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Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
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Michael Giltz
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Posted March 13, 2009 | 04:18 PM (EST)
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DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better
Than Ever
Read More: Animation , Cracker , Dr. Who , Dvds , Emile Hirsch ,
Harvey Milk , Movies , Paul Rudd , Pinocchio , Robbie Coltrane , Sean Penn , South Park , Tom Baker ,
Vampires , Entertainment News
PLEASE, BLUE FAIRY. MAKE ME A REAL
BOY -- Walt Disney's Pinocchio is one of the
crown jewels in the classic Disney canon andrightly so -- it's beautifully hand-drawn, filledwith wit and charm (albeit in a story thatconsiderably softens the satirical tone of theoriginal novel) and taps into some elementalfears and desires. Is there a scariertransmorgification than the scene on PleasureIsland where Pinocchio and other boys get to go
on a rampage of smoking and fighting and smashing only to literally turn into asses? And it's nearlyequaled by the attack of Monstro the whale. All of it is leavened by Pinocchio, a little puppet who islulled or teased into trouble and can't see why he should tell the truth when a perfectly good lie isalways on the tip of his tongue. A standard two DVD set costs $29.99 and a BluRay combo packcosts $34.99, but it also includes a standard DVD of the movie. (Both look just stunning.) That'sperfect for parents who have a BluRay player in their living room but not in the kids' room orperhaps in the car for road trips where portable DVDs are so popular. Even better would be if theyincluded a digital copy of the movie, made the whole thing $29.99 and eliminated the standardDVD-only set. People could just buy the movie and get three different versions of it to watch onwhatever platform they wanted. Released in 1940, Pinocchio came out one year after MaxFleischer's Gulliver's Travels ($14.98; E1 Entertainment), an animated film that has long been in
Disney's shadow, and rightly so. The animation is quite a bit softer and less precise, even in thisnicely restored edition that greatly improves on the prints that have been circulating for years.Pinocchio is a movie; Gulliver feels like a cartoon. But for animation buffs, it's nice to see this film
looking better than ever. I didn't get a copy of the BluRay version, but on Amazon, the sale price is50 cents LOWER than the regular DVD, which is great to see. If you want to see a film that buildson the legacy of Disney by being true to itself, I can't recommend highly enough The Prince's Quest($19.98; Weinstein/Genius), known simply as Azur & Asmar when it was briefly released in selectcities. This gorgeous French film tells a Persian myth about a noble-born boy and his best friend,
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Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]the son of a nurse, who band together to rescue a fairy. In an echo of Persian art, the characters are
often seen in profile. Further, the backgrounds are often static -- but the backgrounds are even
more often stunningly detailed interiors that capture the beauty of Persian art and tile design that
are so marvelous to look at it takes you breath away. Really, a delightful film.
PAUL RUDD: MOVIE STAR -- It happened quietly, but I couldn't be more pleased: Paul Rudd
is a movie star. He's been a stellar talk show guest for years, whether charming David Letterman or
dancing with Jon Stewart. He's had a major role in a string of terrific movies, dating back to
Clueless all the way to Knocked Up. And now suddenly, he's the man: the lead in successful
comedies like Role Models (Universal; $29.98), a typical goof with Rudd and Sean William Scott as
power drink pushers who have to do community service that was a strong box office hit; and I Love
You, Man (opening Friday) with Rudd as a sad sack guy trying to find a male friend so he can have
a Best Man at his wedding. Throw in voice-over work on the blockbuster-looking animated flick
Monsters Vs. Aliens (opening March 27), and a clutch of upcoming projects like a caveman comedy
with Jack Black and a James L. Brooks project and Rudd is on top of the world. In fact, he's
appeared in movies that have grossed just about $1 billion in the US alone and $1.6 billion
worldwide.
He's been charming ever since that breakout role in Clueless (hey, if he were your (step) brother,
wouldn't you make out with him too?), including notable TV stints on Friends and Reno 911, as
well as cult faves like Wet Hot American Summer and the solid hit but still under-appreciated
Anchorman .
