DVDs: "Beasts Of The Southern Wild" SetLoose Before Oscars BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD ($39.99 BluRay; FOX Searchlight)ALPS ($29.95 DVD; Kino Lorber) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES ($35.99 BluRay combo; Warner Bros.) -- BeastsOf The Southern Wild is the indie success story of the year and agenuinely compelling directorial breakthrough for Benh Zeitlin.</p><p> I will be fascinated to see if he can build on this compelling, eccentric tale of a community of outcasts in the bayoucountry led spiritually by the little girlHushpuppy.</p><p> It has a distinctive visionand draws strong performances from agroup of non-professionals for the mostpart and has a terrific score to boot.Look for this to be an Oscar Cinderellastory as well.</p><p> Alps is the nutty follow-up to the Oscar-nominated Dogtooth for Yorgos Lanthimos that proves the talentthere is real: it's the very strange storyof an unusual support group for peoplegrieving over the loss of a loved on.And The Dark Knight Rises wraps up the Batman trilogy in noisy, overblownfashion.</p><p> Yes, it's the best string ofBatman movies yet, but I was not won over, with only the middle one holding my attention. (I know, I'm an idiot.) If any of these movies was going to get an Oscar nod for Best Picture it was themiddle film so don't look for this to bringrecognition for Christopher Nolan's workthe way The Lord Of The Rings: TheReturn Of The King did for that trilogy.</p><p> On the other hand, the BluRay looksgreat and by turning on the subtitles youcan finally understand what the hellBane is saying in the film.</p><p> CAGNEY & LACEY: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($169.99 Limited Edition or $139.99 DVD; VEI/Millenium Media)STAR TREK THE NEXTGENERATION SEASONS ONE ANDTWO ($129.99 each on BluRay; Paramount/CBS) TITANIC BLOOD AND STEEL ($29.97 BluRay; Lionsgate) THE SIMPSONS FIFTEENTHSEASON ($49.98 DVD; FOX) ULTRASEVEN COMPLETE SERIES($49.97 DVD: Shout)WORLD WITHOUT END ($75.99 BluRay; Sony)EASTBOUND & DOWN THIRDSEASON ($39.98 BluRay; HBO) ANGRY BOYS ($39.98 BluRay; HBO) - - Here's a roundup of TV fare.</p><p> Finally!April 30, 2014 This is the print preview: Back to normal view » Posted: 12/14/2012 2:46 pmOne of TV's most celebrated shows gets the full boxed set treatment it richlydeserves.</p><p> Cagney & Lacey was a groundbreaker in so many ways andnow it can be appreciated in a compactbut handsome boxed set that fits neatlyon your shelf and offers each season inindividual cases that can be displayed on their own.</p><p> You get it all with the deluxe version: the TV movie with Loretta Switt, the road-not-taken first season with Meg Foster, the post- series TV movies and of course the heart of the matter, all those episodeswith Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless arepartners on the force.</p><p> Against the odds,they survived and so did the show.Some elements have dated this morethan others of its era but theirperformances keep this a must-see.Now how about Hill Street Blues? Star Trek: The Next Generation probably hit higher highs than the original, though ofcourse it wouldn't exist without thatgroundbreaker.</p><p> Season One and Twoare out now on BluRay.</p><p> Both are in theshadow of the original series, withseason one filled with a laughable number of episodes that seem to involve following in the footsteps of Kirk and gang.</p><p> Season Two starts to find its way but it's season three in which theshow really came into its own.</p><p> As forthe BluRays, Season One had someaudio quirks but those have been fixedand it looks pretty smashing.</p><p> SeasonTwo, oddly, does not, especially in theeffects scenes (which are trickier toremaster).</p><p> Apparently they've farmedout the work on the even numberedseasons so the shows can come beforeeveryone stops buying BluRays adDVDs completely. (The studios allbelieve the clock is ticking on DVDsales.) Why there should be a rush on aseries that began 25 years ago isbeyond me, but perhaps it's cheaper?The BuRay still looks essentially better than the DVD but what should have been unqualified cause for celebration is muted a tad.