{"id":5102,"date":"2009-03-16T16:11:42","date_gmt":"2009-03-16T16:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=5102"},"modified":"2009-03-16T16:11:42","modified_gmt":"2009-03-16T16:11:42","slug":"uk-dvd-releases-monday-16th-march-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2009\/03\/16\/uk-dvd-releases-monday-16th-march-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"UK DVD Releases: Monday 16th March 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"UK<\/a><\/p>\n

DVD PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

W.<\/a><\/strong> (Lionsgate):\u00a0Oliver Stone\u2019s quickly assembled biopic of\u00a0George W Bush<\/a>\u00a0is a much more accomplished and thoughtful film than\u00a0some UK reviews<\/a>\u00a0would have had you believes.<\/p>\n

Starring\u00a0Josh\u00a0<\/a>Brolin<\/a>\u00a0as Bush, it explores his life in flashback through the lens of the Iraq War in 2002-2004.<\/p>\n

An impressive cast includes\u00a0Elizabeth Banks<\/a>\u00a0(Laura Bush<\/a>),\u00a0James Cromwell<\/a>\u00a0(George H. W. Bush<\/a>),\u00a0Ellen Burstyn<\/a>\u00a0(Barbara Bush<\/a>),\u00a0Richard Dreyfuss<\/a>\u00a0(Dick Cheney<\/a>),\u00a0Thandie Newton<\/a>\u00a0(Condoleezza Rice<\/a>) and\u00a0Toby Jones<\/a>\u00a0(Karl Rove<\/a>) and the performances are generally very good, especially Brolin in what is a very tough role.<\/p>\n

The script by Stanley Weiser<\/a> and Stone does a fine job at compressing Bush\u2019s life through the lens of it\u2019s defining episode.<\/p>\n

The film deserves credit for attempting to get inside the head of the maligned president and not just indulging in a blunt hatchet job.<\/p>\n

However, the tepid box office reaction suggested that the the nuances of the film got lost amongst liberal haters and the conservative champions and those in the middle just trying to forget him.<\/p>\n

The plan for the film (independently financed with Chinese, German and Australian money) was for a timely release around the recent election.<\/p>\n

But the election race itself overshadowed it by being more exciting than any script writer could have imagined, whilst Bush himself was consigned to the shadows for his final year in office by the likes of Barack Obama<\/a>, Joe the Plumper<\/a>, Sarah Palin<\/a> and Tina Fey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Extras on the DVD and Blu-ray disc include:<\/p>\n