MCN DVD Reviews: December 9, 2008

The Wrap Up ...

The Dark Knight
Digital Copy and BD Live

	..DVD Geek Review
	..The MCN Reviews Vault
	..The MCN Critics Roundup

In both of Christopher Nolan's additions to Warner Bros.' Batman franchise, Chicago has served admirably as a stand-in for a crime-infested and chronically corrupt Gotham City. Historically, it was an apt choice. Three decades before Batman and Superman were introduced as comic-book superheroes, the city's criminals began organizing themselves into gangs rooted in ethnicity, neighborhoods and a general unwillingness to work in square jobs. Once reporters and headline writers got wind of the colorful nicknames the gangsters gave each other, the self-serving thugs and miscreants who terrorized ordinary citizens and businesses were elevated in the minds of readers to a status only slightly less elevated than that accorded Robin Hood. That these gangsters had most of the city's politicians and police force on their payroll, as well, left little room for speculation as to who ran the city. (Prohibition was particularly unpopular in Chicago and locals didn't care that gangsters controlled the taps.) At about the same time as Hollywood immortalized Al Capone in Scarface, the Chicago Tribune enlisted a straight-arrow cop named Dick Tracy to take on the mob in its funny pages, and a real-life posse of incorruptible Treasury agents, the Untouchables, used numbers to bring down Capone. The media's symbiotic relationship with the Outfit, alongside the insatiable appetite of greedy cops and dirty politicians, ensured the citizenry would view the war on crime with no small degree of skepticism. No wonder, they saw their only hope in the exploits of fantasy characters. Enter Batman, Superman and a host of other common men with uncommon strengths and skills.

The only way Nolan's Gotham City could have been more reminiscent of pre-gentrification Chicago is if its mayor was named Daley. Momo, Big Tuna, the Ant, Shotgun Man, Tight Lips, the Scourge and Joey the Clown were no less intimidating than the Joker, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Joe Chill, Ra's al Ghul and the Roman. And, maybe, this is what separates The Dark Knight and Batman Begins from the rest of the pack of comic-book movies. Only a sadist would find many laughs in Heath Ledger's justly acclaimed portrayal of Joker, a cold-blooded killer and a sociopath's sociopath. Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne, Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent and Gary Oldman's Chief Gordon all feel grounded in street-level reality, as well. Is it so hard to imagine Hugh Hefner, in his Chicago prime, concealing a secret identity under his smoking jacket and pajamas, and confiding in a butler not unlike Michael Caine's Alfred Pennyworth? Heck, in those days, the Palmolive Building's landmark beacon - just steps from Playboy headquarters - could have served as the Bat-signal.

Beyond all that navel-gazing, though, The Dark Knight is a film that moves more like a freight train than a roller-coaster. The action is unrelenting and extremely powerful in its precise execution. I'm still confused about some of Joker's seemingly miraculous escapes from cells and locked rooms, and the evil motivations of other characters. But, in the end, who cares? The Blu-ray edition neatly captures the dark blue backgrounds and pitch-black edges with the same precision as brought to the big screen by Nolan's favored cinematographer Wally Pfister. The audio presentation will fairly test anyone's home-theater system.

Among the many excellent bonus features in the special edition are Gotham Uncovered, which explains the how Nolan's team developed the new Bat-suit and Bat-pod, and how Hans Zimmer's music amplified the Joker's wrath; a half-dozen sequences shot specifically for the large-screen IMAX format in the original aspect; several episodes of Gotham Cable's premier news shows; poster art, production stills, trailers; a digital copy of the movie; and interactive features. -- Gary Dretzka

Murnau, Borzage and Fox Box Set

This exemplary collection of films made at the cusp of the cinema's two great technological eras testifies to the quality of work accomplished within the studio system as it approached puberty. Just as we continue to laugh hysterically with the great comedians of the silent period, and find new things to admire in the two-reelers of D.W. Griffith, there's much to be learned from these feature length dramas and melodramas. The Fox set reminds us of the singular contributions of already famous German director, F.W. Murnau, and Frank Borzage, who worked wonders with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. No film buff should go to the great multiplex in the sky without seeing Murnau's Sunrise (1927) at least once. Available previously only in a limited best-picture collection, Sunrise offers both a compelling story and stunning cinematography. The academy chose Gayner as its inaugural Best Leading Actress in 1929, for her work in three separate films. Sunrise also was honored for its camerawork and as Best Artistic Film (a category the organization might consider reviving). Murnau's City Girl (1930) also described what could happen when young men and women from different economic and geographic backgrounds enter each other's worlds.

