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Michael Giltz
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Posted: November 10, 2010 07:58 PM
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THE SOUND OF MUSIC 45TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION BLURAY ($34.99; FOX) -- I've seen
The Sound Of Music quite a few times. It's the first film I remember seeing in a movie theater and then of
course I've seen it on TV and DVD. Still, my jaw DROPPED when I saw how stunning this new transfer is
on BluRay. Really, I don't get all hung up on technical specifications and 7.1 remixed sound and the like.I just watch the movies and TV shows and tell you which ones I liked. But this one is a stunner. Argue all
you want about it being too sentimental or sweet. But when every single song in a musical is memorable,
I can't imagine what your complaint would be. Loads of extras including some previewed on The Oprah
Winfrey Show. By the way, I love that Oprah brought together the entire cast of the family (as well as the
next generation of Von Trapp family singers) but where the heck was Rolfe (actor Daniel Truhitte)? Wellworth upgrading to BluRay.
TOY STORY 3 ($45.99; Disney) -- Pixar's amazing hitting streak continues with one of the best films of
the year and certainly one of the most satisfying trilogies of all time. TS3 starts a little slow and I feared it
was repeating itself. But the set pieces were great, Buzz speaking Spanish was inspired and then it really
kicked in. The scene of the toys facing death together hand in hand was unexpectedly moving and thefinale was heart-tugging even if it was drawn-out just a tad. Adults were amusingly competitive about
this movie. If they'd seen it, I would ask, "Did you cry?" And they leaped at me. Of course they cried!
Aren't they human beings? Don't they have feelings? A rock would have cried! They cried earlier than Idid! (My friend Sam wins that contest for tearing up during a "home movie" that showed Andymeasuring the height of Buzz Lightyear against a wall and making a mark, just like his own son did years
ago when the first movie came out. Heck, I teared up just hearing him tell me about that.) For the love of
God, please don't make a TS4. The story is finished and beautifully so. On sale, you can get the regular
DVD for $15. Or you can get this BluRay edition for $25 which has loads of extras, the BluRay and the
regular DVD version and a digital copy.
THE PACIFIC ($99.98 BluRay or $79.98 regular DVD; HBO) -- For some reason, I was resistant at first
to this new miniseries overseen by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, who had done such a good job onBand Of Brothers . I'd seen it all before, hadn't I? The first few episodes went by and then quietly,
forcefully I was hooked. Hooked by three terrific actors who anchor the film: Jon Seda as a Medal of
Honor winner who is drawn inexorably back into battle even after falling in love, James Badge Dale as an
aspiring writer who has a mental breakdown, and especially Joseph Mazello as an almost innocent who is
brutalized by battle to the point where we fear for his soul, fear like his father does that this young man
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will come home with eyes deadened to the world. We see soldiers on leave in Australia, hospitals with
crude mental wards, and war bond rallies on the home front. But above all we experience the endless,
trudging, horribly violent battles. By the end, I was thoroughly engrossed and wondered how the damnthing would turn out. A lovely tin case sets just the right tone for a set filled with informative extras andreal-life heroes that give you hours of detail to explore. Two complaints: the menu for accessing episodesis poorly done and the steps you have to jump through to turn subtitles on and off is absurd. Sometimes
you just want to confirm a bit of dialogue that's obscured and it shouldn't be such a bother to do so.
THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($149.99; Shout) -- Very few actors
appear in one great comedy, much less two. But now we can appreciate Garry Shandling's remarkableachievements even better thanks to Shout's two boxed sets. One of course is his witty deconstruction of
the sitcom called It's Garry Shandling's Show ($159.99; Shout). The other is his corrosive deconstruction
of the talk show. Shandling had a shot at his own talk show, but perversely chose to deliver what was in
essence a talk show AND a behind the scenes work place comedy sending up the egos and frustrations of
the format. The entire cast is brilliant and the use of actors mercilessly spoofing or tearing down theirpublic image is tremendously fun. But at the heart there's Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor as his insecuresidekick and Rip Torn as the no B.S. producer. The credits are filled with talented actors, writers and
directors who went on to substantial careers (like Judd Apatow, Todd Holland and Mary Lynn Rajskub,
to name a few). You get all six seasons and solid extras in a 17 disc set that's neatly packaged. The imagequality won't blow you away but the comedy quality will.
