Blu-rays of the Week
(Criterion)
In 1966, Michelangelo Antonioni went to swinging London to make his first
English-language film, a rare instance of the cultural zeitgeist being recorded,
aside from its cinematic brilliance as a mystery and investigation into the
power and truth of images. The Criterion Collection gives this historically
important filmic time capsule the hi-def release it deserves: there’s a
ridiculously good-looking Blu-ray transfer, and extras include archival
interviews with Antonioni and actor David Hemmings, featurettes and a new making-of
documentary, Blow Up of Blow-Up; and
new interviews with actresses Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Birkin.
Cinema Paradiso
(Arrow Academy)
1989’s Oscar-winning Best Foreign Film, Giuseppe Tornatore’s semi-autobiographical
reminiscence is perfectly—and honestly—sentimental, its story of a young boy
who befriends the local movie projectionist and who leaves his small Sicilian
village to become a world-famous director encapsulated in the yearning violin
figures of Ennio Morricone’s most romantic score. The nearly three-hour
director’s cut is repetitious but essential for understanding what Tornatore is
after: despite its soap opera leanings, resistance is ultimately futile while
viewing, especially when the irresistible Brigitte Fossey shows up near the end
to steal the film. Fine hi-def transfers of the two-hour released cut and 173-minute
director’s cut are included; extras include a Tornatore commentary, A Dream of Sicily documentary and
featurettes.
The Creeping Garden
This odd but compelling documentary by directors Tim Grabham and Jasper
Sharp is a straight-faced exploration of strands of mold that multiply on their
own, and those scientists and several artists who study and use such creeping
masses of matter in their fields. Needless to say, the interviews and glimpses
of the actual molds are fascinating throughout. The film looks fine on Blu;
extras include directors’ commentary, Grabham short, featurettes and soundtrack
CD.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
(Warner Bros)
J.K. Rowling returns with a sort of Harry
Potter spinoff based on her book about a British wizard, Newt Scamander,
who arrives in 1926 Manhattan with magical creatures in his suitcase only to spend
most of the movie trying to recapture them after they escape. Of course it’s
silly and overlong, but there is a sense of tongue-in-cheek fun that permeates
the film, especially when the strangely compelling creatures dominate its
second hour. The film looks dazzling on Blu; extras are featurettes and deleted
scenes.
Patriots Day
This forceful dramatization of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and
aftermath is another skillful recreation of a real-life tragedy from the
suddenly formidable team of star Mark Wahlberg—a convincing everyman—and
director Peter Berg, collaborators on the true-life oil-rig thriller Deepwater Horizon who balance the larger
canvas with humanizing personal stories. There’s also marvelous support from
John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, J.K. Simmons and Alex Wolff, who
plays the younger Tsarnaev brother with truly frightening intensity. The
Blu-ray image is first-rate; extras comprise an hour of interviews and on-set
featurettes that give a voice to the real people who were affected by that day
and the performers who played them.
DVD of the Week
Just a Sigh
(Icarus/Distrib US)
Jerome Bonnell’s intimate character study of a French actress and a lonely Englishman
who meet in Paris while both are in emotional distress has moments of ringing
authenticity, but there’s little onscreen resonance despite the flavorful
performances by two reliable actors, Emmanuelle Devos and Gabriel Byrne. The talented
pair makes the most of the contrived scenario, providing some laughs, occasional
tears and even the odd sighting of a real emotion that go beyond what’s called
for in Bonnell’s slight script.
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