-volume priced at £14.99 RRP.

    Las Vegas – Season 5 (Universal Playback): Tom Selleck stars as recently installed Montecito Casino owner A.J. Cooper in season five of this drama series. Episodes are spread across five-discs but there are no subtitles or extras. 

    Memories Of Underdevelopment (Mr. Bongo Films): Hailed as one of the most sophisticated films ever to come out of Cuba in the early days of Castro’s revolution, this is regarded as Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea’s tour de force.

    Naruto Unleashed – Series 4 Vol.2 (Manga): Adapted from the best-selling manga created by Masashi Kishimoto, the hit anime series following the adventures of a ninja boy in training continues uncut on DVD with the next 13 episodes (92 to 104) spread across three-discs.

    Naruto Unleashed – Series 3: Complete (Manga): Priced at £39.99 RRP this six-disc set bundles together the two volumes released in April and May of this year (which comprised episodes 53 to 73)

    Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (Lionsgate): A new adventure for a younger generation of Marvel heroes: orphans bound only by their parents’ former alliance known as The Avengers. Fostered by billionaire bachelor Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), four teenagers with lineage to some of the most famous Marvel heroes of all time including Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Black Panther, Wasp and Giant Man suddenly find themselves the earth’s only hope in stopping a deadly foe. 

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    Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic (Warner): The US comedian Sarah Silverman entertains a Los Angeles audience with several sketches, taped outside the theatre, and they are woven into a stand-up performance.

    Smallville – Season 7 (Warner): The adventures of a young Superman continue with Season 7 of this WB series.

    Stewie Griffin – Best Bits Uncovered (Fox): One of two 2-disc sets which include Family Guy episodes focused around Stewie and Peter which also include a digital copy of the episodes and free ringtones for mobiles. It includes the episodes: Chitty Chitty Death Bang, The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Stewie Loves Lois and The Courtship of Stewie’s Father. 

    Superhero Movie (Momentum): This spoof from the creators of The Naked Gun and Scary Movie takes aim at comic book movies.

    The Guard Post (Cine Asia): From Su-chang Kong, the director of R-Point, comes a similarly themed Korean film that is part murder-mystery part horror-story. Also known as GP506 the film follows an army platoon headed by a military investigator as they are dispatched overnight to re-establish contact with the platoon stationed at Guard Post 506.

    The Incredible Hulk (Universal): Edward Norton stars as Bruce Banner in director Louis Leterrier’s take on the Hulk. The film also stars Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt

    The Ruins (Paramount): Based on the novel by Scott Smith, this surprisingly entertaining horror follows a group of friends who become entangled in a brutal struggle for survival after visiting a remote archaeological dig in the Mexican jungle where they discover something deadly living among the ruins. 

    The Tudors – Season 2 (Sony): In the second season of The Tudors, Henry (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is finally free to marry Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), however we soon find out why she is later called ‘Anne of a Thousand Days’ as the political and emotional turmoil of life at court find another victim.

    The Ultimate Gangster Class A Selection (Universal): This 10-disc set brings together five gangster films to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Scarface. The titles are: American Gangster, Carlito’s Way, Casino, Mean Streets and Scarface. The set includes a disc of exclusive Scarface related extras, a disc of exclusive American Gangster extras and an exclusive 32-page American Gangster booklet. 

    Tokyo Zombie (Manga): Based on the manga by Yusaku Hanakuma, and written and directed by Sakichi Sato (writer of Takashi Miike’s ‘Ichi The Killer’ and ‘Gozu’), the horror-comedy Tokyo Zombie stars Tadanobu Asano and Miike regular Sho Aikawa as an unlikely pair of heroes hilariously pitted against an army of flesh eaters taking over Japan.

    Zombie Strippers (Sony): Adult film star Jenna Jameson and horror legend Robert Englund star in this zombie adventure.

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    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me or leave a comment below.

    > Buy Rashomon – Special Edition or The Last House on the Left on DVD at Amazon UK
    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 10th October)

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    DVD & Blu-ray Random

    The DVD pile

    The DVD screener pile

    One question I get asked a lot is:

    How many DVDs do you have?

    To which I usually reply: ‘not as many as you might think’.

    The truth is that although I have a reasonable collection, most of the DVDs I watch in a week are screeners of forthcoming releases that I have to review.

    Most of the new films I see are screenings of upcoming cinema releases and when I check out DVDs it is often to review regular releases or re-issues of notable films.  

    Above is my current backlog of DVDs I have to check out for review.

    As you can see they don’t look like regular discs in that they come in sleeves or basic plastic cases without the full retail packaging. 

    Despite that, they nearly always have the full set of features although occasionally smaller film companies send you a basic screener of a limited theatrical release.

    (For anti-piracy reasons they are usually timecoded or watermarked in someway).

    The current crop of DVDs I’m getting through include the following titles:

    When I finish getting through them, I’ll put them up in my usual Monday rundown. 
    If you have any questions about forthcoming releases or any other queries then just email me or leave a comment below.
    > Check out this week’s DVD picks (W/C Monday 6th October)
    > Bookmark this link for any DVD activity on the site 
    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray

    UK DVD Releases: Monday 6th October 2008

    DVD PICKS

    In Search of a Midnight Kiss (Contender): This low budget US indie film is proof that sometime low key gems from outside the studio system can find an audience. Directed by Alex Holdridge it follows a young 29-year old man (Scoot McNairy), recently moved to LA, who faces New Year’s Eve alone. When his best friend (Brian McGuire) persuades him into posting a personal ad on Craigslist. It leads him to a young woman (Sara Simmonds) desperate to be with the ‘right’ man as the New Year kicks in and explores the connection between this unlikely couple. Since it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007 this has become a real festival favourite around the world and even got a limited run at UK cinemas earlier this year. 

    John Carpenter: The Collection (Optimum): A lavish box set of the films of John Carpenter which includes some of his very best films: Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Prince of Darkness (1987) and  (1988). Although his career has tailed off quite badly in the last 20 years his best work is smart and splendidly entertaining. Although Halloween and The Thing are now famous horror films, this set gives new viewers a chance to check out gems like Assault on Precinct 13, a low budget cult classic and They Live, his 1988 film about the greed and deception of the Regan era which is now more relevant than ever. You can get it on Amazon UK for just £39.98, which even in these credit crunch times is a bargain.

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    ALSO OUT

    A Secret (Arrow): Writer-director Claude Miller’s adaptation of Philippe Grimbert’s novel, stars Cécile De France, Patrick Bruel, Ludivine Sagnier, Julie Depardieu and Mathieu Amalric in the story of a 15-year-old boy who unearths a family secret.

    Assault on Precinct 13 – Special Edition (Optimum): This John Carpenter cult classic from 1976 about an LA police station under siege from gangs is being re-released by Optimum.  (See above for the Carpenter box set) 

    Battlestar Galactica – Season 4 (Universal): While technically Season 4 of the re-imagined sci-fi series has been split into two parts for broadcast (with the second batch of episodes yet to air) the first part consisting of 10 episodes is being released here on UK DVD as Season 4.

    Bullet Boy (Verve Pictures): A re-release for the London set drama from director Saul Dibb, starring Ashley Walters as a young man caught up in London criminal gang. (Note the appalling cover art for this title)

    Buso Renkin – Volume 2 (Manga): Based on the popular manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, this action-adventure anime series mixes comedy, drama, fantasy and romance. 

    Code 46 (Verve Pictures): Michael Winterbottom’s overlooked sci-fi drama with Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton set in a future where travel is restricted and thoughts and emotions can be controlled by drugs. 

    Criminal Justice (Acorn Media): Originally screened on BBC1 in July over five consecutive nights, this drama centres around Ben Coulter (Ben Whishaw) a normal 21 year old who, after one crazy night finds his life changed forever. This two-disc set includes all five hour-long episodes.

    Days of Darkness (Revolver): The debut directorial feature from British ex-pat Jake Kennedy (Fangoria: Blood Drive II), is a gory hybrid of alien bodysnatcher movie and traditional zombie film. The plot involves a group of people – mysteriously unaffected by a killer extraterrestrial bug that has infected humanity – holed up in a remote compound under siege from a horde of undead human flesh-eaters intent on feeding on the last of the living.

    Death Note – Volume 3 (Manga): Based on the best-selling manga by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go), the supernatural thriller Death Note tells the story of Light Yagami, a high school student who suddenly finds himself holding the power of life and death in his hands in the form of the Death Note.

    Diff’rent Strokes – Season 1 (Sony): Diff’rent Strokes tells the story of the Drummonds, a wealthy Manhattan family headed by Mr. Drummond (Conrad Bain), who adopt their former maid’s children following her death. When Willis (Todd Bridges) and Arnold (Gary Coleman) move in with their new family, a comedy of errors begins that would run for eight seasons. 24 episodes are spread across 3 discs with the behind the scenes features.

    Entourage – Season 4 (HBO): Loosely based on the personal experiences of executive producer Mark Wahlberg as an up and coming movie star, the fourth season of Entourage opens with a behind-the-scenes documentary look at the filming of Vince’s (Adrian Grenier) new film Medellin on location in Bogota, Colombia.

    Felon (Sony): Val Kilmer, Stephen Dorff, Harold Perrineau, Jr. and Sam Shepard star in this prison drama, the story of a family man who is convicted of murder for killing an intruder who enters his home, threatening the lives of his wife and son.

    Female Agents (Revolver): A WWII action-drama starring Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillian and Deborah Francois. Directed by Jean-Paul Salome, the film is set in Spring 1944 where grieving Resistance sniper Louis Desfontaine (Marceau) is asked to recruit a team of five to rescue a British agent who has fallen into German hands.

    Her Name is Sabine (ICA Films): Directed by Sandrine Bonnaire, this is a very personal portrait of Sandrine’s younger sister Sabine. Combining film footage taken at Sabine’s current care home as well as 25 years of home-movies, Sandrine charts the heartbreaking journey of her sister from a young independent woman with special needs to an adult in need of constant supervision.

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    I Dream of Jeannie – Season 1 (Sony): Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman star in this 60s TV series about a US astronaut whose life is turned upside down when he crash lands on a remote island and unwittingly releases a beautiful and mischievous genie from a bottle. Returning home, it isn’t long before Jeannie is granting her master’s every wish, turning his life upside down. 30 episodes are spread over 4 discs.

    Impact Point (Sony): A pro beach volleyball star encounters a psychotic stalker in this psychological thriller starring Brian Austin Green and former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Melissa Keller.

    King Lear (Metrodome): Recorded in High Definition at Pinewood Studios, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s King Lear stars Ian McKellen and is directed by Trevor Nunn and Chris Hunt. The tragedy is about a headstrong ageing king who decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters, depending on which declares their love the strongest. Cordelia (Romola Garai) is the only daughter to reply truthfully yet Lear disowns her, and so follows one of the most compelling stories of greed, betrayal and blindness to one’s self ever committed to the stage. 

    Moonlighting – Season 1 & 2 (Sony): First two seasons of the hit 80s series which combined drama, comedy and wit with a huge amount of sexual tension, starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as private detectives who take on quirky cases. 

    Reeker 2 (Metrodome): In this horror sequel, a sheriff and his son chase casino robbers, only to find the all of them are being chased by something else.

    Spooks – Season 6 (Contender): In its sixth season spy-drama Spooks takes on a new format as it explores one storyline over the course of its 10 episode run.

    Takeshi Kitano: Collection (Second Sight): One of Japan’s most well known and all encompassing entertainment personalities, Takeshi Kitano has forged a name for himself as one of his country’s most beloved and internationally renowned directors. This six disc box set comprises of the legendary actor/director’s first six films; Violent Cop, Boiling Point, Sonatine, Getting Any?with A Scene At The Sea and Kids Return making their UK DVD debut.

    The Entrance (Entertainment): Directed by Damon Vignale, this is a ‘supernatural and psychological’ chiller ‘inspired’ by true events. 

    The Go Master (ICA Films): Tian Zhuanzhuang’s The Go Master is a biopic of Wu Quingyuan, considered by many to be the greatest player ever of the table game Go. Developed in ancient China but finding a new home in post-Meiji Japan, Go’s adherents treated its rules and regulations in a fashion far stricter and more disciplined than that of its Chinese roots.

    The Passage (Entertainment): Stephen Dorff stars in this horror from first-time director Mark Heller which is shot entirely on location in Morocco.

    The Vanguard (Lionsgate): The Vanguard tells a gruesome, bloody and merciless story where the world is in utter chaos and the future of mankind hangs in the balance. 

    Timber Falls (Scanbox): Directed by Tony Giglio (Chaos) and starring Josh Randall, Brianna Brown and Beth Broderick, Timber Falls is a tale of hikers in peril.

    Two And A Half Men – Series 4 (Warner): Charlie Sheen stars as an unconventional family man in this hit sitcom about two brothers and a son, as well as the crazy and charismatic women who surround them.

    We Dreamed America (Drakes Avenue Pictures): This documentary about the Americana music scene in the UK examines the relationship and ongoing exchange between British and American roots of music. Director Alex Walker looks at the fascination with the most American of genres.

    Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! – Zombies vs Strippers (Revolver): Strippers – Dakota (FHM model Jessica Barton), Dallas (Former Mrs. Oahu Lyanna Tumaneng) and Harley (Hollie Winnard from America’s Beauty and the Geek – go up against Zombies in this horror film. 

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    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me or leave a comment below.

    > Buy In Search of a Midnight Kiss or John Carpenter: The Collection on DVD at Amazon UK
    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 3rd October)

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    DVD & Blu-ray dvd pick

    DVD Pick: Gone Baby Gone

    Gone Baby Gone is the highly accomplished adaptation of Dennis Lehane‘s novel about the investigation into the disappearance of a young girl in Boston.

    The film’s UK release was postponed due to the (entirely coincidental) similarities with the Madeleine McCann case and despite critical acclaim and some award nominations it probably didn’t get the recognition or box office it deserved.

    It marks the directorial debut of Ben Affleck, a high profile actor who’s career had become recently mired in less-than-successful work like Gigli, Paycheck and Surviving Christmas.

    However, here he shows considerable promise as a director, not only through the intelligent script he co-wrote Aaron Stockard, but in how he has put together many different elements to create a serious and absorbing crime drama.

    He has had the sense to hire a slew of accomplished actors (Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Amy Madigan) in key supporting roles but also entrusted the two key roles to younger actors with their careers now firmly on the rise.

    Amy Ryan deservedly received an Oscar nomination as the mother of the missing girl, whilst Casey Affleck is highly assured in the lead role as the investigator hired to assist the police in the case.

    The technical contributions are all excellent with the cinematography of John Toll and music by Harry Gregson-Williams being particular stand outs.  

    Perhaps what is most impressive about the film is the way Affleck has refused to romanticise his hometown – he doesn’t flinch from showing the dark complexities of a modern American city, a place where morals and motivations can get easily blurred. 

    The extras on the disc are solid without being spectacular and include the following:

    • Going Home: Behind the Scenes with Ben Affleck (7:05): A 6 minuted EPK-style featurette with on set interviews with cast and crew, intercut with scenes from the film.
    • Capturing Authenticity: Casting Gone Baby Gone (8:56): A featurette on the casting, which is one of the major strengths of the film. 
    • Audio Commentary: Ben Affleck and co-writer Aaron Stockard make an informative and engaging duo as they discuss various aspects of the film and production. One sound point they note early on is that given the nature of the plot, it is a film that repays repeated viewings in order to see the how it unfolds. As a first time director Affleck points out a lot of the technical apsects of how certain scenes worked, describing certain shots, reshoots and various other things of note. One nice touch was the use of non-actors who were recruited from the surrounding areas of Dorchester – it is a credit to the main cast that they blend in so well.
    • Deleted Scenes (with audio commentary): Affleck and Stockard also provide commentary on six deleted scenes, all letter boxed, including extended opening and closing scenes. The longer opening (8:20) shows Kenzie working a case and the “eye-opening extended ending” (3:44) is really basically the same thing we see in the film except with an added voice over from Kenzie to match his narration at the beginning and middle of the movie. Four more deleted scenes are included, all lasting less than 2 minutes, so are relatively minor. The decisions Affleck ultimately made regarding what went in the movie and what didn’t are representative of the keen judgment he showed as director.

    Overall, although the extras are good, this is worth getting for the film itself – one of the best dramas to be released this year.

    Gone Baby Gone is out now on DVD from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment [Cert 15]

    * Listen to our intervew with Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck about the film *

    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK or get the Blu-ray version
    > Gone Baby Gone at the IMDb 
    > Official UK site for the film
    > Check out the trailer for the film
    > Read reviews of the film at Metacritic
    > Q&A with author Dennis Lehane at his official website

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray dvd releases

    UK DVD Releases: Monday 29th September 2008

    DVD PICKS

    Zodiac – 2 Disc Director’s Cut (Warner Bros): One of the best films of the last few years finally gets the re-release treatment it richly deserves. It tells the story of the Zodiac killer who terrorised the San Francisco area in the late 60s and 70s. It explores three key figures related to the case: Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) – a newspaper cartoonist fascinated by the case; Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) a crime reporter who covers the killings; and Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) – the detective assigned with solving the murders. Director David Fincher has long been one of Hollywood’s great visual stylists and here beautifully captures the period whilst also creating a pervasive sense of dread. It is almost as if he is revisiting Se7en by way of All The President’s Men.

    The script by James Vanderbilt also does a great job of spanning the years the killer was on the loose, highlighting the frustrations and mysteries the case threw up. Indeed, the conventions of a lot of serial killer movies are abandoned in favour of a much more thoughtful and serious approach. The ‘directors cut’ has about 10 minutes extra footage and this version has a commentary by Fincher, plus a second commentary by Gyllenhaal, Downey, producer Brad Fischer, Vanderbilt and writer James Ellroy. The 2nd disc contains a raft of superb extras including documentary features on the Zodiac case and a look at the extensive visual effects used in the film. Definitely one of the DVD highlights of the year. [Cert 15 / Also available on Blu-ray]

    Mongol (Universal): A rich and visually spectacular biopic of Ghengis Khan, this takes a much more sympathetic approach to a much maligned historical figure. Directed by Sergei Bodrov, it explores the early life of the young Genghis and his rise to power as a famous general in Mongolia. Tadanobu Asano plays Khan and Khulan Chuluun stars as his wife and love interest. An international co-production between companies in Germany, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, it makes great use of the Chinese and Kazakhstan landscapes in creating a memorable and often surprising story. The main extra of note on the DVD is the 26-minute ‘The Making of Mongol – The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan’. [Cert 15 / Also available on Blu-ray]

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    ALSO OUT

    Caligula: The Imperial Edition (Arrow Films): The opulent multi-million dollar depiction of the decadent Roman emperor with Malcolm McDowell, John Gielgud, Peter O’Toole and Helen Mirren. This 4-disc edition features three separate versions of the film: the full, Uncut Version (2 hours 36 minutes); the UK Theatrical Version (1 hour 42 minutes) and the Alternative Version (2 hours 33 minutes). The latter replaces most of the more sexually explicit sequences with alternate scenes and alternate camera angles. The fourth disc of Extras features a variety of materials (documentaries, interviews, press notes, etc.) that provide a comprehensive background on the history and the making of the film. 