Borzage was named Best Director for Seventh Heaven (1928) and Bad Girl (1931), one a silent and the other a talkie. The other titles include Lazybones (1925); Street Angel (1928); Lucky Star (1929); Will Rogers' first talking film, They Had to See Paris (1929); Liliom (1930); Song O' My Heart (1930), with singer John McCormack and newcomer Maureen O'Sullivan; After Tomorrow (1932), a pre-code scorcher; and Young America (1932), with Spencer Tracy. The set also adds a documentary on the filmmakers' relationship with Fox and the dynamic period in which they flourished. -- Gary Dretzka

Wanted
and The Contract

	..Len Klady Review
	..The MCN Reviews Vault
	..The MCN Critics Roundup

Not having seen Timor Bekmambetov's Night Watch and Day Watch, it's impossible for me now to compare his American debut, Wanted, with those international successes. In those Moscow-based fantasies - the first two installments in a trilogy - the Russian-Kazakh filmmaker worked within budgets of about $4.2 million. That may have represented a fortune in rubles, but, here, $4 million wouldn't cover the craft-services tab on most potential blockbusters. How much money was left over after Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy got paid . well . that's anyone's guess. Wanted was loaded with the kinds of special effects and CGI trickery only a Hollywood studio can afford, and, sure enough, the investment in Hong Kong-style action and gratuitous bloodshed paid off, in spades. Wanted almost certainly will spawn a pair of theatrical sequels, and, perhaps, a series of DVD originals. That's not bad for a story that exists in a universe in which logic doesn't apply. Adapted from a series of comic books by writer Mark Millar and artist J.G. Jones, Wanted tells the story of a milquetoast Chicago account, Wesley( McAvoy), whose father was killed in a titanic battle of highly acrobatic assassins. Years later, Wesley is stunned to learn that he's likewise descended from a long line of cold-blooded killers, whose collective mandate has been to maintain a balance of good and evil on Earth. The same assassin who took out Wesley's father now has his eyes set on the less-formidable next of kin. A seductive superhero, Fox (Jolie), has been assigned by the Fraternity to bring Wesley in from the cold and teach him the skills necessary to avenge his father's murder. To accomplish this, Fraternity members force Wesley to undergo a tortuous series of physical tests and martial-arts lessons. Until he masters the ability to make bullets change their trajectory in mid-air, though, Wesley can't graduate into the Fraternity. Ultimately, Wanted is Kung Fu Hustle without the belly laughs. To his credit, Bekmambetov keeps the action moving at such a ferocious pace that viewers have little or no time to comprehend what exactly they're seeing or understand why the Franchise even exists. Balance . what balance? Jolie is super sexy and Freeman is sufficiently authoritative, but McAvoy's bumpy journey from accountant to superhero provides the comic relief that saves the picture from collapsing under its own pretense. The bonus features are, for the most part, limited to those who purchase the two-disc special editions and elaborate collector's sets. They are heavy on CGI explainers and other making-of material. The Blu-ray package adds an alternate opening, interactive and split-screen gimmicks, and goodies that require connectivity to the Internet.

Freeman also plays an assassin in The Contract, a chase thriller that's been given a far better send-off in DVD and Blu-ray than it ever was afforded by domestic distributors. Directed by Bruce Beresford and co-starring John Cusack, The Contract pits an escaped hitman (Freeman) against a former cop and recent widower (Cusack), who's spending time in a wilderness park with his teenage son. It's not the most original premise, but, it maintains a lively pace throughout and the scenery looks good on Blu-ray.

