December '14 Digital Week IV

Blu-rays of the Week

The Good Lie (Warners)

This earnest, touching drama follows the true story of Sudanese young men who escaped their country's horrific civil war and traveled across the Atlantic to start afresh with the help of volunteers who eased their navigation of the bewildering but welcoming place called America. Director Philippe Falardeau wisely keeps the focus on the new arrivals, even if that entails some melodrama and sentimentality, further maximized by the likes of Reese Witherspoon (featured on the cover to try and sell the movie) and Corey Stoll in supporting roles. The Blu-ray image looks first-rate; extras comprise deleted scenes and making-of featurette.

I Puritani 

Tosca 

(Decca)

Vincenzo Bellini's final opera, I Puritani, dramatizing the 17th century English Civil War, is given a sturdy 2009 production in Bologna, Italy; its stars, tenor Juan Diego Florez and soprano Nino Machaidze, have superb stage chemistry to go with their ability to easily navigate the composer's treacherously difficult vocal writing. Giacomo Puccini's perennial audience favorite, Tosca, is brought to vivid life in this 2011 Zurich, Switzerland staging; its formidable central trio of Americans Emily Magee and Thomas Hampson and German Jonas Kaufmann provide the gripping center of Puccini's tragic tale of love and death. Both operas have impeccable sound and video on Blu-ray.

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears 

(Strand)

This followup to Amer, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's unsettling homage to the Italian slasher genre called giallo, ups the ante in its dissection of a man's mental, physical and psychosexual anguish when he discovers his wife has disappeared. The directors fetishize everything, both in the film and in their visual style, comprising closeups, fragmented shots, split screens, dazzling lighting and editing; for awhile, it's intriguing, even hypnotic, but the technique soon becomes a dead end, and the repetition becomes numbing. The vividness of the filmmaking is given its hi-def due on Blu-ray.

DVDs of the Week

The Man with Two Brains 

(Warner Archive)

By the time of their 1983 romp, writer-actor Steve Martin and writer-director Carl Reiner had polished their silly but probingly sarcastic humor; if this mad-doctor spoof carries more comedic weight than the hit-or-miss The Jerk or Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, it's because Martin himself is more agile, more willing to go for broke on camera without losing the thread of his character and story, something he'd perfect in the following year's tour de force All of Me. Kathleen Turner shows admirable pluck as the femme fatale from hell, willing to go along with Martin on his inspired flights of sheer lunacy, and if it all bogs down at the end, the first hour or so flies by effortlessly.

Running on Empty 

(Warner Archive)

A fascinating subject—ex-radicals, on the lam from the FBI, try and build a family and new lives—is fatally compromised by Naomi Foner's superficial, soap-opera script (which somehow earned a 1988 Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe), which substitutes sentimentality and contrivance for three-dimensionality and taut drama. Sidney Lumet's direction is solid, and his cast, especially River Phoenix as the restless teenage son, Martha Plimpton as his restless girlfriend and Christine Lahti as his mother, does what it can, but the messy script moots any chance at intelligent and insightful character study.

1000 Times Good Night 

(Film Movement)

The always stunning Juliette Binoche adds another indelibly etched portrait to her growing collection of flawed but beautifully human women in this tough, no-nonsense account of a war photographer who returns home to her beloved husband and daughters but still feels the pull of the battlefield. Director Erik Poppe shrewdly centers the action on Binoche both at home and in the midst of unbearable carnage, and the final shot of her when again in the midst of inhumanity is shattering. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau makes a sympathetic husband, but it's Binoche's fierce, utterly compelling performance that commands our attention throughout. Extras are on-set footage and interviews.

Holiday CD of the Week

Renee Fleming—Christmas in New York 

(Decca)

Wherein America's foremost operatic diva gets jazzy for the holidays, with swinging versions of Christmas songs from "Winter Wonderland" to "In the Bleak Midwinter," showing off a voice still in its prime, and giving us a listen to her first musical love, which she may do more of once she stops singing Strauss and Mozart. With help from such illustrious collaborators as Wynton Marsalis, Chris Botti, Rufus Wainwright and Kelli O'Hara (with whom she duets on a dreamy "Silver Bells"), Fleming celebrates the season in her usual elegant style. Too bad that this disc wasn't paired with a DVD of her PBS special, which also includes Fleming's performances of Christmas carols with her talented sister and daughters.