THE GOONIES 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION ($49.99 BluRay and $39.99 regular DVD; Warner
Bros.) -- This kiddie flick about a group of friends who discover a treasure map and hope to find gold so
they can keep their families from being evicted was a decent hit in 1985, grossing $61 million. Then it
came out on VHS and turned into a phenomenon. Kids just love this movie and watch it over and overagain, even though the story is paper-thin, the scares mild (including a lovable ogre) and every set looksvery much like a movie set or an amusement park ride, not an actual place where the gang is in danger.
Think Scooby-Doo without the deep plotting. It helps that the roles were very well cast; future stars
appearing here include Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton and Sean Astin. This new editionincludes a reprint of a UK article charting Where Are They Now, a very nice booklet and even a Goonies
board game (which I didn't play). Oh and the movie looks very good on BluRay, which is nice since
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apparently your kids are going to be playing it over and over and over again.
NIP/TUCK THE COMPLETE SERIES ($199.98; Warner Bros.) -- Creator Ryan Murphy went on to
deliver Glee , but he first sprang to prominence with this outrageous, button-pushing prime time soap. If
nip/tuck has a failing, it's that the show became over the top just for the sake of over the top. The first
few years -- even with a serial killer dominating season three -- had some basis in reality. Then it spun off
into space. But the show was always fun throughout its six seasons and the cavalcade of guest stars
looking to get work done is impressive and keeps your interest, even when the reboot of the series took itto LA and made a declining show lose all impact. Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon dug into their roles
with relish all the way through. This boxed set just offers the previous boxed sets of all the seasons in one
silvery box. No new extras or packaging, just the sets they've already put out in a new cardboard case. Onsale, it's a decent discount compared to buying them individually. Anyone who bought the sets one
season at a time won't need to buy it again. And anyone who wants to dive in can start here.
WHO IS HARRY NILSSON (AND WHY IS EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT HIM?) ($29.95;
Lorber) -- A solid documentary loaded with extras about the artist the Beatles always singled out in theirheyday as a musical favorite. Indeed, Nilsson would be Ringo's best man, record with John and otherwise
come as close as Billy Preston and Yoko Ono and George Martin to the coveted title of honorary Beatle.He was also a self-destructive man who willfully left behind people who had supported him when theydidn't serve his purpose anymore, fairly ignored a first wife and son (who are quite open-hearted towards
him) and was bollocks at career management. But God could he sing! And what a talented songwriter as
well. Five or six albums of his are classics, or damn near. (I'd recommend A Little Touch Of SchmilssonIn The Night if you love standards, Nilsson Sings Newman if you're a Randy Newman fan, Nilsson
Schmilsson for his pop high point or Aerial Pandemonium Ballet and Harry for his own excellent tunes.)
If you're already a fan, the film illuminates why he never achieved the huge fame and burned out. Ifyou're not a fan, the film will unquestionably get you to check out his music. Because you shouldn't be
talking about him -- you should be listening to him.FOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST
I AM LOVE ($26.98; Magnolia) -- I Am Love is a lush, Visconti-like Italian drama starring Tilda
Swinton as the wife of a powerful businessman who takes over the family empire from the aging
patriarch but must share duties with his less cynical, noblesse oblige of a son. Director Luca Guadagninohas made a string of films but I think this is the first one of his I've seen. On a technical level, it ismasterful. Beautifully shot images, a cast that glides through their world like royalty, with sound and
image and production design and editing all working in concert to tell the story. Edoardo (a handsome
Flavio Parenti) is the son with no interest for business. But when he's dragooned into the role, hebecomes increasingly concerned with his father's desire to merge and grow and place economics ahead ofthe workers, fearing it is not what his grandfather would want and that the family is losing their soul. His
mother (Swinton) meanwhile, begins a passionate affair with the chef Edoardo has befriended and plans
to open an airy, mountain-top restaurant with as soon as the permits clear. It's another example of art(the chef has high standards and doesn't want to soil his cooking with crowds of people) trumping
commerce. There's also a sister who falls in love with a woman but keeps it secret from the father
because he wouldn't understand. It all builds to a gripping, operatic finale that is both silly (as finales inoperas often are, with eight things happening at once) and quite moving. I was never bored, but the film
is so arid and intellectual and removed, I felt I didn't really know the people I was watching. Certainly
scene after scene is wonderful, the way the director uses every technique at his command to tell the story.I simply won't know where I stand until another viewing. And that itself is a compliment, since most
movies aren't worth watching once.
WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($44.98 BluRay or $29.98 regular
DVD; Lionsgate) -- Very well received by fans, this iteration of the X-Men franchise has solid animationand very good voice actors with decent plots that hold true to the X-Men mythology. The 26 episodes
come with 29 audio commentary tracks and two brief making-of pieces. On BluRay, they look pretty darngood.
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG ($34.99 BluRay; MGM) -- I could just refer to this as the beloved
childhood classic, but the truth is that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is really quite awful. Unless your kids are
ten or younger, they're likely to be bored by this tepid adventure that crossed the gadgets of James Bond
with the songs of Disney's the Sherman Brothers (not their best work) and came up with...nothing. Blandas can be, with only the title song memorable and even that's just a ditty. Yes, I enjoyed it when I was
very young -- which makes it all the sadder to realize how bad it really is now. Decent extras include
demos of the songs by the sibling Shermans, star Dick Van Dyke looking back and promo pieces from theperiod.
WINNEBAGO MAN ($29.95; Kino) -- A viral video on YouTube was dubbed "The Angriest Man Alive"
and showed Jack Rebney melting down and ripping into his crew while filming a local commercial for
motor homes. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer wondered if Rebney really was that angry or had just had a bad
day. And did the guy know he was famous in a weird sort of way? Rebney decided to track him down.This documentary about what happened (which takes the usual, Catfish -like twists) has the makings of a
very good short. Unfortunately, it's stretched out to feature film length and ultimately outstays its
presence. Extras include, naturally, the Winnebago sales videos along with 25 minutes of footage that
didn't make it online.
APOCALYPSE NOW FULL DISCLOSURE ($59.99 BluRay; Paramount) -- Sometimes filmmakers
are their own worst enemies. At one point, director Francis Ford Coppola was so enamored with his new
cut of Apocalypse Now that he wanted the extended edition to become the de facto version of the film,
with the original cut not even available. Now it wouldn't matter if his new version were the greatestmovie in the history of the world, for posterity's sake the original cut of important films like this should
always be available. Luckily, saner minds prevailed and now we've got this smashing BluRay edition
which includes the landmark original film, Coppola's new cut and loads of bonus material including -- bythe way -- Hearts Of Darkness, the brilliant documentary film about the making of the movie that is a
gem in its own right. Needless to say, the film looks sensational. My neighbors are getting tired of the
helicopter scene, but I'm not.
HARRY POTTER 3 AND 4 ULTIMATE BLURAY EDITIONS ($49.99 BluRay and $39.99 regular
DVD; Warner Bros.) -- Like an adult downing one too many butterbeers, these Ultimate Editions areabsolutely brimming with extras. Unlike the Ultimate versions of part one and two, you get the theatrical
versions of the movie, not the versions shown on cable and TV with extra scenes. (Those scenes can befound among the extras but there should be an option to show either version for the completists.) You geta nice hardcover photo album, character cards, numerous making of features highlighted by Part 4's
focus in one major documentary on creating the sound and score for the film, which is fascinating
enough to send some kids on an unexpected career path. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is
still my favorite of the films. And they both look excellent, assuming you can find them among all the
extras.
THE BIONIC WOMAN SEASON 1 ($39.98; Universal) -- Fans who can't wait for the boxed set of The
Six Million Dollar Man coming out at the end of the month from Time-Life can occupy themselves with
this season of the spin-off series. To be honest, I always preferred the bionic woman. I never worried
about Steve Austin but believed Jaime Sommers could actually get hurt or die. Sexism? No, I think it was
Wagner's performance, which actually garnered an Emmy -- an almost unheard of event for a comic bookseries of this sort. (Bill Bixby, for example, was never even nominated for his widely praised work on TheIncredible Hulk .) The set includes five cross-over episodes (but not the later TV movie reunions), so you
get the whole saga from the start.
LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER ($14.98; Lionsgate) -- The title card might surprise some
Stones fans: the name of director Hal Ashby is just about as big as the Rolling Stones. But as Peter
Biskind convincingly made the case in his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls , Ashby was the greatest, most
consistent director of the Seventies with one unique gem after another. So it's no surprise that with
Ashby directing and the great Caleb Deschanel (along with Gerald Feil) as the DP, you won't be surprised
that the movie looks great and unlike so many concert films actually finds a good angle during a song
(like focusing on Keith Richards) and sticks with it rather than the usual cut-cut-cutting that goes on toengender "excitement." Still, this is a stadium show with all the bombast that entails, Ashby oftenwanders offstage to see what's going on behind the scenes (nothing very interesting) and the Stones are
in cruise control rather than truly inspired. Serious fans only.
