The Wrap Up ...
Alexander: The Final Cut A Few Minutes With the Cast Of Alexander	The epic scale of Oliver Stone's ambitious biopic recalls a time when such costume dramas enjoyed exclusive runs in downtown movie palaces, and an intermission kept concessions flowing and bladders relieved. Today, intermissions are reserved for those who prefer to control their own popcorn and bathroom breaks, by maintaining a home theater. With 40 minutes of new material added to Alexander, which already approached three hours in length, viewers likely will reach for the pause button more than once. Stone has taken the opportunity provided him by Warner Bros. to present his vision of Alexander the Great unfettered by the demands of time-conscious exhibitors, ratings-phobic distributors and studio execs made uptight by the violence of hand-to-hand combat and bisexual militarists. The restored material, while not essential, adds clarity to the sexual inferences of the theatrical edition of Alexander, while also juicing up the battlefield scenes. The casting of Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie remains questionable, if only because the Irishman more closely resembles a street fighter than a king and Jolie and Rosario Dawson could have been sisters. Still, one has to give credit to Stone for tackling such immense projects. If nothing else, Alexander: The Final Cut will quench the appetite of those who left 300 wanting more Greek cooking. -- Gary Dretzka
The Prestige	Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, which arrived on the heels of The Illusionist, isn't one of those movies that translates easily from the big to small screen. Nominated for an Oscar for cinematography -- as was The Illusionist -- its muted shadings and inventive lighting techniques are displayed to their best advantage in theaters, while many of the illusions performed by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale's characters require the same kind of attention accorded a David Copperfield or Lance Burton. Throughout the course of the period drama, two very gifted magicians engage in a deadly game of one-gunmanship. Along the way, they compete for the attention of a crafty prop inventor (Michael Caine); the eccentric scientist, Nicola Tesla (David Bowie); and a pair of luscious assistants (Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo). Revealing any more of the cinematic sleight-of-hand wouldn't be fair, and certainly isn't necessary to recommend The Prestige (the awkward title refers to an illusion's pay-off revelation). The presence of such an all-star cast should be enough to attract DVD browsers. The featurettes, while of the making-of variety, add a great deal to the enjoyment of The Prestige. -- Gary Dretzka
Stranger Than Fiction	Marc Foster's kooky urban fantasy inverts one of the concepts embraced in Being John Malkovich, by borrowing into an unsuspecting IRS auditor's subconscious from the outside. The increasingly elastic comic actor, Will Ferrell, plays strait-laced accountant Harold Crick, who makes sense of everyday life through airborne diagrams, pie charts and logarithms. Crick is the kind of human cipher who exists on the fringes of everyone's consciousness, only making his presence known when he arrives to audit a tax return or turn down an application for a loan. His grasp on reality is shaken after he begins hearing the voice of a disembodied narrator relate the details of his daily routine. To discover how he may have become the protagonist of an unseen writer's novel, Crick seeks the guidance of a literary professor (Dustin Hoffman), who, while not having much of a clue, either, is game for a chase. As we soon learn, the woman's voice belongs to a seriously blocked writer, Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), who is as unaware of Crick's existence as he is of her. Somehow, though, Eiffel has triggered something in Harold that allows him to break out of his shell long enough to woo an idealistic baker (Maggie Guyllenhaal) whose pacifistic beliefs won't allow her to pay taxes. Even more uncharacteristically, Crick refuses to take her no for an answer. Just as Harold begins to manage the flow of his own story, however, Eiffel decides that a happy ending isn't in the cards for her character. Crick and the professor's struggle to prevent a tragic ending keeps viewers guessing until the very end of the movie. Although Crick isn't a particularly humorous guy -- and Ferrell has been praised for acting against type -- there's enough humor in Stranger Than Fiction to keep audiences amused, throughout. The generous bonus package adds deleted and extended scenes, commentary and several featurettes, including one that explains why Chicago was chosen as the setting for the movie. -- Gary Dretzka