    Cassandra’s Dream (Optimum): Set in contemporary London, Woody Allen’s tale of two brothers (Ewan MacGregor and Colin Farrell) caught up in a murder is sadly one of his poorest films. Ever.

    Dangerous Parking (Anchor Bay): Peter Howitt’s adaptation of Stuart Browne’s novel stars Howitt alongside Saffron Burrows, Sean Pertwee, Racahel Stirling, Alice Evans, Tom Conti and Dervia Kirwan.

    Daylight Robbery (Liberation Entertainment): A British crime movie that follows a group of England football fans robbing a London bank, whilst using the Germany 2006 World Cup as their cover. Written and directed by Paris Leonti, the film stars Geoff Bell, Paul Nicholls, Vas Blackwood, Justin Salinger and Shaun Williamson.

    Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord (2 Entertain): Colin Baker era Dorctor Who.

    Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (Momentum): This B-movie comedy horror is Jon Knautz’s directorial debut and stars Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund, Rachel Skarsten, Daniel Kash and James A Woods. 

    Loaded (Icon): An action thriller starring Jesse Metcalfe, Vinnie Jones and Monica Keena that follows one man’s descent into a world of drugs and violence as his new acquaintance turns out to be exacting a long-harboured revenge.

    Made of Honour (Sony): A romantic comedy with Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan as platonic friends since college who have never entertained the prospect of romance – until she plans to get married to another guy. 

    Nomad (The Warrior) (Optimum): Set in 18th Century Kazakhstan, this is the story of a boy who is destined to one day unite the three warring tribes of the country who have survived and fought for centuries – against invaders, against their formidable enemies and amongst themselves. Directed by Sergei Bodrov, the director of Mongol (also out this week), the film stars Kuno Becker, Jay Hernandez and Jason Scott Lee.

    Oasis of Fear (Shameless): Also known as ‘Dirty Pictures’, Oasis of Fear is a sexploitation thriller from Umberto Lenzi (Paranoia, Cannibal Ferox, Nightmare City) in which two young hippies, Dick (Ray Lovelock) and Ingrid (Ornella Muti) get stuck in a mysterious house.

    One Missed Call (2008) (Warner): In this remake of the Japanese horror film “Chakushin Ari” (2003), several people start receiving voice-mails from their future selves — messages which include the date, time, and some of the details of their deaths.

    P2 (Palisades Tartan): Co-written and produced by Alexandre Aja (writer-director of Switchblade Romance, The Hills Have Eyes and the forthcoming Mirrors) and Gregory Levasseur, this horror stars Wes Bentley and Rachel Nichols and is set in a parking lot.

    Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (Network): This Pokémon movie features Ash and Pikachu on another adventure.

    Robot Chicken – Season 1 (Revolver): Created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, Robot Chicken is an affectionate assault on pop culture. Utilising stop-motion animation Season 1 comprises of 20 fifteen minute episodes of fast-paced sketches.

    Salò or The 120 Days of Sodom (BFI): Pier Paolo Pasolini’s final and most controversial film has been banned, censored and reviled the world over since its first release in 1975. It did not receive UK certification until late 2000, when it was passed uncut. The film is a brutal allegory based on the novel 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade.

    Starship Troopers 1-3 Box Set (Sony): This three-disc set includes the Walt Disney Special Edition release of Starship Troopers along with the Sony releases of Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder.

    Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (Sony): The war against the Bugs continues as a Federation starship crash-lands on the distant alien planet OM-1, stranding beloved leader Sky Marshal Anoke and several others, including comely but tough pilot Lola Beck. Colonel Johnny Rico, reluctant hero of the original Bug Invasion on Planet P, has to lead a team of Troopers on a daring rescue mission.

    Strip Nude for your Killer (Shameless): The death of a fashion model leads to a revenge-driven trail of death that soon has the modelling agency she worked for in a frenzy of panic as the clothes get slashed and the sluts get slayed. Edwige Fenech stars as the woman trying to avoid being the next to shed her clothes for the killer.

    Tales of the Riverbank (Metrodome): An animated update of the BBC children’s series which tells the story of three friends – Hammy Hamster (Ardal O’Hanlon), Roderick Rat (Steve Coogan) and GP the Guinea Pig (Jim Broadbent) – who, having been swept down-river in a violent storm, embark on an epic journey in search of their lost homes. The narrator of the story is Owl (Stephen Fry).

    The Animals Film (BFI): A controversial and confrontational film about how and why modern societies exploit animals for food, fur, sport, entertainment and science. In the UK it was broadcast on Channel 4 during its first week on air in November 1982 and caused uproar and thereafter was shown in cinemas and on TV around the world. It is narrated by Julie Christie, with music by David Byrne/Talking Heads and a score composed and performed by Robert Wyatt. This is the uncut and digitally re-mastered version, featuring a new conclusion.

    The Designated Victim (Shameless): A remake of Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train from director Maurizio Lucidi about a character named Stefano (Thomas Milian) who meets a wealthy Count (Pierre Clemente), which then leads to a plan where both will do each other a murderous favour.

    The Fantastic Four – Complete Season 1 (1994 series) (Liberation): This 2 disc set, features all 13 episodes of Season One of the heralded 1990’s animated series. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Season One contains a faithful re-telling of their original comic book stories.

    The Incredible Hulk – Season 5 (Universal Playback): Season 5 of the 70s show with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. There are no extras.

    The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series (Universal Playback): Seasons 1-5 of the 70s show.

    The Red Hand Gang: The Complete Series (Fabulous Films): First broadcast on BBC 1 in September 1977 and then repeated during the summers of 1980 and 1982, The Red Hand Gang still remains something of a cult show. Like The Famous Five, The Red Hand Gang were a group of five inner-city pre-teens who unwittingly found themselves foiling heists, robberies and kidnaps. They were so called because they left their trademark red hand print to mark where they had been. This series was thought to be lost until Fabulous Films unearthed it this year. All 12 full length episodes have now been fully restored for this release.

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    BLU-RAY

    The following titles are also out now on Blu-ray disc:

    Army of Darkness (Optimum)
    Batman (Warner)
    Batman & Robin (Warner)
    Batman Forever (Warner)
    Batman Returns (Warner)
    Blow (EIV)
    Evil Dead II (Optimum)
    How the West was Won (Warner)
    Made of Honour (Sony)
    Mongol (Universal)
    My Best Friend’s Wedding (Sony)
    Night of the Living Dead (Optimum)
    One Missed Call (Warner)
    Rise of the Footsoldier (Optimum)
    Salò or The 120 Days of Sodom (BFI)
    Starship Troopers 1-3 Box Set (Sony)
    P2 (Palisades Tartan)
    Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (Sony)
    The Shawshank Redemption (ITV DVD)

    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me or leave a comment below.

    > Buy Zodiac – 2 Disc Director’s Cut or Mongol on DVD at Amazon UK
    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 26th September)

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray News

    The Godfather on Blu-ray

    The Godfather trilogy is released today in the US on Blu-ray Disc.

    Although the UK release doesn’t come out here until October it is worth writing about what is a key release for the Blu-ray format and also a significant re-release of two of the greatest films ever made (and yes I’m talking about the first two parts).

    What’s interesting about this version is that they underwent extensive frame-by-frame digital restoration that was closely overseen by writer-director Francis Ford Coppola.

    The process took more than a year to complete and each of the films includes a commentary by Coppola.

    Bill Hunt at the Digital Bits explains in more detail as to how this restoration came about:

    The result is that the films have not only been rebuilt and saved, they’ve been restored to quality as good or better than the original theatrical presentations – quality consulted upon and approved by both Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis.

    Thankfully, a couple years ago, director Francis Ford Coppola contacted Steven Spielberg (then newly partnered with Paramount and Viacom) to see if Spielberg might be able to use his clout to help save the films.

    This he did, and so a complete physical and digital restoration was eventually done under the supervision of our very own Robert A. Harris and his Film Preserve (with the help of many talented artists – and artists they are, believe me).

    To make a very long and complex story short, the best photochemical elements from around the world were gathered, allowing the films to be reconstructed literally piece by piece.

    The footage was then scanned in 4K resolution so that print damage could be repaired digitally and the original color-timing could be recreated precisely.

    For more on the restoration process check out this extensive article by Stephanie Argie in American Cinematographer, which includes some interesting information, notably that the original negative – surely one of the crown jewels in the history of cinema – was in poor shape:

    As he got into the project, Harris discovered that the negatives for the first two Godfather films had sustained additional damage in the 1980s, when Paramount sent them to an optical house to make new prints.

    The original rolls were disassembled and then reassembled incorrectly, a cheaper but chemically damaging fill was used, and the films’ lyrical 12′ and 16′ dissolves were replaced with dissolves of generic length for ease of printing.

    He recalls, “I locked a current print into a synchronizer with an original print, which is what I always do when I begin a restoration, and they were not tracking at all. Paramount knew nothing of this [damage].”

    It also explains how they recruited the original cinematographer Gordon Willis to help them with their work:

    Harris believes it’s critical for a cinematographer to be part of the restoration process, and because Willis lives in Massachusetts and could not be in Los Angeles for the many months the restoration would require, Harris asked Daviau to consult on the project.

    “Allen standing in for Gordon was one master standing in for another,” says Harris. “Allen has the best eyes in the business —he’ll see a quarter-point difference shot to shot.

    The first thing I asked him to help with was figuring out exactly what ‘black’ is in these films; that was our biggest challenge in terms of Gordon’s work. Allen donated his time, and without him and Gordon, we would have been lost.”

    The new extras are on the fourth disc, along with all the special features included on the trilogy’s initial 2001 DVD release.

    The brand new featurettes on the Blu-ray version are all in HD and include the following:

    • The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn’t (29:46): A feature on how Coppola’s production company Zoetrope was created at a time of great uncertainty for the major studios like Paramount and the numerous difficulties the film faced before and during the production.
    • Emulsional Rescue (19:05): Goes in depth about the process and the effort involved in restoring these films.

    • When Shooting Stopped (14:18): Looks at the post-production and editing for all three films.

    • Godfather World (11:19): This looks at the extraordinary influence of the Godfather films on popular culture with contributions from other filmmakers and writers.

    • Godfather on the Red Carpet (04:03): Various actors and celebrities comment on the films.
    • Four Short Films on The Godfather (07:20):Not exactly self contained films but ‘The Godfather vs. The Godfather’, ‘Part II’, ‘Cannoli’, ‘Riffing on the Riffing and Clemenza’ are short segments of interview footage that include anecdotes and trivia from the series.

    If – like me – you haven’t made the jump to Blu-ray yet, the Godfather films also will be available on standard DVD as The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration DVD Collection, with five discs — including one of the old special features and another of the new.

    * N.B. Just to recap the UK release date for the Blu-ray Disc and regular DVD sets is October 27th *

    > Official site from Paramount Pictures
    > The Godfather at the IMDb
    > Find out more about The Godfather at Wikipedia
    > Bill Hunt reviews the Blu-ray set at The Digital Bits
    > Find out more about Blu-ray at Wikipedia
    > DVD Beaver has a detailed review and screengrabs

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray

    UK DVD Releases: Monday 15th September 2008

    DVD PICKS

    Cool Hand Luke (Warner Home Video): One of Paul Newman‘s most iconic roles was as the lead character in this 1967 prison drama, directed by Stuart Rosenberg. He plays Lucas ‘Luke’ Jackson, a prisoner in a Southern chain gang, who stands up to authority by repeatedly escaping. In the process he becomes a hero to his fellow inmates but also attracts harsher punishments by the sadistic guards. This new special edition from Warner Bros is newly remastered and contains some new featurettes, including: ‘The Making of Cool Hand Luke’; a profile of Donn Pearce – the novelist, co-screenwriter and real life inspiration for Luke – and an audio commentary by Paul Newman’s biographer Eric Lax. [Cert 15]

    Basic Instinct (Optimum): This erotic thriller about a San Francisco cop (Michael Douglas) who falls for the chief suspect (Sharon Stone) in a murder case caused considerable outcry when it got released back in 1992. It was probably the most sexually explicit mainstream film up to that point and also provoked protests from the gay community during the actual filming, due to the perceived depiction of certain characters. Revisiting it now, it looks a little dated but there is still something trashily enjoyable about it – even if it remains less interesting than some of director Paul Verhoeven‘s other films. This DVD re-release contains a decent behind the scenes featurette plus an interesting audio commentary from Camille Paglia, who is a huge fan of the film.

    Shotgun Stories (Vertigo Films): A highly impressive US indie about the conflict that breaks out between two sets of half-brothers in rural Arkansas after the death of their father. It has a brooding atmosphere of tension and violence that is expertly teased out by writer and director Jeff Nichols and it also contains a raft of fine acting from the likes of Douglas Ligon, Glenda Pannell and Barlow Jacobs with Michael Shannon especially fine in a key role. David Gordon Green served as a producer and it bears some stylistic similarities to his early work, notably George Washington and Undertow.

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    ALSO OUT

    Dante 01 (Momentum): A futuristic sci-fi horror with Lambert Wilson playing the sole survivor of an alien encounter who is charged with the murder of his entire crew and sentenced to a life of medical trials onboard Dante 01 – a psychiatric space prison.

    Deceit (Optimum): A TV movie about a man (Matt Long) returns to his hometown after his father’s death and soon enters into an affair with the wife (Emmanuelle Chriqui) of his old best friend (Luke Mably).

    Doc (Optimum): The 1971 film version of the western heroes, Doc Holliday (Stacy Keach) and Wyatt Eart (Harris Yulin), set during the 1880s.

    Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday (2 Entertain): Although this was the 2nd episode to be broadcast starring Peter Davison as the Doctor, it was the first to be recorded with him in the role. It is a four parter by Terence Dudley which sees the time lord and his companions Nyssa, Tegan and Adric (Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Matthew Waterhouse) battling the Urbankans whose leader Monarch (Stratford Johns) believes he is the divine creator of the entire universe.

    ER – Season 12 (Warner): The 12th season of the popular medical series sees plotlines involving a severe flooding of diverse patients, a baby involved in a suspicious car crash with her mother, a heart-attack victim visited by his sex-therapist and a comatose woman who suddenly awakes

    Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal): The latest comedy from the team behind ‘Knocked Up’ and ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’ follows a struggling musician (Jason Segel) who is dumped by his long-term girlfriend, TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). When he goes to Hawaii to escape the torment he finds that Sarah is at the exact same resort with her new boyfriend, the wildly successful rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand).

    Foyle’s War: The Complete Series 1-5 (Acorn Media): Created by scriptwriter and novelist Anthony Horowitz, this mammoth 19-disc set features every investigation ever undertaken by Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in one collection.

    Full of It (Optimum): A comedy a young boy at a new school is forced to live out the lies he told to become popular.

    Ghost In The Shell: SAC Trilogy Box Set (Manga): A four-disc set which brings together the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex OVAs – ‘The Laughing Man’ and ‘Individual Eleven’ alongside the double-disc edition of the third “Ghost in the Shell” feature film, ‘Solid State Society’.

    Grey’s Anatomy – Season 3 (Disney): The third season of the hit medical drama based in Seattle, starring Ellen Pompeo (Meredith Grey), Patrick Dempsey (Derek Shepherd), Katherine Heigl (Izzie Stevens), Sandra Oh (Cristina Yang), T.R. Knight (George O’Malley) and Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke).

    Legend of the Lost (Optimum): Adventure film with Rossano Brazzi as a man who arrives in Timbuctoo in search of a guide to help him cross the Sahara in search of a lost city. John Wayne plays his guide but the two clash when when they come across a slave girl named Dita (Sophia Loren).

    Man of the West (Optimum): Gary Cooper plays a former outlaw now gone straight, who makes the acquaintance of card shark (Arthur O’Connell) and shapely dance-hall singer (Julie London) whilst travelling on a train with $1600 in his possession to find a new schoolteacher for his pioneer town. When the train is held up by his Uncle Tobin (Lee J Cobb) and other members of his former gang, the three are taken hostage and left behind when the trains resumes it’s journey.

    Outpost (Sony): Set in war-torn Eastern Europe, a band of mercenaries undertake a dangerous mission that leads them to a disused military bunker, where they discover a terrifying secret that has laid buried for half a century.

    Roger Corman: The Collection (Optimum): Six Corman films (with four making their UK DVD premiere) are included in this set. They are: Five Guns West, Gunslinger, Haunted Palace, Premature Burial, Masque of the Red Death and Wild Angels.

    Smart People (Icon): Directed by Noam Murro and scripted by novelist Mark Poirier, this comedy about a dysfunctional family stars Dennis Quaid, Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church and Sarah Jessica Parker.

    Soldier Blue (Optimum): A controversial western which follows the adventures of Honus (Peter Strauss) and Cresta (Candice Bergen), the only remaining survivors of a Cheyenne Indian attack, as they journey across the unforgiving wilderness of the old west in search of refuge.

    Terror in a Texas Town (Optimum): When a local businessman (Sebastian Cabot) ruthlessly kills a local landowner, the victim’s son (Sterling Hayden) heads out to avenge the killing, armed only with a harpoon.

    The Air I Breathe (Pathe): Directed by Jieho Lee and starring Forest Whitaker, Andy Garcia, Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser and Sarah Michelle Gellar, this film centres on the ancient Chinese proverb of Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow and Love, and sees the lives of four previously unconnected individuals weaved together by a crime boss (Andy Garcia).