Music Reviews: Sir Paul's Latest Re-issues; Jimmy Page's History Book

Wings—Venus and Mars

Wings—Wings at the Speed of Sound

(Hear Music/Concord)

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection has been taking its sweet time covering Paul's amazing post-Beatles career—two releases per year seems to be the norm—and the latest are Wings' mid-70s number-one albums, Venus and Mars and Wings at the Speed of Sound.

1975's Venus and Mars, which followed closely on the heels of Paul's critical and commercial post-Beatles breakthrough, Band on the Run (still flying high on the charts when this came out), consolidated Wings' commercial success, even though it sounded like a slight comedown after the exhilarating songs on Band.

But the usual variety of musical styles is on display throughout Venus and Mars, from the opening "Venus and Mars/Rockshow"—which would be the concert opener during 1976's Wings Over America tour and at Paul's 2010 shows—to the closing cover of the British TV soap opera Crossroads theme song. In between are the bright-sounding "Magneto and Titanium Man," which showed Paul's interest in Marvel superheroes long before they became movie staples; "You Gave Me the Answer," another of Paul's delightful music-hall pastiches; "Call Me Back Again," housing one of Paul's most agile vocal performances; the smash "Listen to What the Man Said," showing off Paul's genius for arresting arrangements; and "Letting Go," a downbeat number that's actually one of Paul's most personal songs for wife Linda.

Released the following year, Speed of Sound gave the band new songs to play on tour (Paul was playing his first American concerts since the Beatles last performed in 1966) and provided a democratic way of presenting the group as more than simply Paul's backing band by having each member—even Linda, on the facile "Cook of the House"—take a crack at a lead vocal. Guitarist Denny Laine's rocker "Time to Hide" has the strongest musical legs, although Jimmy McCullough's somber "Wino Junko" attained tragic relevance following the 26-year-old guitarist's 1979 death from a heroin overdose.

Speed of Sound's Paul quotient consists of two huge singles—"Silly Love Songs," with its irresistibly melodic bass line, and the guilty-pleasure sing-along "Let Em In"—and fun if inessential romps through various genres like the funky "She's My Baby," bouncy "San Ferry Anne" and romantic "Warm and Beautiful." Best of all is the surging rocker, "Beware My Love," which became a live highlight on the 1976 tour. (Too bad he's never seen fit to resurrect it for any of his recent concerts.)

Along with an impressive remastering job of both albums, these re-issues come with an extra disc of added material, comprising B-sides, demos, alternate cuts, etc. Disc 2 of Venus includes the chugging hit single "Junior's Farm," the great, unheralded stomper "Soily"—never officially released, although Paul felt highly enough of it to make it the group's final encore during the '76 tour—and an early version of "Rock Show," which has a few interesting changes. Sound's second disc contains piano demos of "Let 'Em In" and "Silly Love Songs" (both of which are intricately structured even at this early stage), Paul singing "Must Do Something About It" (which drummer Joe English sings on the record) and an alternate version of "Beware My Love" with Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, which gives it extra oomph.

Next up in the Archive Collection are one of Paul's best albums, 1982's Tug of War, and one of his less compelling efforts, the 1983 follow-up Pipes of Peace. I'm still waiting for 1979's underrated Back to the Egg, but I don't think even Paul likes it very much, so I'm not holding my breath.

Jimmy Page 

(Genesis)

Not content with simply knocking out superb new re-issues of Led Zeppelin's studio albums—Led Zeppelin I, II, III, Zoso (IV) and Houses of the Holy are available, with Physical Graffiti, Presence, In Through the Out Door and Coda presumably on the way next year—Jimmy Page has also put together a massive photographic autobiography, simply entitled Jimmy Page.

This gorgeous cover-table tome (512 pages and 6-plus pounds' worth) is essential for any Page fan, from his teenage days to the Yardbirds, Zep, The Firm, his '90s reunion with Robert Plant, and beyond: this elegant volume is crammed with hundreds of photos of Page and his cohorts onstage, offstage, backstage and in the studio, complemented by captions and an occasional explanation, along with lists upon lists of what I assume is every concert tour Page has been on.

Unlike Plant, Page desperately wants to embark on one last megatour as you know what; since that most likely won't happen, he's contented himself with bolstering his legacy as Led Zep's founder and premier musical architect. This book, along with those reissues, goes a long way toward cementing his legendary status as one of rock's greatest instrumentalists and composers. 

