Blu-rays of the Week
Beauty and the Beast—25th Anniversary Edition
(Disney)
Disney’s best animated feature since its late ‘80s renaissance, this 1991 classic
has hummable songs, glorious visuals and a truly romantic spirit that speaks even
more to adults than children; if it doesn’t reach the sublime heights of Jean
Cocteau’s one-of-a-kind masterpiece based on the Perrault fairy tale, it’s still
quite an achievement. This 25th anniversary edition includes the
original film, extended cut and sing-along version, all in impossibly sharp
hi-def; extras include featurettes on Paige O’Hara (voice of Belle) and composer
Alan Menken (shown with fellow Disney cohorts Robert Lopez, Kristen
Anderson-Lopez, Stephen Schwartz and Lin-Manuel Miranda).
Yours, Mine and Ours
(Olive Films)
In Cecil B. DeMille’s 1915 silent The
Captive, a young Montenegrin woman falls for a captured Turkish nobleman during
the fractured Balkan Wars; this 50-minute drama has moments of fleeting romance,
but it’s the restoration to gleaming hi-def that makes it an interesting historical
artifact. The hit-or-miss 1968 romantic comedy Yours, Mine and Ours stars Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball as widowers
with many children who—surprise!—fall in love, making for a family that’s
18-strong. Fonda and Ball sleepwalk through this forgettable fodder, while some
of the child actors (including young Tim Matheson) are less annoying than the usual
onscreen under-agers. Both films have good hi-def transfers.
Salem’s Lot
Stephen King’s It
(Warner Bros)
A trio of Stephen King adaptations makes its hi-def premiere, starting with
Lewis Teague’s Cat’s Eye (1985), an uneven
anthology of creepily tongue-in-cheek stories starring then-luminaries James Woods,
Alan King and a young Drew Barrymore. Two TV movies-of-the-week—the vapid vampire
tale Salem’s Lot (1979) and the
clown-killer weirdness of It (1990)—breathe
some life into King’s crude original stories, which are preferable to having to
read those. The hi-def transfers are decent; commentaries comprise Teague’s on Cat’s Eye, director Tobe Hooper’s on Salem’s Lot and director Tommy Lee
Wallace’s on It.
The Exotic Dances of Bettie Page
Sin
(Cult Epics)
If vintage erotica is of interest, then these titles are recommended,
starting with Exotic Dances, which
shows off 1950s pin-up Bettie Page in various stages of undress—and even the
altogether. Sin, an affectionate
homage to adult films of a far more primitive era, includes such taboo fantasies
as a nun fellating a priest. Both sets—comprising 30-minute features supplemented
by additional footage and outtakes—have been upgraded to hi-def, although since
the original quality is so variable, any improvements aren’t immediately
obvious.
(Sony Classical)
Continuing an annual seasonal ritual held on the vast grounds of the
extraordinary Schoenbrun Palace outside Vienna in May, this concert is an
entertaining mash-up of the popular (Strauss waltz, Ravel’s Bolero) and the substantial (an intense
performance of Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos, played with fleet
ferocity by sisters Katia and Marielle Labeque). Conductor Semyon Bychkov
capably leads the Vienna Philharmonic in this summertime favorite balancing baubles
and brilliance. The hi-def image and audio are first-rate.
(CBS/Paramount)
I was no Twin Peaks fan, but even
I found the disjointed and stilted series better than director David Lynch’s
abomination of a feature film, 1992’s Fire
Walk with Me, which in its ineptitude (whether deliberate or not is
immaterial) makes the series seem like Citizen
Kane in comparison. For those who want all things Twin Peaks, this set will do quite nicely (and more cheaply than
the previous Blu-ray set), with all 29 series episodes, both versions of the
pilot, and the film, all in fine high-def; extras include Log Lady episode intros,
90 minutes of deleted Fire Walk scenes
and other featurettes.
The Automatic Hate
(Film Movement)
In this low-key but absorbing indie drama, millennial Davis discovers he
has an uncle his father never told him about—along with three nubile female
cousins, one of whom, Alexis, he instantly falls for, to the detriment of his
relationship with his beautiful ballerina girlfriend. Although co-writer-director
Justin Lerner has a tenuous grip on dicey incest material, that he keeps things
non-exploitative is a tribute to his terrific cast headed by talented Australian
actress Adelaide Clemens, who makes a trenchant and vital Alexis. Extras are a
commentary, deleted scenes and British director Eva Riley’s short, Patriot.
(MVD)
This entertaining look back at the Back
to the Future trilogy interweaves reminiscences of the major
players—director-writer Bob Zemeckis, writer Bob Gale, producer Steven
Spielberg, actors Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson, singer
Huey Lewis—with those mesmerized by or who’ve made a cottage industry of it,
like those who bought the famous cars involved. It’s a fun ride despite the
misplaced love for what was, after all, a merely clever piece of disposable
entertainment.
Toto—Live at Montreux 1991
(Eagle Rock)
On the heels of his best solo album, 1985’s White City—A Novel, Pete Townshend assembled a crack band with no
less than David Gilmour on lead guitar, for a scintillating concert on the
German TV program Rockpalast; highlights are riveting versions of White City’s “Give Blood” and
“Secondhand Love,” Gilmour’s solo hit “Blue Light” and a tune Townshend gave to
Roger Daltrey for his solo album, “After the Fire.” A few big hits in America.
notwithstanding, Toto has always been more popular in Europe, and its 1991
incarnation—keyboardist David Paich, guitarist Steve Lukather and the brothers
Porcaro, drummer Jeff and bassist Mike—blow the roof off the Montreux Jazz Festival
with a jam-heavy eight-song set, out of which only “Roxanna” and “Africa” are
recognizable smashes. Both sets include an accompanying audio CD of the
concert.
Scorpion—Complete 2nd Season
Hawaii Five O—Complete 6th Season
Blue Bloods—Complete 6th Season
(CBS/Paramount)
The second season of Scorpion
furthers the bonds of the genius outsiders with the sweet young mom (Katharine
McPhee) who acts as their lifeline to the “normal” world as they are hers to
her mentally challenged son; meanwhile, the sixth seasons of Hawaii Five-O and Blue Bloods use their Hawaiian and Manhattan locations to build a
credible atmosphere for their criminal investigations. Lots of extras on all
three sets include featurettes and gag reels; Bloods and Scorpion also
has commentaries and Hawaii and Scorpion have deleted scenes.
(Cinema Libre)
This pseudo-documentary, which runs with the thoroughly discredited
“vaccines cause autism” meme, contains dangerous misinformation under the guise
of science, while repeatedly exploiting autistic children and playing up the
role of a supposed CDC whistleblower who was in fact no such thing. Director Andrew
Wakefield is the disgraced doctor who started it all; producer Del Bigtree is a
“medical journalist” in on the whole ruse—a quick Google search will provide
much information to refute what they say—and they are the prime talking heads
for this slick but shoddy piece of advocacy that cherry-picks more information than
the average Fox News segment. Extras are additional interviews.
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