</p><p> If you think you've seen your fill of movies about Titanic, howabout an old-fashioned miniseriesabout the building of the ship that endswith its launch instead of that iceberg?Titanic Blood and Steel is probably not great history but it's pleasingly retroright down to its ten plus hours ofrunning time and Kevin Zegers has thehandsomest metallurgist in history.</p><p> Iguess the time has passed to stopcomplaining that The Simpsons should have ended years ago; we need toaccept they'll keep churning them outand that each season will have at leasta few choice episodes.</p><p> Still, that's a farcry from its heyday when entireseasons were grand.</p><p> Here we jumpback eight years to season 15 and it's already faded.</p><p> I've always been an Ultraman fan myself, but the more serious follow-up UltraSeven is also beloved by fans of silly, peace-lovingJapanese sci-fi shows.</p><p> The disclaimeron the box lets you know this isn'tbeautifully restored, just a chance tosee most of the episodes of a cult favorite for the first time in ages.</p><p> KenFollett's Pillars Of The Earth is one of the most popular and beloved books ofall time; the miniseries based on itcould have been a champ.</p><p> It wasn't, butit satisfied fans.</p><p> The book sequel WorldWithout End was no match for the original but still, not bad.</p><p> The TV miniseries sequel, however, has dropped the ball even further, making the phrase "diminishing returns" sadly appropriate.</p><p> HBO's sports show Eastbound & Down chugs along quietly; much like Arliss it has a small but devoted fan base that keeps it alive.Aussie Chris Lilley is a male TraceyUllman, a striking talent who createsshows around a panoply of characters.HIs last show Summer Heights Highhad the focus of one high school whilethis more discursive series Angry Boysis all over the map, literally.</p><p> Still whenhe scores it's worth the wait.</p><p> FINDING NEMO ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION ($49.99 BluRay combo; Disney-Pixar)UP ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION ($49.9 BluRay combo; Disney-Pixar)THE POINT ($14.95 DVD; MVD) -- I'm not quite sure why Finding Nemo exploded the way it did, but it's acharming, strong feature from Pixar andincludes excellent voice work by AlbertBrooks and an indispensable EllenDegeneres.</p><p> Up however is on an entirely different level.</p><p> Yes, that early"home movie" recounting the marriageof our hero will absolutely break yourheart but it's only one of many highpoints in this thoroughly original movie.Squirrel! And The Point is a 1970s relic that celebrates nonconformity but it hasRingo Starr narrating this animated taleand winning songs written andperformed by Harry Nilsson.</p><p> It shouldnot be such a rare item as it's been over the years given the talent involved.</p><p> AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY ($29.98 BluRay; Sundance Selects) DREAMS OF A LIFE ($24.99 DVD; Strand) -- Ai Weiwei is the Chineseartist and activist who is a shamingcounterpoint to China's recent winner ofthe Nobel Prize for Literature, Mo Yan.In contrast, Ai Weiwei is outspoken and brave as he pushes the boundaries ofwhat is acceptable in his country.</p><p> This documentary captures him at a keymoment and is on the short list ofmovies that can be nominated for theOscar by voters.</p><p> Dreams Of A Lifefocuses on a startling news story: howdid a normal 38 year old woman die inher apartment and then sit there undiscovered for three years with none of her family (she had three sisters) or disparate friends realizing what had happened? I'm not sure the best way to approach this story but the constant reenactments was not the way to goand it undermines an intriguing mystery.</p><p> HARD CORE LOGO 1 AND 2 ($$29.95 BluRay; VSC) SHELBY LYNNE RESERVATIONROAD DELUXE EDITION ($49.99 CD/DVD combo; Everso Records) --Hard Core Logo is the cult Canadian mockumentary about a reformed punkband that's imploding all over again.</p><p> IfSpinal Tap were deadly serious it would be like this.</p><p> The unnecessary sequel isalso included.</p><p> Shelby Lynne'sReservation Road is one of those deluxe reissues of an album that is more than just an attempt to cash in and make fans buy an album all over again to get a few new tracks.</p><p> Here you get the album with five bonus tracks.You also get a CD Live At McCabe's, aterrific show which is no surprise toanyone who has seen her in concert.The real rarity if the DVD concert filmshot at the Union Chapel in London.