Frankly, I'm besotted with the guy, who turns 40 on April 6 but still looks almost the same as he
did in Clueless 14 years ago. (Do he and Dick Clark have the same deal with the devil?) He's shown
greater range on stage, but in movies Rudd has been mostly limited to comedies, which clearly hehas a flair for. Still, it would be nice to see if he could have the range of a Cary Grant and sink histeeth into at least romantic dramas if not even weightier fare instead of just wise-cracking
comedies. Clearly, Paul Rudd has the talent and the fan base. All he needs is some smart directorto realize how much bigger a star Rudd could be.
So what's your favorite Paul Rudd movie and do you think he could branch out into dramatic
acting?
P.S. I started writing this last Friday and just saw the New York Times had a feature profile of
Rudd with the same angle here.
THE LAST LAUGH -- Surely that's being had by F.W. Murnau, whose stature keeps rising as his
movies are restored. Hot on the heels of the gigantic boxed set Murnau, Borsage and Fox comes
this 6 DVD set Murnau ($99.95; Kino) with exemplary renditions of classics like Faust (a new
edition), previously released Nosferatu, The Last Laugh and Tartuffe plus two new films The
Haunted Castle and a romantic comedy (!) The Finances Of The Grand Duke. Why Tabu isn't
included is a mystery probably explained by rights lapsing or some such thing. If you don't own
any, this is essential and you can be certain that all of the titles are lovingly restored and offeredwith bountiful extras. I can't quite wrap my head around a romance by Murnau, but the "old darkhouse" genre of The Haunted Castle is a natural for him and I've never seen his Faust . If you
bought earlier Murnau boxed sets, rest assured that those three are also available on their own.
GOT MILK? -- I'm looking forward to giving Gus Van Sant's solidly conventional, well-acted
drama about Harvey Milk ($29.98; Universal) another chance. I enjoyed it but rewatching the
classic documentary about the same story just before seeing the film didn't do it any favors. Inevery way, the documentary was superior and indeed the most powerful moments of the film werefootage taken from the era of San Francisco in the 70s when Milk fought for basic civil rights forgays. Penn is very good and has nice chemistry with James Franco but I was delighted to see LucasGrabeel of High School Musical in a small role and thought Emile Hirsch stole the show as avolunteer always ready to volunteer for a little one-on-one with anyone and everyone. The extrasare quite modest, which is a shame for a film that took so many years to get to the screen andfeatures such great craftsmanship.
THE GOOD DOCTOR -- You never forget your first Doctor and mine was Tom Baker, arguably
the definitive Doctor Who until David Tennant put his stamp on the role of the time-travelingbusybody in recent years. Baker held sway from 1974 to 1981 and while I've been clamoring for
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Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]years that they do the obvious and release boxed sets devoted to the entire run of each Doctor, I
must admit that Doctor Who: The Key To Time Special Edition ($99.98; BBC America) comes
close -- it presents an entire season, which just happens to be one long story arc. A similar set wasreleased (at a lower price) in 2002, but this one is jam-packed with all the extras of that one plusmany more, including making-of documentaries. Family viewing is probably damning with faintpraise but that's exactly what this is.
THOSE FR%#@ING KIDS -- I'm relieved to say that South Park: The Complete Twelth Season
($49.99 on regular DVD and a too-high $69.99 on BluRay; Paramount) is NOT sheer delight from
beginning to end. Why am I glad it's not great from start to finish? Because I've been enjoying this
show so much for the past four or five seasons (when it really became a great, great sitcom) that I'd
feared I'd lost the ability to critique it impartially. In fact, I hadn't just lost my mind -- the last four
seasons have been superlative. This season is merely good Actually, make that very good. The
Heavy Metal spoof is a bit drawn out and the two-part Pandemic (with giant guinea pigs trashing
the town and pan flute bands the secret to destroying them) is tiresome in the extreme, but
otherwise it's a solid season, from the day the internet goes down (creating a Mad Max-like future)
to Canada On Strike, which has one of their patented musical numbers. When oh when will they
make another feature-length musical?
CRITERION TREASURES -- Criterion continues to mine cinema history for lost treasures.