    The Barbara Taylor Bradford Collection (Acorn Media): A six-disc set collects together five film adaptations of the successful novelist’s best-loved books, Voice of the Heart, Act of Will, To Be The Best, Hold the Dream and her first ever novel, A Woman of Substance.

    The Day of the Outlaw (Optimum): Burl Ives stars as the head of a gang who ride in to a Wyoming town where he meets two local ranchers (Robert Ryan and Alan Marshal) locked in a dispute supposedly about territory, but in reality more about a woman (Tina Louise).

    The Flying Doctors – Series 1: Volume 1 (Freemantle): Set in the Australian Outback this medical drama series follows the trials of The Royal Flying Doctor Service – the pilots and nurses covering thousands of miles of rough country.

    The Spikes Gang (Optimum): Three Texan farm boys run away in search of adventure and decide to emulate their hero Harry Spikes (Lee Marvin), a bank robber. Harry boasts to them of his exploits but it soon becomes apparent that Harry has had more bad days than good and his life seems doomed to failure. The question is, will he drag the boys down with him? Also stars a young Ron Howard.

    Three and Out (Worldwide Bonus Entertainment PLC): British comedy starring Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney and Gemma Arterton, that provoked protests from tube drivers earlier this year.

    Tin Man (Brightspark): DVD release of director Nick Willing’s TV series that reimagined The Wizard of Oz, starring Zooey Deschanel, Richard Dreyfuss, Alan Cumming, Neal McDonough, Kathleen Robertson, Raoul Trujillo and Anna Galvin.

    XXY (Peccadillo Pictures): The debut of Argentinean writer/director Lucia Puenzo is this drama set in Uruguay about an intersex child, Alex (Ines Efron) who was born with physical characteristics that don’t fit the definition of male or female.

    Young Billy Young (Optimum): Robert Mitchum stars in this Western as a man haunted by the memory of his dead son, murdered in Dodge City by a man named Frank Boone (John Anderson), for whom he has been searching ever since. Also starring Angie Dickinson and David Carradine.

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    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me or leave a comment below.

    > Buy Cool Hand Luke, Basic Instinct or Shotgun Stories on DVD at Amazon UK
    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 12th September)

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray dvd releases

    UK DVD Releases: Monday 8th September 2008

    DVD PICKS

    21 (Sony): Based on the best selling book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich, this is tells the story of the MIT Blackjack Team who won millions in Las Vegas counting cards. Jim Sturgess plays a talented student who is persuaded to join a group of maths students (who include Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo and Liza Lapira) headed up by a professor (Kevin Spacey) who orchestrates lucrative weekend trips to Vegas casinos. Directed by Robert Luketic, it has changed some aspects of the book but is still a breezily entertaining caper with some nice performances from Spacey and Laurence Fishburne in a supporting role. It is Sturgess though, who stands out in the lead role and he could well go on to have a successful Hollywood career. [Also available on Blu-ray]

    * Listen to our interviews from back in April with Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey about 21 *

    Caramel (Momentum): This debut film by Lebanese writer/director and actress Nadine Labaki explores the lives of five women working together in a Beirut beauty parlour is a charming and eye-opening treat. Refreshingly free of many of the cliches that dog films set in the Middle East, it manages to make some salient points about women in that region of the world. But it is also a spirited portrayal of different characters finding solidarity with one another. What’s perhaps most impressive is the series of fine performances that Labaki has drawn from her non-professional cast who imbue the film with a rare energy and spirit.

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    ALSO OUT

    Arctic Tale (Paramount): A documentary about a polar bear cub and a walrus pup narrated by Queen Latifah.

    B.T.K. (Lionsgate): A film based on the real life of Dennis L. Rader, the notorious serial killer who brutally bound, tortured and killed his victims.

    Botched (Optimum): A zany horror film set in Russia about a professional thief (Stephen Dorff) who finds himself dealing with serial killers, insane hostages and double-crossing psycho Russian hard men.

    Brave Story (Optimum): Koichi Chigira directs this Gonzo animation studios production about an 11-year-old who is told he can change his destiny by entering a magic gateway into another world.

    Caught (Second Sight); A re-release for director Max Ophuls‘ 1949 drama about a young secretary (Barbara Bel Geddes) married to millionaire (Robert Ryan) who falls in love with her employer (James Mason).

    CSI: Miami – Season 5 Part 2 (Momentum): The second part of the 5th season of the Miami version of the popular forensics drama.

    Grindhouse Trailer Classics 2 (Nucleus Films): Another compilation of trailers from cult and exploitation (or ‘grindhouse’) movies including promos for The Black Gestapo, The Depraved, Bloody Pit Of Horror, The Pink Angels, Foxy Brown.

    In the Night Garden: Hello Tombliboos! (BBC): The BBC’s preschool TV show about excitable, tumbly, knocabout pepper-pot toys gets released by BBC Worldwide.

    Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (aka Doppleganger) (Universal): This 1969 sci-fi movie written by Gerry Anderson is set one hundred years into the future when scientists discover an exact duplicate of Earth orbiting on the other side of the sun.

    La Ronde (Second Sight): Director Max Ophuls’ adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s play is set in Vienna in the early 1900s and is a series of tales woven together by the Raconteur (Anton Walbrook) as each segment introduces a new character, who then moves on to an affair with another.

    Man of the East (Optimum): A western with Terence Hill as a naive young man trying to make a name for himself with the help of his father’s three old friends: Monkey (Dominic Barto), Holy Joe (Harry Carey Jr.) and Bull (Gregory Walcott).

    Monk Season 6 (Universal Playback): Tony Shalhoub returns as the phobia-laden detective Adrian Monk for the 6th season which includes guest stars such as Alfred Molina, Sarah Silverman and Snoop Dogg.

    Navajo Joe (Optimum): Sergio Corbucci’s spaghetti western with Burt Reynolds as an avenging Native American called on to help a town fight back against outlaws.

    Nothing But A Man (Metrodome): This 1964 drama, directed by Michael Roemer, is a love story about a man (Ivan Dixon) who is forced to confront prejudice and self-denial when he falls in love with an educated preacher’s daughter (Abbey Lincoln).

    Protégé (Liberation Entertainment): A Hong Kong crime thriller about an ailing druglord (Andy Lau) who is unaware that his protégé (Daniel Wu) is actually an undercover cop.

    The Eye (Lionsgate): A US remake of the Pang Brothers film of the same name, this stars Jessica Alba as a woman who after undergoing surgery to restore her sight begins to see inexplicable and frightening images that haunt her.

    The Hills Run Red (Optimum): A spaghetti western about two confederate army buddies carrying a shedload of money to help the cause at the end of the civil war when they are set upon by Yankees.

    The 2 Sides of the Bed (TLA): A romantic farce, which is a follow up to The Other Side of the Bed.

    Tortured (Sony): A thriller about an undercover FBI agent who has to track down a mysterious crime lord’s money. Stars Cole Hauser, James Cromwell and Laurence Fishburne.

    What Happens in Vegas (Fox): Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz star as two mismatched strangers who – after a wild night in Vegas – find themselves married. But a huge gambling win complicates the anullment and a judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to six months “hard marriage.”

    Spooks – Code 9 (Contender): The new BBC Three drama from the producers behind Spooks and Life on Mars comes to DVD the day after the last episode airs.

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    > Buy 21 and Caramel on DVD at Amazon UK
    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 5th September)

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray dvd releases

    UK DVD Releases: Monday 1st September 2008

    DVD PICKS

    Doomsday (Universal): Although this post-apocalyptic action-thriller shamelessly rips off Mad Max 2 and Escape From New York, it remains something of a guilty pleasure. When a futuristic Britain comes under threat from a deadly virus, Rhona Mitra heads up a team of soldiers who have to venture into the forbidden wastelands of Scotland in order to find a cure. Director Neil Marshall brings an undeniable flair to the action sequences and although this isn’t nearly as accomplished as his last film (The Descent) it is watchable enough if you don’t take the hammy acting and clunky dialogue too seriously. [Also available on Blu-ray]

    * Listen to our interview with Neil Marshall about The Descent *

    Jerry Maguire (Sony): You might have forgotten that this 1996 film was one of the first to be released on the DVD format way back in the Spring of 1998. It has taken a little longer for it to reach Blu-ray, but if you have made the jump to Sony’s HD format then you might well want this charming comedy-drama to be part of your new collection. Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, it is the charming tale of a sports agent named Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) who goes it alone with his assistant Dorothy (Renée Zellweger). He soon falls for her and also has to deal with a pushy footballer client played by Cuba Gooding, Jr. (who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). Along with Almost Famous and Say Anything, it remains one of Crowe’s best films.

    Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (Optimum): Morgan Spurlock came to fame with Super Size Me, the hit 2004 documentary about fast food and has followed it up with this exploration of where the world’s most wanted terrorist is. Although not as groundbreaking or successful as his previous film, there are some interesting sections including illuminating visits to Egypt, Saudi Arbaia, Israel and Afghanistan. Perhaps where the film suffers a little is in it’s premise – surely a more interesting question (and film) would be: ‘Why hasn’t the US found Osama Bin Laden?’.

    * Listen to our interview with Morgan Spurlock about Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? *

    ALSO OUT

    Alive (Optimum): Based on the comic books by Tsutomu Takahashi, this is a live-action sci-fi horror directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.

    Cashback (Universal): An ‘offbeat comedy’ directed by Sean Ellis about the unconventional life of an art student (Sean Biggerstaff) after he is jilted by his long term girlfriend (Michelle Ryan).

    Erin Brockovich (Sony): A Blu-ray release for this Julia Roberts vehicle which dramatizes the story of Erin Brockovich‘s first fight against the American West Coast energy giant Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Not only did it scoop Roberts an Oscar for Best Actress, but it also cemented the return of Steven Soderbergh to the directing A-list after a few years in the indie wilderness.

    Fool’s Gold (Warner Bros):An ‘adventure comedy’ starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson as a just-divorced couple who bicker and banter whilst searching for treasure.[Also available on Blu-ray]

    Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (Warner Bros): A tie in DVD-only release with Masi Oka and Nate Torrence as Bruce and Lloyd, Maxwell Smart’s techie friends from the recent Get Smart movie remake.

    Illegal Tender (Universal): An action thriller about a Latino mother and son in ‘a quest for honour and revenge’, written and directed by Franc Reyes.

    In Memory of my Father (Scanbox): Written by, directed by and starring Christopher Jaymes this examines  a narcissistic Hollywood family struggling to deal with the fallout caused by the death of its patriarch.

    Lilith (TLA): An ‘erotic horror’ that follows Sister Katherine (Tina Krause) and her group of curvaceous female students on a college field trip exploring pagan customs.

    Psych – Season 1 (Universal Playback): The complete first season of the US comedy series following the misadventures of fake psychic Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his cynical friend Gus (Dule Hill).

    The Muppet Show – Season 3 (Disney): Jim Henson‘s famous puppets return with the voices of Frank Oz and this series introduces audiences to Miss Piggy and also stars Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, Animal and a host of other characters.

    The Oxford Murders (Contender): Based on the Argentine author Guillermo Martinez’s 2003 novel, this crime drama is directed by Alex de la Iglesia and stars John Hurt and Elijah Wood as a professor of logic, and a graduate student who investigate a series of bizarre, mathematically-based murders in Oxford.

    The Puffy Chair (Scanbox): Directed by Jay Duplass this comedy is about three young adults who find some of life’s answers and several more questions during a cross-country road trip to deliver the film’s eponymous piece of furniture.

    Tweenies: Messy Time Magic (BBC): The Tweenies are back on DVD with their mix of music and mayhem in this new release from BBC Worldwide.

    Two-Minute Warning (Nouveaux): This 1976 thriller about an a sniper killing people at a football stadium finally gets released on DVD in the UK. Directed by Larry Peerce and starring Charlton Heston, John Cassavetes, Martin Balsam, Beau Bridges, Jack Klugman, Gena Rowlands and David Janssen.

    Vexille (Momentum): Directed by Fumihiko Sori and utilising the talents of the creative team behind the groundbreaking CG anime Appleseed, Vexille is a CG animated sci-fi feature that deals with the theme of genetic enhancement and modification.

    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me

    (To buy any of the DVDs above just click on the title and you will be redirected to Amazon UK)

    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 29th August)

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray

    DVD Releases: Monday 25th August 2008

    DVD PICKS

    The Band’s Visit (Sony): A highly accomplished directorial debut from Israeli director by Eran Kolirin about an Egyptian band (the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra) who travel to Israel to play at an Arab cultural center, only to find themselves lost in the wrong town. Although tensions in the Middle East can lead to polemical or naive filmmaking, this beautifully crafted tale manages to avoid the usual pitfalls. The restrained humour, inventive visuals and strong but subtle performances put the conflict between Arabs and Israelis into a more involving and human perspective.

    Vampyr (Eureka/Masters of Cinema): A welcome re-release for this classic vampire film which was directed in 1932 by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The story – partly inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla – involves as traveller (Julian West) who arrives at an inn in the countryside only to find something very strange going on with the inhabitants. Notable for its hypnotic mood, it also contains some indelible images, such as a character out of snyc with his own shadow, a memorable death in a flour mill, a funeral procession shot from inside the coffin and rooms that gets darker when the doors are opened. There are some wonderful extras on this disc including an 80-page booklet, deleted scenes, two documentaries and a highly informative commentary from director Guillermo Del Toro, who is a huge fan of the film.

    Still Life (BFI): This 2006 Chinese film, directed by Jia Zhangke, surprisingly scooped the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival that year. Shot in the village of Fengjie, a small town on the Yangtze River, it tells the story of two people in search of their spouses in the shadow of the Three Gorges Dam. It contains some striking imagery, such as a building being fired into space and a tightrope walker attempting a mid-air crossing. A slowly paced but rewarding look at life in modern China, with renewed topicality given the recent Olympic Games in Beijing.

    The Satyajit Ray Collection – Volume 1 (Artificial Eye): A welcome DVD release for Satyajit Ray – one of India’s greatest directors. This first collection contains three of his films: Mahanagar (The Big City) a 1963 film about a young woman who finds independence in her work, but is nonetheless constrained by traditional patriarchal attitudes; Charulata (The Lonely Wife) is his 1964 film (often regraded as his finest) about an upper-class Bengali couple in the late 19th century, who struggle to live up to their own lofty ideals. Nayak (The Hero), made in 1966, takes place almost entirely on a train and explores the entertainment industry, but also how society perceives the images it creates.

    ALSO OUT

    Asterix at the Olympic Games (Pathe): Another live-action version of the famous French cartoon character with Clovis Cornillac as the diminutive Gaul and Gerard Depardieu as his trusty friend Obelix. Here they travel to Greece and the Olympic Games, in aid of fellow Gaul Alafolix (Stephane Rousseau) who is trying to woo the Greek Princess Irina.

    Awake (Icon): Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba and Terence Howard star in this thriller about anaesthesia and corruption.

    Buso Renkin – Volume 1 (Manga): Based on the popular manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki (the man behind ‘Rurouni Kenshin’), Buso Renkin is an anime series mixing comedy, drama, fantasy and romance. Volume 1 is a 3-disc set which includes the first 13 episodes of the 26-episode series. Episodes feature Japanese and English 2.0 audio and optional English subtitles.

    Doctor Who: The War Machines (2 Entertain): A four part Doctor Who adventure, originally screened in 1966 as part of the show’s third season, sees the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and companion Dodo (Jackie Lane) travel to Swinging Sixties London, where they do battle with supercomputer WOTAN and his army of robots.

    Judex + Nuits Rouges – Two Films by Georges Franju (Eureka/Masters of Cinema): Eureka re-release this double bill of Georges Franju films as part of their Masters of Cinema Series. Franju was co-founder of the Cinémathèque Française and famous for directing Eyes Without A Face. Both of these films were homages to the silent serials of Louis Feuillade and were even co-written in collaboration with Feuillade’s grandson, Jacques Champreux.

    La Belle et la bête (BFI): Jean Cocteau’s version of Beauty and the Beast – Mme Leprince de Beaumont’s eighteenth-century fairy tale – stars Josette Day as Beauty and Jean Marais as the Beast. Although previously re-released in 2001, this is a restored version of the original film for Studio Canal in association with Sky Arts.

    Love in a Cold Climate (2 Entertain): A re-release for the BBC TV series based on the novels of Nancy Mitford, the story involves three upper-class young women and their quest for romance just before World War II. Starring Celia Imrie, Alan Bates, Sheila Gish, Anthony Andrews and Frances Barber.

    Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (BFI): A re-release for this 1999 BBC film about the artist Francis Bacon (Derek Jacobi) and his strained relationship with lover muse and George Dyer (a pre-Bond Daniel Craig).

    Naruto Unleashed: Series 4 – Part 1 (Manga): An anime series adapted from the best-selling manga created by Masashi Kishimoto, which follows the adventures of a ninja boy in training. This version is released uncut on DVD and spread across three-discs.

    Nim’s Island (Universal): Based on the children’s novel by Wendy Orr and directed by the husband and wife team of Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, this family adventure film stars Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler.

    Origin: Spirits of the Past (Manga): Directed by Keiichi Sugiyama, this is the first full-length animated feature film made by Studio Gonzo – a futuristic sci-fi fairy tale that uses 3-D CGI and traditional 2-D animation styles.

    Points and Aspects: The British Transport Films Collection Volume 8 (BFI): The latest volume of digitally re-mastered British Transport Films released by the BFI has 13 films (nearly five hours of footage) that explore a range of subjects that the BTF Unit covered from 1952 to 1974.

    Supernatural – Season 3 (Warner Bros): The third season of the US TV series which follows two brothers (played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), who travel across the country investigating paranormal events, many of them based on American urban legends and folklore.

    The Chair (DNC Entertainment): A horror film from director Brett Sullivan (who made Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed) stars Alanna Chisholm and Lauren Roy in a tale set in a haunted Victorian house.

    The David Lynch Collection (Optimum): Optimum have collected together two of their previous David Lynch releases alongside their recent Special Edition release of The Elephant Man. This set also includes Inland Empire and Mulholland Drive, although they are only the previously available single disc editions.

    Who Saw Her Die (Shameless): A giallo (i.e. an Italian slasher movie) film from 1971 directed by Aldo Lado which involves a couple (George Lazenby and Anita Strindberg) investigating the death of their young child.

    X-Men – Series 1 (Liberation Entertainment): A DVD release for the popular animated series based on the Marvel comic, which has long been requested by fans of the show.