</p><p> It'spretty bare bones, just a few camerasand Lynne with her guitar holding anaudience spellbound.</p><p> It's intimate andpowerful.</p><p> I wish the audio wasn't sobarebones (the sound makes me feellike I'm sitting in the last row eventhough the visuals are up close).</p><p> ButLynne proudly says they didn't do anypost-work on the audio (unlike most"live" concert albums), so this is a rarenon-bootleg which truly captures what it was like to be in the room that night.</p><p> CATCH ME IF YOU CAN ($22.98 BluRay; Paramount) DECASIA ($34.98 BluRay; Icarus) THE WATERDANCE ($20.95; Sony) FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA 5-FILMCOLLECTION ($39.99 BluRay;Lionsgate)SUDDENLY ($19.98 BluRay; Image) FRITZ LANG THE EARLY WORKS($39.95 DVD; Image) -- Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can has been overshadowed by his more"serious" work, but it's Spielberg in full command, with Tom Hanks very good and Leonardo DiCaprio as movie star sexy as he'd ever be as the con man onthe run.</p><p> Frothy pleasure with one of the great opening credits.</p><p> Decasia is a landmark work that turns deteriorating film stock into a mesmerizing work ofart, aided by Michael Gordon's greatscore.</p><p> It's a welcome debut on BluRay(if ironic) and director Bill Morrison'sshort Light Is Failing is a welcome bonus.</p><p> If you were thinking of seeingthat film where Helen Hunt has sex witha physically challenged man, you wereprobably thinking of The Sessions , which might get Oscar nods.</p><p> But the1992 indie film The Waterdance is a very good, unheralded gem that coverssome of the same territory in a verydifferent manner.</p><p> Hunt and Eric Stoltzare excellent and Wesley Snipes doessome of his best work.</p><p> Coppola's 5- Film collection has two masterpieces, two misfires and one redux: you get the original Apocalypse Now and the absolutely brilliant work The Conversation.</p><p> Those are the masterpieces.</p><p> You also get One Fromthe Heart , a bold misfire with a great soundtrack from Tom Waits and CrystalGayle; and Tetro , a gorgeous looking but meandering bit of nothing from afew years ago. (I wondered why starAlden Ehrenreich -- a heretoforeunanticipated combination of MattDamon and DiCaprio -- hadn't brokenout and lo and behold he has about fourmovies coming out in 2013.) Finally youalso get the extended version ofApocalypse Now which is interesting once but for various reasons not to bepreferred.</p><p> Frank Sinatra is good in Suddenly , a clever B movie about thugs waiting to assassinate the President that doesn't have the pow it once didwhen such an idea was shockingenough on its own.</p><p> It's trim and fun butsome of the details are hokey.</p><p> TheDVD contains a 15 minute short thatpays trippy homage to New York City,though I'm not quite clear why it's here.And I'm still working my way throughFritz Lang's silent epics around theNibelungen mythology and here arethree more early works, lesser materialbut still of interest given Lang's stature.***** Most titles listed here will be available in multiple formats and in multiplecombinations, including DVD, BluRay,digital download, video on demand,streaming and the like.</p><p> The formatlisted is the format provided for review,not all the formats available.</p><p> It is oftenthe most expensive version with themost extras.</p><p> Do check individual titles for availability in all their various guises and price points.</p><p> Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the co-host of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals theindustry take on entertainment news ofthe day and features top journalists andopinion makers as guests.</p><p> It's availablefor free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz athis website and his daily blog .</p><p> Download his podcast of celebrityinterviews and his radio show, alsocalled Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Link to him on Netflixand gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.</p><p> Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of DVDs and Blu-Rays with the understanding that he would be considering them for review.</p><p> Generally,he does not guarantee to review and hereceives far more titles than he cancover.</p><p> Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