Thomas Kretschmann, who played the bad assassin in Wanted, also portrayed an ancient Egyptian deity trapped in the body of a 21st Century political prisoner in Immortal. And it, too, was adapted from a graphic novel. Created entirely on digital backlot, writer-director-author Enki Bilal's virtual movie foretells the 2095 arrival of a giant pyramid in the skies over Manhattan. Gods mingle with mere mortals in a desperate search for host bodies to inhabit before their lease on human life expires. Charlotte Rampling also appears, as a doctor with a fixation on a mutant. Why? -- Gary Dretzka

Madame Bovary
Fanny Hill
Opium: Diary of a Madwoman
The Story of O: Blu-ray

Back when I was in college, and dinosaurs roamed the Earth, one of the most popular courses on campus was Victorian Prose, a.k.a. Victorian Porn. Attendance benefited from the fact that the Hollywood Production Code had prevented several generations of filmmakers from freely adapting classic literary erotica, and Deep Throat was still several years from release. The downside, of course, was that the course required the professor to issue grades, which tended to kill the buzz that came with treating the brain as an erogenous zone. Now, of course, things have loosened up quite a bit, even on basic cable, and words no longer are the only tools available to describe heaving breasts and torn bodices.

In 1991, Claude Chabrol teamed with the great French actor Isabelle Hupert for a 140-minute adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary. The portrayal of provincial life in 19th Century France is exquisite and, even behind several layers of frilly clothing, Huppert turns Emma Bovary into a firecracker waiting to explode. The DVD adds the documentary, Isabelle Huppert: Playing Life. The BBC adaptation of John Cleland's notorious novel, Fanny Hill, starred attractive newcomer Rebecca Night as the orphaned country girl who goes to the big city to become a prostitute. The production is lovely and Andrew Davies' screenplay is smart and sexy.

Set in 1913 Hungary, Janos Szasz' harrowing Opium: Diary of a Madwoman was inspired by the unfinished diary of the country's first acclaimed neurologist, Geza Csath (a.k.a., Dr. Jozsef Brenner). Ulrich Thomsen is dead-on in his portrayal of a morphine-addicted doctor, Brenner, who takes up residence a rural institution for insane women (not Hollywood crazy, but truly insane). Before too long, the doctor becomes fixated on a patient whose diary entries aren't limited to the printed page. Her madness manifests itself in barely hidden masturbatory episodes - then, considered the work of the devil - and often violent outbursts. While other doctors cured such ailments by driving spikes into the brain of a patient, Brenner considers the therapeutic benefits of coital orgasms (the nuns favor whips and chains). As the hyper-prolific diarist, Norway's Kirsti Stubo (The Celebration) turns in the kind of performance that would have won an English-speaking thespian a unanimous winner of a Best Picture Oscar. Instead, Opium received virtually no distribution beyond Hungary.

Even after 50 years, the events described in Anne Desclos' landmark novel about a woman who derives pleasure from pain still have the ability to shock and stimulate readers of The Story of O and admirers of Just Jaeckin's 1975 film adaptation. In Blu-ray, the wall-to-wall sexual encounters are even hotter. Writing under the pseudonym Pauline Réage, Desclos referenced the Marquis de Sade's Justine, with its depictions of dominance, submission, sadism and masochism. As porn goes, The Story of O feels refreshingly old-fashioned, with its coherent storyline, beautiful sets and a script that includes actual dialogue. -- Gary Dretzka

Sabrina/Roman Holiday/Sunset Boulevard: The Centennial Collection
The Ron Howard Spotlight Collection

Revisiting such classic Hollywood entertainments as Sabrina, Roman Holiday and Sunset Boulevard in these bonus-filled Centennial Collection editions, it's difficult to counter the argument that, They don't make movies like they used to. The studios won't invest in projects that aren't likely to attract teenagers, and indie producers simply couldn't afford the tab. Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe in Sabrina, alone, would sink most production companies. It explains why the arrival of these upgraded two-disc DVD packages is so welcome. Any buff with a cable box on their TV has seen Billy Wilder's noir drama, Sunset Boulevard, countless times already. Less known by younger audiences are Wilder, Ernest Lehman and Samuel Taylor's fairytale romance, Sabrina, and William Wyler and Dalton Trumbo's endearing royal fantasy, Roman Holiday, both starring Audrey Hepburn. Longtime fans are cautioned to compare the extras and technical specs on the new packages with those already available in previous versions. Otherwise, the bonus features do a nice job fitting the films into the context of the period and the actors' bodies of work, as well as providing archival making-of featurettes.