Off-Broadway Review—"The Invisible Hand"

The Invisible Hand
Written by Ayad Akhtar; directed by Ken Rus Schmoll 
Performances through January 4, 2015
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street, New York, NY
nytw.org

Ally and Kirk in The Invisible Hand (photo: Joan Marcus)

With his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced doing boffo biz on Broadway (and a likely front-runner for the Tony Award), let's see if playwright Ayad Akhtar is not just a one-trick pony. Happily, The Invisible Hand—which shrewdly shows how money is the root of all evil, whether capitalism or terrorism—proves he isn't: it's another smart, provocative, hard-hitting and all too relevant drama.

After Nick Bright, a broker working in Citibank's Pakistan office, is mistakenly kidnaped—the target was his boss—the group who did the deed decide to try and extort money from the bank for his ransom. But the $10 million they are asking is, in Nick's own words, far too much for someone of his relatively minor stature; but his captors remain steadfast, assuming the dirty American bank will cough up the money.

After weeks in captivity, Nick makes a deal with the men: he will use $3 million from his own offshore acount to invest in the market until he raises $10 million. The group's head, the respected elder Imam Saleem, agrees to allow his protege, the hot-headed Bashir—a London-born Arab who is in Pakistan to wage jihad like, he says, the many leftists who turned into freedom fighters against Franco in the Spanish Civil War to assuage their guilt over living comfortably in the West—to become Nick's financial "assistant."

Although their investments begin well, a brilliantly written and staged scene shows how Nick quickly realizes that working financial angles for his captors has a plethora of moral quagmires: especially after their immediate windfall comes after a prominent Pakistani and his wife (both of whom he knew socially) are killed in a terrorist attack at a wedding. Parallelly, Bashir becomes giddy, almost scarily so, when he sees the ease with which they've made $700,000 in 10 minutes. 

Akhtar's writing skillfully treads the blurred lines separating freedom fighters from terrorists and surviving at all costs from doing what's morally right: he adroitly positions his characters and their explosive behavior in the front lines of the so-called war on terror. If Disgraced found tough insight into that war through two couples in a well-appointed Manhattan apartment, then The Invisible Hand is its flip side: a dispatch from that endless war, with lives on the line for nothing more than cold hard cash.

Since the play began life as a one-acter, there's a noticeable difference in the writing: act one has a simple but forceful elegance that underlines its brutal truths about both sides; after intermission, there are blunter statements of physical and mental brutality. Some may find the sheer viciousness of the play's final moments too obvious, but it works perfectly as the only possible ending for a story that's been leading to ever more dangerously fraught situations for everyone involved.

Ken Rus Schmoll directs with alternate muscle and finesse on Riccardo Hernandez's starkly imposing set (with bonus points for Tyler Micoleau's exquisitely evocative lighting), while the actors—Justin Kirk (Nick), Usman Ally (Bashir), Dariush Kashani (Imam) and Jameal Ali (Dar, a gun-toting minion)—give firmly commanding performances in roles that could easily have become caricature.  All of that, combined with Akhtar's assured script, makes The Invisible Hand another winner by New York's playwright of the moment.

December '14 Digital Week III

Blu-rays of the Week

At the Devil's Door 

(IFC Midnight)

An unapologetic ripoff of other (and some better) fright flicks, writer-director Nicholas McCarthy's lackluster horror film sets up its premise so lazily that whatever happens—from the death of main characters to a dragged-out, unsuspenseful finale—will probably be met with indifference by most viewers. A game cast (led by Glee's Naya Rivera and a sorely underused Catalina Sandina Moreno) has little to do, while bumps in the night and other would-be scares do little more than add to a frighteningly dull 93 minutes. The movie looks good on Blu-ray; extras comprise a making-of featurette and deleted scenes with McCarthy's commentary.

Carmen 

(Decca)

Georges Bizet's classic opera, a sure-fire crowd-pleaser with some of the most famous music ever written, gets an uneven 2009 Zurich staging, but at least conductor Franz Welser-Most leads the Zurich Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a blisteringly dramatic reading. It's unfortunate that Matthias Hartmann's production decides to scuttle time and place, while the cast—Vesselina Kasarova as Carmen, Jonas Kaufmann as Don Jose and Isabel Rey as Micaela—is polished but infrequently inspired. On Blu-ray, the visuals and audio are equally impressive.