Akira Kurosawa is perhaps the most Western of Japanese directors and almost certainly the most
popular one over here. But I still have nooks and crannies of his work to explore. Best known forhis period samurai epics, Kurosawa also delivered acclaimed films like Dodes'ka-den, a 1970 film --
his first in color -- about down and outers on the fringes of Tokyo. A 30 minute documentary talks
about the making of the film and there's a substantial new essay by film historian Stephen Prince
and one of Kurosawa's collaborators. But while Kurosawa is very well known here, Hiroshi Shimizu
is virtually unknown, something that should change with the release of Travels With Hiroshi
Shimizu ($59.95; Eclipse), a four movie set covering movies from the 30s and 40s that also focus
on the marginalized and the working class.
HAGRID FIGHTS CRIME -- For heaven's sake, keep the kiddies away from Cracker: The
Complete Collection ($119.99; Acorn). Yes, it stars Robbie Coltrane but the boozing, whoring and
gambling criminologist Cracker (brilliant at his job, dismissive of his colleagues, mess of a home
life -- in short, the typical British crime fighter) couldn't be more different from the Hogwartsfellow. This set contains all 11 of the feature-length mysteries from the show's run, which blessedlyended before Cracker could turn into a caricature, the way Jane Tennison threatened to do. Greatstuff and a nicely compact set, but awfully expensive for a 13 year old series that was never a hugehit in the US anyway.
ESCAPE TO THE ORIGINAL WITCH MOUNTAIN -- The Number One movie of the week is
Race To Witch Mountain. But I can't handle the idea of substituting kindly Eddie Albert with The
Rock, even if he has made a string of family films. So why not check out the gentle original from1975, whose special effects seemed so nifty at the time. (Heck, I was even excited by the scenewhere the kids sat in bed and communicated with each other...telepathically!) You knew thebrother was going to be prey to bad influences in the sequel Return From Witch Mountain ($19.99
each; Disney) because he was wearing a horrible turtleneck and in general the very modest magichad gone. But you can never go wrong with a story where kids feel special and misunderstood. Iasked my sister the night after seeing the first movie if we should try to speak to each othertelepathically when we went to bed and she told me I was a loser. But she cheated by saying it outloud. Fine for the very young.
LOVEJOY'S DISTANT COUSIN -- In the very small subgenre of mystery series revolving
around the art world, you can add The Baron ($59.98; Koch) to the list (which I think includes
Lovejoy and precious little else). One of an endless string of interchangeable British action series,
The Baron was the first live action UK show that premiered in color and starred a Texan who
fought crime with his handsome assistant until American networks said "Give us a broad" and theydumped the guy in favor of a glamorous female sidekick. You get the entire 30 episode series whichis fine but will appeal mostly to those who are already fans of the show.
BLUE EYES -- The death of Paul Newman means the usual flood of releases and tributes, but
naturally an actor who worked steadily for decades can't have made ALL good movies. The SilverChalice ($19.98; Warner Bros.) was a plodding Biblical epic and the first showcase for Newman,
who loved to make fun of the film. Indeed, it's a strange, miserable little movie, with the sets eitherbizarrely stylized (the outdoor scenes look like leftovers from Fritz Lang's Metropolis or maybe the
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Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]dream sequences from Hitchcock's Spellbound ) or in the case of the interior scenes cavernous and
echoing to a ludicrous degree. The Helen Morgan Story ($19.98; Warner Bros.) was a little better
thanks to the great director Michael Curtiz, but Newman is still a boy toy. When Time Ran Out
($19.98; Warner Bros.) was a Seventies disaster movie trading on the success of The Towering
Inferno and The Outrage ($19.98; Warner Bros.) is an oddball western costarring Laurence Harvey
where Newman plays (gulp) a Mexican. But fans can treasure Rachel Rachel ($19.98; Warner
Bros.), in which Newman made his fine directorial debut and provided a great showcase for his
brilliant wife, Joanne Woodward.
BLURAY -- Let The Right One In ($34.98; Magnolia) is a Swedish vampire flick that genuinely
deserves the moniker of cult hit after playing in theaters for months and months. Plus, on sale it's
only $1 more than the regular DVD. Vanishing Point ($34.98; Fox) is the 1971 car chase flick about
a guy traveling from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours that's a classic cult film in its own right.