Fast Food Nation	Although not a documentary, Fast Food Nation is a based on a cautionary work of non-fiction by Eric Schlosser, and fits neatly alongside An Inconvenient Truth and Super Size Me as examples of the emerging enviro-horror genre (along with last year's harrowing monster-fish doc, Darwin's Nightmare). Although it is awash in corporation-bashing rhetoric, Richard Linklater's frightening message can't be easily dismissed by those who abhor anything that smacks of liberalism. Outbreaks of E-coli virus and other food-borne diseases are reported in the media with alarming frequency, as are sightings rat packs and sliced-off fingers in chain restaurants. Like Super Size Me, Linklater and Schlosser aren't preaching at the altar of veganism. Instead, they employ a fictional framework to underscore how the demands of the fast-food industry -- and institutional greed -- have forced meat processors to cut corners and speed the delivery of frozen products. While taking the meat packers to task for their carelessness, Linklater also describes how the food-service industry turns a blind eye to the treatment of undocumented workers and the dispiriting effects of toiling for the minimum wage and constant surveillance by security cameras. As such, Fast Food Nation serves as a perfect companion to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Gregory Nava's El Norte. Among the actors who were recruited to appear in parts large and small were Catalina Sandino Moreno, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson, Patricia Arquette, Bruce Willis, Luis Guzman and Wilmer Valderrama. Besides the featurette, Manufacturing 'Fast Food Nation,' the DVD also adds the Flash-animation Meatrix, trilogy and The Backwards Hamburger. If kids were required to watch these cartoons as a condition for matriculating to high school, McDonald's executives would have to start looking for work at the Gap. -- Gary Dretzka MCN Review: The ending recalls a particular documentary by another French filmmaker named Georges Franju; if the next-to-the-last scene strikes you, search for his name along with the subject matter. The final shot is a brilliant punch in the face.
A Good Year	The lighter-than-air romantic-comedy A Good Year doesn't resemble a picture one would easily associate with director Ridley Scott and actor Russell Crowe, who previously teamed on Gladiator. If anything, it feels like something they might have done to kill some time while on holiday in the French countryside, or as way to write off expenses on a villa, motorcycle or expensive wine. As such, it qualifies both as a divertissement and vanity project. Critics weren't at all impressed, but that doesn't mean fans of romances overflowing with beautiful flowers, splendid meals and antique furniture (Under the Tuscan Sun comes to mind) ought to find plenty to enjoy here. Scott and author Peter Mayle, longtime friends and neighbors, collaborated on a story that would provide the foundation for both the book and a movie. In it, Crowe plays a highly successful, if ethically bankrupt London bonds trader. At about the same time Max is suspended from trading for running a scam on fellow brokers, Max learns that a beloved uncle (Albert Finney) has died, leaving him a vineyard and the villa in which he played as a lad. Max fully intends to sell the property, but uses the suspension period as an excuse for going to France to meet with local solicitors and lay low for a while. Instead, he falls for a tres hot French bistro owner and discovers the sister he didn't know he had. He also stops long enough to smell the roses of Provence. What, in different hands, might have been an indigestible lump of sentimental goop, instead emerges as a surprisingly pleasant and highly picturesque pipedream for workaholic yuppies and Euro-philes. The extras are limited to Scott's commentary and the mandatory making-of featurette.-- Gary Dretzka