Inspector Lewis—Complete 7th Season 

(PBS)

At first, Inspector Hathaway soldiers on without his partner, Detective Inspector Lewis, and has problems dealing with his new partner, Lizzie Maddox—until D.I. Lewis returns from retirement, helping both himself and Hathaway as they become an unbeatable pair once again. The three 90-minute Oxford-set mysteries that make up the seventh season are filled with the series' usual fine acting (Kevin Whately, Laurence Fox, Angela Griffin, Claire Holman) and intelligent writing. The Blu-ray image is quite good.

Stonehearst Asylum 

(Millennium)

In this unsettling adaptation of a lesser-known Poe story, director Brad Anderson romps through the all-too-familiar halls of a shadowy insane asylum, with his cast chewing the scenery in high style: Ben Kingsley as the head of the asylum, Michael Caine and Kate Beckinsale as inmates (with Kate an impossibly glamorous one). The daft twist ending, though drawn out too much, still perfectly closes the gleefully ludicrous tale, which retains the blackly humorous Poe flavor. The hi-def image looks excellent; lone extra is a making-of featurette.

This Is Where I Leave You 

(Warners)

This comic drama about a dysfunctional family sitting shiva after the father dies has its share of funny lines, but director Shawn Levy's penchant for triteness and sentimentality prevents his film from being anything more than an intermittently entertaining mess. Good performances by Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Debra Monk and Connie Britton help smooth over the unnevenness, but at 103 minutes, this overdone soap opera is stretched too thin. It all looks attractive on hi-def; extras include featurettes, outtakes and deleted scenes.

DVDs of the Week

Altina 

(First Run)

Altina Schinasi was a renaissance woman: painter, sculptor, bon vivant and sexually liberated, she was ahead of her time—so far, in fact, that even today some people might be shocked at her long, eventful and unapologetic life, which is recounted in her grandson Peter Sanders's admiring and loving documentary. What shines through from archival interviews with her and new interviews with friends, lovers, husbands, family and admirers, is her love—even lust—for a life well-lived: that she also helped Holocaust refugees and made an Oscar-nominated film about the Nazis are merely more reasons to have her story told. Extras are 18 minutes of additional interviews.

Bob Marley—Uprising Live!

Justin Hayward—Spirits...Live  

(Eagle Rock)

Before his death in 1981, Bob Marley went on a world tour, and his Germany concert—filmed for posterity—contains the hallmarks of a great Marley show: opening act Threes, featuring wife Rita, sings back up for Marley and the Wailers, with highlights being "Jamming," "No River No Cry" and an encore of "Lively Up Yourself." Uprising Live! is a terrific souvenir of an indelible talent at his best. 

Longtime Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward toured with stripped-down versions of his classic-art rock band's songs—his acoustic guitar and three sidemen (and woman)—and his Spirits...Live concert will satisfy Moody Blues fans with renditions of "Tuesday Afternoon" (the show's opener), "Nights in White Satin" and "Question" that are interesting alternate takes of the group's overblown arrangements. Lone Hayward extra is a backstage featurette.

French Affairs 

The Little Bedroom 

(Cinema Libre)

French Affairs, a by-the-numbers Gallic roundelay, follows two pairs of lovers with more amusement than bemusement, but director Pierre-Loup Rajot doesn't do anything particularly unique or telling, while his mostly obscure cast can't make the comedy or drama very interesting.  The Little Bedroom, a minor gem by co-writers/directors Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Reymond, stars the always persuasive Michael Bouquet (who was last seen as the aging painter in Renoir), who provides the gravitas needed to prevent this old-age drama from becoming syrupy.

Levitated Mass 

(First Run)

When I saw Michael Heizer's gargantuan rock outside the L.A. County Museum of Art last year, I thought it was a gimmick, something that would automatically draw visitors. (It does.) Doug Pray's fascinating documentary makes clear that getting the rock there, an enormous logistical and even political challenge, is a story far more interesting than Heizer's "art" itself. Bringing the huge (340-ton) rock from its original spot miles away to Los Angeles was the responsibility of dozens of people, an oversized road vehicle and signing off by nearly two dozen town officials en route. But for what? To paraphrase what someone says, "It's a rock. It's nature. Not art." Extras comprise three short featurettes.

