..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Michael
Wilmington
(20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)
The longer, 194-minute presentation of Ridley Scott's epic about the Crusades would probably not have won the 2005 Oscar for Best Picture, but it certainly would have been high in the running. The additional 50 minutes of character development (and logistical detail) deepens and enriches the film substantially, supplying psychological and historical understanding to the grand spectacle that the theatrical version conveyed. The DVD package also lives up to the scope of the film, with three commentary tracks and extensive background information on both the creation of the film and its historical context. This is what everyone wants movies to be like, but are rarely willing to take on the risk and effort required, or to have the know-how to see them through.The Complete Mr. Arkadin A.K.A. Confidential Report
(Criterion)
Any set of Criterion titles could readily fill up any DVD ten-best list, but the scholarship and industriousness of the three-platter presentation of Orson Welles' entertaining 1955 tale of intrigue is exceptional even by their standards. The film may not be a first-tier Welles title, but it is a valid accomplishment, and is fully engaging even on multiple viewings. Because of Welles' stature, the DVD will have a genuine impact on the history of cinema. The film had quite a muddled distribution history and was subject to Welles' own, legendary indecisiveness. Each platter contains a different version of the movie, including an attempt to piece together a 'definitive' version from outtakes, notes, and a half-dozen alternate theatrical versions. Each platter has a wealth of supplementary features as well, so that by the end of exploring the comprehensive set, the viewer will be well-versed not only in the film's own ambiguities, but in the fascinating dynamic of Welles' creative drive and artistic genius.King Kong Deluxe Extended Edition
(Universal)
Yes, at 188 minutes, Peter Jackson's 2005 indulgence was already too long, but this 201-minute version embraces the film's size and ambition unashamedly, and adds some fantastic special effect sequences, including the harrowing journey across the swamp, which plays better than several sequences that Jackson didn't cut out of the theatrical release. Along with a commentary, 45 more minutes of deleted scenes, and a thorough, entertaining three-hour documentary on the film's creation, the picture and sound transfers are outstanding. Say what you will, Kong's battle against the three T-Rexes rivals only the Battle of the Pelennor Fields sequence in Jackson's Return of the King as the ultimate DVD demo sequence.
The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion,
The Witch and the Wardrobe
Four-Disc Extended Edition
(Walt Disney Home Entertainment)
Andrew Adamson's outstanding family film was already utterly captivating in its 135 minute running time, as its boxoffice returns reflected, but this 150-minute version, which adds a chunk of thrills to the climactic battle and a few other, smaller touches, is even more satisfying and never loses its momentum or sense of wonderment. The film is so emotionally on target that even the less-than-stellar computer graphic effects do not disrupt its magic, despite the supreme clarity of the otherwise captivating cinematography on the DVD. There are two very satisfying commentary tracks, a deftly designed 140-minute production documentary that sort of guides you through the movie again, from beginning to end, and a requisite but satisfying original biographical profile of author C.S. Lewis.The Searchers 50th Anniversary Edition
(Warner Home Video)
One of the most serendipitous advantages of advancing home video technology has been the application of letterbox 16:9 encoding on DVDs for widescreen video monitors of features that were shot in VistaVision. Long considered a poor cousin to CinemaScope, the technical constructs of VistaVision are best discussed elsewhere, but the bottom line is that the process is ideal for DVD 16:9 enhancement, bringing out the smallest foreground and background details in vivid clarity, and the results have been steadfastly stunning. Nowhere is this truer than in Warner's outstanding remastered presentation of John Ford's 1956 classic western, starring John Wayne. Many contemporary viewers are ambivalent about the artistic validity of Ford's creation and its longing for the past, but under the spell created by the DVD's precision, the film's emotional complexity and sweeping spiritual resonance overwhelm the senses, and the movie can be seen and felt for the masterpiece that it is. The two-platter set also supports the film with a fine collection of supplements, including contributions from a number of major filmmakers.Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Two-Disc Special Edition
(Warner Home Video)Two versions of Sam Peckinpah's troubled 1973 western are presented, and neither one is the original 106-minute theatrical release. Instead, there is a 122-minute restoration of the excisions that had been made without Peckinpah's blessing, which was put together in 1988, and there is a new 115-minute version that attempts to trim the film as Peckinpah would have trimmed and refined it had he been allowed to see it through originally. Both versions come with copious commentary tracks that explain why each scene and each shot is included or excluded, and it is the commentaries, which provide an excellent analysis of the editing process, as well as a full history of the film and exploration of Peckinpah's psyche, that makes the DVD so valuable. Additionally, as an adventure and a re-working of a familiar story, the newly revised version is a satisfying, engaging entertainment, and a solid round from Peckinpah's volatile canon.