Peter Pan: Two-Disc Platinum Edition	As far as I can tell, this is the fourth DVD incarnation of Disney's Peter Pan. Typically, the company has filled the two-disc package with all sorts of goodies not included in previous versions, giving fans an incentive for a new purchase. This practice isn't nearly as devious as it sounds, however, in that Disney has always recycled its most popular movies. A Peter Pan would return to view in theaters every six years, or so, and be updated to take advantage of the latest audio-visual technology. The cycle has been compressed a bit in the video age, but classics still are pulled from circulation after several months to heighten the anticipation for new versions. This time around, Peter Pan arrives with a restored original theatrical soundtrack; a digital facelift; interactive games themed to Never Land; new songs; a featurette, in which Walt Disney explains why he made Peter Pan; the 1952 sneak peek of anew Tinker Bell movie; a music video; a storybook; and a never-before-seen alternate opening. Parents considering the purchase of a new DVD player might consider waiting until prices on hi-def equipment drops, and Disney begins releasing HD and BluRay versions of it library titles. -- Gary Dretzka
Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back (1965 Tour Deluxe Edition) Fats & Friends Dolly Parton and Friends Chet Atkins: A Life in Music Engelbert Humperdinck: Live in Concert Verdi: Jonathan Miller's 'Rigoletto' Although Bob Dylan isn't nearly as enigmatic and misterioso now, as he was when D.A. Pennebaker packed his cameras and joined his 1965 tour of Great Britain, the singer-songwriter remains every bit as fascinating a character. Based on where Dylan was in his still-young career, Pennebaker's timing couldn't possibly have been any better. The Bard from Hibbing was about to turn the musical world on its collective ear by eschewing the conventions of folk music, in favor of a sound that owed as much to Muddy Waters and Elvis Presley, as to Woody Guthrie and Jimmie Rodgers. In addition to Dylan's bantam-rooster posturing, Pennebaker's trademark vérité technique captured the hysteria of his fans, reverence of musical peers, obtuseness of the media and the ruthlessness of his business managers. This super-duper package adds five additional audio tracks, an alternate version of the Subterranean Homesick Blues cue-card sequence (and flip book), a Dylan discography, a new compilation of never-before-seen footage, commentary by Pennebaker and road manager Bob Neuwirth, a 168-page companion book and 200 photos. Whew. Music lovers feared the worst when they heard Fats Domino was among those missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Through a series of near-miracles, he was rescued and given shelter among friends in Baton Rouge. Accompanied by Rolling Stone Ron Wood and keyboard wizard Paul Shaffer, Domino is featured alongside fellow rock and R&B pioneers Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles both in solo performances at the piano and jam-session formats. The set, captured at the Storyville nightclub in New Orleans, is a hoot. People tend to forget that Dolly Parton's immense popularity was generated as much by weekly appearances on Porter Wagoner's TV variety show as any number of shows at the Grand Ole Opry. Her transformation from hillbilly sweetheart into a mainstream superstar was nearly complete by the time she began hosting her own short-lived variety show, Dolly, in 1976. Dolly Parton and Friends is comprised of excerpts from the show and duets with such singers as Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray, Ronnie Milsap, Rod McKuen, Emmylou Harris, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr., and her brother, Randy Parton. Like Parton, Chet Atkins grew up poor and found great success in Nashville as a guitarist, record producer and mentor for such stars as Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, The Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings and Charley Pride. As much as anyone else, Atkins also was responsible for making country music palatable to the tastes of mainstream America. Shown on TNN just months before his death, in 2001, Chet Atkins: A Life in Music includes interviews with Parton, George Benson, Jennings, Willie Nelson, Les Paul, June Carter Cash, Mark Knopfler and Peter Frampton. Engelbert Humperdinck (a.k.a., the King of Romance) is one of the world's most popular and busiest showmen. Thanks to his odd choice in stage name and Las Vegas lounge lizard persona, he's been the butt of a million jokes. Like Tom Jones and Wayne Newton, he lets his music do all the talking in his defense. This DVD was recorded during his 1990 world tour. Jonathan Miller's much-admired updating of the Verdi opera, Rigoletto, is set among the petty thieves and mobsters in New York's Little Italy, circa 1950. Rigoletto is a bartender who finds himself on the wrong side of a vengeful Don Monterone, whose curse threatens the well-being of his beloved daughter. John Rawnsley and Marie McLaughlin star in the classy English-language production. -- Gary Dretzka