HIGHLANDER/HIGHLANDER 2 ($19.99 each BluRay; Lionsgate) -- I was really really jazzed by the
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Job...original Highlander film though not in my wildest imagination did I think this nifty B movie would spin
off multiple sequels, not one but two TV series plus an animated series, novels, comic books and on and
on. This edition is Russell Mulcahy's director cut (about five minutes longer than the original). As alwaysI much prefer the original theatrical version be included as well; that is, after all, what launched all thiscraziness. Christopher Lambert (who was a good Tarzan in Greystoke ) has the role of his life as Connor
MacLeod, one of the Immortals. That sounds great until you find out you're not literally immortal and --
more to the point - "there can be only one" so other hard-to-kill Immortals are gunning for you. Good
pulpy fun. The sequel is out too but I could never be bothered with all the other spin-offs so why startnow? The image quality is nothing special and the extras are mild. If you don't own it, this is ok. If youdo, no need to upgrade.
IN TREATMENT SEASON TWO ($59.98; HBO) -- It must suck being a psychotherapist. You don't get
to always choose your patients (you need the work, after all) and surely sometimes you get stuck with
boring people whose problems just don't interest you. That's how it feels during season two when Gabriel
Byrne is saddled with people needing the talking cure that you just wish would shut up. Season Threeairing now happily looks more promising with at least two good storylines.
*****
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost 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. Also, Michael Giltz freelances as a writer of DVD copy (the text that appears on the back of
DVDs) for some titles released by IFC and other subsidiaries of MPI. It helps pay the rent, but does notobligate him in any way to speak positively or negatively of their titles.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
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FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH
LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS
Michael Giltz
Freelance writer and raconteur
Posted: November 10, 2010 07:58 PM
BIO
Become a Fan
Get Email Alerts
Bloggers' Index
1
3
views
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0Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyDVDs: The Sound Of Music, Toy
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Read More: Apocalypse Now , Dvds , Garry Shandling , Harry Nilsson , Harry Potter , Highlander , Larry Sanders
, Nip/Tuck , Steven Spielberg , The Bionic Woman , The Goonies , The Pacific , The Sound Of Music , Tilda
Swinton , Tom Hanks , Toy Story 3 , Entertainment News
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THE SOUND OF MUSIC 45TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION BLURAY ($34.99; FOX) -- I've seen
The Sound Of Music quite a few times. It's the first film I remember seeing in a movie theater and then of
course I've seen it on TV and DVD. Still, my jaw DROPPED when I saw how stunning this new transfer is
on BluRay. Really, I don't get all hung up on technical specifications and 7.1 remixed sound and the like.I just watch the movies and TV shows and tell you which ones I liked. But this one is a stunner. Argue all
you want about it being too sentimental or sweet. But when every single song in a musical is memorable,
I can't imagine what your complaint would be. Loads of extras including some previewed on The Oprah
Winfrey Show. By the way, I love that Oprah brought together the entire cast of the family (as well as the
next generation of Von Trapp family singers) but where the heck was Rolfe (actor Daniel Truhitte)? Wellworth upgrading to BluRay.
TOY STORY 3 ($45.99; Disney) -- Pixar's amazing hitting streak continues with one of the best films of
the year and certainly one of the most satisfying trilogies of all time. TS3 starts a little slow and I feared it
was repeating itself. But the set pieces were great, Buzz speaking Spanish was inspired and then it really
kicked in. The scene of the toys facing death together hand in hand was unexpectedly moving and thefinale was heart-tugging even if it was drawn-out just a tad. Adults were amusingly competitive about
this movie. If they'd seen it, I would ask, "Did you cry?" And they leaped at me. Of course they cried!
Aren't they human beings? Don't they have feelings? A rock would have cried! They cried earlier than Idid! (My friend Sam wins that contest for tearing up during a "home movie" that showed Andymeasuring the height of Buzz Lightyear against a wall and making a mark, just like his own son did years
ago when the first movie came out. Heck, I teared up just hearing him tell me about that.) For the love of
God, please don't make a TS4. The story is finished and beautifully so. On sale, you can get the regular
DVD for $15. Or you can get this BluRay edition for $25 which has loads of extras, the BluRay and the
regular DVD version and a digital copy.