Maybe B movies shouldn't be spruced up but it deserves to be seen in all its seedy glory and this
edition contains both the US and UK versions plus other extras. Too bad in this case the BluRay is
an absurd $25 more than the regular DVD and even $16 more when on sale at Amazon. Jonathan
Demme enjoyed a modest comeback with Rachel Getting Married ($39.95; Sony). It didn't make a
lot of money but is probably his best well-reviewed feature film since Philadelphia in 1993 and
scored Anne Hathaway an Oscar nod. It's an unfortunate $11 more than the regular DVD and $7more on sale on Amazon. Finally, there's Primal Fear ($29.99; Paramount), a B movie crime
thriller which immediately made Edward Norton a name to watch. It's almost twice as expensive as
the regular DVD. Studios need to lower BluRay prices unless they want this positive tweak of DVDsto crash and burn immediately.
THE MEN OF THE 12TH PRECINCT -- For years, if you asked cops which TV show got it
right, it was never Hill Street Blues or Kojak or NYPD Blue and probably wouldn't be upcoming
Southland . The answer was always Barney Miller. The mundane duties, the "regulars" among the
people you dealt with, the camaraderie of the men and women in blue -- Barney Miller got it just
right. Barney Miller Complete Third Season ($29.95; Sony) catches the show at a peak, just before
Abe Vigoda would leave for his spin-off. Among the terrific episodes is the cast's personal favorite,the one where they all accidentally eat funny brownies and get stoned. One of the all time greats.
FINALLY --
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas ($29.99; Miramax) -- A heart-tugging Holocaust drama, which is
not exactly a phrase that belongs together.Dear Zachary ($29.99; Oscilloscope) -- A hard-to-believe documentary about a woman who
apparently murders her husband and then seeks custody of the son she was carrying whenallegedly committing the crime. The sort of tale that makes work easy for the folks on Law & Order.
SpongeBob Vs. The Big One ($19.99; Paramount) 90 minutes of nerdy fun, including Johnny Depp
doing the voice of Jack Kahuna Laguna.The Starter Wife Season One ($34.98; Universal) -- Debra Messing proves conclusively she's not a
one-hit wonder with this miniseries turned hit TV show about a dumped woman in Hollywood.Howard The Duck ($14.98; Universal) -- Sadly, NOT a cult favorite or a reviled film that deserves
a new look. Just a very, very bad movie that retroactively ruined the reputation of the comic it'sbased on. George Lucas's biggest folly until Star Wars Episodes 1-3.
L'Innocente ($24.98; Koch) -- One of Visconti's less convincing period epics, this one set in the
1800s where a wealthy man cheats on his wife but is infuriated to discover she's cheating on him as
well.
Crowley ($26.97; Anchor Bay) -- Simon Callow gloriously hams it up as "the Wickedest Man In
The World," Aleister Crowley, whose soul takes over the body of a college professor prompting a
lot of extracurricular activity for his more nubile students.
The Librarian: Curse Of The Judas Chalice ($24.96; Sony) -- ER may be coming to an end but
Noah Wyle can take comfort in this TV movie franchise where he plays Flynn Carson, librarian by
day and vampire hunter/adventurer by night.
Transporter 3 Special Edition ($34.98; Lionsgate) -- Once to the well too often for this simple-
minded series about a "transporter." Star Jason Statham had a much better time this year with The
Bank Job ($19.98; Lionsgate).
Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]
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AGAIN...Hotel Babylon Season 3 ($39.98; BBC Video) -- The Brits can do some brilliant comedy and great
period miniseries, but the US still kicks their butt when it comes to trashy soaps like this one, a
spin on the old Hotel series. The staff never seems quite sexy enough and the tawdry goings-on not
quite tawdry enough. Still, better than that low-rent show about flight attendants.
Head Case Season 1 ($19.97; Anchor Bay) -- A would-be "outrageous" series about a therapist for
celebrities with an oddball staff (including a one-armed assistant) and a parade of celeb guests
who parody themselves. This ain't no Garry Shandling, but it is nice to see Steve Landesberg ofBarney Miller back in action.
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He plays Cher's stepbrother in Clueless, not her brother-in-law.
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Thx. You're right of course. Just changed it.