December '14 Digital Week II

Blu-rays of the Week

Anna Netrebko— Live from the Salzburg Festival 

(Deutsche Grammophon)

The biggest superstar in the opera world, Russian soprano Anna Netrebko combines intense musicality with the sheer force of her personality to dazzle audiences in any number of dramatic and comedic roles, and this set brings together a trio of her flavorful performances in productions from Austria's long-running summer Salzburg Festival, all of which show off her range. There's her sexy Violetta (in that oh so stunning dress) in 2005's La Traviata, her charming Susanna in 2006's The Marriage of Figaro and her sympathetic Mimi in 2012's La Boheme. The hi-def transfers and surround-sound audio are top-notch on all three releases. 

Astral City: A Spiritual Journey 

(Strand Releasing)

Brazilian medium Chico Xavier's 1944 novel Nasso Lar became this 2010 film, about a doctor who finds himself in a 'spiritual city" after his death, that was among Brazil's most expensive and popular. Director Wagner de Assis visualizes the afterworld with lushness and pomposity, befitting the new age sensibilities of the book, while Philip Glass's retread score pounds away at your brain mercilessly. The visual beauty is the Blu-ray's main attraction; lone extra is a making-of featurette. 

Eric Clapton—Planes, Trains and Eric 

(Eagle Rock)

Filmed during his recent Mid and Far East tour, Eric Clapton plays his patented blend of blues-rock that's been his musical bread and butter since the 60s: just a few examples of his artistry are "Tell the Truth," "Key to the Highway," "Cocaine" and "Hoochie Coochie Man" (although I wish he'd put that sleep-inducing acoustic "Layla" to bed). Most interesting, though, are interviews with Eric and his band members, who ruminate on his decision to retire from performing to spend more time with his family: he sounds  indecisive, the others are crushed; we'll see if he goes through with his promise. Hi-def visuals and audio are terrific; extras are two songs and featurettes. 

Justified—Complete 5th Season 

(Sony)

Based on Elmore Leonard's short story "Fire in the Hole," the fifth season of Justified finds its brooding protagonist, U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens, not divulging a secret that could threaten both his career and his life. Timothy Oliphant gives Givens gravitas, while Michael Rappaport also scores as a ruthless crime family head. The hi-def image looks flawless; extras include commentaries, deleted scenes and a making-of featurette, with added Blu-ray exclusives comprising eight more featurettes.

The Picture of Dorian Gray 

(Warner Archive)

Oscar Wilde's classic horror tale of a rake who stays young while his portrait ages instead became a very effective 1945 film adaptation by director Albert Lewin, who smartly keeps the horror psychological, like Wilde. In the title role, Hurd Hatfield is perfectly smarmy, as is George Sanders as the man who eggs him on, while Harry Stradling's B&W photography (with color inserts during the painting sequences) is appropriately ominous. On Blu-ray the movie looks smashing; extras are a commentary with costar Angela Lansbury and two unrelated shorts.

Time Bandits 

(Criterion)

Terry Gilliam's first solo extravanganza behind the camera—his co-directing debut with fellow Monty Pythoin alum Terry Jones, 1977's Jabberwocky, is best forgotten—is this delightfully demented 1981 fantasy about a young boy and group of dwarves who fall through holes in time, meeting historical characters like Napoleon (Ian Holm) and Agamemnon (Sean Connery). Gilliam's imaginative movie is a wondrous prelude to even more extravangant fantasies Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Criterion's hi-def transfer is luminous; extras comprise a commentary, a new featurette, 1998 Gilliam interview and 1981 Shelley Duvall appearance on Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show.

DVDs of the Week

Forbidden Hollywood—Volume 8 

(Warner Archive)

The eighth volume in Warners' collection of Hollywood "pre-code" dramas (made before the motion picture industry began enforcing the Hays code in 1934) comprises a quartet of films probing the seamy side of sex, drugs, crime, etc. The four films are Blonde Crazy, Strangers May Kiss, Hi Nellie and Dark Hazard, and they feature such luminaries as James Cagney, Ray Milland, Norma Shearer, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson; whatever they lack in polish they more than make up for in star wattage.

A Life in Dirty Movies 

(Film Movement/Ram Releasing)

Joe Sarno, who made several successful sexploitation flicks until hardcore porn went mainstream in the mid '70s with Deep Throat, is lovingly remembered in Wiktor Ericsson's documentary. Sarno (who died in 2010 at age 89) comes across as earnest and sincere, and those who talk about him—mainly his wife and former lead actress Peggy Sarno, and a few film historians—discuss him with reverence and appreciation in equal measure. Extras include expanded interviews with adult-film stars Annie Sprinkle and Jamie Gillis and featurettes.