THE PACIFIC ($99.98 BluRay or $79.98 regular DVD; HBO) -- For some reason, I was resistant at first
to this new miniseries overseen by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, who had done such a good job onBand Of Brothers . I'd seen it all before, hadn't I? The first few episodes went by and then quietly,
forcefully I was hooked. Hooked by three terrific actors who anchor the film: Jon Seda as a Medal of
Honor winner who is drawn inexorably back into battle even after falling in love, James Badge Dale as an
aspiring writer who has a mental breakdown, and especially Joseph Mazello as an almost innocent who is
brutalized by battle to the point where we fear for his soul, fear like his father does that this young man
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will come home with eyes deadened to the world. We see soldiers on leave in Australia, hospitals with
crude mental wards, and war bond rallies on the home front. But above all we experience the endless,
trudging, horribly violent battles. By the end, I was thoroughly engrossed and wondered how the damnthing would turn out. A lovely tin case sets just the right tone for a set filled with informative extras andreal-life heroes that give you hours of detail to explore. Two complaints: the menu for accessing episodesis poorly done and the steps you have to jump through to turn subtitles on and off is absurd. Sometimes
you just want to confirm a bit of dialogue that's obscured and it shouldn't be such a bother to do so.
THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($149.99; Shout) -- Very few actors
appear in one great comedy, much less two. But now we can appreciate Garry Shandling's remarkableachievements even better thanks to Shout's two boxed sets. One of course is his witty deconstruction of
the sitcom called It's Garry Shandling's Show ($159.99; Shout). The other is his corrosive deconstruction
of the talk show. Shandling had a shot at his own talk show, but perversely chose to deliver what was in
essence a talk show AND a behind the scenes work place comedy sending up the egos and frustrations of
the format. The entire cast is brilliant and the use of actors mercilessly spoofing or tearing down theirpublic image is tremendously fun. But at the heart there's Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor as his insecuresidekick and Rip Torn as the no B.S. producer. The credits are filled with talented actors, writers and
directors who went on to substantial careers (like Judd Apatow, Todd Holland and Mary Lynn Rajskub,
to name a few). You get all six seasons and solid extras in a 17 disc set that's neatly packaged. The imagequality won't blow you away but the comedy quality will.
THE GOONIES 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION ($49.99 BluRay and $39.99 regular DVD; Warner
Bros.) -- This kiddie flick about a group of friends who discover a treasure map and hope to find gold so
they can keep their families from being evicted was a decent hit in 1985, grossing $61 million. Then it
came out on VHS and turned into a phenomenon. Kids just love this movie and watch it over and overagain, even though the story is paper-thin, the scares mild (including a lovable ogre) and every set looksvery much like a movie set or an amusement park ride, not an actual place where the gang is in danger.
Think Scooby-Doo without the deep plotting. It helps that the roles were very well cast; future stars
appearing here include Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton and Sean Astin. This new editionincludes a reprint of a UK article charting Where Are They Now, a very nice booklet and even a Goonies
board game (which I didn't play). Oh and the movie looks very good on BluRay, which is nice since
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apparently your kids are going to be playing it over and over and over again.
NIP/TUCK THE COMPLETE SERIES ($199.98; Warner Bros.) -- Creator Ryan Murphy went on to
deliver Glee , but he first sprang to prominence with this outrageous, button-pushing prime time soap. If
nip/tuck has a failing, it's that the show became over the top just for the sake of over the top. The first
few years -- even with a serial killer dominating season three -- had some basis in reality. Then it spun off
into space. But the show was always fun throughout its six seasons and the cavalcade of guest stars
looking to get work done is impressive and keeps your interest, even when the reboot of the series took itto LA and made a declining show lose all impact. Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon dug into their roles
with relish all the way through. This boxed set just offers the previous boxed sets of all the seasons in one
silvery box. No new extras or packaging, just the sets they've already put out in a new cardboard case. Onsale, it's a decent discount compared to buying them individually. Anyone who bought the sets one
season at a time won't need to buy it again. And anyone who wants to dive in can start here.
