Blu-rays of the Week
Argo—Extended Edition
(Warners)
Director-star Ben Affleck’s
Oscar-winning Best Picture dramatizes the so-strange-it-must-be-true story of
U.S. embassy workers during the Iranian hostage crisis holed up in the Canadian
ambassador’s house while the CIA concocted an elaborate rescue plan. The
tension remains even though we know the outcome: it’s just too bad that Affleck
can’t resist adding a phony “skin of their teeth” climax. This “new” edition
features a 10-minutes-longer cut that looks superb on Blu-ray; new extras
include featurettes, and “old” extras include Affleck and writer Chris Terrio’s
commentary, several featurettes and a documentary about the hostages on the
25th anniversary of their rescue.
(MPI)
Bret Easton Ellis’ script about a
group of vapid Hollywood types brooding and screwing and partying is even shallower
than these people have any right to be, with laughable dialogue and nonexistent
motivation. Even director Paul Schrader, who obviously tried to make this look
professional, can do little with what Ellis handed him. Lindsay Lohan—who bares
all—tries her hardest, but she’s undermined by Ellis’s script and costar James
Deen’s invisibility. The Blu-ray transfer looks attractive; extras include
brief featurettes.
Carmen Jones
Desk Set
(Fox)
In Otto Preminger’s excellent
1954 adaptation of Oscar Hammerstein’s Carmen
Jones (from Bizet’s classic opera), Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte give
a clinic in star power and charisma as the ill-fated lovers whose destiny is
intertwined in their fateful love affair. The inimitable duo of Katherine Hepburn
and Spencer Tracy goes through its paces in the fitfully funny 1957 Walter Lang-directed
comedy Desk Set about modernization
in the office. Both Cinemascope films look virtually flawless on Blu-ray; Desk Set extras are a commentary and
featurette.
(Raro)
One of Roberto Rossellini’s most
conventional films is this 1959 drama with fellow director Vittorio de Sica (who’s
splendid) as an amoral Italian who becomes a Nazi collaborator and must decide
whether morality is preferable to money. Shot in gritty B&W (which looks
good, not great, in hi-def), Rossellini’s film straightforwardly explores his country’s
decisions of conscience during World War II. The disc contains Rossellini’s
140-minute cut and the released 132-minute version; extras include interviews
and a video essay about the film, Truth
of Fiction.
Getaway
(Warners)
This witlessly turgid thriller puts
Ethan Hawke (as a race car driver) and Selena Gomez (his unwilling passenger) together
to race through the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria at the behest of an unseen
madman (Jon Voight) who kidnaped his wife. Lots of impressive stunt driving and
car chases don’t compensate for incoherent, nearly unwatchable storytelling.
The Blu-ray looks good; extras include featurettes.
Investigation of a Citizen Above
Suspicion
(Criterion)
Elio Petri’s splashy but gripping
drama—which justly won 1970’s Best Foreign Film Oscar—showcases that great actor
Gian Maria Volonte in his signature role as a police chief who murders his
mistress then spends the rest of the movie daring his underlings to arrest him
for the crime. Luigi Kuveiller’s photography and Ennio Morricone’s music are sublimely
of a piece with the rest of the film, which brilliantly demonstrates the lost
art of the intelligent, uncompromising political thriller. The hi-def transfer
looks immaculate; an amazing array of extras includes a 90-minute documentary, Elio Petri: Notes about a Filmmaker
(2005); a 2008 doc Investigation of a
Citizen Named Volonte; a 2010 Morricone interview, archival Petri interview
and scholar Camilla Zamboni interview.
The Perfect American
(Opus Arte)
For his 25th opera,
Philip Glass takes on Walt Disney, one of the towering figures of the 20th
century: this complex man—an innovative and beloved artist who was also deeply
conservative and racist—was of his times, and Rudy Wurlitzer’s absorbing libretto
takes his measure, even if Glass’s repetitive music never reaches similar
heights. Phelim McDermott’s extraordinary production (at its January Madrid world
premiere), gives the opera a visual gloss remindful of Disney at his best
without slavish imitation. Christopher Purves is a strong acting and singing protagonist;
Dennis Russell Davies conducts a lucid account of Glass’s underwhelming score.
The hi-def image and sound are tremendous.
(Sony)
Every kid’s favorite blue cartoon
creatures return in this cute adventure set in Paris, where they fight off the
evil wizard Gargamel, who tries creating Smurf clones through his original “naughties.”
Even if it makes scant sense, kids won’t mind, even if its PG rating promises “rude
humor and action.” Overall, though, it’s innocuous family entertainment. The
Blu-ray image is crystal clear; extras include featurettes and deleted scenes.
The Stone Roses—Made of Stone
(MVD)
Director Shane Meadows, a
long-time fan, made this chronicle of the reunion of the Stone Roses after a
16-year split—which culminates with three concerts in the band members’
hometown of Manchester—that’s chockful of fly-on-the-wall moments, rehearsals,
interviews and other goodies Stone Roses fans will enjoy. This insider’s
portrait won’t create many new fans, but Meadows’ approach as unpretentiously chummy.
The hi-def transfer looks good; extras include a commentary, behind the scenes
footage and live performances.
Buying Sex
Speak the Music
(First Run)
Teresa Macinnes and Kent Nason’s Buying Sex—which shows the effects of a
debated Ontario court decision that basically made prostitution legal—even-handedly
allows both sides their views despite quite emotional responses to a volatile
(and intensely personal) issue. Veteran classical-music documentarian Allan
Miller’s Speak the Music is a
succinct, involving 60-minute portrait of violinist Robert Mann, one of the
scions of chamber music in the United States, who comes off as witty and
personable but eminently serious about his art.
The Hunchback
Young Catherine
(Warner Archive)
Peter Medak’s 1997 The Hunchback, a TV movie from Victor Hugo’s
classic, stars a sexy young Salma Hayek as gypsy Esmeralda, Richard Harris as Don
Frollo and the stunning transformation of Mandy Patinkin as Quasimodo: nearly
unrecognizable under the makeup like John Hurt in The Elephant Man, Patinkin is nevertheless touching and real. In
the three-hour 1991 mini-series Young Catherine,
a young Julia Ormond gives a strong, sensual portrayal of the young German
princess who became empress of Russia in the 18th century—terrific support
comes from Vanessa Redgrave as her domineering mother-in-law and Christopher
Plummer as her lone friend among the court.
(Music Box)
The bizarre but true story of Brandon
Darby—left-wing activist turned FBI informant—is profiled in Jamie Meltzer’s
matter-of-fact documentary, which is filled with interviews with Darby himself
as well as former and current associates like late conservative blogger Andrew
Breitbart, who enthusiastically welcomed Darby to the Tea Party. Meltzer’s
insightful film shows how, in the 21st century, the anti-terrorist
state will use any means at its disposal to keep an eye on its citizens.
The ’83 US Festival—Days 1-3
(MVD)
This truncated overview of the second
US Festival—a splashy California pop-and-rock event—presents 45-minute chunks of
its three days: U2 and Stevie Nicks are represented with two songs each, The Clash
and INXS get one song each, but long-forgotten Men at Work, Quarterflash and
Berlin and hard-rockers Judas Priest, the Scorpions and Canada’s Triumph (which
gets four songs, most by any artist!) are also included. Missing in action are
any glimpses of the sets by Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Pretenders or David
Bowie. Strangely, some songs have voiceovers that smother parts of them, thanks
to interviews with MTV VJ Mark Goodman or the acts themselves, like Colin Hay
of Men at Work.
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