DVDBeaver Newsletter - November 10th, 2008

Ah guten tog! - 24 new reviews this week - I'd like to welcome a new reviewer - Enrique Michaels. We're rich with Blu-rays, Boetticher, Minnelli, Penn, Rossellini, 3 Criterions and much more...

NOVEMBER 10th CONTEST - identify this CLIP to win a brand new Blu-ray of Get Smart Best of luck all!

WORTH REPEATING - NEW ARTICLE: My Dozen Favorite Non-Region-1 (Part 2 - Single-disc DVDs) by Jonathan Rosenbaum

FEATURE DVD OF THE MONTH chosen for NOVEMBER

BLU-RAY SALE STILL ON - AS LOW AS $13.95 HERE

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Easiest way to catch up is simply read the new Newsletter Archive HERE.

LATEST Additions to the Release Calendar (PRE-ORDER and save!):

ONE VOICE (not Ellsworth Monkton Toohey): Let's make this quick:

ESSENTIAL:  The films of Budd Boetticher Collection, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, An American in Paris BR, and Chungking Express (although we expect more from the upcoming Blu-ray)

WORTH A 'BOO': Fighters / Real Money, Paris je t'aime BR, The Boys in the Band

TRUE BLU:  Into the Wild BR (but wait for the US edition), Sukiyaki Western Django BR (Leonard says First Look!), Hellboy II - The Golden Army BR (yeah, yeah, yeah... whatever)

FUN: Priceless BR, Hancock BR, Lucky Number Slevin BR, Walt Disney Treasures: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents Annette - 1957-1958, Planet of the Apes Anniversary Collection BR and Fanfan la Tulipe

UNWORTHY TRANSFERS:  Caligula BR, Black Christmas BR, Roberto Rossellini: Director's Series, The Story of O BR, Thunderbolt Fist and Tuya's Marriage           

New Reviews:

Walt Disney Treasures: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents Annette - 1957-1958 - When Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Club first aired in 1955 - not coincidentally a few months after the opening of the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California – Tracy Turnblad and her friends would not have been welcome. The original Mousketeers were all very much of similar stock save one: a peculiarly dark-haired ethnic Italian girl that would come to be the most popular of the gang: Annette Funicello. Annette was just 13 when she joined as an original cast member. She was to have her own series during the third season of the Mickey Mouse Club, which is the subject of this DVD. DVD Release date: November 11th, 2008

Hancock BR - I have been waiting for this for years: a superhero movie where the actions of the superheroes have consequences in the real world. They always leave a wake of crashed cars, bursting fire hydrants, exploding gas stations and toppling bridges behind them and never go back to clean up. But John Hancock, the hero of “Hancock,” doesn’t get away with anything. One heroic stunt ran up a cost price tag of $7 million, he’s got hundreds of lawsuits pending, and when he saves a stranded whale by throwing it back into the sea, you can bet he gets billed for the yacht it lands on. Blu-ray Release date: November 25th, 2008

Fighters / Real Money - FIGHTERS follows the struggles of a group of young East End boxers as they take their first steps up the professional ladder under the wing of legendary trainer Jimmy Tibbs. REAL MONEY is a hard-edged gangster drama set in and around the East End boxing community – and acted entirely by local boxers, ex-boxers, trainers and their families, and mainly scripted by the boxers themselves. DVD Release Date: November 10th, 2008

Priceless BR - Priceless, in my opinion, is just that – absolutely priceless! Audrey Tautou plays Irène, who flits around the world with older, richer men, moving on when she finds a man wealthier. Bored and restless one night while her current beau sleeps, she ventures alone to the hotel bar, where she finds the be-suited bar man Jean (Gad Elmaleh) asleep on the job. She mistakenly assumes that he is a wealthy patron and turns on the charm, ending up in bed with him. When she is busted by her beau, she discovers that her new hope is a fraud. As he desperately tries to win her affection, he stumbles into the same gold-digging game. Blu-ray Release date: November 18th, 2008

Sukiyaki Western Django BR - The movie begs cryptic descriptions, and I imagine just about every reviewer has tried their hand. So, in that spirit of overstatement, I think it's fair to say that Sukiyaki Western Django represents the triumph of style over substance and, even with Yojimbo (or Django – take your pick) to hang its story on, of style over plot. The movie simply reeks camp. Hardly a moment or a line goes by that doesn't refer to some pop culture scene, line, or attitude: from Akira to Shakespeare, to Lord of the Rings to Once Upon a Time in the West to Apocalypse Now to Batman. Japanese Blu-ray came out February 20th, 2008