The Ron Howard Spotlight Collection repackages four of the director's most noteworthy and diversely themed movies, while adding Howard's commentary and four separate discs of bonus features. The titles include Beautiful Mind, Backdraft, Apollo 13 and Cinderella Man. Howard takes a lot of shots from critics unhappy with his willingness to craft his films to fit mainstream tastes, which is like condemning Boston Chicken for not adding coq au vin to its menu. Again, fans are encouraged to compare their collection of Howard flicks to what's available here. Blu-ray editions will hit the market in due course.-- Gary Dretzka

Boats out of Watermelon Rinds
Love Conquers All
Under The Pavement Lies the Strand
Monte Grande: What is Life?

These fine foreign-language and indie DVDs from Facets have been stacked neatly on my desk for months. No good reason . the pile just sat there intimidating me, as if I were raised in a multiplex and allergic to subtitles. One of the great things about Facets titles, though, is that their shelf life doesn't end after the first week of release, as do mainstream flicks (or, so studio publicists would have us believe).

Such a movie is Ahmet Ulucay's Boats Out of Watermelon Rinds, a Turkish coming-of-age movie that teaches universal truths about the maturation process all of us must endure before striking out on our own. The film follows two teenage boys about to make the transition from youthful innocence to premature adulthood in a hard-scrabble village in the boonies. One of the boys is an aspiring barber apprenticed to a guy who should never have been allowed closer to a head of hair than the sidewalk outside his shop. Mehmet's friend Remet works at ramshackle watermelon stand that usually draws more flies than customers. The boys, along with a dim-witted pal, are so fascinated by the concept of moving pictures that they're attempting to build from scratch a projector, through which they can spool film clips cobbled from film stock left in the garbage bin of the local theater. At the same time, Remet is trying to attract the attention of the slightly older daughter of a woman to whom he delivers watermelon rinds (she feeds them to her cows). A few years older than Remet, she is openly critical of her mother's attempts to draw the handsome orphan into their family circle, perhaps as a suitor for a much younger daughter. Just as Remet senses a break in the 20-year-old's veneer, he makes the mistake of allowing Mehmet to cut his handsome locks. Instead of a trim, the barber orders his student to shear his friend as if he were a sheep. In the context of Remet's awkward courtship dance, the haircut was as violent and emotionally crushing as being kneed in the groin. But, life went on, and you'll just have to rent the movie to learn what happened next. It's as good a picture as I've seen all year.

Also in the pile were movies that will be of interest primarily to adventurous cinephiles. Tan Chui Mui's Love Conquers All tracks a Malaysian village girl, Ping, who moves to Kuala Lumpur to work with her aunt at the family's rundown diner. While waiting to connect by phone with her boyfriend back home, Ping encounters a local hoodlum who immediately decides that she's stalk-worthy. Eventually, romance blooms, but it comes at a stiff cost.

German director Helma Sanders-Brahms made Under the Pavement Lies the Strand in 1974, only a few years after the tumult and social reforms of the '60s, but well before the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. Longtime comrades Grischa and Heinrich are actors in an experimental theater company and occasional lovers. Like so many other survivors of the '60s, they were having a hard time dealing with the paucity of protest marches and their nostalgia for the good ol' days. I'm still not sure what draws them back into an overtly sexual relationship, but it probably evolved from a night spent together in a locked theater. Even though Grischa and Heinrich appear willing to embrace parent, when informed of his mate's pregnancy he abruptly changes his mind about wanting to become a father. What now? Considering the period, and prevailing laws against abortions, Grischa suddenly finds herself with a new cause to promote, and like-minded women to share the moment. Like the long-held stereotype of angst-ridden German films, Under the Pavement is a tough row to hoe. The characters aren't particularly likeable and the generally somber tone matches the gray skies over the divided city.