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Michael Giltz
Freelance writer and raconteur
Posted March 13, 2009 | 04:18 PM (EST)
BIO
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DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better
Than Ever
Read More: Animation , Cracker , Dr. Who , Dvds , Emile Hirsch ,
Harvey Milk , Movies , Paul Rudd , Pinocchio , Robbie Coltrane , Sean Penn , South Park , Tom Baker ,
Vampires , Entertainment News
PLEASE, BLUE FAIRY. MAKE ME A REAL
BOY -- Walt Disney's Pinocchio is one of the
crown jewels in the classic Disney canon andrightly so -- it's beautifully hand-drawn, filledwith wit and charm (albeit in a story thatconsiderably softens the satirical tone of theoriginal novel) and taps into some elementalfears and desires. Is there a scariertransmorgification than the scene on PleasureIsland where Pinocchio and other boys get to go
on a rampage of smoking and fighting and smashing only to literally turn into asses? And it's nearlyequaled by the attack of Monstro the whale. All of it is leavened by Pinocchio, a little puppet who islulled or teased into trouble and can't see why he should tell the truth when a perfectly good lie isalways on the tip of his tongue. A standard two DVD set costs $29.99 and a BluRay combo packcosts $34.99, but it also includes a standard DVD of the movie. (Both look just stunning.) That'sperfect for parents who have a BluRay player in their living room but not in the kids' room orperhaps in the car for road trips where portable DVDs are so popular. Even better would be if theyincluded a digital copy of the movie, made the whole thing $29.99 and eliminated the standardDVD-only set. People could just buy the movie and get three different versions of it to watch onwhatever platform they wanted. Released in 1940, Pinocchio came out one year after MaxFleischer's Gulliver's Travels ($14.98; E1 Entertainment), an animated film that has long been in
Disney's shadow, and rightly so. The animation is quite a bit softer and less precise, even in thisnicely restored edition that greatly improves on the prints that have been circulating for years.Pinocchio is a movie; Gulliver feels like a cartoon. But for animation buffs, it's nice to see this film
looking better than ever. I didn't get a copy of the BluRay version, but on Amazon, the sale price is50 cents LOWER than the regular DVD, which is great to see. If you want to see a film that buildson the legacy of Disney by being true to itself, I can't recommend highly enough The Prince's Quest($19.98; Weinstein/Genius), known simply as Azur & Asmar when it was briefly released in selectcities. This gorgeous French film tells a Persian myth about a noble-born boy and his best friend,
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Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]the son of a nurse, who band together to rescue a fairy. In an echo of Persian art, the characters are
often seen in profile. Further, the backgrounds are often static -- but the backgrounds are even
more often stunningly detailed interiors that capture the beauty of Persian art and tile design that
are so marvelous to look at it takes you breath away. Really, a delightful film.
PAUL RUDD: MOVIE STAR -- It happened quietly, but I couldn't be more pleased: Paul Rudd
is a movie star. He's been a stellar talk show guest for years, whether charming David Letterman or
dancing with Jon Stewart. He's had a major role in a string of terrific movies, dating back to
Clueless all the way to Knocked Up. And now suddenly, he's the man: the lead in successful
comedies like Role Models (Universal; $29.98), a typical goof with Rudd and Sean William Scott as
power drink pushers who have to do community service that was a strong box office hit; and I Love
You, Man (opening Friday) with Rudd as a sad sack guy trying to find a male friend so he can have
a Best Man at his wedding. Throw in voice-over work on the blockbuster-looking animated flick
Monsters Vs. Aliens (opening March 27), and a clutch of upcoming projects like a caveman comedy
with Jack Black and a James L. Brooks project and Rudd is on top of the world. In fact, he's
appeared in movies that have grossed just about $1 billion in the US alone and $1.6 billion
worldwide.
He's been charming ever since that breakout role in Clueless (hey, if he were your (step) brother,
wouldn't you make out with him too?), including notable TV stints on Friends and Reno 911, as
well as cult faves like Wet Hot American Summer and the solid hit but still under-appreciated
Anchorman .
Frankly, I'm besotted with the guy, who turns 40 on April 6 but still looks almost the same as he
did in Clueless 14 years ago. (Do he and Dick Clark have the same deal with the devil?) He's shown
greater range on stage, but in movies Rudd has been mostly limited to comedies, which clearly hehas a flair for. Still, it would be nice to see if he could have the range of a Cary Grant and sink histeeth into at least romantic dramas if not even weightier fare instead of just wise-cracking
comedies. Clearly, Paul Rudd has the talent and the fan base. All he needs is some smart directorto realize how much bigger a star Rudd could be.
