Blu-rays of the Week
Adriana Lecouvreur
(Decca)
Francesco Cilea’s tragic romance
was a huge operatic hit when first performed in 1904—and David McVicar’s
staging at London’s Covent Garden is the first time it’s been performed there since
1906! Despite its long absence, several arias are among the most popular and
memorable in the repertory, and Angela Gheorghiu and Jonas Kaufmann sing them
passionately. The orchestra and chorus—led by conductor Mark Elder—are in good
form. Visually, McVicar’s production has its peculiarities, with sets and
costumes not of the period; the sound blasts out of the speakers. The lone
extra is a making-of featurette.
Alambrista!
(Criterion)
In 1977, Robert M. Young directed
this honest exploration of our “immigrant problem,” focusing on a Mexican
laborer who, after sneaking over the border, hopes to earn enough for his
family back home; nothing goes as planned, as the heartbreaking result shows.
The Criterion Collection deserves accolades for bringing back this modest
masterpiece: perhaps its subtle politics will register where didacticism won’t.
The low-budget film looks excellent on Blu-ray; extras comprise Young and
producer Michael Hausman’s commentary, a new interview with Edward James Olmos
(who has a small role) and a short 1973 documentary by Young, Children of the Fields.
Bird of Paradise
(Kino)
Even by the standards of its day
(1932), this David O. Selznick-King Vidor super-spectacular has badly dated and
often risible. Still, compensations are the star power of Joel McCrea as a
sailor and intoxicating Dolores del Rio as the gorgeous island native he falls
in love with. Their chemistry—and some del Rio skin—help the bumpy 82-minute
ride. The original 35mm print, courtesy of Rochester’s George Eastman House,
has been satisfactorily upgraded, although there are inevitable visual
blemishes.
Chuck—The Complete 5th
Season
(Warners)
In its final season, the
“everyman” spy comedy-drama faced an inevitable decline in quality, but there
were more than enough moments when the semi-spoof/semi-serious show hit its bull’s-eyes.
The cast is in top form throughout, there are solid one-liners and enough guest
stars (Linda Hamilton and Carrie Ann Moss, most obviously) to make the 13 hit-or-miss
episodes endurable. On Blu-ray, the series shines; extras include featurettes, deleted
scenes and audio commentaries.
Joyful Noise
(Warners)
If joyful noise is what you want,
then watch this shameless display of melodramatic uplift. Even with rousing
gospel numbers and good solo turns from Dolly Parton and Jeremy Jordan, the
story is nothing much—it ends at a big choir contest that might end badly for
our guys and gals—but when the singers break into tunes every few minutes,
including a gospel-inflected “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Jordan and the wonderful Keke
Palmer, no one will mind. The movie has a decent hi-def transfer; extras
include on-set featurettes.
Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar
Movie
(Magnolia)
Humor is relative, but I doubt I
so much as cracked a smile during this unnecessary 95-minute moviemaking spoof.
Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim are tastes I’ve yet to—and probably won’t—acquire,
and despite the fact that one of my favorite singers, Aimee Man, loves them,
and despite cameos from the likes of Will Farrell, John C. Reilly, Robert
Loggia and William Atherton, this ill-conceived vanity project is DOA. On
Blu-ray, the movie looks better than it deserves; extras include a commentary,
deleted/extended scenes, interviews and featurettes.
Underworld: Awakening
(Sony)
In the fourth installment of Underworld (it only feels like many
more), Kate Beckinsale again dons her skintight outfit as sexy vampires Selene—and
thank goodness, since the movie is a by-the-numbers affair, despite appearances
by Charles Dance and Stephen Rea, among others. Directors Marlind and Stein’s action
sequences have occasional visual pop, but the belabored attempts to make these
characters mythic weighs down the plot. The extravagant set pieces translate
well to Blu-ray; extras include music video, making-of featurettes, bloopers
and a picture-in-picture accompaniment to the film.
W.E.
(Anchor Bay)
In Madonna’s whitewash of the
relationship between abdicating King Edward and American lover Wallis Simpson,
these Hitler admirers become misunderstood celebrities, while a ridiculous
non-story of a contemporary lonely married woman who admires Wallis is typical
of Madonna and co-screenwriter Alek Keshishian’s ineptitude. Andrea Riseborough
and especially Abbie Cornish completely outclass their material, but aside from
savvy art direction and Oscar-nominated costuming (both come off best in
hi-def), there’s little else to recommend here. The lone extra is a 20-minute
featurette.
