The Screengrab : alexander korda

DVD Digest for May 12, 2009

Paul Clark — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:00:00 GMT

This week, a bunch of new tie-in DVDs for a little movie called Star Trek flood the market, as well as a new Criterion release from an old master.

But first, recent releases! For most moviegoers, this week’s big ticket title is the Euro-flavored kidnapping thriller Taken. Produced by Luc Besson and helmed by Pierre (District B13) Morel, Taken became the first action hit of 2009 by combining the high-octane grit of its action scenes with the unexpected gravitas brought to the story by star Liam Neeson. Not faring so well at the box office was Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Sony, also Blu-Ray), the third in the seemingly deathless vampires-versus-werewolves saga. Also this week, Terence Davies’ Liverpool doc Of Time and the City (Strand) hits stores, along with a trio of high-profile direct-to-DVD releases: the Donnie Darko follow-up S. Darko (Fox, also Blu-Ray), Michelle Pfeiffer and Ashton “Twitter King” Kutcher in Personal Effects (Universal, also Blu-Ray), and The Grudge 3 (Sony), the not-particularly-anticipated third entry in the Grudge series.

In classics, the Trek love continues today with Paramount’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture Trilogy (also Blu-Ray), which thankfully doesn’t include the boring-ass first Star Trek movie, but instead encompasses films two through four. And if Trekkers are in need a few laughs and don’t feel like watching IV (or V, for that matter) again, they can pick up the Galaxy Quest Deluxe Edition (Paramount), which for my money is the best (unofficial) Trek movie since Kirk and Co. saved the whales. Or if you’re all Trekked out, the folks at Eclipse are releasing their latest box set, Eclipse Series 16: Alexander Korda’s Private Lives, which includes four high-spirited big-screen peeks into the lives of Henry VIII, Catherine the Great, Don Juan, and Rembrandt. And finally, Criterion’s releasing John Huston’s beloved “late” film Wise Blood (Criterion), one of the last “great” Huston films I still have yet to see. This of course would make it a key candidate for a Reviews by Request column except for oh wait.

This week’s TV on DVD slate is highlighted by the release of The Dana Carvey Show (Universal). Despite airing only eight episodes before getting the axe, this series has a cult following among TV fans. In fact, I’d be tempted to call Carvey a genius for surrounding himself with such promising talents as then up-and-comers Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Robert Smigel, and Charlie Kaufman, if not for the fact that he was also responsible for The Master of Disguise. Also this week, Seth Macfarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy (Fox, also Blu-Ray).

In Blu-Ray only news, today brings the release of Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection (Paramount), which collects all six of the original cast movies in one spiffed-up Blu-Ray Collection. And Paramount’s got plenty of comedy hitting stores as well, with Black Sheep (Paramount), Major League (Paramount), Wayne’s World (Paramount), Wayne’s World 2 (Paramount), and Without a Paddle (Paramount) on the way. Also this week: CSI Season 1 (Paramount), Force 10 from Navarone (Fox), and The Grudge (Sony).

Finally, our Synopsis of the Week takes us to the world of kiddie animation, with the four-part Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 25th Anniversary Edition, Season 7, available today in four parts from Lionsgate. Dig this crazy premise:

“Mutated into anthropomorphic fighting machines when they fall into the sewer at a young age, four turtles--Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael--have been trained in the martial arts by the sewer-dwelling Hamato Yoshi. Now, they fight crime in New York City, using their ninja skills as well as the aid of news reporter April O'Neil to counter the efforts of their enemy, Shredder. In this collection of the first six episodes from the 1987-96 animated series’ seventh season, the Turtles tangle with both natural and man-made elements while on adventures involving a massive tidal wave, melting glaciers, and the Eiffel Tower.”

Wow, who thinks of this stuff? And whoever thought it would play to kids?

DVD Digest for May 27, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:30:00 GMT

This week, Criterion continues its ongoing commitment to the films of Michael Powell, and an aging icon shoots his way onto DVD and Blu-Ray.

DVD of the Week: What else could it be but Criterion’s The Thief of Bagdad? This is probably the closest thing to a must-buy that’s coming along in months, and for so many reasons. As one of the great examples of forties-era Technicolor, Thief is a natural for DVD, especially once the wizards at Criterion are done sprucing it up for this release. But there’s a raft full of special features to enjoy as well- two commentaries (including one from a couple of obscure movie nerds named Scorsese and Coppola), a documentary about the film’s award-winning effects, a propaganda film commissioned by producer Alexander Korda on behalf of the British War effort, and much more besides. In other words, I know exactly what I’ll be spending my money on come Tuesday

Also of note is the crush of Rambo DVDs hitting shelves this week. Not only will there be two different standard-DVD versions of Stallone’s latest Rambo adventure (Lionsgate), but also a Blu-Ray edition, along with box-sets of the previous Rambo films in both standard and Blu-Ray. So if you like Rambo, there will be plenty of goodies for you to enjoy.