Planet of the Apes Anniversary Collection BR - Whatever one's politics, we can be certain that the four sequels, storied or screenplayed by Paul Dehn (who was not with credentials himself, helping out with: Zefferelli's Taming of the Shrew, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, and Goldfinger), represent a devolution of the cinematic art. But, then, how could it be otherwise, given the first movie's credentials: screenplay by Michael Wilson (who wrote or had a hand in: A Place in the Sun, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell and Lawrence of Arabia) & Rod Serling (need we say more) and Directed by Franklin Schaffner (who previously worked in television, but soon to direct Patton, Papillon and Boys From Brazil). The ending, in some ways like the closing of the door of the first Godfather film, both invited and warned against a sequel. Blu-ray Release Date: November 4, 2008

Star Wars; Clone Wars BR - The Clone Wars might become the first of a series of Star Wars animated feature films from Lucasfilm Animation, or it mat simply serve as a promo piece for the TV series of the same name that has just gotten underway. Expect to see the characters you have come to know and love, plus some new ones, in new adventures. The Clone Wars takes place roughly between Episode 2 (Attack of the Clones) and Episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith) and fleshes out the relationship of Jabba the Hutt and the Hutts relationship to the war between the Army of the Republic, led by Yoda, Mace-Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker and the Separatists, led by Count Dooku, General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. Blu-ray Release date: November 11, 2008

Lucky Number Slevin BR - "Lucky Number Slevin" is too clever by half. It's the worst kind of con: It tells us it's a con, so we don't even have the consolation of being led down the garden path. The rug of reality is jerked out from under us in the opening scenes, and before long the floor is being dismantled. Crouched in the dark, I am resentful. Since the plot is irrelevant and the dialogue too mannered to be taken seriously, all I'm left with are the performances and the production design. Blu-ray Release date: November 18th, 2008

Caligula BR - Nobody wanted anything to do with Caligula: Gore Vidal didn't want his name on it, producer Bob Guccione of Penthouse didn't want the Italian director to finish it (then didn't want reviewers to see it), the stars didn't want to be associated with it. The appealing idea of a raging loony who has the power to pursue his little whims has attracted and sunk better talents than these. Indeed, dotted throughout there are glimpses of what might have been: Caligula enquiring of an ebbing Gielgud what it's like to die, a death machine that operates like a combine harvester, some exotic sets in Italo-barbaric style. But all in all it's a dreary shambles, directed by Brass toto drosso con abandimento. Blu-ray Release Date: November 4th, 2008

The Story of O BR - Jaekin's episodic, softcore adaptation of Pauline Reage's acclaimed erotic novel stays just the right side of kitsch, hinting at the darker pleasures experienced by the enigmatic O at the hands of her experimental lover Rene. Long a cause célébre amongst the anti-censorship lobby, (it was not given certification by the BBFC until 25 years after its release) The Story Of O can now be judged on its own merits. Like Lady Chatterly's Lover it's not an undeniable classic, but it does have a lot to recommend it – and not just if you're into whips. Blu-ray Release date: November 11th, 2008

Into the Wild BR - Into the Wild is based on the best-selling, true story, book by Jon Krakauer. Its highest achieving ideal in the film is how faithfully it expresses the meaning of the protagonist's adventure - reaffirming a spirit of dropping out, lack of caution, and escaping from the dissatisfaction of society's goals and selfish aims. Hippie-esq indeed. Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp) is played with quiet zeal by Emile Hirsch - who was recently touted as being 'one of the futures of American acting'. This is a visually appealing road-picture with frequent flashbacks and unique montages explaining McCandless' motivations. It is delivered on screen with detailed precision by Penn. French Blu-ray Release date: July 16th, 2008