What Is Life? introduces us to Francisco Varela, the Chilean neurobiologist who spent most of his life trying to determine if it's possible for body and mind to exist as an integrated whole. To find an answer to this question and others, Varela wrapped his non-linear mind around such weighty concepts as autopoiesis, ethics, consciousness, meditation and dying. Among those testifying on his behalf are Dalai Lama, Heinz von Foerster (the father of cybernetics), Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Evan Thompson, Anne Harrington and Humberto Maturana. The DVD is enhanced by interactive learning tools, two more hours of interviews and the short, Making Empanadas. -- Gary Dretzka

The Trap

Although The Trap is set in a contemporary Belgrade - still bearing the scars of war and severe economic sanctions - it could just as easily have been shot in any European capital, where thugs and cops prey on vulnerable citizens. Indeed, this story of a man forced to make an unconscionable choice between life and death, murder and cowardice, can be traced to Abraham and Isaac. Belgrade, with its dark skies and uninviting cityscape, provides an uncommonly suitable background for one man's battle to save his soul. Simply put, the young son of Mladen and Marija has a serious heart condition, and will certainly die if his parents can't pay for a procedure available only in Berlin. Marija puts an ad in the local paper, seeking financial help from readers. Apparently, in a city plagued by kidnappings and extortion, such pleas for financial assistance are routinely made in just such a way. Soon thereafter, Mladen picks up a call from a stranger, who offers to pay for the operation in return for a favor. Of course, that favor requires the desperate father to kill a man the caller says deserves to die. The rest of the story is best left untold. Suffice it to say, however, that neither the caller nor the potential victim fit such easy labels as hero or villain. Left in the dark by her husband about the nature of the favor, Marija assumes that Mladen is too weak to do everything necessary to save their son, and his silence turns into a ball-busting banshee. Meanwhile, Mladen grows increasingly despondent over the decay of his own moral fiber. Director Srdan Golubovic demands of viewers that they ask themselves how they would handle the same dilemma, given the same evidence and a genuine threat to their child. The trajectory of the storyline seems obvious, but predicting what where Mladen's tortuous path might lead isn't so easy. . -- Gary Dretzka

Elton John: Tantrums and Tiaras
Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan
We Loved Each Other So Much
Smashing Pumpkins: If All Goes Wrong
Johnny Winter: Live Through the '70's

The on-going soap opera that is Elton John is observed at close range, in documentary form, by his longtime partner, David Furnish. Thus authorized, Tantrums and Tiaras provides fans with an unusually intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait of an artist who has gone in and out of style with great regularity since he exploded onto the pop scene in 1970. The film was shot in 1995, during which John won Academy, Golden Globe and BMI awards, for The Lion King; was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire; recorded a new album; and embarked on a worldwide tour. And, yet, the relative failure of a new single would cause him great distress and minor lapses in hotel protocol would send him into a rage. We also are shown a man, who, we know, has donated millions of dollars to charity, but travels in a style generally limited to the crowned heads of Europe. The DVD adds commentary by John and Furnish; deleted footage; bloopers (in a documentary?); and appearances by singers Rod Stewart and Kylie Minogue, and fashionistas Mario Testino and Gianni Versace.

While one assumes Furnish's intimate relationship with John - they would be married in a civil ceremony 10 years later - influenced certain editing decisions, Tantrums and Tiaras doesn't attempt to soft-peddle the subject's faults or oversell his contributions to pop-cultural history. By contrast, Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan shortchanges both the group's many fans and its place in the hip-hop firmament. Boyhood friend and onetime collaborator Gerald Barclay (a.k.a., GeeBee) glosses over certain events in the group's rocky history and various individual projects, in favor of personal opinions and irrelevant interviews. The music remains solid, though, and the group's story is undeniably fascinating.

Few countries have been punished more for their attempts to promote ethnic diversity and politically tolerance than Lebanon over the course of the last 30 years. After decades of peace, the once-vibrant streets and promenades of Beirut -- the Paris of the East -- were turned into an urban battleground by hostile political, ethnic and religious fanatics. Terrorist bombings, kidnappings and random violence became commonplace, and, even after a modicum of peace was achieved in the '90s, assassinations devastated the country's political infrastructure. One of the few beacons of hope was the splendid Lebanese singer, Fairuz, who refused to flee the war-ravaged city and set up shop elsewhere. The people in Jack Janssen's documentary were encouraged to expound not only on their love of Fairuz' music, but their own horrific experiences, as well. Her voice crossed all borders and checkpoints, giving solace and hope to those who dreamt of a Lebanon that could exist without the interference of Syria, Israel or imported militias. The music's pretty darn good, too.