So what's your favorite Paul Rudd movie and do you think he could branch out into dramatic
acting?
P.S. I started writing this last Friday and just saw the New York Times had a feature profile of
Rudd with the same angle here.
THE LAST LAUGH -- Surely that's being had by F.W. Murnau, whose stature keeps rising as his
movies are restored. Hot on the heels of the gigantic boxed set Murnau, Borsage and Fox comes
this 6 DVD set Murnau ($99.95; Kino) with exemplary renditions of classics like Faust (a new
edition), previously released Nosferatu, The Last Laugh and Tartuffe plus two new films The
Haunted Castle and a romantic comedy (!) The Finances Of The Grand Duke. Why Tabu isn't
included is a mystery probably explained by rights lapsing or some such thing. If you don't own
any, this is essential and you can be certain that all of the titles are lovingly restored and offeredwith bountiful extras. I can't quite wrap my head around a romance by Murnau, but the "old darkhouse" genre of The Haunted Castle is a natural for him and I've never seen his Faust . If you
bought earlier Murnau boxed sets, rest assured that those three are also available on their own.
GOT MILK? -- I'm looking forward to giving Gus Van Sant's solidly conventional, well-acted
drama about Harvey Milk ($29.98; Universal) another chance. I enjoyed it but rewatching the
classic documentary about the same story just before seeing the film didn't do it any favors. Inevery way, the documentary was superior and indeed the most powerful moments of the film werefootage taken from the era of San Francisco in the 70s when Milk fought for basic civil rights forgays. Penn is very good and has nice chemistry with James Franco but I was delighted to see LucasGrabeel of High School Musical in a small role and thought Emile Hirsch stole the show as avolunteer always ready to volunteer for a little one-on-one with anyone and everyone. The extrasare quite modest, which is a shame for a film that took so many years to get to the screen andfeatures such great craftsmanship.
THE GOOD DOCTOR -- You never forget your first Doctor and mine was Tom Baker, arguably
the definitive Doctor Who until David Tennant put his stamp on the role of the time-travelingbusybody in recent years. Baker held sway from 1974 to 1981 and while I've been clamoring for
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Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]years that they do the obvious and release boxed sets devoted to the entire run of each Doctor, I
must admit that Doctor Who: The Key To Time Special Edition ($99.98; BBC America) comes
close -- it presents an entire season, which just happens to be one long story arc. A similar set wasreleased (at a lower price) in 2002, but this one is jam-packed with all the extras of that one plusmany more, including making-of documentaries. Family viewing is probably damning with faintpraise but that's exactly what this is.
THOSE FR%#@ING KIDS -- I'm relieved to say that South Park: The Complete Twelth Season
($49.99 on regular DVD and a too-high $69.99 on BluRay; Paramount) is NOT sheer delight from
beginning to end. Why am I glad it's not great from start to finish? Because I've been enjoying this
show so much for the past four or five seasons (when it really became a great, great sitcom) that I'd
feared I'd lost the ability to critique it impartially. In fact, I hadn't just lost my mind -- the last four
seasons have been superlative. This season is merely good Actually, make that very good. The
Heavy Metal spoof is a bit drawn out and the two-part Pandemic (with giant guinea pigs trashing
the town and pan flute bands the secret to destroying them) is tiresome in the extreme, but
otherwise it's a solid season, from the day the internet goes down (creating a Mad Max-like future)
to Canada On Strike, which has one of their patented musical numbers. When oh when will they
make another feature-length musical?
CRITERION TREASURES -- Criterion continues to mine cinema history for lost treasures.
Akira Kurosawa is perhaps the most Western of Japanese directors and almost certainly the most
popular one over here. But I still have nooks and crannies of his work to explore. Best known forhis period samurai epics, Kurosawa also delivered acclaimed films like Dodes'ka-den, a 1970 film --
his first in color -- about down and outers on the fringes of Tokyo. A 30 minute documentary talks
about the making of the film and there's a substantial new essay by film historian Stephen Prince
and one of Kurosawa's collaborators. But while Kurosawa is very well known here, Hiroshi Shimizu
is virtually unknown, something that should change with the release of Travels With Hiroshi
Shimizu ($59.95; Eclipse), a four movie set covering movies from the 30s and 40s that also focus
on the marginalized and the working class.