    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me

    (To buy any of the DVDs above just click on the title and you will be redirected to Amazon)

    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    >  Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 22nd August)

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray dvd releases

    DVD Releases: Monday 18th August 2008

    DVD PICKS

    Persepolis (Optimum): Writer and director Marjane Satrapi (along with co-director Vincent Paronnaud) adapted her own graphic novel about growing up during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Using a striking animated style, it explores her journey living in a theocratic society until she emigrates at the age of 21. A moving and insightful film, filled with healthy doses of humour, it deservedly won the Jury Prize at Cannes last year and was nominated for Best Animated Film at the Oscars.

    Lars and the Real Girl (MGM/Fox): Although the premise of this film might sound odd – a Midwestern loner called Lars buys a sex doll only to treat it as a real person – this actually feels more like an updated Frank Capra movie, with Ryan Gosling playing the introverted title character. There aren’t many laugh out loud moments but there is an amiable charm to the film, which is helped by some fine performances from Gosling, Paul Schneider, Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson. Directed by Craig Gillespie from Nancy Oliver‘s script, which was nominated for an Oscar.

    OTHER RELEASES

    A Town Called Eureka – Season 2 (Universal Playback): Second season of the fantasy series involving a sheriff (Colin Ferguson) in the small town of Eureka, a place where scientific experiments cause innovation or chaos.

    Breathing Room (DNC Entertainment): A psychological thriller involving a woman (Alisa Marshall) who finds herself thrown into a desolate room with thirteen strangers before discovering she is the last contestant in a deadly game.

    Chuck – Season 1 (Warner): First season of the NBC show about a computer geek who receives the world’s greatest spy secrets after opening an e-mail from an old college friend who is now a rogue CIA agent.

    Diamond Dogs (Sony): Dolph Lundgren – currently stuck in straight-to-DVD hell – stars in this action film about an ex-Special Forces officer hired to lead a band of treasure hunters in order to find a priceless Buddhist artifact.

    Get Smart – Season 1 (HBO): Released to coincide with the cinema release of the movie remake starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, the original Get Smart was a 1960s comedy series revolving around the bumbling Washington spy Maxwell Smart (Don Adams). Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry it also starred Barbara Feldon as Agent 99, who often saves the day.

    Gossip Girl – Season 1 (Warner): From the creators of The O.C., comes this show is based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar, follwing the lives of privileged teenagers in Manhattan. The first season starts when students learn from the ‘Gossip Girl’ blog that Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), a formerly notorious party girl, is back in New York.

    La Antena (Dogwoof Pictures): The second feature film from Argentinean director Esteban Sapir is a silent black-and-white tale about a world dominated by trashy TV, where even the ability to talk has been snatched from people.

    Leatherheads (Universal): George Clooney directs and stars in this 1930s-style screwball comedy about an American Football team struggling to stay afloat in the early days of the sport. Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski co-star.

    Meet the Spartans (Fox): Another hastily made spoof from the creative talents that gave us Date Movie and Epic Movie.

    Sports Movie (aka The Comebacks) (Fox): A sports movie spoof about an out-of-luck coach (David Koechner) trying to lead his team of fumbling footballers to victory before his long-suffering wife (Melora Hardin) leaves him.

    Stargate: Continuum (Fox): Yet another Stargate spin off in which members of SG-1 find themselves returning to a world where history has been dramatically altered.

    Stop-Loss (Paramount): After several years in development hell, director Kimberley Pierce (who made Boys Don’t Cry in 1999) returned with this tale of a decorated Iraq war hero (Ryan Phillippe) who returns to Texas, only to find a clause in his army contract will force him back to duty in the Middle East.

    The Neverending Story (Warner): A re-release for Wolfgang Petersen’s 1984 fantasy adventure based on the German novel of the same name by Michael Ende

    The Sword in the Stone – 45th Anniversary Special Edition (Disney): The animated Disney film based on the novel of the same name gets a re-release .

    Unearthed (Icon): The story of an unknown creature stalking an archaeological dig in the middle of a desolate New Mexico town and the inhabitants who must fight it out.

    Virgin Territory (Momentum): A straight-to-DVD release for this very loose adaptation of Giovanni Boccaccio‘s The Decameron with Hayden Christensen, Mischa Barton and Tim Roth.

    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me

    (To buy any of the DVDs above just click on the title and you will be redirected to our Amazon affiliate)

    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    >  Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 15th August)

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray dvd pick Film of the Week

    DVD Pick: In Bruges

    In Bruges is the tale of two Irish hit men named Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) who have been sent to lie low in the Belgian city of Bruges.

    There they have arguments with one another and upset all manner of people from the locals, US tourists and even the crime boss (Ralph Fiennes) who sent them there.

    Written and directed by the playwright Martin McDonagh, who won an Oscar in 2006 for his short film Six Shooter, this is one of the most impressive debut features in recent memory.

    Not only does it contain several memorable sequences, but it contains the sort of ballsy, politically incorrect humour absent from a lot of mainstream comedy movies.

    It also features some excellent performances, most notably from the two leads. Gleeson is his usual dependable self whilst Farrell shows what a good actor he can be when released from the constraints of big budget Hollywood productions.

    Ralph Fiennes also makes a startling impression in a menacing supporting role that owes more to his turn in Schindler’s List than some of his more recent performances.

    If you are familiar with the sensibility of McDonagh’s plays, such as The Lieutenant of Inishmore, you will find much to feast on here – it feels like Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter remade by Quentin Tarantino.

    It opened the Sundance Film Festival back in January and got a wider US release in February, with a UK opening following in April.

    Although it had a relatively low budget, it still didn’t really get the attention it deserved, which may have been down to bad marketing (the US one sheet poster was horrible, with the UK one not much better) or maybe the title confused people.

    But the DVD is an essential purchase as this is easily one of the best films to come put this year – smart, funny and superbly made.

    The extras include:

    • Deleted and extended scenes: There is a generous amount of unused footage (11 deleted and 2 extended scenes), some of which are very funny, the highlight being the scene with Ralph Fiennes’ character on the train.
    • Gag reel: Perhaps less impressive is this gag reel which consists of the actors cracking up on set.
    • When in Bruges: A solid 13 minute making-of featurette featuring interviews with director Martin McDonagh and the main cast, exploring the ideas behind the film and the experience of making it.
    • Strange Bruges: This is a 7 minute feature the cast and director discussing the Belgian town where the film was set and made.
    • A Boat Trip Around Bruges: A 5 minute film about the history of Bruges filled with some nuggets of information and trivia.
    • F**king Bruges: A short feature in which the most prominent word in the script is repeated over and over again.

    Watch the trailer here:

    In Bruges is out now on DVD from Universal

    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
    > Listen to our review on our podcast back in April
    > In Bruges at the IMDb
    > Read other reviews of the film at Metacritic
    > Find out more about Martin McDonagh at Wikipedia
    > The Guardian profile Martin McDonagh
    > The Times interview Colin Farrell and Martin McDonagh about the film

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray releases

    DVD Releases: Monday 11th August 2008

    DVD PICKS

    In Bruges (Universal): The tale of two Irish hit men (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) who have been ordered to lie low in the Belgian city of Bruges is one of the funniest films to come out this year. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who won an Oscar for his short film Six Shooter, this is features some glorious sequences, as well as some fine acting by the two leads with Ralph Fiennes in a key supporting role. [Read our full review here]

    My Brother is an Only Child (Revolver): Adapted from the best-selling novel ‘Il Fasciocomunista’, this story of two feuding brothers, set amidst the politically charged Italy of the 60s and 70s, is a highly accomplished and involving film. Written and directed by Danielle Luchetti it stars Elio Germano and Riccardo Scamarcio as the two brothers.

    Son of Rambow (Optimum): A charming British comedy about two young boys (Will Poulter and Bill Milner) in the mid-1980s who try to make an ultra low budget sequel to First Blood (the first Rambo movie) using a VHS camera and their own surroundings. Directed by Garth Jennings and also starring Jessica Hynes from Spaced.

    [REC] (Contender): A contemporary Spanish horror in which a TV crew cover the night shift of a Barcelona fire station and follow a team as they respond to an event in mysterious apartment building. It plays like a Spanish version of The Blair Witch Project but also has it’s own sense of claustrophobia and tension. Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza.

    ALSO OUT

    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me

    (To buy any of the DVDs above just click on the title and you will be redirected to our Amazon affiliate)

    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

    DVD Pick: Escape From New York

    Writer-director John Carpenter‘s smart, dystopian thriller Escape From New York was re-released on regular DVD and Blu-ray this week.

    Made in 1981 it imagines a futuristic New York where crime has spiralled out of control to the point where Manhattan has been turned into a maximum security prison.

    When Air Force One crashes over the island, the prison governor (Lee Van Cleef) recruits a notorious criminal named “Snake” Plissken (Kurt Russell) to go in and rescue the leader of the free world.

    The major snag is that he has less than 24 hours to complete his mission and must survive in a completely lawless and hostile environment.

    Although the premise stems from anxieties about New York that now seem dated, the film holds up remarkably well with the visuals, acting and a pulsating electronic score all adding to the mix.

    The extras on both releases include:

    • Return to Escape from New York: A 23 minute featurette on the making of the film with interviews and insight from cast and crew.
    • John Carpenter Interview: A new and exclusive 30 minute interview with the writer-director about the film.
    • Snakes Crime: The deleted opening scene where Snake robs a federal bank.
    • Commentary: John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, which is highly engaging and informative.

    There are also three theatrical trailers including this one:

    The Blu-ray version is presented in 1080P 2.35:1 Widescreen (VC1) with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

    > Buy it on regular DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon UK
    > Escape from New York at the IMDb
    > More information on the film at The Official John Carpenter site

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

    DVD Pick: Total Recall

    One of the consequences of the recent hook up between Optimum and Studio Canal is that a selection of Arnold Schwarzenegger action movies from the 80s and 90s have been re-released in a box set and as individual titles.

    The best of these is Total Recall, the 1990 sci-fi adaptation of Philip K Dick‘s story ‘We Can Remember It For You Wholesale‘ which stars Arnold as blue collar worker who dreams of Mars.

    When he visits a company who can offer him a virtual holiday by implanting memories it inadvertently unlocks his ‘real’ past as a secret agent and he then has to escape to the red planet for real.

    Directed by Paul Verhoeven (after the success of RoboCop in 1987) it is definitely the best of Schwarzenegger’s films between the two Terminators and contains some interesting ideas, even if the emphasis is skewed towards action.

    The production design is still impressive and the visual effects by Rob Bottin still stand up very well – in many ways they foreshadow how SFX as a whole would develop in the 90s with films like T2 and The Matrix.

    One of the highlights on the extras is an excellent commentary with Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger recorded for the previous Special Edition, as they complement each other very well.

    Arnold seems especially amused at some of the more gruesome scenes whilst Verhoeven has many thoughtful riffs and views on the plot twists and themes of the story.

    The director also frequently reveals that he wanted the film to be even more violent (one scene in particular sent the MPAA crazy) which is saying something, as it is probably one of the most brutal mainstream action films of its era.

    That said it is still a solidly entertaining and at times surprisingly clever slice of sci-fi.

    The other extras include:

    • Imagining Total Recall: A fine 30 minute featurette exploring the original Philip K Dick story and how it came to the screen. Paul Verhoeven, screenwriter Ron Shussett (who also write Alien) and Schwarzenegger all give solid contributions.
    • Making of Total Recall: A more modest 8 minute on set making of feature from 1990 that was presumably a TV promo from 1990.
    • Vision of Mars: Another short piece (5 mins) on how Mars was visualised for the film.
    • There are also storyboard comparisons and the requisite trailers and TV Spots.

    Here is the original theatrical trailer:

    The Blu-ray version is presented in 1080P 2.35:1 Widescreen (VC1) with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

    However, it doesn’t feature any of the extras on the regular DVD disc, so unless you are desperate for the HD version of the film I think the regular DVD with the extras is much better value.

    I realise it may be a space issue on the discs but if Blu-ray is going to take off as a format, extras are an essential part of any DVD package.

    > Buy on DVD or Blu-Ray at Amazon UK
    > Total Recall at the IMDb
    > Reviews of the film at Metacritic
    > Find out more about Total Recall at WIkipedia

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Film of the Week Reviews

    DVD Pick: The Elephant Man (Special Edition)

    The DVD highlight of the week is this special edition re-release of The Elephant Man – the superb 1980 period drama about the life of Joseph Merrick.

    Based on the real story of a man so disfigured he was dubbed ‘the Elephant Man’, it explores how he was taken in by a doctor and his struggle to be recognised as a dignified human being in Victorian London.

    Notable for being director David Lynch‘s second feature (after Eraserhead) it features a raft of excellent performances from the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon and Freddie Jones.

    However, in the lead role John Hurt is mesmerising, despite being buried under a lot of (quite brilliant) make-up which took hours each day to apply.

    Although he would go on to have considerable success as an actor – often in supporting roles – this perhaps remains his greatest screen performance.

    It is also a moving study of an individual struggling to come to terms with deformity and being a social outcast.

    Another interesting aspect of the film is that it was produced by Mel Brooks, who became instrumental in getting the film made after his wife Anne Bancroft gave him the script to read.

    When viewed in the context of Lynch’s career it has may seem different to his darker films such as Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart or Mulholland Drive but it demonstrates his early skills as a filmmaker and his taste for the fringes of society.

    The extras include the following:

    • Joseph Merrick – The Real Elephant Man: An highly informative 20 minute featurette on the real life of Merrick introduced by Jonathan Evans, an archivist of Royal London Hospital Museum. He describes the historical context but also explores the differences between the film and Merrick’s actual life. One of the most interesting snippets is that Merrick sought out his career in a freak show as a way to make money and that he was not such a victim as the film presents. It also speculates what disease Merrick was actually suffering from, a question that continues to baffle medical historians.
    • Interview with John Hurt: In a 20 minute interview, the actor describes various aspects of his experience playing the role: how he based his physical movements on a corkscrew; the unlikely success of the film in Japan; working with fellow actors Anthony Hopkins, John Gielgud, Michael Elphick and Hannah Gordon; the difficulty of the shoot, how he completed all of his work in between making Heaven’s Gate in two parts (he notes that the whole of The Elephant Man cost less than the prologue of Heaven’s Gate!); the studio exec who didn’t know how to sell the film and how he kept some of the props from the film.
    • Interview with David Lynch: Another revealing 20 minute interview, this time with director David Lynch. He reveals several things about working on the film such as: his struggles after Eraserhead when he couldn’t find financing for his own script called ‘Ronnie Rocket’; how the pitch for The Elephant Man immediately appealed to him; the initial resistance to the project from studios; how Anne Bancroft loved the script and gave it to her husband (and producer) Mel Brooks; how Brooks loved Eraserhead and supported Lynch throughout the production; the origins of the script; the ‘beyond-the-beyond great’ cast who Brooks helped recruit; the importance of veteran cinematographer Freddie Francis in shooting the film in black and white; the makeup for Merrick, which Lynch actually worked on in a garage Wembley for a time before makeup artist Chris Tucker took over; how Hurt underwent 6-8 hours of makeup every day to become Merrick; the importance of visiting an old Victorian hospital and how only wants to work on digital film.

    It also contains the original theatrical trailer:

    Overall the extras are very good without being spectacular but this remains an excellent film, well worth checking out if you don’t already own it.

    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
    > The Elephant Man at the IMDb
    > Find out more about the real Joseph Merrick at Wikipedia

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray releases

    DVD Releases: Monday 4th August 2008

    Here are the UK DVD releases for this week, along with our picks.