WHO IS HARRY NILSSON (AND WHY IS EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT HIM?) ($29.95;
Lorber) -- A solid documentary loaded with extras about the artist the Beatles always singled out in theirheyday as a musical favorite. Indeed, Nilsson would be Ringo's best man, record with John and otherwise
come as close as Billy Preston and Yoko Ono and George Martin to the coveted title of honorary Beatle.He was also a self-destructive man who willfully left behind people who had supported him when theydidn't serve his purpose anymore, fairly ignored a first wife and son (who are quite open-hearted towards
him) and was bollocks at career management. But God could he sing! And what a talented songwriter as
well. Five or six albums of his are classics, or damn near. (I'd recommend A Little Touch Of SchmilssonIn The Night if you love standards, Nilsson Sings Newman if you're a Randy Newman fan, Nilsson
Schmilsson for his pop high point or Aerial Pandemonium Ballet and Harry for his own excellent tunes.)
If you're already a fan, the film illuminates why he never achieved the huge fame and burned out. Ifyou're not a fan, the film will unquestionably get you to check out his music. Because you shouldn't be
talking about him -- you should be listening to him.FOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST
I AM LOVE ($26.98; Magnolia) -- I Am Love is a lush, Visconti-like Italian drama starring Tilda
Swinton as the wife of a powerful businessman who takes over the family empire from the aging
patriarch but must share duties with his less cynical, noblesse oblige of a son. Director Luca Guadagninohas made a string of films but I think this is the first one of his I've seen. On a technical level, it ismasterful. Beautifully shot images, a cast that glides through their world like royalty, with sound and
image and production design and editing all working in concert to tell the story. Edoardo (a handsome
Flavio Parenti) is the son with no interest for business. But when he's dragooned into the role, hebecomes increasingly concerned with his father's desire to merge and grow and place economics ahead ofthe workers, fearing it is not what his grandfather would want and that the family is losing their soul. His
mother (Swinton) meanwhile, begins a passionate affair with the chef Edoardo has befriended and plans
to open an airy, mountain-top restaurant with as soon as the permits clear. It's another example of art(the chef has high standards and doesn't want to soil his cooking with crowds of people) trumping
commerce. There's also a sister who falls in love with a woman but keeps it secret from the father
because he wouldn't understand. It all builds to a gripping, operatic finale that is both silly (as finales inoperas often are, with eight things happening at once) and quite moving. I was never bored, but the film
is so arid and intellectual and removed, I felt I didn't really know the people I was watching. Certainly
scene after scene is wonderful, the way the director uses every technique at his command to tell the story.I simply won't know where I stand until another viewing. And that itself is a compliment, since most
movies aren't worth watching once.
WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($44.98 BluRay or $29.98 regular
DVD; Lionsgate) -- Very well received by fans, this iteration of the X-Men franchise has solid animationand very good voice actors with decent plots that hold true to the X-Men mythology. The 26 episodes
come with 29 audio commentary tracks and two brief making-of pieces. On BluRay, they look pretty darngood.
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG ($34.99 BluRay; MGM) -- I could just refer to this as the beloved
childhood classic, but the truth is that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is really quite awful. Unless your kids are
ten or younger, they're likely to be bored by this tepid adventure that crossed the gadgets of James Bond
with the songs of Disney's the Sherman Brothers (not their best work) and came up with...nothing. Blandas can be, with only the title song memorable and even that's just a ditty. Yes, I enjoyed it when I was
very young -- which makes it all the sadder to realize how bad it really is now. Decent extras include
demos of the songs by the sibling Shermans, star Dick Van Dyke looking back and promo pieces from theperiod.
WINNEBAGO MAN ($29.95; Kino) -- A viral video on YouTube was dubbed "The Angriest Man Alive"
and showed Jack Rebney melting down and ripping into his crew while filming a local commercial for
motor homes. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer wondered if Rebney really was that angry or had just had a bad
day. And did the guy know he was famous in a weird sort of way? Rebney decided to track him down.This documentary about what happened (which takes the usual, Catfish -like twists) has the makings of a
very good short. Unfortunately, it's stretched out to feature film length and ultimately outstays its
presence. Extras include, naturally, the Winnebago sales videos along with 25 minutes of footage that
didn't make it online.