HAGRID FIGHTS CRIME -- For heaven's sake, keep the kiddies away from Cracker: The
Complete Collection ($119.99; Acorn). Yes, it stars Robbie Coltrane but the boozing, whoring and
gambling criminologist Cracker (brilliant at his job, dismissive of his colleagues, mess of a home
life -- in short, the typical British crime fighter) couldn't be more different from the Hogwartsfellow. This set contains all 11 of the feature-length mysteries from the show's run, which blessedlyended before Cracker could turn into a caricature, the way Jane Tennison threatened to do. Greatstuff and a nicely compact set, but awfully expensive for a 13 year old series that was never a hugehit in the US anyway.
ESCAPE TO THE ORIGINAL WITCH MOUNTAIN -- The Number One movie of the week is
Race To Witch Mountain. But I can't handle the idea of substituting kindly Eddie Albert with The
Rock, even if he has made a string of family films. So why not check out the gentle original from1975, whose special effects seemed so nifty at the time. (Heck, I was even excited by the scenewhere the kids sat in bed and communicated with each other...telepathically!) You knew thebrother was going to be prey to bad influences in the sequel Return From Witch Mountain ($19.99
each; Disney) because he was wearing a horrible turtleneck and in general the very modest magichad gone. But you can never go wrong with a story where kids feel special and misunderstood. Iasked my sister the night after seeing the first movie if we should try to speak to each othertelepathically when we went to bed and she told me I was a loser. But she cheated by saying it outloud. Fine for the very young.
LOVEJOY'S DISTANT COUSIN -- In the very small subgenre of mystery series revolving
around the art world, you can add The Baron ($59.98; Koch) to the list (which I think includes
Lovejoy and precious little else). One of an endless string of interchangeable British action series,
The Baron was the first live action UK show that premiered in color and starred a Texan who
fought crime with his handsome assistant until American networks said "Give us a broad" and theydumped the guy in favor of a glamorous female sidekick. You get the entire 30 episode series whichis fine but will appeal mostly to those who are already fans of the show.
BLUE EYES -- The death of Paul Newman means the usual flood of releases and tributes, but
naturally an actor who worked steadily for decades can't have made ALL good movies. The SilverChalice ($19.98; Warner Bros.) was a plodding Biblical epic and the first showcase for Newman,
who loved to make fun of the film. Indeed, it's a strange, miserable little movie, with the sets eitherbizarrely stylized (the outdoor scenes look like leftovers from Fritz Lang's Metropolis or maybe the
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Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]dream sequences from Hitchcock's Spellbound ) or in the case of the interior scenes cavernous and
echoing to a ludicrous degree. The Helen Morgan Story ($19.98; Warner Bros.) was a little better
thanks to the great director Michael Curtiz, but Newman is still a boy toy. When Time Ran Out
($19.98; Warner Bros.) was a Seventies disaster movie trading on the success of The Towering
Inferno and The Outrage ($19.98; Warner Bros.) is an oddball western costarring Laurence Harvey
where Newman plays (gulp) a Mexican. But fans can treasure Rachel Rachel ($19.98; Warner
Bros.), in which Newman made his fine directorial debut and provided a great showcase for his
brilliant wife, Joanne Woodward.
BLURAY -- Let The Right One In ($34.98; Magnolia) is a Swedish vampire flick that genuinely
deserves the moniker of cult hit after playing in theaters for months and months. Plus, on sale it's
only $1 more than the regular DVD. Vanishing Point ($34.98; Fox) is the 1971 car chase flick about
a guy traveling from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours that's a classic cult film in its own right.