    DVD PICKS

    The Elephant Man – Special Edition (Optimum): The DVD highlight of the week is this special edition re-release of David Lynch’s superb 1980 period drama about the life of Joseph Merrick (he is named John on the film). Based on the real story of a man so disfigured he was dubbed ‘the Elephant Man’, it explores how he was taken in by a doctor and his struggle to be recognised as a dignified human being in Victorian London. [Read our full review here]

    Escape From New York (Optimum): John Carpenter’s smart, dystopian thriller from 1981 gets re-released on regular DVD and Blu-ray. It imagines a futuristic New York where crime has spiralled out of control to the point where Manhattan has been turned into a maximum security prison. When Air Force One crashes over the island, the prison governor (Lee Van Cleef) recruits a notorious criminal named “Snake” Plissken (Kurt Russell) to go in and rescue the leader of the free world. The major snag is that he has less than 24 hours to complete his mission and must survive in a completely lawless and hostile environment. [Read our full review here]

    Total Recall (Optimum): Optimum have released a selection of Arnold Schwarzenegger action movies from the 80s and 90s on regular DVD and Blu-ray. The best of these is this 1990 sci-fi adaptation of Philip K Dick‘s story ‘We Can Remember It For You Wholesale‘ directed by Paul Verhoeven, which stars the Teutonic Austrian as a blue collar worker who dreams of Mars. When he visits a company offering him a virtual holiday by implanting memories, it inadvertently unlocks his ‘real’ past as a secret agent and all hell breaks loose as he escapes to the red planet for real. [Read our full review here]

    ALSO OUT

    • Aces: Iron Eagle III (Optimum): The third part of the series of films about a young fighter pilot that came out in the same year as the more successful of Top Gun.
    • Cliffhanger (Optimum): A Blu-Ray release for this surprisingly satisfying 1993 action film with Slyvester Stallone battling it out with a bunch of crooks on a mountain.
    • First Blood (Optimum): A Blu-Ray release for the first of the Rambo series – probably the best of the lot as it has a darker and more serious vibe, exploring a drifting Vietnam veteran (Sylvester Stallone) who is hunted by the police in Washington State.
    • Rambo: First Blood Part II (Optimum): A Blu-ray release for the 2nd of the Rambo films, which despite it’s confusing title was the most successful. A balls-to-the-wall 80s action film with Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) going back to Asia to get POWs missing in action from Vietnam. Efficiently done, even if the climactic speech is unintentionally hilarious.
    • Rambo III (Optimum): The 3rd Rambo film also gets the Blu-ray treatment and this is perhaps the most fascinating as the plot – set in 1988 – involves Rambo allying with freedom fighters in Afghanistan against the Russian invaders. These allies would of course go on to destroy the World Trade Centre spark global warfare, but as Stallone told me earlier this year ‘who knew?’.
    • Flash Gordon (Optimum): Mike Hodges’ 1980 film version of the famous comic book character gets a DVD release and although its just too campy and dated it does have its moments notably Brian Blessed‘s immortal cry of ‘Gordon’s Alive!’.
    • Hell’s Ground (TLA Releasing): A release for this ‘Danger After Dark’ title which is notable for being Pakistan’s “first-ever splatter flick” about zombies attacking teenagers in a remote location.
    • How She Move (Paramount): The current craze for dance themed movies continues with the release of this film about a young woman’s battle to escape her crime-filled neighbourhood through step-dancing.
    • Iron Eagle II (Optimum): The 1989 sequel to Iron Eagle, which saw a Perestroika-style team-up between US and Soviet forces in order to combat an unnamed Middle Eastern country.
    • Lupin the Third: Secret of Mamo (Manga): A release for this Manga film – the first of five animated features based on the popular Lupin the Third manga character created by ‘Monkey Punch’ (aka manga writer and illustrator Kazuhiko Kato).
    • Raw Deal (Optimum): A pedestrian Schwarzenegger vehicle from 1986 in which he plays a cop taking on the mob. The highlights were probably the tag line “NOBODY gives him a raw deal….” and the scene where he shoots someone and then pours sweets over them – indications that this probably wasn’t Arnold’s finest hour.
    • Red Heat (Optimum): One indication that the Cold War was coming to an end was that Russians started becoming allies in movies rather than villains. This 1988 action film saw Arnold Schwarzenegger play a Russian cop who comes to Chicago to hunt down a vicious fellow countryman (Ed O’Ross). James Belushi starred as the mismatched cop he must team up with, whilst Walter Hill directed.
    • Red Sonja (Optimum): A re-release for for this sword and sorcery action film in which Arnold Schwarzenegger took on more of a supporting role (despite the then recent success of the Conan films) and Bridgitte Nielsen took centre stage as a mystical warrior. Rose McGowan will soon star in a remake.
    • Space Adventure Cobra (Manga): Based on the comic books by Buichi Terasawa, this feature has been described as ‘an animated space opera packed with unfeasibly pneumatic heroines, psychedelic drug-inspired imagery, cracking cosmic combat sequences, a Darth Vader-like villain and a retro-styled, wise-cracking hero for whom saving the universe is about as taxing as a walk in the park’. Well that’s alright then.
    • Stargate- Special Edition (Optimum): The 1994 action film from director Roland Emmerich gets a regular DVD and Blu-ray re-release. Despite spawning a seemingly never-ending TV spin off, the action and effects hold up reasonably well in this tale of marines and a scientist finding a portal to another world.
    • The Arnold Schwarzenegger Collection (Optimum): A DVD box set of all the recent Schwarzenegger films re-released by Optimum in one handy package which includes: Total Recall, Raw Deal, Red Heat and Red Sonja.
    • The Fog (1979): A Blu-ray release for the John Carpenter original rather than the ropey 2005 remake. Be warned though that there are no extras on this disc, so only get it if you are dying to see it in HD.
    • Trouble in Mind (Nouveaux): A re-release for this 1985 neo-crime drama directed by Alan Rudolph and starring Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Lori Singer, Genevieve Bujold, Joe Morton and Divine.
    • Vantage Point (Sony): A regular DVD and Blu-ray release for this thriller about an assassination in Spain on the US president, seen from multiple perspectives. Directed by Pete Travis, it stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, Édgar Ramírez and William Hurt.

    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me

    (To buy any of the DVDs above just click on the title and you will be redirected to our Amazon affiliate)

    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
    > Take a look at the current UK cinema releases

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray releases

    DVD Releases: Monday 28th July 2008

    The DVD highlights in the UK this week include: Funny Games US, Paris Texas, and The Terence Davies Trilogy and Wings of Desire.

    Our picks for DVDs released on Monday 28th July are:

    • Funny Games US (Halcyon): A dark and often brutal shot-for-shot remake of the 1997 original made again by Austrian director Michael Haneke. Tim Roth and Naomi Watts plays a well-to-do couple terrorised at their holiday home by two mysterious young men (Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet). Although parts of it are difficult to endure, it is fascinating to compare it to the original.
    • Paris, Texas (Axiom): One of the iconic art house movies of the 80s gets a re-release and it stars Harry Dean Stanton as a drifter taken in by his brother (Dean Stockwell), trying to put his life back together with his wife Jane (Nastassja Kinski), and son Hunter (Hunter Carson). A fascinating slice of Americana seen through the eyes of German director Wim Wenders, it is notable for the fine performances, beautiful images of the Texan landscape and a truly memorable slide guitar score by Ry Cooder.
    • Wings of Desire (Axiom): Another iconic 80s art house movie by Wim Wenders also gets re-released, the story of a guardian angel (Bruno Ganz) who wants to be human. Made in 1987, before the collapse of the Berlin wall, it is a beautiful meditation on mortality, existence and the German capital. The extras include a feature-length commentary by Wim Wenders and Peter Falk, along with some deleted scenes and a featurette.
    • The Terence Davies Trilogy (BFI): A re-release of the early films of Terence Davies, presented as a trilogy. Children (1976) shows the central character Robert Tucker as a child bullied by his contemporaries, his Catholic schoolteachers, and his father. Madonna and Child (1980) explores Tucker’s middle-age as a  Liverpool office worker struggling with his sexuality and his Catholic faith. Death and Transfiguration (1983) shows Tucker as an old man in hospital, haunted by his troubled life. All have been re-released in one box set by the BFI.

    Also out are the following titles:

    • 27 Dresses (Fox): A romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl going to a lot of weddings.
    • American Crude (Sony): A comedy with Rob Schneider, Ron Livingston and Jennifer Esposito about a group of strangers whose lives collide during one ‘crazy’ night.
    • Big Stan (Momentum): Rob Schneider stars in this comedy set inside a prison.
    • Black Five: The Last Days of Steam (BFI): Three films by Paul Barnes that explore the last days of steam trains with footage from the BFI National Archive.
    • Bloodbath at the House of Death (Nucleus Films): 1984 cult horror spoof gets released on DVD for the first time with a long list of UK actors and comedians including Kenny Everett, Pamela Stephenson, Gareth Hunt, Don Warrington, John Fortune and Vincent Price.
    • Death Note (4Digital Media): A live-action version of the hit manga film, directed by Shusuke Kaneko.
    • Death Note Volume 2 (Viz Media/Manga Entertainment): The second volume of the animated manga adaptation about the story of Light Yagami – a school kid who gets the power of life and death in his hands in the form of ‘the Death Note’.
    • Eden Log (Momentum): The debut film by director Franck Vestiel is a sci-fi thriller starring Clovis Cornillac in a tale of a man who wakes up in a dark and mysterious undergound world.
    • Flash Gordon: The Complete Series (Contender): First series of the updated Flash Gordon TV show.
    • Four Minutes (Peccadillo Pictures): A German drama from directed by Chris Kraus about the relationship between a female prisoner and an older piano teacher.
    • Heroes – Season 2 (Universal Playback): The second season of the hit US show about a collection of different people with super powers.
    • Kings of the Road (Axiom): Another Wim Wenders re-release, this is the final film in his road movie trilogy (the first two being Alice in the Cities and Wrong Move).
    • Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (BFI): A musical by French director Jacques Demy (who made The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) with Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac, which is a tribute to the Hollywood musicals and even features an appearance by Gene Kelly. Released in the UK on DVD for the first time by the BFI, this 1996 restoration comes in a 2-disc set that also features a documentary by Agnès Varda.
    • Let’s Get Lost (Metrodome): A documentary by director Bruce Weber about life and music of legendary jazz trumpeter Chet Baker.
    • Reservation Road (Universal): A drama directed by Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) about two fathers as their respective families as they converge after the events of one fateful night. Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvinostar.
    • The Gerard Depardieu Collection (Optimum): A box set celebrating the famous French leading man, which includes Buffet Froid, Mon Pere Ce Hero, Le Colonel Chabert and Tous Les Matins du Monde.
    • The Kovak Box (DNC Entertainment): A thriller with Timothy Hutton as a bestselling author caught up in a series of deaths in Majorca.
    • The Long Day Closes (BFI): Another Terence Davies film gets a re-release with this 1992 film focusing on his own memories of growing up in a working-class Catholic family in Liverpool.
    • Under the Bombs (Artificial Eye): Drama exploring the 2006 Lebanese-Israeli conflict about mother’s frantic search for her lost child amongst Lebanon’s bombed out ruins.
    • Uniform (Axiom): Chinese thriller directed by Yinan Diao about the corrupting influence of poverty in contemporary China.

    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me.

    (To buy any of the DVDs above just click on the title and you will be redirected to our Amazon affiliate)

    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

    DVD Pick: The Orphanage

    One of the most accomplished films of the last twelve months was The Orphanage, an intelligent and highly effective supernatural thriller from Spain.

    I thought of describing it as a ‘horror’ film, but this is much closer in style on tone to Pan’s Labyrinth or The Others and a world away from the glut of remakes that have been clogging up multiplexes of late.

    The story involves a woman named Laura (Belén Rueda) who returns to the orphanage where she grew up and buys the property with the intention to turn it into a home for disabled children.

    Along with her husband (Fernando Cayo) and son Simón (Roger Príncep) things seem to settle down well, but things take a darker turn when their young boy says he has an imaginary friend.

    To say much more about the plot would be to spoil a beautifully crafted script that not only satisfies connoisseurs of atmospheric ghost stories but also those in search of something more emotionally involving than the standard horror movie.

    It is a highly impressive directorial debut for Juan Antonio Bayona and after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival last year it went on to win considerable critical acclaim in limited release.

    Guillermo del Toro helped bring it to the screen in his capacity as producer and the film bears some similarities to Pan’s Labyrinth with the exploration of parallel worlds and the importance of a child’s perspective on the cruelties of the adult world.

    If you didn’t manage to catch it at cinemas then the DVD is well worth catching up with, especially as Optimum Home Entertainment have done a fine job with a very tasty 2-disc package.

    Disc 1 includes:

    • The Main Feature: The transfer is presented in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is anamorphically enhanced. There are two Spanish language tracks, in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.

    Disc 2 contains all the extras, which feature the following:

    • UK Exclusive Q&A with Bayona at Curzon Mayfair in London: This is video footage from a Q&A session held after a screening around the UK theatrical release. Hosted by Mark Kermode, it features Juan Antonio Bayona, sound designer Oriol Tarrago and a translator (Corrina Poore). It lasts about 40 minutes and covers some interesting points, such as: the origins of the project; the role of Guillermo Del Toro in getting the film made; the sound design of the film (and how hearing horror movies on TV as a child influenced Bayona’s work); whether or not the story is especially Spanish, the importance of suggestion over showing horror and a few other things as well. My favourite bit is when they discuss the proposed Hollywood remake and Bayona asks why people in Hollywood don’t like subtitles, to which Kermode gives the simple but immortal reply: “Because they are thick.” Disappointingly though, the sound feed wasn’t taken from the mixing desk so it sounds a little echoey, but nonetheless it is a solid discussion of the film.
    • The Making of The Orphanage: A general 12 minute promo that covers the making of the film, featuring talking head EPK bites from the cast and crew.
    • The Set of The Orphanage: A short 2 minute featurette on the set, which shows how they built the set of the orphanage in an enormous set.
    • The Sound of The Orphanage: A 6 minute featurette with commentary by Oriol Tarrago, showing the scene with the parapsychologists, but adjusting the sound to demonstrate how vital it was to the film.
    • Interview with Bayona and Del Toro in Budapest: An 8 minute interview with director and and producer in Budapest (or as Guillermo calls it ‘the porn capital of Europe’). I guess Guillermo was shooting Hellboy 2 in Hungary and bayona joined him out there to film this discussion of the film. It focuses on the themes and issues deep within the film and is an interesting – if brief – conversation.
    • Lighting the Darkness: A 5 minute piece on how the film was lit and how atmosphere was created without resorting to obviously ‘big’ effects. The mix and match of shots is also quite interesting as all the interiors were shot on a set and had to blend with the exteriors, shot on location.
    • Roger Princep – The Casting: An interview with the young actor who plays a key role in the film and is surprisingly lucid for his age.
    • Alternative Beginning and Alternative Ending: The alternative ending is more of an extra scene that was cut, it doesn’t really replace the original end in any big way – however, the final shot is very nice. The alternative prologue is a different matter, as it is quite a detailed sequence that foreshadows a lot of key developments in the plot. Bayano explains that he wanted to keep things simpler and that it was ultimately too complicated a sequence for the opening of the film.
    • Deleted and Extended Scenes: The deleted scenes vary in interest but most of them are very intriguing, especially one involving a face-to-face meeting with two important characters.
    • Storyboards for 3 scenes: The storyboards for the seance, treasure hunt and appearance of Tomas offer the early visual conceptions of these scenes and are played parallel to the final cuts.
    • Shooting the Credits:A short piece on how the credit sequence was designed using footage of real children then mixed together with digital footage.
    • Animatics:More storyboards showing how they previsualised scertain sequences in the film.
    • Trailer: US theatrical trailer with the requisite deepthroated voice over.
    • Projections: Appears to be handheld test footage of characters from the film.

    So all in all a highy impressive DVD package for what was one of the best films to come out in the last year.

    Watch the trailer here:

    The Orphanage is out now on DVD from Optimum Home Entertainment

    > Buy The Orphanage from Amazon UK
    > IMDb entry for The Orphanage
    > Official site
    > Read reviews of The Orphanage at Metacritic

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray

    DVD Releases: Monday 21st July 2008

    The DVD highlights in the UK this week include: La Vie de Jesus, The Mummy [1932] Special Edition, The Office – Season 3, The Patrice Leconte Collection and The Orphanage.

    Here are our DVD picks for the week beginning Monday 21st July 2008:

    • La Vie de Jesus (Eureka): Director Bruno Dumont’s debut film from 1997 about two teenage lovers, set in a Flemish town – available on UK DVD for the first time.
    • The Mummy [1932] Special Edition (Universal): Re-release of the 1932 monster classic with Boris Karloff.
    • The Office – Season 3 (Universal): The third season of the surprisingly good US version of the series with Steve Carrell in the Ricky Gervais role.
    • The Orphanage (Optimum): Superb Spanish ghost story set in an orphanage, directed by Juan Antonio Bayona and produced by Guillermo Del Toro.
    • The Patrice Leconte Collection (Second Sight): Box set featuring the films of the noted French director including: The Hairdresser’s Husband, Ridicule, Monsieur Hire, Le Parfum D’yvonne And Tango.

    Also out are the following titles:

    • 10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros): Prehistoric epic from director Roland Emmerich.
    • All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (Optimum): US horror about an unconventional teenage girl.
    • Blue Water White Death (Revolver): 1971 documentary about a group of people searching for a Great White shark.
    • Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius (2Entertain): Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen star in this Doctor Who re-release from 1976.
    • Drillbit Taylor (Paramount): Comedy with Owen Wilson as a retired soldier helping out kids getting bullied in high school.
    • Fatal Contact (Cine Asia): Martial arts action film about a Kung Fu Oympian (Jacky Wu Jing) in the shadowy world of underground boxing.
    • First Sunday (Sony): Comedy with Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan as bumbling petty criminals.
    • Numb (Scanbox): A straight to DVD drama starring Matthew Perry as a writer suffering from depersonalization disorder.
    • Redacted (Optimum):Brian De Palma’s drama about US troops committing rape and murder in Iraq.
    • Robbery (Optimum): A crime drama inspired by the great train robbery of 1963 directed by Peter Yates and starring Stanley Baker, Frank Finlay, Barry Foster and William Marlowe.
    • The Mechanik (DNC Entertainment): Dolph Lungdren stars in a revenge tale involving a Russian paratrooper.
    • The Mummy [1999] (Universal): The 1999 action remake with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz is re-released on Blu-ray.
    • The Mummy Returns (Universal): The 2001 sequel – re-released on Blu-ray also.
    • WTC View (Peccadillo Pictures): Based on the stage play by Brian Sloan, exploring life in New York after 9/11 through the struggles of one man.
    • Zombies (Momentum): J.S. Cardone directs this tale of a group of young children zombies who come back from the dead looking for revenge, after their murder a century ago.

    If you have any questions about this week’s DVD releases or any upcoming titles then just email me

    (To buy any of the DVDs above just click on the title and you will be redirected to our Amazon affiliate)

    > Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
    > Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Film of the Week Reviews

    DVD Pick: I’m Not There

    I’m Not There was an audacious and brilliantly executed examination of the life and music of Bob Dylan.

    Writer-director Todd Haynes inverted the usual music biopic formula by having six different actors play a version of the enigmatic singer-songwriter.

    Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere and Heath Ledger all play characters based on Dylan and the film is a patchwork of different stories based on chapters of his life.

    Franklin is the young guitar player, Wishaw the budding poet, Bale the folk icon (and later the born again Christian), Blanchett the iconic 60s rock star, Gere the actor on a Western and Ledger the disillusioned 70s celebrity.

    Although this approach might seem a little esoteric it has the effect of tapping right into the themes and brilliance of Dylan’s music, which is plastered all over the film.

    The performances are excellent with Blanchett in particular standing out as arguably the most famous version of Dylan – the jaded, chain smoking iconoclast familiar to viewers of D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 documentary Don’t Look Back.

    Perhaps most poignant section, given his untimely death in January, is the section with Heath Ledger portraying the Blood on the Tracks-era Dylan. He again demonstrates what a fine actor he could be given the right role.

    The soundtrack is also similarly inventive, with the likes of Sonic Youth, Cat Power, Yo La Tengo, The Hold Steady and Antony & The Johnsons all contributing cover versions of Dylan songs. It also features a previously unreleased Dylan recording of the title track ‘I’m Not There’.

    The DVD includes over one hour of special features, including a tribute to the late Ledger, a conversation with the director and a look at the making of the soundtrack.