Pretty slow week for DVD releases otherwise, with new titles including Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream (Genius Productions), Renny Harlin’s barely-released Cleaner (Sony), Nina Hartley’s Guide to Great Sex During Pregnancy (Pacific Media), and a DVD edition of Marguerite Duras’ 1972 film Nathalie Granger (Facets- ugh). And that’s about it, sadly.

Finally, look who’s back! That’s right, it’s your old pal David Huddleston, ready to bemoan the release of two new HD-DVDs from Warner Home Video. What are they, you ask? Why, they’re P.S.: I Love You (Warner) and Twister (Warner). Are you as excited as I am? Because if you are then it must be you I hear snoring. Seriously, could you knock that off? I'm trying to sleep here.

The Top Ten Uncompleted Movies, Part 1

Phil Nugent — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:00:00 GMT

The sad death of Heath Ledger caused speculation that the film he had been shooting, Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, might be in jeopardy. This isn't the first time that the loss of a principle cast member has threatened to shut down a movie. Witness the battle Doug Trumbull had to fight to keep Brainstorm from being written off when Natalie Wood died. Of course, there are various movies that had not been finished for one reason or another, some through accidents and others to a simple lack of interest. What follows is a list of 10 of the more promising or at least potentially interesting films that were not released in their intended form for one reason or another.

--Faisal A. Qureshi

DARK BLOOD

River Phoenix's death in October 1993 led to the complete shutdown of George Sluzier's film. Already a troubled production, with reports of tension between Judy Davis and Phoenix, the film only had 11 days of shooting left before tragedy struck. The British company Palace Pictures, which was funding the production, decided that the film couldn't be salvaged. Even though Jim Barton's script received a postive reception when it was given a read through by the Script Factory, there have been no takers for trying to re-shoot or complete the picture.

THE MAN WHO SHOT DON QUIXOTE

Terry Gilliam's first experience of getting a film written off was luckily recorded in a documentary, Lost in La Mancha, shot by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe. After one week of shooting, Jean Rochefort, injured himself while getting on a horse, flew back to France and received doctor's orders to never ride again. There are rumours that Jeremy Thomas would take over the project and re-start production with Johnny Depp still attached, but until then all we have are rushes of Depp berating a fish.

I, CLAUDIUS

The 1976 BBC Adaptation of Robert Graves I, Claudius has been hailed as one of the greatest works of British TV drama. Forty years earlier, however, Alexander Korda tried producing a feature adaptation of the book starring Charles Laughton as Claudius and Merle Oberon as the nymphomaical Messalina, with Josef Von Sternberg directing. Unfortunately, Merle Oberon suffered an accident that resulted in the abandoning of filming. Luckily, the footage that had been completed survived and was later the center piece of the excellent BBC Documentary, The Epic That Never Was, which was itself released to film theaters.

ORSON WELLES'S DON QUIXOTE

Orson Welles had worked on Don Quixote for years, going through various scripts and cast changes, and shooting in Mexico and Spain. Financed out of his own pocket, Welles started shooting in 1955 just after he was kicked off the editing of Touch of Evil, and carried on until the death of his Sancho Panza, Akim Tamiroff. Strangely enough, the job of assembling the surviving footage into something coherent was given to Spanish exploitation filmmaker Jesus Franco, who had been Welles's first assistant director during some of the shooting. Reviled when it premiered in Cannes, it leaves one hoping that someday there will be another attempt to "complete" the job by someone with more artistry and closer to Welles's own wavelength than a second-rate horror hack.

SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE

Marilyn Monroe's final film, which was shelved after her death. On paper it looked great, with George Cukor directing and a cast that included Phil Silvers and Dean Martin. The story, a remake of the 1940 My Favorite Wife (which was itself derived from Tennyson's "Enoch Arden") involved a husband who has his wife declared dead after she's been missing for five years, only for her to turn up when he's getting re-married. Unfortunately Monroe's inability to come in to shoot her scenes (she was apparently off 17 days out of 30 of the duration of the production) and with Fox hemorraging money from the even more expensive, Cleopatra, decided to sack the actress and re-organise the production. Unfortunately, Monroe's death killed the project altogether, and it wasn't until 1999 that Fox allowed the release of 39 minutes of footage shot for the film to celebrate Monroe's 75th birthday. (My Favorite Wife was ultimately remade as Move Over, Darling, with Doris Day and James Garner.)

--Phil Nugent, Faisal A. Qureshi

Click here for Part 2.