Marius & Fanny 

(Kino Lorber)

It's hard to equal Marcel Pagnol's 1930s trilogy of films—Marius, Fanny and Cesar—which tell engrossing, heartwarming stories of a hardheaded old man, his equally headstrong son and a beautiful young woman, but damned if Daniel Auteuil doesn't resurrect Pagnol's humanist spirit in his sturdy remakes of the first two films, which deal with Marius and Fanny's courtship, separation and reunion. Auteuil himself makes a tough-as-nails Cesar, Raphael Personnaz is a handsome, dashing Marius and newcomer Victoire Belezy is an even better Fanny (beautiful, smart, irresistible) than Orane Demazis in the original. Too bad Auteuil didn't remake Cesar: maybe that's next? Extras are short featurettes.

A Summer's Tale 

(Big World)

Eric Rohmer's 1996 entry in his Tales of the Four Seasons series—the others were made in 1990 (Spring), 1992 (Autumn) and 1998 (Winter)—is less irritating than usual, thanks to a lightness of touch the director is usually at pains to create, but here it works effortlessly in a story of a young man juggling three women, unsure of whom to decide on. Melvil Poupaud, Amanda Langlet, Gwenaëlle Simon and Aurelia Nolin are all beguiling, while Rohmer's dialogue is witty and realistic; the attractive landscapes of Brittany seal the deal. But why is there no Blu-ray, when all of Rohmer's films have been released in hi-def in Europe?

Off-Broadway Reviews—"Grand Concourse," “A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations),” "A Christmas Memory"

Grand Concourse

Written by Heidi Schreck; directed by Kip Fagan

Performances through November 30, 2014

Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, New York, NY

playwrightshorizons.org

A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations)

Written by Sam Shepard; directed by Nancy Meckler

Performances through January 4, 2015

Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, New York, NY

signaturetheatre.org

A Christmas Memory

Book by Duane Poole; music by Larry Grossman; lyrics by Carol Hall

Directed by Charlotte Moore

Performances through January 4, 2015

Irish Repertory Theatre, 103 East 15th Street, New York, NY

irishrep.org

Mendes, Moreno and Tyler Bernstine in Grand Concourse (photo: Joan Marcus)

How unfortunate that Heidi Schreck's Grand Concourse closed after a relatively short run, for this modest but insightful character study deserved an extension. But that seems to be the way of things: when engrossing works like this or Adam Bock's A Small Fire a few seasons back deserve a second life—or even a longer first life—in New York, they rarely get their just due.

It's too bad, for Schreck's play, set in a Bronx soup kitchen and revolving around four characters—Shelley, a nun who runs the place; Emma, a confused 19-year-old and a new volunteer; Oscar, the kitchen's handsome handyman; and Frog, one of the elderly men who frequent the place—is a low-key, eloquent look at how disparate people come together, and explores whether they are selfless or selfish: most likely a combination of the two.

That's not to say that Grand Concourse is perfect—there's a finale that feels tacked on, especially coming after a penultimate scene which seemed to say all that needed to be said about these characters, and especially about the volatile relationship between Shelley and Emma—but there's an economical precision to Schreck's mostly believable dialogue. Kip Fagan resourcefully directs a magisterial quartet—Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Shelley), Bobby Moreno (Oscar), Lee Wilkof (Frog) and Ismenia Mendes (Emma), fast becoming an essential performer on New York stages, and who is well on her way to being one of our best actresses—that pours added compassion and humor into Schreck's already excellent script.

Judith Roddy and Stephen Rea in A Particle of Dread (photo: Matthew Murphy)

The plays of Sam Shepard, from Curse of the Starving Class to The Late Henry Moss, often deal with Oedipal issues of absent or abusive father figures. His latest, A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations), declares its intentions in its subtitle, but the rather trite updates to and borrowings (to say it as nicely as possible) from the enduring Greek myth suggest that Sheaprd doesn't have too much to say whatever continuing relevance Oedipus might have today.