    They include:

    • 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
    • English DD5.1 Surround:
    • Introduction to the Film
    • Commentary by director/co-writer Todd Haynes
    • A Conversation with Todd Haynes (40:50mins)
    • Making the Soundtrack (20:15mins)
    • A Tribute to Heath Ledger (3:09mins)
    • Dylanography (Character galleries, discography, bibliography and chronology)

    Check out the trailer here:

    I’m Not There is out now on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment

    > Buy I’m Not There on DVD from Amazon UK
    > I’m Not There at the IMDb
    > Reviews of I’m Not There at Metacritic
    > SpoutBlog’s coverage of Todd Haynes discussing the film at the NY Film Festival
    > Find out more about Bob Dylan’s life and music at Wikipedia

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Essential Films

    DVD Pick: There Will Be Blood

    There Will Be Blood was one of the finest films of last year – a bold and mesmerising drama charting the rise of an oil man in the early years of the 20th century.

    Daniel Day Lewis won the Best Actor Oscar for his stunning central performance – the driven and obsessive Daniel Plainview, who starts off as a silver miner before slowly establishing himself as a hugely successful oil prospector.

    For writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson it was yet another marvellous addition to his already dazzling filmography (which now includes Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love).

    But this was an unusual departure for him – unlike his last three films it is away from his usual San Fernando Valley setting, eschews most of his favourite actors (such as John C Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore) and has a haunting, other-worldly feel to it.

    A lot of this mood is created by Jonny Greenwood‘s unusual and innovative score, which was shamefully disqualified for Oscar recognition.

    The film also saw Anderson re-team with cinematographer Robert Elswit, who won the Oscar for his remarkable visuals in a particularly strong year.

    Technically, the film is quite astonishing with Jack Fisk‘s meticulous production design, David Crank‘s art direction and Dylan Tichenor‘s clever editing all of the highest order.

    Revisiting the film again on DVD is interesting, as the bold narrative jolts and intensity subside to deeper feelings about the themes of the film.

    Although viewers may have theories on the film tied in with America’s current adventures in the Middle East, Anderson doesn’t deal in clumsy metaphors but instead creates a compelling take on America’s obsession with oil, money and business.

    Given how outstanding the actual film is, it is a little disappointing that this 2-disc special edition is lacking a little in features.

    For the third time running, Anderson has chosen not to record a commentary. Perhaps he feels it should ‘speak for itself’, but given the excellence of his commentary on the marvellous R1 Boogie Nights DVD his audio absence is still sorely missed.

    That said, what is here is still very good. The feature takes up the first disc and the transfer of the film is superb – the colours, lighting and sound are all wonderfully reproduced.

    But the extras on the second disc – whilst interesting – are a little sparse given the importance of this film.

    They include:

    • The Story Of Petroleum: This vintage featurette (1923-7) from The National Archives was created by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in collaboration with the Sinclair Oil Company as a promotional film. It runs for almost just over 25 minutes and provides some fascinating historical and social context. It shows how early oil pioneers looked for and extracted oil from the ground, as well as providing many useful nuggets of information. A nice touch is that Jonny Greenwood’s score is layered over what is an old silent film, making a stronger connection with Anderson’s feature.
    • ’15 minutes’ slideshow: This is a highly effective 15 minute montage of shots from the film inter-cut with archive images the filmmakers used for their research. It is striking to see how influential these photographs were on the finished visuals – some are almost reproduced shot-for-shot. Again, Jonny Greenwood’s score provides a beautiful counterpoint to the visual mix.
    • Deleted Scenes: The first of the deleted scenes is called ‘Fishing’ and at just over 6 minutes long feels like something Anderson cut out late in the edit process. It show’s how Plainview’s men are badly delayed after their rope breaks and use a process called ‘fishing’ to recover their tools at the bottom of the oil well. There is also a notable exchange with Eli’s father that touches upon the central themes of faith and fathers. The second is a called ‘Haircut/Interrupted Hymn’ which is a strange mix of scenes from the film involving Plainview and H.W.
    • Dailies Gone Wild (Outtake): Taken from the sequence of Plainview and H.W. in the restaurant, it seems to shed a bit of light on Daniel Day Lewis’ acting methods and culminates in one of the lighter moments he had on set with his young co-star.
    • Trailer: The mysterious first teaser trailer was unusual in that PTA cut it and uploaded it on to YouTube without telling the studio, which freaked them out – until they saw all the positive comments left by users of the site (alas Paramount have since pulled it from YouTube). The fuller theatrical trailer reveals more about the plot and does a good job of compressing some of the juicier elements of the film.

    Strangely, Buena Vista Home Entertainment (the UK distributor) have gone for a rather odd packaging which consists of folded card.

    There Will Be Blood - DVD cover

    Although the design is nice, the way the discs slide out like an envelope doesn’t seem too practical in the long term.

    Despite that, maybe we can hope for a beefed up special edition somewhere down the line. Until then, this remains an essential purchase for any true film lover.

    To conclude, here is PTA discussing the film last September when it had a surprise world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas:

    There Will Be Blood is out now on DVD from Buena Vista Home Entertainment

    > Buy There Will Be Blood on DVD at Amazon UK
    > Official site
    > There Will Be Blood at the IMDb
    > Check out reviews at Metacritic
    > There Will Be Milkshakes – popular viral video and a discussion board
    > New York Times interview with Daniel Day Lewis about the film
    > AV Club interview with Paul Thomas Anderson about There Will Be Blood
    > Extensive article in American Cinematographer magazine on Elswit’s work in There Will Be Blood
    > PTA and Day Lewis have a lengthy discussion with Charlie Rose about the film
    > An interview with Robert Elswit and production designer Jack Fisk about There Will Be Blood

    Categories
    Documentaries DVD & Blu-ray

    DVD Pick: Taxi to the Dark Side

    Taxi to the Dark Side is a riveting and deeply disturbing exploration of the Bush administration’s policy on torture and interrogation.

    It focuses on the controversial death in custody of an Afghan taxi driver named Dilawar, who in 2002 was beaten to death by US soldiers at the Bagram Air Base.

    Directed by Alex Gibney (who made the 2005 documentary Enron: The Samrtest Guys in the Room) it examines in clinical detail the events surrounding Dilawar’s death, featuring interviews with the troops who caused it and contributions from many figures involved in the story.

    The film is meticulous in examining the evidence and explores how the court-martialed soldiers involved were acting upon ambiguous policies that tacitly encouraged torture.

    It also makes the connection between the detention tactics used at Bagram and those at Abu Ghraib.

    Gibney interviewed a highly impressive array of contributors including: Carlotta Gall and Tim Golden (the New York Times journalists who helped uncover the story); Alberto J Mora (retired General Counsel of the U.S. Navy); Lawrence Wilkerson (formewr chief of staff to Colin Powell); Jack Cloonan (former FBI special agent) and Clive Stafford Smith (a lawyer who respresents detainees at Guantanamo Bay).

    Back in February the film deservedly won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature and is one of the most important to be released in the last five years.

    Revolver have done a fine job with the UK DVD, with over 70 minutes of extra footage including:

    • Commentary: Director Alex Gibney which goes into more detail about the film and the choices he made dring the production and edit.
    • Interview with Frank Gibney: The director’s father – who was himself a US Navy interrogator during World War 2 – speaks about his experiences questioning Japanese POW’s and his anger at the current US policies.
    • Outtakes: Some of the sequences which didn’t make the final cut are very interesting, including: a sequence about a SERE school (a US ‘survival’ boot camp) who supplied methods to the US army at Guantanamo Bay; a more detailed sequence involving Tony Lagouranis highlighting the absurdity of interrogating suspects in Iraq who were innocent and Carlotta Gaul talking about Dilawar’s family and village; a sequence about a website selling a restraint chair that was used to break a hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay; Clive Stafford Smith discussing his client Binyam Mohammed who was tortured in horrific ways; former US president Jimmy Carter discussing the ‘gross, unprecedented violation’ of US principles that the Bush adminstration has engaged in.
    • Alex Gibney Interviews: There are three interviews with the director on PBS Now, Link TV with Robert Scheer (editor of Truthdig) and Democracy Now (where he discusses the Discovery Channel‘s shameful decision not screen the film).

    This is the trailer:

    This is an interview Alex Gibney did with CBC earlier this year where he discusses the film:

    Check out this longer interview David Poland did with Alex Gibney a few months back in which they discuss the film and various related issues:

    Taxi to the Dark Side is out now on DVD from Revolver Entertainment

    > Official UK site for Taxi to the Darkside (you can pre-order the DVD via Amazon UK)
    > Taxi to the Dark Side at the IMDb
    > Read other reviews of the film at Metacritic
    > Watch Katie Couric of CBS News talk about the film
    > Jig Saw Productions – Alex Gibney’s production company
    > Listen to our recent podcast review of Taxi to the Dark Side
    > If you are in or around London go and see see the film at the ICA
    > Official site for the charity Reprieve

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

    DVD Pick: The Dirty Harry Collection

    Dirty Harry is one of the most iconic cops in the history of cinema and Warner Bros have just released a DVD box set of all five movies entitled The Dirty Harry Collection.

    It is a pretty lavish affair and if you are a fan of the character or Clint Eastwood then it is well worth purchasing.

    WARNING: There are spoilers in this review, so if you haven’t seen any of the films then be warned.

    DIRTY HARRY (1971)

    The first and best of the series saw Clint Eastwood take on the role of Harry Callahan – a no-nonsense cop in San Francisco who has to deal with a rooftop sniper named Scorpio.

    The success of the film took his career to another level, establishing him as one of the major box office stars of the 1970s.

    It remains a landmark cop film that influenced a generation of filmmakers with films like Lethal Weapon, Die Hard and Speed all being inspired by it to some degree.

    Revisiting the film is interesting experience – the craft of the film is quite striking and for director Don Siegel it was the high watermark of his long collaboration with Eastwood.

    As a police procedural thriller it is is slick, absorbing and tightly plotted. There is very little narrative waste here but visually it is interesting too. Cinematographer Bruce Surtees and director Siegel make great use of the fabulous San Francisco locations.

    The low lit night time sequences are also unusually dark – an interesting foretaste when you consider Eastwood’s fondness for low lighting as a director in later years.

    As an actor Eastwood brings the same dry, distant quality that he brought to the Man With No Name in Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy. The loner cop figure can be seen as an extension of the bounty hunter figure from those films – a violent avenger who understands the blurry differences between justice and the law.

    As for the villain, Andy Robinson is remarkably creepy as Scorpio, with his childlike insults and temper tantrums. The clash between the cop and the sniper is interesting as it is Harry who behaves in a way that is deemed unacceptable in the eyes of the law.

    It was this sense of moral ambiguity and the underlying rage at bureaucracy in the wake of the Miranda and  Escbedo rulings in the 60s (the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney) that gave ammunition to the films’ critics.

    Most notably, Pauline Kael of The New Yorker loathed the film, denouncing it as a:

    “right-wing fantasy [that is] a remarkably simple-minded attack on liberal values”

    Viewing the film now, these criticisms seem a little outlandish, but there is no doubt that the film does touch on the cultural conflicts of the times. Scorpio abuses Harry as a ‘pig’, wears a CND peace sign on his belt and also knows the rights that have been given to him by the liberal 60s.

    But the film and the central character are more libertarian than right wing: Harry hates the complacency and opportunism of his bosses; is perturbed by the lack of concern towards the victim’s rights; plus, there also seems to be a lingering class resentment towards his superiors, especially in the scene where he argues with the District Attorney and a Judge.

    Another aspect of the film that doesn’t often get talked about is the violence. Although by today’s standards the acts depicted on screen seem relatively tame, the sadistic behaviour of Scorpio is disturbing. He shoots a young black boy in the head, leaves a 14-year old girl to suffocate to death, hijacks a school bus and revels in his own cruelty.

    Although based on the Zodiac killer, he seems to represent a new kind of murderer ushered in by Charles Manson – one who was concerned with their public notoriety as much as they were with brutalizing the innocent.

    But interestingly the film points out parallels between cop and killer – they both loners who hate authority and they both break the law, albeit to very different ends. It is worth noting that Harry only brings Scorpio to justice when he is on leave and effectively outside the law.

    It is also fascinating to view this film after Zodiac, the film which last year explored the killings that inspired Dirty Harry.

    There are a number of intriguing parallels: Don Siegel’s film contracts to a vivid resolution whilst David Fincher’s keeps expanding to an inconclusive mystery; Harry and Scorpio represent two different sides of the same violent coin whilst Dave Toschi, Robert Graysmith and Paul Avery form a triangle of characters obsessed by a lone killer who is never truly revealed; and whilst Dirty Harry is a thriller with political overtones, Zodiac is a drama with existential vibes. Both are very different but still somehow connected.

    Like a lot of first films in a series, it remains the best and none of the successive Harry films could match it.

    Here are some facts about it:

    • Frank Sinatra was originally meant to play Harry but had to pull out because of a hand injury. John Wayne and Paul Newman then declined the role which then went to Clint Eastwood.
    • As Harry foils the bank robbery near the beginning of the film, he walks past a theatre showing Play Misty for Me, which Eastwood directed and starred in.
    • Writer John Milius made a major contribution to the film (as well as Dirty Harry’s mystique). He wrote the lines Harry quotes to punks about “Did he fire six shots or five?” and the immortal “Do you feel lucky, punk?
    • The Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver Harry uses is not actually considered a practical weapon for police officers due to the excessive recoil which makes re-aiming at the target difficult.
    • When director Don Siegel fell ill during the shoot, Clint Eastwood took over and directed the scene where Harry rescues a would-be suicide jumper and the encounter with a homosexual in Mt. Davidson Park.
    • Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood cast Andrew Robinson for the role of Scorpio after seeing him in a production of Fyodor Dostoevsky‘s The Idiot – Robinson was so convincing that he received death threats after the film was released.
    • The line where Scorpio says “My, that’s a big one” when Callahan removes his gun was an ad-lib by Andrew Robinson. The crew cracked up laughing at the double entendre but the line stayed.
    • Scorpio’s real name is never revealed through out the entire movie – the end credits simply list him as “killer”.
    • The gravel pit at the end of the film was a place Clint had gone to as a child with his parents.
    • The final scene where Harry throws his badge in the river is a homage to a similar scene from High Noon but Clint was uneasy about doing it until he was convinced otherwise by Siegel.
    • Albert Popwell who plays the ‘punk’ Harry taunts in the bank sequence would go on to appear in every “Dirty Harry” film except The Dead Pool – playing a different character in each movie.

    MAGNUM FORCE (1973)

    In what seemed to be a reaction to the criticisms of Dirty Harry, the plot of Magnum Force saw Harry dealing with evil inside the police force as a group of vigilante traffic cops take the law into their own hands by killing criminals who seem beyond the law.

    The film was directed by Ted Post, who also directed Clint in TV’s Rawhide and Hang ‘Em High. Although it isn’t as good as the first one, it is still of some interest.

    Although it was probably a coincidence, in retrospect the plot seems to tap into the distrust of authority in the early 70s with the Watergate scandal about to end the Nixon presidency.

    More interestingly, the screenplay was written by John Milius (who worked uncredited on the original film) and Michael Cimino – two writers who would go on to direct war movies that some found to be conservative (The Deer Hunter) or right wing (Red Dawn).

    The vigilante officers or Magnum Force of the title also feature actors who would go on to greater fame such as Tim Matheson, David Soul and Robert Urich. Hal Holbrook also turns up in a memorable role as Harry’s boss Lt Briggs.

    It moves along at a fair pace although the editing and direction are not in the same class as the first film.

    Here are some facts:

    • At one point when Harry is in his apartment by himself, he looks at a photo of him and his wife: the only time the audience ever gets to see the late Mrs. Callahan who was mentioned in the previous film.
    • Harry’s tagline for this film was “A man’s got to know his limitations”, or variations on this phrase. This replaced the line from the first film “Do you feel lucky?”.
    • David Soul‘s performance as one of the vigilante cops, led to his being cast as Detective Ken Hutchinson in the classic cop series Starsky and Hutch (1975).
    • According to writer John Milius, the reason the sex scene with the Asian woman is in the script is because Clint Eastwood received many fan letters from Asian women that contained sexual propositions.

    THE ENFORCER (1976)

    The final Dirty Harry film of the 1970s sees Callahan take on a group of left wing revolutionaries called The People’s Revolutionary Strike Force, who start to terrorise San Francisco.

    It also sees Harry team up with a female partner, Insp. Kate Moore (Tyne Daly), so whilst the film was swinging back to the right politically, it also made concessions to feminism in the 70s.

    Directed by James Fargo, it is a much more perfunctory film than it’s predecessors although it does have some memorable moments, especially the climax on Alcatraz prison.

    Here are some facts:

    • Originally titled ‘Moving Target’, the script was left for Eastwood at his Carmel restaurant, The Hog’s Breath Inn, by two aspiring screenwriters, (Gail Morgan Hickman and S.W. Schurr).  Eastwood was interested enough to turn it over to two of his favorite script doctors, Sterling Silliphant and Dean Riesner
    • The two militant organizations depicted in the film – the People’s Revolutionary Strike Force and Uhuru – were modeled after two real-life militant groups, the Symbionese Liberation Army (which kidnapped Patty Hearst) and the Black Panthers.
    • In the 80s, Daly was cast as detective Mary Beth Lacey in the hit TV show Cagney and Lacey.
    • Father John Voss – the priest who shields the gang – is played by M.G. Kelly – in real life a noted DJ and radio personality.
    • 3 years later Eastwood was back on Alcatraz for the prison drama Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

    SUDDEN IMPACT (1983)

    Although the series was meant to end with The Enforcer, the popularity of the character was such that Warner Bros persuaded Clint to do a fourth film.

    This one sees Harry forced to take a vacation after a run in with a local gangster. There he comes across a vigilante (Sondra Locke) who is trying to get revenge on the criminals who raped her and her sister.

    Although it is a weak entry to the series it became famous for a catchphrase that people often (wrongly) attribute to the first Dirty Harry: “Go ahead , make my day“.

    It proved to be so popular that even President Regan used it in a speech about taxes.

    As for the film, it is watchable with the usual funny one liners but is fairly pedestrian as a thriller.  The reason for it’s commercial success would appear to be the presence of Eastwood and the public’s nostalgia for a cop like Harry in the Regan era.