DVDs of the Week
Art 21: Season 6
Art 21: Season 6
(PBS)
Wide-ranging 21st
century art is dissected in this four-part, four-hour series about artists in
different media—from sculpture to performance art to video—and their relevance today.
Among those profiled are Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who could not attend the
unveiling of his sculptures in Manhattan because he was jailed as a dissident; Serbian
performance artist Marina Abramovic; and British painter Rackstraw Downes. All
of the artists discuss how their provocative art challenges their audiences.
The Hitler Chronicles
(First Run)
The quartet of documentaries in this
valuable boxed set reminds us of Hitler and the Nazis’ destruction of Germany
and much of Europe. The Architecture of
Doom brilliantly dismantles the Nazi ideology of art, which was followed to
its fatal end; Dear Uncle Adolf recounts
ordinary Germans’ affection for their Fuhrer with an illuminating look at
letters written to him; Hitler: A Career
succinctly sums up his life and politics in 150 minutes; and The Top Secret Trial of the Third Reich unveils
the show trial of those conspirators in the failed assassination attempt of Hitler
on July 20, 1944.
The Kreutzer Sonata
(Kimstim/Zeitgeist)
Bernard Rose, who made the Beethoven
biopic Immortal Beloved, returns to
the composer’s title work, along with Tolstoy’s short story, which is the basis
for this tale of a man raging impotently—and with unjustified jealousy—over his
wife’s possible adultery. Danny Huston is not bad as the narrating anti-hero,
but Elisabeth Rohm is simply outstanding as the wife, giving a rare American
film performance filled of naked—in many ways—eroticism. She transforms this
cardboard character into a full-blooded woman; all that matches her are
excerpts of Beethoven’s chamber music.
Loaded
(Miramax)
Jane Campion’s sister Anna
directed this heavy-handed 1995 thriller that tries to be sexy and scary at the
same time, but despite a top-notch cast of then-attractive actors and
actresses—including Thandie Newton and Catherine McCormack at the beginning of
their careers—Anna’s movie is too ludicrous to be enjoyable. If you’re in the
right mood, you might get a brief scare, but most viewers will be patently
bored: and happy that several of the performers went on to bigger and better
things.
Naughty Teen
(one 7)
This obscure 1978 Italian sex
comedy is heavy on the sex, not so much on the comedy. Its main claim to fame
is as the only starring role for Ursula Heinle, who disrobes early and often as
a lecherous old man’s sexy niece. Since she never appeared in another movie,
having only this on her resume is nothing to crow about. Still, collectors of
soft-core flicks will find something here to sate their appetite.
This Is What Love in Action Looks
Like
(TLA)
Morgan Jon Fox’s impassioned
documentary shows religious extremists “curing” gay young men of their
“disease.” Their “Love in Action” rehabilitation program was mentioned by teen
Zach Stark on his blog after his parents forced him to go. Soon, thanks to
grassroots campaigns and bad publicity, it all fell apart for awhile. The
director talks with former “patients” and leaders of the program, letting them have
their say; extras include a post-Memphis Film Festival screening panel and
Fox’s onstage marriage proposal to his partner.
CDs of the Week
Magdalena Kozena: Love and
Longing
(Deutsche Grammophon)
Czech mezzo Magdalena Kozena displays
her intimate side and authoritative command of three languages with these exuberantly-sung
20th century cycles. Gustav Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder (German), Maurice Ravel’s Scheherazade (French) and Antonin Dvorak’s rarely done Biblical Songs (her native Czech) make a
musically eloquent program that’s perfect for Kozena’s lustrous voice. Accompanied
with equal parts finesse and power by Kozena’s husband, conductor Simon Rattle,
and the Berlin Philharmonic, this live recording is crystalline-sounding.
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances
(LSO Live)
Sergei Rachmaninov’s last
orchestral work isn’t as popular as his piano concertos and symphonies, but it
may be his summit achievement: witty quotes from his own pieces are only one
part of a brilliantly imaginative score. In the hands of conductor Valery
Gergiev, the London Symphony Orchestra plays it for all its worth in a truly
dazzling performance. Scarcely less good is their traversal through Igor
Stravinsky’s pungent Symphony in Three Movements.
Too bad another substantial work didn’t round out this excellent but too short
(58 minutes) disc, whose Super Audio CD surround sound is impressive.
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