An American in Paris BR - A GI (Gene Kelly) stays in Paris after the war to become an artist, and has to choose between the patronage of a rich American woman (Nina Foch) and a French gamine (Leslie Caron) engaged to an older man. The plot is mostly an excuse for director Vincente Minnelli to pool his own extraordinary talent with those of choreographer-dancer-actor Kelly and the artists behind the screenplay, art direction, cinematography, and score, creating a rapturous musical not quite like anything else in cinema. The final section of the film comprises a 17-minute dance sequence that took a month to film and is breathtaking. Songs include "'S Wonderful," "I Got Rhythm," and "Love Is Here to Stay."... Blu-ray Release date: November 5th, 2008

Fanfan la Tulipe - Legendary French star Gérard Philipe swashbuckled his way into film history as the peasant soldier Fanfan in Christian-Jaque’s devil-may-care romantic action-comedy. In eighteenth-century France, Fanfan joins King Louis XV’s army to avoid a forced marriage to a local lass and gets himself into close scrapes and tight squeezes with Gina Lollobrigida’s impostor fortune-teller, Adeline, on his way to fighting in the Seven Years’ War. Filled to the brim with dazzling stunts and randy innuendo, Fanfan la Tulipe, which won the best director prize at Cannes and was a smash hit upon its initial release, remains one of France’s all-time most beloved films. DVD Release Date: November 18th, 2008

The films of Budd Boetticher Collection - Few hauteur directors are more revered and beloved than Oscar "Budd" Boetticher, Jr., who lived a life more amazing than any movie. And few films have been more eagerly-awaited on DVD than the spare, adult westerns he made at Columbia in the late 1950s, all starring Randolph Scott, most written by future director Burt Kennedy, and co-starring such outstanding actors as James Coburn (in his film debut), Richard Boone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Pernell Roberts, Lee Van Cleef, and Craig Stevens. Now, at last, you hold them in your hand: The Tall T, Decision at Sundown, Buchanan Rides Alone, Ride Lonesome and Comanche Station. Rounding out the set is Bruce Ricker's acclaimed feature-length documentary, A Man Can do That, executive produced Budd's friend Clint Eastwood. Sony Pictures and The Film Foundation are honored to present one of the absolutely essential collections of this or any year. DVD Release Date: November 4th, 2008

Black Christmas BR - This truly is a classic horror film that acts as a bridge of sorts between the horror movies of old and what was to come in the more modern ones. It is a throwback in that it never reveals many things, such as the killer’s past, their motives, or even shows the killings themselves. It’s all left to you to decipher. But while its means are of the old school, the story is all too modern – a male killer stalking young women, a loved holiday turned violent, and a heroine who must overcome her own fear to survive a madman who seems inhuman. Director Bob Clark creates a feeling of dread that begins as soon as you see the killer ascend the trellis and that lasts well past the film has ended. And as cut and dry as the film could be, as easy as having just a mysterious murderer chasing down nubile teens, Clark complicates things by creating a madman that seems to be living and re-living a secret past which we can only dreadfully imagine, adding a layer to the film that keeps you unnerved. Blu-ray Release Date: November 11th, 2008

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold - John Le Carré’s acclaimed bestselling novel about a Cold War spy on one final, dangerous mission is every bit as precise and ruthless on-screen in this adaptation directed by Martin Ritt. Richard Burton delivers one of his career-defining performances as Alec Leamas, whose hesitant but deeply felt relationship with a beautiful librarian (Claire Bloom) puts what he hopes will be his last assignment, in East Germany, in jeopardy. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a hard-edged and finally tragic thriller, suffused with the political and social consciousness that defined Ritt's career. DVD Release Date: November 25th, 2008

Chungking Express - A few times in life you have quintessential moments that you only reflect on in memories, unaware at the time of their significance in your life. Chungking Express is filled with these rare occasions, so crucial that they are recognized by us the viewer, if not by the characters acting out their own narrative. DVD Release Date: November 25th, 2008

Thunderbolt Fist - There is a good amount of action throughout “The Thunderbolt Fist”, most of it fairly gruesome, with plenty of flying limbs and arterial sprays, especially during the final scenes. Interestingly, although Tie Wa is the nominal protagonist, a higher proportion of the fights involve another of the rebels, played by actress Shih Szu (also credited sometimes as Si Si and who starred in many Shaw Brothers’ films including “The Young Avenger”). Shih Szu’s fights are actually more exciting, mainly since they feature her taking on multiple sword-wielding opponents at once. DVD Release Date: November 11th, 2008