    Here are some facts:

    • This was the highest-grossing of the Dirty Harry film series.
    • It is the only Dirty Harry film not primarily set in San Francisco.
    • The reason the film was made at all had to do with a survey Warner Bros did for the Sean Connery Bond remake Never Say Never Again (1983). They asked movie goers to name an actor and a famous part that actor played. Clint Eastwood as “Dirty Harry” scored so high in the survey results, the studio told Eastwood it would be “open” to making another and Eastwood made this film as a result.
    • Although Clint Eastwood made the phrase “Go ahead, make my day” famous, it was originally used a year earlier by actor Gary Swanson in the movie Vice Squad (1982). Swanson, who played a Hollywood vice cop, said the line, “Go ahead scumbag, make my day,” to actor Wings Hauser, who played a pimp, during a bust.
    • Bradford Dillman is seen in the film as Captain Briggs; in the previous film, The Enforcer, he portrayed Captain Jerome McKay. It is unknown if McKay and Briggs are distant relatives. Hal Holbrook played Lieutenant Briggs in Magnum Force.

    THE DEAD POOL (1988)

    The fifth film in the series is almost a homage to the character – a film who’s enjoyable moments are guilty pleasures rather than anything especially substantial.

    The plot sees Harry drawn into a murder plot as a serial killer bumps off several people connected with a death pool run by a film director (Liam Neeson).

    The main motivation for this film being made would appear to be the fact that Warner Bros needed a reliable title for the summer of 1988.

    It also coincided with a relative creative slump in Eastwood’s career when he was making too many average films (such as Pink Cadillac and The Rookie) before his renaissance in the 90s with Unforgiven.

    The main pleasures here are seeing a 26 year old Jim Carrey play the obnoxious rocker who is the first victim and the presence of Guns N’ Roses on the soundtrack.

    Welcome to the Jungle was chosen as the tie-in track for the film and by 1988 when the film was released they had become massive.

    There are also early roles for Liam Neeson and Patricia Clarkson – two actors who would go on to bigger things.

    Here are some facts:

    DVD EXTRAS

    The extras on the DVD are extensive and are spread out on each of the discs.

    Dirty Harry – Special Features:

    • A fine and informative commentary by longtime Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
    • The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry: New featurette on the influence and legacy of Dirty Harry
    • Dirty Harry: The Original: with Clint Eastwood and the film’s creators looking back at the creation of the Dirty Harry character
    • Dirty Harry’s Way:  A promotional short focusing on the toughness of the movie’s main character.
    • Interview gallery: With Patricia Clarkson, Joel Cox, Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Evan Kim, John Milius, Ted Post, Andy Robinson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Urich
    • Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso: A 1993 TV program on his life and career, including scenes from his work and interviews with friends, fellow actors and crew members
    • Trailer gallery: Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool

    Magnum Force – Special Features:

    • New commentary by director and Magnum Force screenwriter John Milius (in which Milius – within the first 10 minutes – appears to call for the vigilante style execution of Enron executives – I assume he is joking!)
    • A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry: Another featurette with filmmakers, social scientists and authors on the politics and ethics of the Dirty Harry films.
    • The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today: Another featurette

    The Enforcer – Special Features:

    • New commentary by Enforcer director James Fargo
    • The Business End: Violence in Cinema: Featurette on the violence in the films
    • Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in Films: Another featurette on the character.

    Sudden Impact – Special Features:

    • New commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
    • The Evolution of Clint Eastwood: Featurette on the film in the context of Eastwood’s career as a director

    The Dead Pool – Special Features:

    • New commentary by Dead Pool producer David Valdes and Dead Pool cinematographer Jack N. Green
    • The Craft of Dirty Harry: Featurette on the cinematography, editing, music, and production design of the Dirty Harry films.

    The box set also contains:

    • Clint Eastwood: Out Of The Shadows – On a separate DVD this is a fine feature length documentary from 2000 about Eastwood’s career, narrated by Morgan Freeman.
    • A 44 page hardcover book on the films.
    • A Dirty Harry wallet with metal badge and removable Inspect. Harry Callahan ID card
    • Five 5″ x 7″ lobby poster reproduction cards and an exclusive Ultimate Collector’s Edition card
    • A Scorpio Map: 19″ x 27″ map of San Francisco detailing Harry’s hunt for the killer in the first film
    • A one-page personal note from Clint
    • Reproductions of telegrams from Warner Bros to Clint (and vice versa) throughout the making of the series.

    Overall this is a highly impressive box set, even if the films themselves do decline in quality somewhat.

    That said, Warner Bros deserve great credit for the care and attention they have put into this set of films from one of their most consistent and legendary stars.

    Plus, as a studio they deserve special praise for allowing you to skip straight to the menu instead of being forced to watch godawful piracy ads or trailers of upcoming films. Why can’t other major studios be like this?

    Anyway, the Dirty Harry Collection is highly recommended as a package, especially at the reasonable price of under £30.

    Will Eastwood ever return to the role? Let’s leave the last word to him:

    > Buy the Dirty Harry Collection on DVD from Amazon UK
    > Find out more about Dirty Harry at All Movie
    > Clint Eastwood at the IMDb
    > Analysis of Dirty Harry at Filmsite
    > Film America with locations from the Dirty Harry movies

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Interviews Podcast

    Interview: Peter Biskind on Miramax

    Peter Biskind is the author of Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film, the 2004 book which explored the rise of US independent film in the 80s and how it influenced the major studios.

    One of the key studios of that era were Miramax, who have recently re-released some of their most famous films on DVD including Pulp Fiction, The English Patient, Good Will Hunting, Chicago, City of God, Kill Bill and Hero.

    Since they were founded in 1979 by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, the company (named after their parents Miriam and Max) started releasing films such as The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball before carving out a niche as the key US independent distributor.

    By the late 80s and early 90s they released films like sex, lies, and videotape and The Crying Game but after being acquired by Disney in 1993, the company went to another level with crossover hits such as Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love.

    With the departure of the Weinsteins in 2005 to form their own company, Daniel Battsek arrived from Buena Vista International and has continued to make Miramax an important studio, releasing films such as No Country for Old Men, Gone Baby Gone and There Will Be Blood.

    I recently spoke to Peter about the history of Miramax, the larger than life methods of the founders, the landmark films they released and their legacy.

    Listen to the interview here:

    [audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/Peter_Biskind_on_Miramax.MP3]

    In addition to Down and Dirty Pictures, Peter also wrote Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, a landmark book about Hollywood in the 1970s, and Gods and Monsters, a collection of writings about the film industry.

    He has also written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times and The Washington Post and is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

    You can download this interview as a podcast via iTunes by clicking here.

    > Download this interview as an MP3
    > Official site for Miramax
    > Find out more about Miramax at Wikipedia
    > Profile of Harvey Weinstein by Ken Auletta of The New Yorker from 2002
    > New York Times article from last December about Daniel Battsek at Miramax
    > Peter Biskind’s page at Bloomsbury Books (his UK publisher)
    > Buy ‘Down and Dirty Pictures’ from Amazon UK

    [Image by Elizabeth Hess and courtesy Simon & Schuster / Miramax logo copyright of Miramax Films]

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Film of the Week

    DVD Pick: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

    The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was one of the major cinematic achievements of the past year – a film of outstanding technique and extraordinary emotional depth.

    It is adapted from the memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of French Elle magazine who’s privileged life came to a halt after a devastating stroke  left him with Locked-in Syndrome – a condition which meant he could only move his left eye.

    The film documents his struggle in hospital as he gradually learns how to communicate by blinking to speech therapists as they recite the most used letters of the alphabet.

    Director Julian Schnabel brought a sense of beauty and wonder to a difficult story and Ronald Harwood’s script found a clever way of dealing with the seemingly unfilmable aspects of the original book.

    The way in which things are shot from the central character’s point of view is ingenious and also highly effective in conveying his condition.

    Performances across the board are first rate, with Mathieu Amalric outstanding in the lead role and excellent support too from Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze and Max Von Sydow.

    In a year of dark films, this was notable in that it found hope, humour and humanity amidst the terrible condition of its main character.

    It didn’t really get the audience it deserved at cinemas, so it is essential viewing now if you missed it first time around.

    Pathe have done a fine job on the DVD release which contains the following extras:

    • Feature commentary with director Julian Schnabel: An engaging and thoughtful commentary from Schnabel which manages to convey his ideas about the film without overdoing the anecdotes. The film clearly means a lot to him and his comments are enlightening about the real life Bauby and how the film was constructed.
    • Submerged: The Making of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (12 mins): This behind the scenes featurette contains interviews with the filmmakers and producers detailing their involvement and thoughts about the film.
    • Cinematic Vision (7 mins): Producers John Killick, Kathleen Kennedy and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski explain the experience of working with Schnabel.
    • Charlie Rose interviews Julian Schnabel (20 mins): A meaty interview which provides a decent overview of the story and how Schnabel ended up making the film.

    Check out the trailer for the film here:

    The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is out now on DVD from Pathe

    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
    > IMDb entry
    > Official site
    > Read other reviews at Metacritic (it scores a highly impressive 92/100)
    > Find out more about Jean-Dominique Bauby at Wikipedia

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Film of the Week

    DVD Pick: Juno

    One of the most surprising and charming hits of last year was Juno.

    The title character is a teenage girl (Ellen Page) who has to deal with an unexpected pregnancy by her best friend (Michael Cera) and decides to give up the baby to an adoptive couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner).

    It also stars J. K. Simmons as her father, Allison Janney as her stepmother and Olivia Thirlby as her best friend Leah.

    Directed by Jason Reitman and scripted by Diablo Cody it was nominated for several Oscars (with Cody winning Best Original Screenplay) and went on to become Fox Searchlight‘s first film to gross over $100 million at the box office.

    It stands up well on a second viewing and although the sharp and witty dialogue was probably what most people loved first time around, the emotional undercurrents and nuanced performances are what stand out when revisiting the film.

    Fox have done a good job on the DVD with a solid transfer and some nice extras which include:

    • Audio Commentary with Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody: An excellent commentary from the director and screenwriter. They make a highly engaging pair as they reel off anecdotes about the production including bloopers (like the abortion clinic door and the wrong phone codes in the Pennysaver), ideas behind certain scenes, the actors on screen and the fact that the DJ Cut Chemist actually play’s Juno’s chemistry teacher.
    • Deleted Scenes (with optional commentary by Reitman & Cody): The deleted scenes are nearly all of the ‘I-can-see-why-they-were-deleted’ variety and often quite short, but there are a couple of notable sequences including an alternate montage of the film’s climax with a rockier music track.
    • Gag Reel: A collection of outtakes with a variety of actors corpsing.
    • Gag Take: An intriguing outtake of a scene in the shop where Rainn Wilson (who plays the guy behind the counter) gets into an argument with Reitman about how to hold shopping bags. It actually looks like a real on-set spat but given that it is called a ‘gag reel’ then maybe its some kind of joke. Ellen Page’s instant reaction to an insult is particularly funny.
    • Cast & Crew Jam: A weird motange of the cast and crew jamming with instruments.
    • Screen Tests: These are sometimes included on DVDs and in the case of this film are interesting raw versions of scenes from the film. The tests with Page and Cera stand out as you can see how they nailed their roles even at an early stage.
    • Featurettes: There are several mini-documentaries that focus on various aspects of the production including ‘Way Beyond Our Maturity Level: Juno-Leah-Bleeker’, ‘Diablo Cody is Totally Boss’, ‘Jason Reitman for Shizz’ and ‘Honest to Blog! Creating Juno’. All of them have some interesting parts but they tend to be the kind of EPK on set interviews that crop up on traditional ‘making of’ shows.

    Here is a trailer for the film:

    Juno is out on DVD today from Fox Home Entertainment

    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
    > Juno at the IMDb
    > Read more reviews at Metacritic
    > Official UK website

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

    DVD Pick: No Country for Old Men

    Based on Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel, No Country for Old Men is one of the finest films to come out of America in recent years.

    Set in West Texas during 1980 and is the story of a hunter named Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) who comes across on a suitcase full of cash at the scene of a drug deal gone horribly wrong.

    Taking the money, he is then relentlessly pursued by a sinister hitman named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who has been hired to retrieve it.

    As Moss tries to evade Chigur a local sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to keep pace with both men and protect Moss’s wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald).

    By their own high standards, the Coen Brothers in recent years had lost their way a little with two mainstream disappointments in The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty.

    No Country for Old Men was not only a startling return to form, but scooped the Best Picture Oscar earlier this year and saw them awarded writing and directing honours too.

    Often the winner of the Best Picture at the Oscars is a case of the Academy ignoring the better film in favour of one that makes them feel good.

    This is perhaps why Chicago triumphed over The Pianist (2002), Dances with Wolves beat Goodfellas (1990) and Ordinary People won instead of Raging Bull (1980).

    But the last couple of years has seen a different mood at the Academy with The Departed winning Best Picture last year and now this dark tale taking home the gold statuette.

    Alongside The Man Who Wasn’t There, The Big Lebowski, Fargo and Barton Fink it stands as one of the Coen’s very best films – if not the their finest.

    The performances are outstanding: Brolin is a revelation as Moss, Jones gives a career best performance as Bell and Bardem deservedly won Best Supporting Actor for his chilling portrayal of Chigur – one of modern cinema’s most memorable villains.

    Kelly MacDonald and Woody Harrelson also chip in with fine work, whilst regular Coen collaborator Roger Deakins captures the dark, harsh beauty of West Texas with some truly stunning cinematography.

    Paramount’s DVD release for the UK is mostly very. The transfer is excellent, capturing the original colours and tones with precision and care.

    The extras are solid, if not spectacular, and contain the following featurettes:

    • The Making of No Country For Old Men: This is a making of featurette that runs for about 24 minutes. It contains interviews from the set with the filmmakers and cast and most of it provides a good insight into the production and how certain sequences were put together.
    • Working with The Coens: Although shorter at about 8 mins this section features Bardem, Brolin, Jones, MacDonald and exec producer Robert Graftalk about working with the Coens and their working methods.
    • Diary Of A Country Sheriff: Another short featurette (about 6 mins long) that focuses on the importance of Sheriff Bell, Anton Shigur and the Texan landscape to the movie. The actors and the Coens discuss the importance of these elements to the film.

    I’m guessing that a 2-disc edition with more beefed up features may be a possibilty somewhere down the line but for admirers of the film, this is still an essential addition to anyone’s DVD collection.

    I spoke to Kelly Macdonald about about the film back in December and you can listen to the interview here:

    [audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2008-01-14-12630.mp3]

    This is the trailer:

    No Country for Old Men is out now on DVD from Paramount.

    > Buy the DVD via Amazon UK
    > IMDb entry for the film
    > Read reviews of the film at Metacritic
    > Official site for the film

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

    DVD Pick: In the Valley of Elah

    There were quite a lot of films about the current war on terror to come out last year but the best from a major Hollywood studio was In the Valley of Elah.

    Written and directed by Paul Haggis it is the story of a retired soldier (Tommy Lee Jones) who is searching for his missing son, who has just returned from duty in Iraq.

    When he arrives at his military base in Texas, no-one seems to know what has happened and he enlists the help of a local detective (Charlize Theron) to find out what exactly is going on.

    Whilst it didn’t make any waves at the box office, it earned Jones an Oscar  nomination for Best Actor and managed to be a quietly subversive film about the effects of the current war on terror on those soldiers asked to fight it.

    Based on true events described in a Playboy article by Mark Boal, the film explores many of the hot button issues brought up by the recent Iraq conflict such as: post-traumatic stress, the abuse of prisoners, the recording of the war by soliders and the nature of American patriotism.

    Although the main plot ticks along like a procedural police thriller, it actually proves a clever way of uinearthing the disturbing fallout from the recent conflicts and how they relate to how wars are fought.

    Optimum have done a nice job with the DVD putting on some extras which inlcude:

    • ‘After Iraq’ and ‘Coming Home’ Featurettes: These explore how Haggis approached the film by hiring real soldiers for certain roles, on set interviews with the cast and the parents of the real life soldier who inspired the film.
    • UK Exclusive Interview with writer-director Paul Haggis
    • Additional Scenes (including one startling sequence with a wounded soldier)
    • Trailer
    • 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
    • English DD2.0 and DD5.1 Surround

    Back in December I spoke to Paul Haggis about the film and you can listen to the interview here:

    [audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2008-01-23-29394.mp3]

    You can also download this interview as an MP3 file by clicking here.

    In the Valley of Elah is out now on DVD from Optimum Releasing

    > Buy the DVD at Amazon UK
    > In the Valley of Elah at the IMDb
    > Death and Dishonour – The Playboy article by Mark Boal that inspired the film
    > CBS article about the same events that inspired the film
    > Paul Haggis at the IMDb
    > Official website for In the Valley of Elah
    > Reviews of the film at Metacritic

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Film of the Week

    DVD Pick: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

    One of the most startling and accomplished films to come out in the last year was 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.

    This Romanian drama set in 1987 about a woman trying to get an illegal abortion scooped the Palme D’Or at Cannes last year and it was a surprising but worthy winner.

    Although the subject matter might put some viewers off it is a truly remarkable film from director Cristian Mungiu that deserves a wider audience than just the arthouse circuit.

    The achievement here is that it takes what appears to be a simple situation (the difficulty of abortion in Communist Romania) and manages to wring out the intense human emotions and drama that lie below.

    From the young woman who is pregnant (Laura Vasiliu), her loyal friend (Anamaria Marinca) who helps her and the abortionist (Vlad Ivanov) who performs the operation, all are complicit in a highly dangerous situation.

    What elevates it above many contemporary dramas is raw power of the narrative, the terrific lead performances from Marinca and Vasiliu and the clever cinematography from Oleg Mutu that utilises long takes that draws us deeper into the characters lives.

    Although it is only his second film, director Mungiu has scored a major achievement and created a film that explores the terrible dilemas facing people in a particularly dark corner of Europe’s recent past.

    Artificial Eye have done an excellent job with the extras, most of them interesting and insightful.

    They include:

    • Featurette – The Romanian Tour: A featurette that shows the filmmaker’s taking a mobile projection unit on a 30 day tour across Romania in order to give people the chance to see the film in a country with only 50 cinemas.
    • Cristian Mungiu Interview: In two informative interviews, the director discusses the development of the script and why his desire to achieve a sense of authenticity in every scene. Some of the shots are discussed alongside alternative takes in specific scenes, the social and historical context, the locations and the reactions to the film.
    • Interview with Anamaria Marinca: The lead actress discusses her background, how she got the part and the input she had into the script.
    • Interview with Oleg Mutu: The cinematographer talks about the lighting and the effects he was trying to achieve in the film.
    • Alternative / Deleted Scenes: Two alternative endings are included, each of them going beyond where the final cut of the film. Another deleted scene with Gabita is included and they are shown in a good quality, letterbox format.