Apocalypse Now The Complete Dossier
(Paramount)Both the 1979 theatrical version of Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam extravaganza, which runs 153 minutes, and the 2001 expanded version, which runs 202 minutes, have been released on DVD previously, although they are presented on this two-platter set in tandem, with the same fantastic picture and sound transfers they have had in the past. For the first time, however, along with some good new supplements and previously unseen outtakes, Coppola supplies a commentary track, looking back, sometimes aghast, at what he endured to create the film and why he did it the way he did it. The parallel between his own adventure and the adventure experienced by the film's protagonist has been noted in the past, but it is brought to the forefront on the DVD, which adds more density of meaning and possibility to the movie's already jungle-like miasma of ideas and exhilarations.
Clerks II
(The Weinstein Company Home Entertainment)A Kevin Smith DVD is not so much about the movie contained therein as it is about Smith and his cohorts, but they are as witty and engaging as the characters within the film are rude and uncouth, or perhaps it's the other way around. In any case, the 2006 comedy was a return to form for Smith, who found a way to explore the maturation of a pair of characters that seemed, in their original incarnation about a decade previously, to be destined never to mature. The film's comedy is no cruder than others of its ilk, and is at times rollickingly funny. The DVD's picture and sound are nothing to get excited about, but Smith puts as much energy into his DVDs as he puts into his films, and the two-platter set quadruples the film's pleasures. One of the three commentary tracks, featuring the cast, is as funny and outrageous as the film itself, while another track, on the technical aspects of the shoot, is exceptionally informative and insightful. Other features chronicle the film's production in an entertaining manner and provide oodles of deleted scenes and similar materials. You don't necessarily have to appreciate the movie to find what Smith has done with the DVD to be both rewarding and delightful.
A Prairie Home Companion
(New Line Home Entertainment)Robert Altman's last commentary track is a wonderfully funny, informative, and even heartwarming meditation on both the movie at hand and the joys of his vocation. Spurned on by an eager Kevin Kline, one of the film's many stars, Altman provides enlightening insights about the highly repeatable 2006 musical comedy (concerning, with deliberate allusions to things coming to an end, the final broadcast of an established radio variety program) and how he went about putting it together. Other supplements on the DVD enrich an understanding of the film's creation even more, and this in turn adds to a deeper appreciation of the film's unique and unfettered spirit.
United 93 2-Disc Limited Edition
(Universal)
and
World Trade Center
2-Disc Commemorative Edition
(Paramount)
You may have to put these two DVDs in a box on a shelf and wait a decade before the mourning process is truly over and you can experience what they have to offer, but the wonderful thing about the DVD medium is that they will be there, ready, when you are. The two superbly directed 2006 films about 9/11 complement one another as much as yin complements yang. One, directed by Paul Greengrass, is set above, and the other, directed by Oliver Stone, takes place below. One has no recognizable players and provides a comprehensive view of the events, while the other is a star vehicle the focuses on a single, isolated incident. Both explore heroism in its many forms, including the nobility of impotency, and both understand that the patriotism they depict does not have to be underscored to be heard. Both DVDs are enormously respectful of the subjects at hand-you won't find any blooper reels here-and do an extensive and outstanding job of documenting the process of making the films, telling the true stories that they have dramatized, explaining the process of dramatizing those stories so they can be better comprehended and preserved through the art of film, and, above all, honoring those whose stories are being told.
Douglas Pratt's DVD-Laser Disc Newsletter is published monthly.
For a free sample, call (516)594-9304 or go to his website at www.DVDLaser.com
