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Michael Giltz
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Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyDVDs: 1939 -- Still Hollywood's
Greatest Year
As BluRay establishes itself in the market more and more, it gives studios the chance to re-release all
their movies in a new format, gives fans a "chance" to buy them again and gives me a chance to offer
reappraisals and thoughts on movies that have gone up and down in favor over the years. Not all these re-
releases are BluRay only, but they're all movies that some of you love. Me? Not always.
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THE FOUR FEATHERS ($39.95 BluRay or $29.95 DVD; Criterion) -- Let's start with a classic, the
rousing adventure tale of a young man wrongly accused of cowardice who heads off to parts unknown to
prove his bravery to his closest friends and the woman he loves. This film by Zoltan Korda was released
in 1939, widely considered a high water mark for the studio system. ( Check out my ratings for all the
movies from 1939 right here .) Perhaps only in a year filled with movies like Mr. Smith Goes To
Washington, Stagecoach, Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, the larkier but somewhat similar Gunga Dun,
Ninotchka, of course Gone With The Wind and so many others could The Four Feathers be relatively
overshadowed. It received only one Oscar nomination (for its spectacular color cinematography -- losing
naturally to GWTW ). And while cineastes consider it a classic, it's slipped from view. Personally, I find
the film rather stiff. (And the recent remake did its reputation no good -- though my friend Pete insists
the 3+ hour cut he saw at a screening of that 2002 film was terrific.) But if anyone can save its fading rep
it's Criterion. This BluRay has a gorgeous transfer and has some solid extras, most notably a briefmaking-of filmed on location and a new interview with Korda's son.
PULP FICTION BLURAY ($19.99; Lionsgate/Miramax)MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2
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JACKIE BROWN BLURAY ($19.99; Lionsgate/Miramax) -- I know Pulp Fiction is a wildly influential,
landmark film that took independent cinema into blockbuster territory with its $100 million gross and
ecstatic reviews. But I've always been suspicious of this uneven film and as the years pass, the stitching
holding it together unravels more and more. But it's stylish and witty and clever and the good scenes aretremendously good. Director Quentin Tarantino took care to present it right and the extras are copious.
But Jackie Brown feels more like a complete film to me and improves on repeated viewing, whereas with
Pulp I'm always tempted to skip to the best parts. If nothing else, Pam Grier and Robert Forster are
having the time of their lives.
FOOTLOOSE BLURAY ($24.99; Paramount) -- For some, remaking Footloose is heresy. Seriously. But
even then this appealingly hokey movie was both better and worse than it seemed. On the better side wasthe breakout performance of Kevin Bacon, who held this foolishness together like a young Elvis in one
those awful vehicles he starred in. You would literally start laughing if Bacon didn't hold your attention.Plus, it had the substantial supporting turns of John Lithgow and Dianne Weist that gave the movie an
emotional core. But mostly there were goofy songs, jumpily edited dance sequences and the least scary
game of chicken (involving two super-slow tractors) in the history of cinema. I'd almost forgotten SarahJessica Parker was on hand as "Rusty" (now that's a stretch). But the modest new extras includeinterviews with them, his screen test and more, which doesn't quite justify the relatively high cost for this
catalog title.
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THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN BLURAY ($19.99; Sony)
MUPPETS FROM SPACE BLURAY ($19.99; Sony) -- If you're eagerly anticipating the return of the
Muppets to the big screen (good luck, Jason Segal!), what better way then to revisit these previous
entries? The Muppets Take Manhattan has a slight edge because it was directed by Frank Oz. Neither
film is as good as the original Muppet Movie and while they're never quite as great as I hope, they'reconsistently silly fun. Combine Manhattan's story with the first film's journey and you've got yourself atwo act Broadway musical. Just saying.
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SCROOGE BLURAY ($24.99; Paramount)
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY BLURAY ($19.98; Warner Bros.)
CINEMA PARADISO BLURAY ($14.99; Lionsgate/Miramax)
SOAP DISH BLURAY (; Paramount) -- Every movie ever made is fated to become a Broadway musical
(and yes, I include Schindler's List , though God willing at least that might be an opera). Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol has been musicalized endlessly, though the most enduring is probably Scrooge with
Albert Finney. It won't keep me away from the Alastair Sim drama from 1951 that is the gold standard,
but it's a nice change of pace. The Willy Wonka story has been musicalized numerous times but has nevermade it to Broadway...yet. it was scheduled for London this holiday but the show's creative team was
sidetracked by their unappreciated gem Catch Me If You Can, which closed on Broadway too soon. But
it's coming and can't possibly be worse than Tim Burton's train wreck, with Johnny Depp's most
mannered performance to date the one oddball saving grace. Cinema Paradiso seems an even moreunlikely source for a musical. It stars an elderly man and a little boy and the climax involves old movie
footage. But it's one of the many Miramax films they're eying to exploit in the theater. i've always found
the movie sentimental in the extreme, but audiences do love it. Finally, there's Soap Dish, the sillycomedy about backstapping on a soap opera with a very game cast that includes Sally Field, Kevin Kline,Robert Downey Jr. and Whoopi Goldberg -- you know what, they could all repeat their roles onstage! If I
were gonna make a musical comedy set in the world of soap operas, I'd make Tootsie. You won't be
surprised to hear...they're working on that one, too.
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THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE ($39.95 BluRay or $29.95 DVD; Criterion) -- Speaking of A Christmas
Carol, this Swedish silent classic has a similar plot -- in it, a nasty drunk (played by the director of the
film, Victor Sjostrom) is given a chance to see the error of his ways. Legend has it that the last person to
die on New Year's Eve must take the reins of Death's vehicle and collect souls for a year, a good chance toreassess how you've lived your life. It's a lot more work than one night of frights before Christmas but
just as effective. The film was a major influence on Ingmar Bergman, who is featured in the extras, along
with two scores (one traditional, one modern) and much more.
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES BLURAY ($14.99; Lionsgate/Miramax) -- This Lasse Hallstrom film is
based on John Irving's best novel. it contains one of Tobey Maguire's best performances and won Michael
Caine the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. That's a lot of "bests" for a movie that received seven Academy
Award nominations (and two wins) and yet seems to have fallen off the radar. Perhaps it's because themovie deals with abortion and a woman's right to choose? Still, it deserves to be remembered more
fondly.

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Halloween...THE MA & PA KETTLE COMPLETE COMEDY COLLECTION ($19.98; Universal) -- This set
contains all ten films featuring Ma & Pa Kettle, who were the breakout supporting characters on the mild
comedy The Egg And I (the first film in this set). Whoever said, "Give those two their own movie!" struck
gold as the cornpone couple appeared in low-budget hit after hit, thanks in no small part to Marjorie
Main's excellent skill on even this tired material. Ten films is about seven or eight too much, but when
the entire set costs just $20, who's complaining?
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the co-host of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion
makers as guests. It's available free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also
available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and
reviews .
NOTE: Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of DVDs to consider for review. He typically does notguarantee coverage and invariably receives far more screeners and DVDs than he can cover each
week.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
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