Maybe B movies shouldn't be spruced up but it deserves to be seen in all its seedy glory and this
edition contains both the US and UK versions plus other extras. Too bad in this case the BluRay is
an absurd $25 more than the regular DVD and even $16 more when on sale at Amazon. Jonathan
Demme enjoyed a modest comeback with Rachel Getting Married ($39.95; Sony). It didn't make a
lot of money but is probably his best well-reviewed feature film since Philadelphia in 1993 and
scored Anne Hathaway an Oscar nod. It's an unfortunate $11 more than the regular DVD and $7more on sale on Amazon. Finally, there's Primal Fear ($29.99; Paramount), a B movie crime
thriller which immediately made Edward Norton a name to watch. It's almost twice as expensive as
the regular DVD. Studios need to lower BluRay prices unless they want this positive tweak of DVDsto crash and burn immediately.
THE MEN OF THE 12TH PRECINCT -- For years, if you asked cops which TV show got it
right, it was never Hill Street Blues or Kojak or NYPD Blue and probably wouldn't be upcoming
Southland . The answer was always Barney Miller. The mundane duties, the "regulars" among the
people you dealt with, the camaraderie of the men and women in blue -- Barney Miller got it just
right. Barney Miller Complete Third Season ($29.95; Sony) catches the show at a peak, just before
Abe Vigoda would leave for his spin-off. Among the terrific episodes is the cast's personal favorite,the one where they all accidentally eat funny brownies and get stoned. One of the all time greats.
FINALLY --
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas ($29.99; Miramax) -- A heart-tugging Holocaust drama, which is
not exactly a phrase that belongs together.Dear Zachary ($29.99; Oscilloscope) -- A hard-to-believe documentary about a woman who
apparently murders her husband and then seeks custody of the son she was carrying whenallegedly committing the crime. The sort of tale that makes work easy for the folks on Law & Order.
SpongeBob Vs. The Big One ($19.99; Paramount) 90 minutes of nerdy fun, including Johnny Depp
doing the voice of Jack Kahuna Laguna.The Starter Wife Season One ($34.98; Universal) -- Debra Messing proves conclusively she's not a
one-hit wonder with this miniseries turned hit TV show about a dumped woman in Hollywood.Howard The Duck ($14.98; Universal) -- Sadly, NOT a cult favorite or a reviled film that deserves
a new look. Just a very, very bad movie that retroactively ruined the reputation of the comic it'sbased on. George Lucas's biggest folly until Star Wars Episodes 1-3.
L'Innocente ($24.98; Koch) -- One of Visconti's less convincing period epics, this one set in the
1800s where a wealthy man cheats on his wife but is infuriated to discover she's cheating on him as
well.
Crowley ($26.97; Anchor Bay) -- Simon Callow gloriously hams it up as "the Wickedest Man In
The World," Aleister Crowley, whose soul takes over the body of a college professor prompting a
lot of extracurricular activity for his more nubile students.
The Librarian: Curse Of The Judas Chalice ($24.96; Sony) -- ER may be coming to an end but
Noah Wyle can take comfort in this TV movie franchise where he plays Flynn Carson, librarian by
day and vampire hunter/adventurer by night.
Transporter 3 Special Edition ($34.98; Lionsgate) -- Once to the well too often for this simple-
minded series about a "transporter." Star Jason Statham had a much better time this year with The
Bank Job ($19.98; Lionsgate).
Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]
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AGAIN...Hotel Babylon Season 3 ($39.98; BBC Video) -- The Brits can do some brilliant comedy and great
period miniseries, but the US still kicks their butt when it comes to trashy soaps like this one, a
spin on the old Hotel series. The staff never seems quite sexy enough and the tawdry goings-on not
quite tawdry enough. Still, better than that low-rent show about flight attendants.
Head Case Season 1 ($19.97; Anchor Bay) -- A would-be "outrageous" series about a therapist for
celebrities with an oddball staff (including a one-armed assistant) and a parade of celeb guests
who parody themselves. This ain't no Garry Shandling, but it is nice to see Steve Landesberg ofBarney Miller back in action.
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saythisword See Profile I'm a Fan of saythisword permalink
He plays Cher's stepbrother in Clueless, not her brother-in-law.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Thx. You're right of course. Just changed it.
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Flag as abusive Posted 08:00 PM on 03/16/2009
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Flag as abusive Posted 10:09 PM on 03/16/2009
Michael Giltz: DVDs -- Pinocchio Looks Better Than Ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds----paul-rudd-movie-s_b_174832.html [4/2/2009 9:22:45 PM]
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