Chicago's Smashing Pumpkins was one the most complex and challenging rock ensembles of the '90s. Despite its great popularity, the band's fiery demise in 2000 was seen as the inevitable by-product of personal and professional rivalries, serious drug usage and the general downturn in album sales. Frontman Billy Corgan's imposing stature on stage, in videos and as a media darling also added to the drama. The two-disc partial-reunion DVD, If All Goes Wrong, focuses on the band's residencies last year at Asheville's Orange Peel and the Fillmore in San Francisco. The package also contains Voices of the Ghost Children, a featurette about the band's fans; an interview with the Who's Pete Townshend; and a bunch of newly recorded songs.

Some survivors of the 1960s concert scene may be surprised to learn that Johnny Winter is still on the road and knocking 'em dead. Although many fans were attracted to the Texas-born guitarist because of the novelty of his albinism, it didn't take long to figure out that he could hold his own with any of the Guitar Heroes of the day. His lightning-quick picking, raw vocals and devotion to the blues earned him a unique place in rock hierarchy. Live Through the '70's is a compilation of dynamic concert performances, most of which took place after he kicked a heroin addiction.

Among other DVDs recorded in concert venues: Canadian rockers Nickelback recorded Live at Sturgis 2006 during the city's annual motorcycle rally. The DVD, which follows in the wake of the album release of Dark Horse, was filmed in hi-def by a crew of 15 camera operators; influential blues interpreter, Long John Baldry, was one of the great unsung heroes of the second British Invasion, and his performance chops can be witnessed on It Ain't Easy: Live at Iowa State University; Nashville Pussy's Live! In Hollywood proves that the outrageously named shock-rockers make good music, too; Chic's Live at the Budokan, featuring Slash and Sister Sledge, argues that disco isn't dead, or, at least, it wasn't when the show was recorded in 1996; and, also reporting in from Japan are Tyrants of the Rising Sun, Live in Japan. Released previously in 1997, Christoph Dreher's The Beach Boys and the Satan re-visits the moment in time when the most American of all American bands crossed path, if briefly, with such sinister forces as Anton La Vey, Kenneth Anger and the Manson Family. The film includes interviews with Kim Fowley, Don Was and Brian Wilson. -- Gary Dretzka

The Howdy Doody Show: 40 Episode Collection
Quark
George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya
24: Redemption
Cathouse: The Series/Pleasure for Sale
Band of Brothers
The Murdoch Mysteries Movie Collection

Anyone looking for a gift guaranteed to bring a smile of recognition to the faces of their Boomer parents and grandparents need look no further than The Howdy Doody Show: 40 Episode Collection. Take my word for it. NBC's Saturday-morning kiddie show, Howdy Dowdy, was the only show that mattered for millions of boys and girls born in the wake of World War II. As they grew up, their loyalty would shift from the wooden-headed cowpoke to Annette Funicello, Soupy Sales, Samantha Stevens and Barney Fife. And, yet, Howdy Doody and its cast of characters - Buffalo Bob, Clarabell, Flubadub, Chief Thunderthud, Princess Summerfall Winterspring, Phineas T. Bluster - are cherished above all others from the period. Of the 2,543 episodes that ran between 1947 and September 24, 1960, the 40 collected here represent some of the most memorable moments (original commercials, too) from the 1949-54 seasons. Among the other treats are interviews with Bob Keeshan (Clarabell and, later, Captain Kangaroo), writer Eddie Kean, co-creator E. Roger Muir and Buffalo Bob Smith; a photo scrapbook, an interactive timeline; two anniversary episodes, with guests Gabby Hayes and Fred Allen; and the famous hour-long good-bye episode, which was shot in color.

The short-lived 1978 sitcom, Quark, was created by Buck Henry, who, among other things, wrote the screenplays for The Graduate, Catch-22, Candy, What's Up, Doc?; teamed with Mel Brooks on Get Smart; and was a frequent host of Saturday Night Live. Even with Richard Benjamin at the helm of the show's United Galaxy Sanitation Patrol ship, the very silly spoof of Star Trek and Star Wars probably was a half-dozen years ahead of its time. Star Wars had yet to become a franchise film and Trekkies didn't see the humor in parodies of the show . or, themselves. Richard Benjamin stars as Adam Quark, an ordinary human in command of spaceship of fools (including a pair of sexy navigators, played by the Doublemint Twins). The cosmic garbage collectors' mission was, to boldly seek out grime and grit, to collect the uncollectible space baggie, and to always leave the area cleaner than when I found it. This DVD set proves, once again, that far too many of the canceled shows of yesteryear were better than anything on the air today.