    This is one of the best films of the year and an essential purchase for any discerning viewer.

    Here is the trailer:

    4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is out now on DVD from Artificial Eye

    > Buy the DVD at Amazon
    > 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days at the IMDb
    > Official website
    > Reviews of the film at Metacritic
    > Screen shots from DVD Beaver

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray

    DVD Pick: Alice in the Cities

    German director Wim Wenders is perhaps best known for his acclaimed films in the 1980s such as Paris, Texas, and Wings of Desire.

    Back in the early 1970s he was part of a group of directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and Volker Schlöndorff, who were bracketed under the banner of the ‘New German Cinema‘.

    One of his most notable earlier films is Alice in the Cities (1974), a thoughtful and poignant road movie about a journalist named Philip Winter (Rüdiger Vogler) who ends up trying to help a little girl (Yella Rottländer) find her grandmother.

    The film starts with Winter on an assignment in the US but he finds the experience dispiriting and ends up with a bout of writer’s block, only finding solace in taking polaroid photos.

    When he decides to go home to Germany, a plane strike delays his flight and he meets up with a German woman and her daughter Alice (Rottlander), who are also stuck until normal service is resumed.

    When Alice’s mother misses the flight and fails to appear in Amsterdam as planned, Winter finds himself responsible for the young girl and they both travel across Europe, trying to find Alice’s grandmother.

    Driven by the charming chemistry between Vogler and Rottlander, it has a pleasingly meandering narrative and is free of the twee life lessons and sentimentality that could have crept in.

    Shot in grainy black and white on 16mm by Wenders’s regular cinematographer Robby Muller, it is a captivating work that establishes themes which would surface in Wenders’ later films: alienation, lonlieness and a fascination with America.

    The DVD has some solid extras which include:

    • An exclusive interview with Wim Wenders by Mark Cousins
    • Rare interviews with stars Rüdiger Vogler and Yella Rottländer
    • A collectors booklet and photo galleries.

    Alice and the Cities is out now on DVD from Axiom Films

    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
    > IMDb entry
    > Find out more about Alice and the Cities at Wim Wenders official site
    > An essay on Wim Wenders at Senses of Cinema

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Film of the Week

    DVD Pick: My Kid Could Paint That

    My Kid Could Paint That is a documentary that follows a young girl named Marla Olmstead, who gains fame as a child prodigy who can seemingly paint abstract art.

    By the age of four, critics were comparing Marla’s work with Jackson Pollock’s and sales of her paintings were reaching $300,000.

    But after 2005 profile by ‘60 Minutes‘ suggested that Marla had help from her parents – in particular her father – the story became more complex. Was Marla a genuine child prodigy or the innocent victim of a hoax?

    Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (who made 2000’s Fighter) it is a fascinating film that deals with a number of interlocking subjects such as childhood, the nature of art and the mystery of authorship.

    The DVD has a number of extras that help flesh out the mysteries of this intriguing tale including:

    • Filmmaker Commentary
    • ‘Back to Binghamton’ – a mini-doc with Director Amir Bar-Lev that includes follow-up interviews, Sundance Q & A, Binghamton Q & A, deleted scenes, etc.
    • ‘Kimmelman on Art’ – a mini-doc with the New York Times art critic

    The film is out now on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

    Watch the trailer here:

    > Buy the film from Amazon UK
    > Official site
    > My Kid Could Paint That at the IMDB

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Film of the Week

    DVD Pick: Bonnie and Clyde

    Warner Bros have finally got around to issuing a proper special edition of Bonnie and Clyde, the landmark gangster film that signalled the rise of New Hollywood.

    Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway star as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow – the notorious bank robbers who cut a swathe through the US during the Great Depression.

    A notable supporting cast includes Gene Hackman as Clyde’s brother Buck and Estelle Parsons as his wife Blanche.

    Although only partly based on the historical truth, director Arthur Penn and screenwriter Robert Benton created a film that ushered in a new era of mainstream filmmaking with a groundbreaking approach to morality, sex and violence.

    At the time the film was hugely controversial for its graphic violence – it was one of the first to make heavy use of squibs – but in time would be seen as a turning point for mainstream films that followed, such as The French Connection and The Godfather.

    Penn and Benton were heavily influenced by French New Wave directors like Francois Truffaut, who strangely enough was offered the chance to direct it before passing on it.

    The film stands up well today and now has a decent set of extras to cmplement it. They include:

    • Revolution! The Making of Bonnie and Clyde. A behind the secen doc consisting of three sections:
      • Bonnie and Clyde’s Gang (22 minutes)
      • The Reality and Myth of Bonnie and Clyde (24 minutes)
      • Releasing Bonnie and Clyde (18 minutes)
    • Love and Death: A History Channel documentary that explores the real life Bonnie and Clyde (43:13)
    • Warren Beatty Wardrobe Tests (07:39)
    • Two deleted scenes:
      • The Road To Mineola (2:06)
      • Outlaws (3:17)
    • Teaser and Theatrical Trailer

    Check out the original trailer here:

    Bonnie and Clyde is released today on DVD from Warner Home Video

    > Buy Bonnie and Clyde from Amazon UK
    > Bonnie and Clyde at the IMDb
    > Reviews of Bonnie and Clyde at Metacritic

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

    DVD Pick: Silent Light

    Silent Light is a hypnotic and beautifully crafted tale of forbidden love, set amongst the Mennonite community in Northern Mexico.

    When I was in Cannes last year – about to see a film involving Nazi Vampires, believe it or not – I met a publicist who was working on the ‘new film from Carlos Reygadas‘.

    On the train back to the hotel that night I noticed the review in Variety and was intrigued, although I wasn’t a huge fan of his previous film, Battle in Heaven.

    However, when I finally got round to seeing Silent Light in October I was hugely impressed by both the technique and mood Reygadas created.

    The story involves a married man named Johan who defies the laws of his religious community by falling in love with another woman.

    It then explores the impact this has on him, his family and the wider community.

    Although, the slow pace and esoteric feel won’t be for everyone, there is a rich sense of mystery to the world of the film.

    The phrase ‘dream-like’ is often used in the wrong context but here it genuinely applies as Reygadas shows us a world that exists but seems so strange and distant – like the Amish, the Mennonites live by a strict code that eschews many aspects of modern life.

    Using a cast of non-actors adds to this effect and if you give yourself up to the film, which is the polar opposite of how many mainstream films work in terms of narrative and editing, then you may find yourself basking in it’s otherworldliness.

    Perhaps in years to come it will be best remembered for its incredible opening and closing shots, which are a feast for the senses.

    The extras on the DVD include:

    • A making of featurette about 30 minutes long
    • Interviews with some of the cast
    • Deleted scenes
    • Notes on the film by Jason Woods which help provide some insight into Reygadas and his methods

    Sadly there is no commentary from the director by you can listen to an interview we did with him here back in October at the London Film Festival:

    [audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-10-24-65220.mp3]

    Silent Light is out now on DVD from Tartan

    > Buy Silent Light on DVD from Amazon UK
    > Download our interview with Carlos Reygadas as an MP3
    > The official website for Silent Light
    > Carlos Reygadas at the IMDb
    > Manohla Dargis of the NY Times with her review of the film at Cannes
    > Karina Longworth of Spout gives her take on the film
    > Find out more about the Mennonites at Wikipedia

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

    DVD Pick: Rescue Dawn

    Rescue Dawn sees director Werner Herzog revisit the story of Dieter Dengler with Christian Bale in the lead role.

    Herzog is one of the true mavericks still working in cinema and over 40 years since his first film, it is heartening to see him still active.

    The success in 2005 of his brilliant documentary Grizzly Man not only introduced new audiences to his marvellous back catalogue, but also afforded him the opportunity to make a more mainstream film with a high profile star.

    Although the making of Rescue Dawn was filled with the storm and stress that has been a hallmark of Herzog’s productions, it was probably his most accessible film in years, despite the fact that it didn’t really set the box office on fire.

    The story of Dieter Dengler was one familiar to the director as he had made the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly about the German-born US fighter pilot for German TV back in 1997.

    Dengler managed to overcome extreme poverty during his childhood in Germany and when he emigrated to the US, joined the army.

    Achieving his dream of becoming a pilot, he was then shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam war. He was a POW for several months before somehow managing to escape after an epic struggle through the jungle.

    Although on the surface Rescue Dawn is a more straightforward retelling of Dengler’s story, it has much in common with the themes of Herzog’s work, notably that of man struggling against the odds in a hostile world.

    Unlike many films set in the Vietnam War, it eschews any wider political context, focusing on the human struggle of Dengler and his will to survive against incredible odds.

    On first viewing, some aspects may puzzle fans of Herzog’s earlier work (in particular the final shot) but much of the power of the film comes from the lack of irony and melodrama that has plagued war films.

    The DVD has a good selection of extras that includes:

    • Audio commentary by director Werner Herzog and interviewer Norman Hill
    • Making of Featurette: Unfinished Business: Telling Dieter’s Story (4 mins 18 secs); Strength of Character (9 mins 15 secs); War Stories (23 mins 51 secs); What Would Dieter Do? (6 mins 44 secs); Sound of War (9 mins 18 secs)
    • 7 deleted scenes with a good commentary by Werner Herzog and interviewer Norman Hill (5 mins 36 secs)
    • Stills gallery
    • Theatrical trailer

    If you haven’t seen Little Dieter Needs to Fly, then it is essntial viewing for anyone interested in this film or Herzog’s documentaries. It fills in a lot of Dengler’s backstory and it would actually make an excellent 2nd disc extra for a future edition of this DVD.

    > Buy Rescue Dawn on DVD from Amazon UK
    > Listen to our interview with Werner Herzog about Rescue Dawn
    > A long and interesting profile of Herzog in The New Yorker by Daniel Zalewski that details the difficulties in making Rescue Dawn
    > Official site of Werner Herzog
    > Check out reviews of Rescue Dawn at Metacritic
    > Find out more about Herzog’s career at the All Movie Guide
    > A lengthy Senses of Cinema essay on Herzog by David Church
    > See Werner get shot at during a BBC interview with Mark Kermode
    > A collection of photos from the set of Rescue Dawn on Flickr
    > Find out more about Dieter Dengler at Wikipedia
    > Buy Little Dieter Needs to Fly at Amazon UK

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Film of the Week Reviews

    DVD Pick: Breach

    Breach DVD coverBreach sadly didn’t find the audiences it deserved at the cinema but is a well crafted and compelling spy drama.

    It is based on the real life story of Eric O’Neill, a young FBI agent working under Robert Hanssen, who was an agent convicted of spying for the Russians in 2001.

    Starring Ryan Phillippe as O’Neill, Chris Cooper as Hanssen and co-starring Laura Linney, Dennis Haysbert, Caroline Dhavernas and Kathleen Quinlan it was written and directed by Billy Ray, who also made the similarly under-rated Shattered Glass in 2003.

    The highlight here is the terrific central performance from Chris Cooper, who gives a haunting turn as the enigmatic traitor. He skilfully teases out the contradictions at the heart of Hanssen’s life: why would a religious patriot who railed against the godless Soviet Union then sell secrets to them?

    In certain respects, this is the polar opposite of the Bourne and Bond spy movies. Instead of gunfights and chases, it focuses of the sobre reality of law enforcement –  a world where beaureacratic infighting slowly grinds agents down. A pre-9/11 environment where a clever man like Hanssen could deceive his unwitting colleagues.

    The story itself is quite incredible – the film opens with real footage of then Attorney General John Ashcroft describing a “serious breach in the security of the United States“. It was was one of the most embarrassing episodes in the history of US intelligence and Hanssen only escaped execution by co-operating with the FBI. He is currently serving a life sentence in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day at the Supermax Federal Penitentiary in Colorado.

    The extras aren’t extensive but have some good insights into the events surrounding the film. They include:

    • A commentary by writer/director Billy Ray and Eric O’Neill
    • 8 deleted scenes and alternate scenes with optional commentary by Billy Ray and editor Jeffrey Ford
    • Featurette: Breaching the Truth (10 mins 49 secs)
    • Featurette: Anatomy of a Character Brought to You by Volkswagon (6 mins 47 secs)
    • The Mole: A PBS programme from 2001 about Hanssen’s career and arrest (19 mins 21 secs)

    Check out the trailer here:

    > Buy Breach on DVD from Amazon UK
    > Official site for Breach
    > Reviews of the film at Metacritic
    > Find out more about Robert Hanssen at Wikipedia

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray

    DVD Pick: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

    The Assassination of Jesse James R2 DVD CoverThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a very rare thing – an arthouse movie released by a major studio.

    Based on Ron Hansen’s 1983 book, Brad Pitt stars as the infamous US outlaw in what is a slow, revisionist Western directed by Andrew Dominik. Think McCabe and Mrs Miller crossed with Days of Heaven mixed with Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

    So how did Warner Bros end up financing and releasing it? Brad Pitt was a huge fan of Dominik’s first film – the brilliant Chopper – so when the director suggested adapting Hansen’s book, production went ahead.

    It soon became apparent that this was not the film the studio was expecting – the release was delayed by up to a year after the star, director and studio were at loggerheads over the final cut.

    When it eventually got released last Autumn, it had it had a number of admirers but didn’t do much busines. Despite a few award nominations (Brad Pitt won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival) it will probably go down as a film the beancounters at Burbank regret making.

    My feelings on seeing at the cinema were mixed. The dazzling technical achievements of the film and excellent performances were offset by the frustrating sense that this wasn’t the finished product. The narrative seemed too disjointed and although some people complained about the 160 minute running time, I would be keen to see a longer version that plugged some of the narrative gaps. The result was a film and story that just wasn’t as involving as it should have been.

    But despite those problems, there is much to admire here. Roger Deakins’ cinematography is some of the best of his career as he manages to depict both the grime and beauty of the American West. This doesn’t really look like any other Western and some of the individual shots – such as the train robbery sequence – are breathtaking.

    Added to this are some excellent performances. Brad Pitt doesn’t always get to show his acting chops, but here he gives his role just the right amount of charm, ruthlessness and mystery. Casey Affleck is equally good as the protege who betrays his idol, with his awkward deference masking a steely ambition. The supporting cast, which includes Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner, Mary Louise-Parker and Sam Shepherd, is also very good.

    Disappointingly, the DVD is bereft of any significant extras. Although the 2-disc collector’s edition contains a beautifully illustrated 44-page booklet, the only extra is on the second disc. It is a 30 minute documentary called “Death of an Outlaw”, which examines the life and death of the real Jesse James and includes interviews with all the key cast and filmmakers.

    Sadly, there is no commentary and although Dominik has said he is willing to do a director’s cut at some point in the future, I have a feeling that won’t see the light of day for a while. But despite that it remains a film worth revisiting on DVD becuase what’s good here is very, very good indeed.

    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
    > Official site for the film
    > IMDb page
    > Reviews at Metacritic
    > Andrew Dominik interview with LOVEFiLM
    > Find out more about the real Jesse James at Wikipedia

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Interviews Podcast

    Interview: David Sington on In the Shadow of the Moon

    One of the best documentaries to come out last year was In the Shadow of the Moon, which explores the Apollo space missions in the late 60s and early 70s.

    Containing interviews with the surviving Apollo era astronauts, including Al Bean, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke, and Harrison Schmitt, it also contains previously unseen NASA footage from the time.

    I spoke recently to director David Sington about the film and we discussed a number of things including who came up with the idea for the documentary, the legacy of the Apollo program and the reception the film in the US.

    You can listen to the interview here:

    Or here:

    [audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/David_Sington_on_In_the_Shadow_of_the_Moon.MP3]

    To download the interview as a podcast via iTunes just click the image below:

    In the Shadow of the Moon is out on DVD on Monday 31st March

    > Download this interview as an MP3 file
    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
    > The official site for In the Shadow of the Moon
    > David Sington at the IMDb
    > Find out more about the Apollo space missions at Wikipedia

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray

    DVD Pick: Why We Fight

    Why We Fight Why We Fight is a 2005 documentary that explores why the US has engaged in military conflicts since World War II.

    Directed by Eugene Jarecki, it uses as its’ starting point the speech President Eisenhower gave in 1961 warning about the dangers of a military-industrial complex.

    Containing interviews with John McCain, Richard Perle, William Kristol and Gore Vidal it also explores the story of a Vietnam vet whose son died in the 9/11 attacks; a newly enlisted soldier and a former Vietnamese refugee who now develops weapons for the US military.

    A fascinating and provocative look at the American war machine, it is well worth checking out if you didn’t catch at cinemas or on TV.

    Extras include:

    • Additional scenes
    • Extended character featurettes
    • Audience Q&A with filmmaker
    • Eugene Jarecki TV appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Charlie Rose on PBS
    • Feature length commentary by director Eugene Jarecki and Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson
    • Theatrical trailer

    It is released today in the UK by Axion Films

    Watch Eisenhower’s speech here:

    > Buy the DVD from Amazon UK
    > Check out reviews of the film at Metacritic
    > Official site for Why We Fight

    Categories
    DVD & Blu-ray Interesting

    The Top 10 US DVD Rentals in 2007

    Rush Hour 3I just came across this list of the top DVD rentals in the US in 2007 over at End of Boredom.

    The top rental? Rush Hour 3.

    Here are the top 10:

    1. $71.2 Rush Hour 3 ($140.1M box office)
    2. $69.7 The Bourne Ultimatum ($227.5 box office)
    3. $66.4 The Kingdom ($47.5 box office)
    4. $64.3 Superbad ($121.5 box office)
    5. $57.2 Live Free or Die Hard ($134.5 box office)
    6. $56.7 The Simpsons Movie ($183.1 box office)
    7. $55.3 Night at the Museum ($250.86 box office)
    8. $54.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ($292 box office)
    9. $51.8 Shrek the Third ($322.7 box office)
    10. $51.2 The Heartbreak Kid ($36.8 box office)

    The results are interesting.

    Do they indicate that big hitters like Pirates 3 and Spider-Man 3 are a little played out by the time they reach DVD?

    > Check out the full list over at End of Boredom
    > Rush Hour 3 at IMDb
    > Check out the most successful films at the cinema in 2007 at Wikipedia