Paris je t'aime BR - Paris, je t'aime is about the plurality of cinema in one mythic location: Paris, the City of Love. Twenty filmmakers will bring their own personal touch, underlining the wide variety of styles, genres, encounters and the various atmospheres and lifestyles that prevail in the neighborhoods of Paris. Each director has been given five minutes of freedom, and we, as producers, carry the responsibility of weaving a single narrative unit out of those twenty moments. The 20 films will not appear in the order of the arrondissements, from one to twenty, but rather, in a pertinent narrative order, initially unknown to the audience. Blu-ray Release Date: November 18th, 2008

The Boys in the Band - In 1968, an Off-Broadway play about a birthday party attended by a group of homosexual men made theatrical history by becoming the first play to deal honestly with gay urban life. The party brings together a group of misfits that have become clichés -- the self-loathing alcoholic, the bitchy queen, the flamboyant sissy, the stud-for-hire - for an evening of truth-telling. The film version of The Boys in the Band (1970), starring the play's original cast, has also become a landmark in the history of gays in film. Like many historical artifacts, it now seems dated in its attitudes. But the film's significance is undoubted, and its wicked wit is still intact. DVD Release Date: November 11th, 2008

Get Smart BR - Steve Carell seems to be cutting out quite a persona in films these days of a self-effacing nebbishy guy who ultimately gets the girl and maybe grows up a little in the process. After The 40 Year Old Virgin and Dan in Real Life, Carell revisits the classic 1960s TV comedy series Get Smart as Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, a role that ensured and enshrined Don Adams his place in history. Adams' Smart was more self-assured than Carell's. He was never in doubt about his capabilities: it was his very incompetence in the face of that confidence that made him so funny. There's a reason why he is Agent 86. It is Carell's nature to downplay any sense of confidence: He seems just a little frightened of his mission on Earth as a man, in some ways reminiscent of Gene Wilder in any number of movie roles – but minus that sense of impending or actual hysteria. Carell steps far enough away the role that it's more the situation than his character that makes a scene work. In addition, his Agent 86 is moderately capable, so if the jokes or setups aren't especially funny – well, that's the way it crumbles – cookie-wise. Blu-ray Release date: November 4, 2008

Hellboy II - The Golden Army BR - Hellboy is yet another comic book-to-movie character – this one created by Mike Mignola for Dark Horse Comics. What's most interesting about the character is that he is sent here from the other side of existence to destroy the world, but has been "tamed" from infancy by the mankind's possible representative and mentor. While this dichotomy is addressed in both movies, it is a weakness in common to both that the split is never clearly manifest. Hellboy is one of the good guys, even if the public at large can't quite make up its mind about him. In any case Hellboy, while he works for Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, is clearly his own man with a wild streak who enjoys chewing up the scenery. Blu-ray Release date: November 11, 2008

Roberto Rossellini: Director's Series - Roberto Rossellini shot his first film at the invitation of Vittorio Mussolini, son of the Italian dictator. Even his early films had a profound effect: Rossellini was credited with launching the Italian Neorealism movement that used non-actors and real locations to showcase the plight of working-class Italians. Legendary French directors including Andre Bazin, Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard also called him the godfather of the French New Wave style. The ROBERTO ROSSELINI 2-DISC COLLECTOR'S EDITION includes two films never before seen on DVD in the U.S. DOV'E LA LIBERTA...? (WHERE IS FREEDOM?) Rossellini's darkly comic satire showcases the great Italian comic TOTO as a barber who is imprisoned for murdering his wife's suspected lover. DVD Release Date: November 11th, 2008

Tuya's Marriage - Through his film occasionally threatens to lunge into melodrama, Wang Quan’an’s blending of documentary-style realism with generic tropes – striking camerawork, a pacy narrative, sharp editing, vivid characterisation – lends real impetus to the slight story of a Mongolian shepherdess struggling to support her kids and disabled husband. Reluctantly she agrees to his suggestion that she find a new partner; but she insists any suitor adopt the whole family, hubby included. Tuya’s attempts to achieve this make for an episodic but engrossing story. A refusal to pass judgment and a palpable chemistry between the actors ensure that the film succeeds both as a fable about the pitfalls of rapid modernisiation, and as tough, unsentimental drama. DVD Release Date: October 28th, 2008

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