It's Bad for Ya represented the late George Carlin's 14th and final comedy special for HBO. If death was on his doorstep when the show was taped, Carlin certainly managed to hide the fact from his audience. His stiletto-sharp observations and hilarious dissections of English vernacular were as penetrating as ever. This set includes a final wide-ranging interview for the Archive of American Television and a wonderful performance on Jackie Gleason's variety show, circa 1969.

It takes some shows a half-century to show up in DVD sets. Others seem to pop up overnight. Such is the case with 24: Redemption, a feature-length episode of the hit show that aired only last week on Fox. In it, Jack Bauer is on the lam in Africa, working as a missionary while legislators back home are demanding he answer for his actions during a previous assignment. The enemy this time arrives in the form of a warlord who's kidnapping children and forcing them to fight in his militia. Apart from Bauer being persona non grata in his home country, there's nothing implausible about the predicament in which Bauer finds himself. Such atrocities are commonplace in some quadrants of Africa, and no one seems willing or able to stop the warlords. The guys and gal in CBS' The Unit commit the same atrocities as Bauer in every episode, only they do it in the name of Uncle Sam. But, never mind. The play's the thing. The DVD adds 10 minutes of deleted footage, a making-of documentary, the Children of War featurette, commentary and a 16-minute preview of the seventh season, which begins in January.

There's nothing producers of content for premium cable networks appreciate more than a prostitute who isn't camera-shy. Next month, Showtime is bringing back Confessions of a Call Girl, which describes what life was like for one high-priced London working girl, while HBO is in the midst of another season of Cathouse, set in a legal brothel near Reno. That series is a companion piece to a far more gritty documentary series, which started with Hookers at the Point. By comparison to the crack-addicted, bargain-basement whores in that series, the ladies at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch look like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Brothel owner Dennis Hof is in the same line of work as the sportin' men in American Pimp and Pimps Up, Ho's Down, but his ability to profit greatly off the sexual labors of his employees is protected by law. It's a fascinating subject, no matter how one slices it. In the material collected in Cathouse: the Series, Hof (a.k.a., Daddy) is allowed to brag and proselytize about the wonderful life found at the ranch and how much fun the ladies have during and in between sessions. And, the ones we meet do seem to be enjoying themselves, especially as they prepare to stage a musical revue, which is included here. While agreeing that working conditions at a legal brothel are far better than those encountered by working girls and trannies on the street, Sundance Channel's Pleasure for Sale suggests there's room for improvement.

HBO's landmark WWII series, Band of Brothers, is newly available in Blu-ray. Besides the vastly improved audio and video presentation, the set adds picture-in-picture commentary, interactive guides and maps.

Among the other TV-to-DVD collections worthy of note: The Best of Dr. Katz; half-season volumes of Cannon: Season One, Vol. 2, The Mod Squad: The Second Season, Vol. 1, Jake and the Fatman: Season One, Vol. 2, Perry Mason: The Third Season, Vol. 2 and Rawhide: Season Three, Vol. 2; Hawaii Five-O: The Fifth Season, Beverly Hills 90210: The Sixth Season and Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.: The Final Season.. -- Gary Dretzka

