DVD Releases: February 3, 2005

	Ray US/Canada Gross: $73.8 million The Hot Button: Ray starts at the very beginning of Ray Charles Robinson's life and it ends… well, that's a good question… where did it end? There is a coda of Ray being honored in Georgia, where he was once "banned for life," as they made his "Georgia On My Mind" the official state song. But before the time-jumping coda? I have no recollection, outside of certain elements of the story being resolved, just before that point. And usually that would embarrass me. But the fact that it didn't stick with me is, I sense, a show of the weakness of that end point. Wide Angle: Juicy celebration of legendary musician Ray Charles, loved by all Americans, whose music has transcended boundaries of age, race, and politics. Pros ..

	Shall We Dance? US/Canada Gross: $57.8 million Miramax elected to release both the Japanese and Hollywood version of Shall We Dance? on DVD simultaneously, this week, rather than send out the original as a teaser for the re-make. For once, the producers didn’t try to erase everything that was endearing about the source material, simply to pump up the box-office volume with Hollywood star power (Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon). Like Kôji Yakusho’s depressed salaryman in the original, Gere’s estate attorney becomes enchanted with a dance teacher glimpsed first through the window of a train carrying him home from work. In person, the woman’s passion for dance re-ignites a long-extinguished flame in the moody commuter, turning him into a new man. This, of course, raises the suspicions of his wife, who fears the worst. Despite the similarities, “Shall we dansu?” is the superior version and ought to be screened ahead of the re-make, but that’s not to say it isn’t charming. A terrific supporting cast, led by Stanley Tucci and Lisa Ann Walter aids a great deal of comic-relief to the project, which essentially is about one-man’s midlife crisis (the original offered a subtle critique of the demands put on Japanese office workers, as well). -- Gary Dretzka The Hot Button: The core of the original was ennui. Simply, almost every character in the film was suffering some form of it. And while there was always the subtext of a possible romance, the heart of the film was the power and emotion of the dance. Wells' screenplay is not only a grotesquely Hollywood version of the tale but, at times, a virtual cartoon.

	Mr. 3000 US/Canada Gross: $21.8 million In Mr. 3000, cranky comic Bernie Mac plays a baseball superstar who pulled the plug on his record-shattering career immediately after notching his 3,000th hit. To say no one in the clubhouse -- including reporters and the team mascot -- was unhappy to see him go is an understatement. Well into Stan Ross’ retirement, however, a bean counter in the commissioner’s office discovers that three of the slugger’s hits were counted twice, and, therefore, he’s actually short of the landmark number. Suddenly, no one feels compelled to enshrine him at Cooperstown. The rest of the story you can probably guess, although the twist at the end re-enforces everything that’s previously transpired in Ross’ attempt to re-capture his youth and prestige. Mac is his usual irascible self as the prickly “certified immortal,” and Angela Bassett is fine as the love interest. If Mr. 3000 isn’t as uproarious as Mac’s sitcom or Major League -- also filmed in Milwaukee, but with the Brewers’ great announcer Bob Uecker -- that’s probably because no one intended it as a spoof of baseball and its many cliches. And, that’s plenty OK, here. -- Gary Dretzka

	Mulan II Ever since the Robin Williams-voiced Genie single-handedly stole the show in Aladdin, animated features have been cast specifically with superstar-power in mind (the most famous voice in The Little Mermaid belonged to Buddy Hackett; ditto Robby Benson, in Beauty and the Beast). Mulan benefited greatly from vocal talents of Eddie Murphy, as the demoted dragon, Mushu. Williams made Disney happy by reprising his role for Aladdin and the King of Thieves and an Aladdin video game, but Murphy’s missing in Mulan II. His absence likely won’t matter much to the target audience, kids who might not even remember the original. Back, however, are Ming-Na, Harvey Fierstein, Pat Morita and B.D. Wong, with veteran voice actor Mark Moseley as the wisecracking Mushu. The sequel picks up almost immediately after Mulan’s great victory over the Huns. She becomes engaged to General Li Shang, but plans are put on hold until the couple can safely escort the emperor’s daughters to their own arranged marriages. This time, the invading hordes are represented by those nasty Mongols. Mulan II is far less epic and visually stunning than the original, but it is entertaining, and, for girls, anyway, an empowering experience.-- Gary Dretzka

	Bopha! US/Canada Gross: $.212 million Morgan Freeman has distinguished himself in scores of films … good, bad and everything in between. He just received his fourth Oscar nomination (three for supporting roles) in response to his performance in Million-Dollar Baby. His only directorial effort, the largely ignored 1993 drama Bopha, has just been released in DVD. It’s likely Bopha got tangled up in the old Hollywood trick bag that demanded that stories about the struggles of blacks -- be they African or Southern -- be told through the eyes of white liberals. Because it wasn’t, distributors probably were at a loss as to how to market it … so, they threw in the towel in the first round. Set in 1980, Bopha stars Danny Glover, as rural cop who finds himself torn by a job he respects and his family, which includes a son in the anti-apartheid movement. Good solid acting, and an interesting story. -- Gary Dretzka

	Casque D’Or According to actor Serge Reggiani, in an interview included in the new Criterion Collection edition of Casque D’Or, French audiences failed to warm to Jacques Becker’s Belle Époque drama because they couldn’t get their hands around a great romance that came dressed as a gangster flick. It’s wasn’t until British and Americans embraced the story of doomed lovers -- one a prostitute, the other a carpenter and ex-con -- that the French gave it a second look, belatedly proclaiming it a masterpiece. Usually, of course, it’s the other way around. Simone Signoret plays Marie, the free-spirited blond prostitute -- dubbed “Golden Helmet” -- who falls head over heels for Reggiani’s cocky working man. Unfortunately, Marie casts her spell on Manda in the presence of her jealous pimp/boyfriend and his cronies. Embarrassed by her betrayal, the thug demands satisfaction of Manda. The consequences are as inevitable, as they are tragic. Deceptively simple, Casque D’Or has a wonderful period feel, and the black-and-white restoration is splendid.

MCN's 2004 DVD Year In Review
Doug Pratt's Ten Best - Multiplatter And Single Platter
Digital Nation: Gary Dretzka's Best DVDs of the Year
Ray Pride's Five Best DVDs And Five Best Boxed Sets