Instead, a playwright who has made virtues of structural disjointedness and violent outbursts among his often crudely drawn characters here goes so far over the edge that it's difficult to take anything that occurs onstage seriously (or even comedically). Taking place in what looks like the remains of an asylum, A Particle of Dread—a typically resonant Shepard title—radiates out from the central murder to encompass dual characters like Oedipus/Otto, Jocasta/Jocelyn and Antigone/Annalee, along with a ludicrous pair of forensic detectives and two onstage musicians.

Sheaprd's dialogue is portentous and ponderous in equal measure, while Nancy Meckler's staging—except for a vividly realized hanging (for which Michael Chybowski's striking lighting design deserves a lion's share of the credit)—can't harness the essential shallowness in Shepard's concept, and so resorts to putting Frank Conway's evocative set awash in blood both literal and figurative. Of a game cast, only Stephen Rea makes an impression as Oedipus and Otto, but there are times when he seems as confused as the rest of us. 

Robinson, Spagnuolo and Ripley in A Christmas Memory (photo: Carol Rosegg)

Based on Truman Capote's classic short story, A Christmas Memory is a perfectly pleasant holiday musical set in Alabama in 1933 and 20 years later, where we meet adult Buddy, returning as a successful writer to the old—and now vacant, except for the loyal black servant, Anna—family home. Memory is a series of flashbacks to young Buddy's last Christmas with the trio of eccentric cousins who are raising him, notably Sook, with whom he bonds by making annual Christmas fruitcakes, one of which is even sent to the new President, FDR. The adult Buddy looks on, narrates and even enters scenes with his younger self.

The two-hour show is a sometimes sleepy but sweet concoction that will warm the hearts of those in the mood for sentimental holiday fare, agily directed by Charlotte Moore and containing several polished songs by composer Larry Grossman and lyricist Carol Hall. Ashley Robinson and Silvano Spagnuolo memorably play Buddy as a grown-up and a young kid, and Alice Ripley is heartbreaking as cousin Sook, even if she tends to sing to the back row as if she's in a large Broadway theater, compromising her naturally beautiful voice. She should tone it down as effectively as the rest of this small-scale but engaging production does. 

December '14 Digital Week I

Blu-rays of the Week

The Expendables 3 

(Lionsgate)

The lazy formula for an increasingly turgid series of action-adventure yarns has calcified: in addition to those graying and/or balding actors who have been around since the first two—Stallone, Lundgren, Statham, Jet Li, Schwarzenegger—is another batch of over the hill vets like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas and even Kelsey Grammer: but for my money, the biggest loss is the lack of Charisma Carpenter. Even by the shallow standards of the first two movies, E3 comes across as explosions and gunplay in search of something remotely resembling a story. The Blu-ray image is fine; extras include a gag reel, featurettes and on-location documentary.

The Giver 

(Anchor Bay/Weinstein Co)

Lois Lowry's mega-popular young-adult sci-fi novel has become a movie that feels like an outline, as all of the original story's beats are hit, but without much resonance: you feel like a character in the movie after seeing it because it's erased from your memory immediately. Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep look uneasy as The Giver and The Chief Elder, respectively, while Brenton Thwaites is adequate as Jonas, the young man being trained as the new Giver. Philip Noyce cleverly shoots in B&W then gradually changes to color, but that's about the extent of the originality on display in the direction (or the script, for that matter). The hi-def transfer is first-rate; extras are featurettes, a deleted scene and a script reading by Lloyd Bridges (whom son Jeff wanted as The Giver way back when).

Jeff Beck—Live in Tokyo 

(Eagle Rock)

One of the all-time great blues-rock guitarists, Jeff Beck is still going strong at age 70, as demonstrated by his scintillating fretwork in a Tokyo concert from this past April: Beck's effortless style trumps all on well-chosen covers like Hendrix's "Little Wing," the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" and even Benjamin Britten's "Corpus Christi." Beck's equally superb band—comprising guitarist Nicholas Meier, bassist Rhonda Smith and drummer Jonathan Joseph—keeps up with him throughout, as the concert culminates in an unforgettable rendition of Beck's own "Why Give It Away." The image and sound are excellent; extras are interviews and song list commentary. 

The Paradise—Complete 2nd Season 

(BBC)

The second season of this stylish costume drama co-produced by PBS' Masterpiece and the BBC centering around a large department store in 1870's London was also its last, mainly because it didn't bring in as many viewers of the more successful (and entertaining) Mr. Selfridge. Perhaps if the creators had kept their adaptation of Emile Zola's novel The Ladies' Paradise in its original French setting, it would have worked better; at least the cast—Joanna Vanderham, Emun Elliott, Sarah Lancashire and Elaine Cassidy, for starters—is top-notch. On Blu-ray, the visuals look sensational.