We All Fall Down
Garden Party

Martin Cummins' quirky drama about life on the mean streets of Vancouver - that's right, Vancouver - is interesting in the same way as most other Canadian exports that arrival here first on DVD or cable TV. The acting is excellent, the faces are fresh and stories are written for adult consumption. Too often, though, the junkies and dealers look far too healthy and stable, and Vancouver's bad side hardly qualifies as a gritty. Even if We All Fall Down is populated with junkies, whores and losers, it's unlikely that any of them would last more a week in the sleazier precincts of New York, Chicago, L.A. or even Seattle. Here, a painter and actor have reached the point in their young lives where they must decide between maintaining a permanent buzz and focusing on their lives and careers. Walking a tightrope between the two men is Ryan, a striking brunette (Françoise Robertson) whose love for the self-destructive painter is severely tested by his increasingly erratic behavior. Meanwhile, the mostly unemployed actor struggles to maintain a balance between loyalty and a growing passion for Ryan. The easier out is to split town and take his act to a real theater town, such as Toronto. As portrayed by Robertson, however, Ryan is a once-in-a-lifetime gal. Providing comic relief is Helen Shaver, a vastly underappreciated actor who's almost unrecognizable as a crack whore with a heart of gold. Also showing up in supporting roles are Barry Pepper and Ryan Reynolds. Made in 2000, We All Fall Down played the festival circuit before disappearing from view, altogether.

After a tentative theatrical release, Jason Freeland's slice-of-life drama Garden Party also went quickly into DVD (a far better fate than not being seen at all). Like Short Cuts and Crash, the L.A.-based film focuses on a half-dozen mostly unrelated characters whose individual stories slowly overlap with those of other aimless youth. The only adults the kids encounter are perverts, predators, bartenders and a former street denizen who used her ill-gotten gains to become real estate agent and urban pot farmer. This isn't to suggest that Garden Party started out as a slasher flick, but changed course in midstream. In fact, the kids are savvy, highly mobile and reasonably optimistic about life. If the title rings a bell, it's because one of the more talented characters sings Ricky Nelson's 1972 comeback statement, Garden Party, at a pool party populated by a broad cross-section of the L.A. teen scene. Like the former teen heartthrob, these characters want to create their own identities and not be governed by anyone else's ideas of what's proper behavior. -- Gary Dretzka

WWE: Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero
WWE: History of Intercontinental Championship

Nothing says Christmas quite as emphatically as a gift from the WWE catalogue. Apart from the titles included in the company's rotation of annual wrestling events, the new entries are the three-disc Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero and History of Intercontinental Championship. Unlike most of wrestlers in the WWE stable, the El Paso-born Guerrero didn't have to rely on the fantasists at the WWE to invent a convincing back-story for him. Guerrero, who died in 2005, followed in the footsteps of his father and three maternal uncles. His brothers and a nephew also toiled in the squared circle. You would need a scorecard to recall the self-described king of cheaters' many titles, rivals, tag-team partners and alliances with various federations. The WWE package recalls both his personal history and his career. Another career retrospective, Edge: A Decade of Decadence, will be released closer to Christmas.

One thing I've never been able to understand about professional wrestling is the hierarchy of its various federations and titles. Boxing's infrastructure is no easier to parse, but pugilists aren't limited to one league or championship. In boxing, weight classifications are regulated, whereas a fat midget probably could have challenged Haystacks Calhoun for one heavyweight title or another. WWE: History of Intercontinental Championship chronicles the 30-year history of a league that's produced such future hall-of-famers as the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hit Man Hart, Mr. Perfect, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, Macho Man Randy Savage and Ricky The Dragon Steamboat.

Among the event-oriented titles are WWE: No Mercy 2008, WWE: Unforgiven 2008, WWE: Cyber Sunday 2008 and, from the world of mixed martial arts, UFC 87: Seek & Destroy. -- Gary Dretzka

Bachelorman

If one of the cable networks were to revive the Love, American Style franchise, the episodes probably would look a lot like Bachelorman. In it, a TV programmer with a gift for creating plausible pick-up lines becomes infatuated with the hottie next door and comes dangerously close to losing his mojo. As played by David DeLuise, whose father, Dom, appeared in dozens of such lackluster comedies, Ted Davis is one of those guys whose emotional development ceased when he joined a fraternity in college. Several years later, he creates the alter-ego, Bachelorman, and freely dispenses dating tips to aspiring playboys. Will Bachelorman be brought down by marriage, or will he survive to date another day? Stay tuned. Unlike the original Love, American Style - or Love Boat and Fantasy Island, for that matter - a Batchelorman episode could get away with a modicum of nudity and naughty language, although, here, neither is potent enough to interest anyone over 16. Given the hotness quotient of the women chosen to play Ted's objects of desire, though, you can't fault a boy for dreaming big. Adults are a different story. -- Gary Dretzka