Literary Classics Collection Alfred Hitchcock: 3-Disc Collector's Edition Again, students are advised against using Warners' compilations of literary-based costume dramas as excuses for not reading Madame Bovary, Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Three Musketeers, Billy Budd and The Prisoner of Zenda (the 1937 and 1952 versions). Instead, these swashbuckling classics should be enjoyed as the sweeping, old-school entertainments they are. These titles overflow with the kind of fast-paced action, old-school romance and period grandeur that prospered during the era of contract players and studio dominance. Billy Budd (1962) is accompanied by the commentary of Terence Stamp and Steven Soderberg, and the set also adds vintage shorts, cartoons and radio programs. Casual fans of Alfred Hitchcock won't miss much by bypassing this collection of works from the late-1920s and early-'30s. Students of cinema and those who salivate at the mention of the Maestro's name, however, will want to devour the titles in this DVD set. It's a real treat to witness the work of a master-to-be in his formative years. It's what makes retrospectives of a great artist's work so exciting and profitable for museums. Now, thanks to digital technology, home-theater buffs can use DVD compilations to curate their own shows. As was not the case in the VHS era, these discs rarely are allowed out of the archives without a complete audio-visual tune-up and informative bonus features. Here, a great deal can be gleaned from Hitchcock's silent films, The Ring and The Manxman, and early English talkies, Murder!, The Skin Game and Rich and Strange. Also included are the featurette, Pure Cinema: The Birth of the Hitchcock Style, and interviews with daughter Pat Hitchcock and director Peter Bogdanovich. -- Gary Dretzka
Hawaii Five-O: The Complete First Season Secret Agent (a.k.a., Danger Man): The Complete Collection Girlfriends: The Complete First Martin: The Complete First Season Da Vinci's Inquest: Season 1 Cousin Bette Sabrina, The Teenage Witch: The Complete First Season Reno 911!: Reno's Most Wanted (Uncensored) South Park: The Complete Ninth Season The Brady Bunch: The Complete Final Season Few television shows have provided the world with as many pop-cultural touchstones as Hawaii Five-O. In addition to the phrase, "Book 'em Danno," gang-bangers adopted the title as shorthand for police and the show's theme song is as readily identifiable as any other piece of 20th Century music. Jack Lord's iconic chief investigator, Steve McGarrett, has influenced several generations of TV crime fighters, especially David Caruso's Lt. Horatio Caine. Besides being filmed entirely in Hawaii, Five-O featured one of the most ethnically diverse casts in all of television. That, and the beauty of the islands, provided a perfect background both for international intrigue and traditional police work. Another series known as much for its theme song as any single actor or episode, Secret Agent was one of a half-dozen shows to follow in the wake of the James Bond craze. Known in its UK phase as Danger Man, it arrived in America accompanied by the hit Johnny Rivers' song, Secret Agent Man. The doorstop-sized Secret Agent package is comprised of all 86 episodes, in original broadcast order, on 18 discs; the original season, which aired only in England; the 47 episodes of Secret Agent that were syndicated around the globe; a Patrick McGoohan biography and filmography; and the original full-length U.S. opening, over which Secret Agent Man was heard. Apart from Star Trek spin-offs, Girlfriends was one of the very few series that emerged as a hit for the UPN network and survived the recent merger with the WB. It concerns the triumphs and travails of four middle-class African-American women living and working in L.A. Other than the fact that one of its stars (Tracee Ellis Ross) is the daughter of Diana Ross, however, Girlfriends isn't all that much different than a dozen other shows in which young adults of various ethnic backgrounds obsess over matters of love and money. Before Bad Boys and Big Momma's House, Martin Lawrence starred in a very fresh and funny Fox sitcom, Martin. In it, he played an outspoken radio personality whose pet intro was Wasssupp, and, outside of work, had the usual troubles with women -- including Shenenah -- every