APOCALYPSE NOW FULL DISCLOSURE ($59.99 BluRay; Paramount) -- Sometimes filmmakers
are their own worst enemies. At one point, director Francis Ford Coppola was so enamored with his new
cut of Apocalypse Now that he wanted the extended edition to become the de facto version of the film,
with the original cut not even available. Now it wouldn't matter if his new version were the greatestmovie in the history of the world, for posterity's sake the original cut of important films like this should
always be available. Luckily, saner minds prevailed and now we've got this smashing BluRay edition
which includes the landmark original film, Coppola's new cut and loads of bonus material including -- bythe way -- Hearts Of Darkness, the brilliant documentary film about the making of the movie that is a
gem in its own right. Needless to say, the film looks sensational. My neighbors are getting tired of the
helicopter scene, but I'm not.
HARRY POTTER 3 AND 4 ULTIMATE BLURAY EDITIONS ($49.99 BluRay and $39.99 regular
DVD; Warner Bros.) -- Like an adult downing one too many butterbeers, these Ultimate Editions areabsolutely brimming with extras. Unlike the Ultimate versions of part one and two, you get the theatrical
versions of the movie, not the versions shown on cable and TV with extra scenes. (Those scenes can befound among the extras but there should be an option to show either version for the completists.) You geta nice hardcover photo album, character cards, numerous making of features highlighted by Part 4's
focus in one major documentary on creating the sound and score for the film, which is fascinating
enough to send some kids on an unexpected career path. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is
still my favorite of the films. And they both look excellent, assuming you can find them among all the
extras.
THE BIONIC WOMAN SEASON 1 ($39.98; Universal) -- Fans who can't wait for the boxed set of The
Six Million Dollar Man coming out at the end of the month from Time-Life can occupy themselves with
this season of the spin-off series. To be honest, I always preferred the bionic woman. I never worried
about Steve Austin but believed Jaime Sommers could actually get hurt or die. Sexism? No, I think it was
Wagner's performance, which actually garnered an Emmy -- an almost unheard of event for a comic bookseries of this sort. (Bill Bixby, for example, was never even nominated for his widely praised work on TheIncredible Hulk .) The set includes five cross-over episodes (but not the later TV movie reunions), so you
get the whole saga from the start.
LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER ($14.98; Lionsgate) -- The title card might surprise some
Stones fans: the name of director Hal Ashby is just about as big as the Rolling Stones. But as Peter
Biskind convincingly made the case in his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls , Ashby was the greatest, most
consistent director of the Seventies with one unique gem after another. So it's no surprise that with
Ashby directing and the great Caleb Deschanel (along with Gerald Feil) as the DP, you won't be surprised
that the movie looks great and unlike so many concert films actually finds a good angle during a song
(like focusing on Keith Richards) and sticks with it rather than the usual cut-cut-cutting that goes on toengender "excitement." Still, this is a stadium show with all the bombast that entails, Ashby oftenwanders offstage to see what's going on behind the scenes (nothing very interesting) and the Stones are
in cruise control rather than truly inspired. Serious fans only.
HIGHLANDER/HIGHLANDER 2 ($19.99 each BluRay; Lionsgate) -- I was really really jazzed by the
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Job...original Highlander film though not in my wildest imagination did I think this nifty B movie would spin
off multiple sequels, not one but two TV series plus an animated series, novels, comic books and on and
on. This edition is Russell Mulcahy's director cut (about five minutes longer than the original). As alwaysI much prefer the original theatrical version be included as well; that is, after all, what launched all thiscraziness. Christopher Lambert (who was a good Tarzan in Greystoke ) has the role of his life as Connor
MacLeod, one of the Immortals. That sounds great until you find out you're not literally immortal and --
more to the point - "there can be only one" so other hard-to-kill Immortals are gunning for you. Good
pulpy fun. The sequel is out too but I could never be bothered with all the other spin-offs so why startnow? The image quality is nothing special and the extras are mild. If you don't own it, this is ok. If youdo, no need to upgrade.
IN TREATMENT SEASON TWO ($59.98; HBO) -- It must suck being a psychotherapist. You don't get
to always choose your patients (you need the work, after all) and surely sometimes you get stuck with
boring people whose problems just don't interest you. That's how it feels during season two when Gabriel
Byrne is saddled with people needing the talking cure that you just wish would shut up. Season Threeairing now happily looks more promising with at least two good storylines.
*****
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost 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. Also, Michael Giltz freelances as a writer of DVD copy (the text that appears on the back of
DVDs) for some titles released by IFC and other subsidiaries of MPI. It helps pay the rent, but does notobligate him in any way to speak positively or negatively of their titles.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
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