What If 

(Sony)

Daniel Radcliffe has certainly proven there's life after Harry Potter with interesting performances in several hit-or-miss movies; unfortunately, this fey rom-com about friends who try to remain platonic despite their mutual attraction is less romantic, funny and charming than it could have been. For that blame Zoe Kazan, an actress who in the right part can be forceful but an irresistible young woman is beyond her. If Megan Park—who plays Kazan's sexy sister—starred opposite Radcliffe, we might have had something. The hi-def transfer is good; extras are featurettes and deleted scenes.

DVDs of the Week

Abuse of Weakness 

(Strand Releasing)

Catherine Breillat, who had a stroke 10 years ago at age 56, made this bitter, self-pitying drama about what happened afterward, when she was bilked by a charismatic “bad boy.” Played by the fearless Isabelle Huppert, director Maud Schoenberg (Breillat’s stand-in) won’t allow a stroke to slow her down, despite a limp and hand curled into a claw. The stroke itself is harrowing, and Breillat continues in that vein by showing a talented artist giving herself up to a man she knows will ruin her. Portuguese rapper Kool Shen is good as Breillat/Huppert/Schoenberg's nemesis, but Huppert is impossible to look away from, especially in that final unyielding close-up that peers into the depths of her soul.

Apaches 

(Film Movement)

Exploring bored young people on crime sprees like Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers and Bertrand Tavernier's far subtler L'Appat (Fresh Bait), Corsican director Thierry de Peretti, follows local kids who casually break into a home and, after swimming and partying, take off with valuable jewelry that leads them to a showdown with a local crime boss. Unfortunately, neither the performers nor the characters are differentiated enough, the situations are all too familiar, and director-writer de Peretti provides little insight. The lone extra is a short film from Italy, Margerita.

Austin City Limits Celebrates 40 Years 

(PBS)

One of TV's longest-running music series, Austin City Limits has for four decades presented the best contemporary pop, rock and country music, and this all-star celebration concert—hosted by Jeff Bridges and Sheryl Crow, both of whom also perform—features an array of artists for jam sessions, from Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson to Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris. Highlights are guitarist Gary Clark Jr. doing a blistering "Bright Lights" and the Foo Fighters knocking Roky Erickson's "Two Headed Dog" out of the park. Extras include additional performances and two making-of featurettes. 

The Fan 

(Warner Archive)

In the aftermath of John Lennon's murder, Edward Bianchi's 1981 thriller about a famous movie star stalked by a deranged fan while starring in a Broadway musical seemed a victim of bad timing and bad taste; three decades later, it's simply awful moviemaking, as veterans Lauren Bacall, James Garner and Maureen Stapleton come off particularly badly, and younger names like Michael Biehn (overdoing the murderous fan) don't make much of an impression. This is best as a time-capsule of Manhattan—particularly the theater district—during its pre-Disneyfication days.

Penance 

(Doppelganger)

Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa made his name with creepy but stylish tales of horrific behavior, and this five-part mini-series for Japanese television is no different: it follows four women many years after one of their friends was brutally murdered by a maniac when they were young children. Psychologically penetrating but painfully slow—its barebones plot fleshed out to 4-1/2 hours—Penance will appeal mainly to fans of Kurosawa's other work, although it is far better than his recent deadly feature Real. Extras comprise interviews with Kurosawa and his performers.

DVD/CD of the Week

Heart & Friends—Home for the Holidays 

(Frontiers)

For their 2013 holiday concert in their hometown of Seattle, Ann and Nancy Wilson of the band Heart host an enjoyably eclectic selection of holiday tunes and Heart hits, many with well-chosen guest singers who help out on this festive occasion. There are Sammy Hagar, Richard Marx, Train lead singer Pat Monahan and Shawn Colvin, the latter of whom sings a lovely "Rocking" and duets with Ann on "Love Came Down at Christmas." Ann's vocals, of course, remain incomparable, whether on Joni Mitchell's opening "River," a stately, choir-driven "Stairway to Heaven" or Heart's own "Barracuda" and "Even It Up." (The latter only shows up on the CD, not the DVD, a surprising omission.)