other male on TV endures. The show was launched in 1992, when Fox's primary appeal was to urban audiences. The first-season set is enhanced by appearances from actors who would go on to have substantial careers of their own. The syndicated crime drama Da Vinci's Inquest starred Nicholas Campbell as a coroner whose principle conceit involved having a deep empathy with the dead victims. It is distinguished by the same dark and brooding texture favored by creators of edgy network and cable policiers. Naturally, the largest roadblocks Da Vinci faces in each new episode have little to do with criminals or clues, but with those mean old bureaucrats who refuse to appreciate his techniques … you know, just like House. Despite the current overexposure of forensic scientists and cops with ESP, this Canadian import does have much to recommend it. Long, long before she took home an Emmy and Oscar within two months of each other, Helen Mirren established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the kind of literary-based mini-series the Brits do better than anyone else. In 1971, she portrayed a bosomy seductress in Cousin Bette, which was adapted from Honore de Balzac's novel of revenge. It wasn't the lead role -- that was taken by Margaret Tyzack -- but it raised enough eyebrows to launch her career in movies and mini-series in which she was the shining star. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch holds the distinction of being one of the few shows to have migrated from the major to minor leagues of network television, in this case moving from ABC to the WB. The niche audience catered to by the fledgling WB weblet fit perfectly with the show's obvious tween appeal. Melissa Joan Hart was perfectly cast as the 16-year-old Massachusetts girl who is stunned to discover she's descended from a long line of witches and warlocks. Naturally, she tries mightily to keep her friends from discovering her true calling. The greatest-hits compilation of highlights from Reno 911! was released to coincide with the movie, Reno 911! Miami. The film hardly overwhelmed the competition at the box office, but, for an adaptation of a cable sitcom, its $16.4-million haul is very respectable. Nonetheless, it likely will soon join Reno 911! Reno's Most Wanted and other full-season sets on the shelves of video stores everywhere. As it is, Comedy Channel's Reno 911! is funnier than most of the sitcoms on network TV. As the boys and girls of South Park enter their 11th season, this compilation of all 14 episodes from the show's most controversial stanza is entering the DVD pipeline. Threats to the contrary, it does contains the infamous Trapped in the Closet, which pissed off Tom Cruise and his Scientologist posse. Cruise was still in the Paramount corral at the time, and studio executives feared he would bolt if it appeared in re-runs … before M:I3 tanked and the studio had the opportunity to dump his production company, at least. Also included, accompanied by commentary, are Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina, Erection Day and Bloody Mary. It's worth noting the final-season compilation of one of the most influential series in television history, The Brady Bunch. What, you were thinking, Playhouse 90? The highlight of the final season -- for me, anyway -- was the appearance of the late, great hottie Claudia Jennings, as a talent agent with her eyes on Greg. -- Gary Dretzka
God, the Universe & Everything Conversations With God Paul Robeson: Speak of Me As I Am Joseph Campbell: The Hero's Journey/Sukhavati Talk about a meeting of the minds, God, the Universe & Everything captures a moment in time when three of the greatest minds of the 20th Century got to together to discuss some of the most perplexing riddles of the known cosmos. British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking is joined here by astronomer Carl Sagan (since deceased) and science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke (2001). Their chat touched on such lofty concepts as the Big Bang Theory, the expansion of the universe, black holes, extraterrestrial life and the origins of creativity. Conversations with God tapped into the emerging Christian niche, with this biopic of Neale Donald Walsch. Reformed Hollywood producer Stephen Simon adapted the film from Walsch's best-selling novel, in which God answered the protagonist's bitter questions with love and sound advice. Self-help gurus don't often come with such impeccable credentials. The late mythologist Joseph Campbell inspired a movement, noteworthy for exposing the lengths to which some guys would go to prove -- if only to themselves -- they weren't girly-men. His work borrowed liberally from the teachings of philosophers, scientists, religious teachers, Native Americans and storytellers. He's even been credited with providing George Lucas the inspiration to embark on his Star Wars trek. The Hero's Journey is biographical in nature, while Sukhavati uses visual imagery and music to amplify the message revealed in his lectures. If it weren't for his embracing of communism and his dogged dedication to then-controversial social issues, Paul Robeson's legacy would be accorded the same reverence as those of Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez and the Kennedys. A gifted athlete, singer, actor and scholar, Robeson was harassed by the American government for his refusal to stop telling the world about such civil-rights abuses as unpunished lynching. By not condemning the anti-Semitism of his adopted home, the USSR, Robeson also opened himself up to criticism from his allies on the American left. Speak of Me as I Am tells Robeson's story in his own words, through archival footage, recordings and interviews. If Paul Robeson hadn't existed, Joseph Campbell might have felt compelled to invent someone like him. -- Gary Dretzka
Horror round-up The German import, Requiem, is based on the same story that inspired the The Exorcism of Emily Rose. In it, a university freshman seeks the advice of a priest, after she suffers a nervous breakdown, possibly caused by her bouts with epilepsy. Naturally, the priest blames Satan. Also from Germany comes Night of the Living Dorks, in which a trio of doofus school buddies reap the benefits of being in attendance at a Haitian voodoo ritual. In Devil's Den, zombie strippers punish a pair of chums returning from Mexico with cache of Spanish-fly aphrodisiacs. Christina Ricci starred in The Gathering, which resembles nothing more than an undead version of The Da Vinci Code. The Return places Michelle Gellar directly in the line of fire, when her traveling saleswoman character visits the Texas town that has inspired a lifetime's worth of nightmares. In Decoys: The Second Seduction, a bunch of small-town college guys discover just how dangerous sexism can be, when they underestimate the wrath of a hot babe scorned. The Darkroom considers the possibility that the ability of drug therapy to release demons, deeply submerged within the psyche of mental patients, may not actually be such a cool idea. Bridget Moynahan is among the family of tourists, who, in Prey, get lost on the African plains amid a pride of blood-thirsty lions. Released in 1978, The Manitou imagines what happens when a woman (Susan Strasberg) discovers the bulge on her neck isn't a tumor, but the physical manifestation of a 400-year old Native American demon. How cool is that? The goofball thriller also stars Michael Ansara, Tony Curtis, Stella Stevens, Ann Southern and Burgess Meredith. -- Gary Dretzka
Riffing on comedy and wrestling In The Second City: First Family of Comedy, recent Oscar-winner Alan Arkin is only one of the many veteran entertainers who share their recollections of performing in the celebrated Chicago- and Toronto-based troupe. The multi-disc DVD takes a behind-the-scenes approach to more than 50 years of improv tradition, which also included SCTV and dozens of sitcom and sketch-comedy stars. Patricia Heaton hosted the gathering of Christian comedians, whose not-so-naughty bits are exposed in Thou Shalt Laugh. And, no, the laughs aren't generated strictly by G-rated, family-friendly material. Paul Mooney's observations, on the other hand, aren't for delicate ears. His Know Your History: Jesus Was Black … So Was Cleopatra proves that this comedy legend hasn't lost anything in the years since he began writing for Richard Pryor and In Living Color. Meanwhile, the parade of Three Stooges shorts continues apace, with the colorized Hapless Half-Wits. The collection features Beer Barrel Polecats, I'll Never Heil Again, Dopey Dicks and Brideless Groom, the latter pair featuring Shemp. Forgive me for lumping pro wrestling in with comedy, but anyone who doesn't find humor in the bizarre cast of WWE characters probably needs a DNA overhaul. The latest titles include ECW: December to Dismember, Armageddon, New Year's Revolution and Extreme Rules, all taken from various pay-per-view events. I, for one, would love to see a Texas Death Match between WWE combatants and veterans of skirmishes on Springer. -- Gary Dretzka