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DVDs: The Long Strange Journey Of "Mary Hartman, MaryHartman"
Loads of DVDs and BluRays to tackle as the last wave of titles come out before the holidays. A few of the releases below hit
stores on December 17 but most are out now. Need a last minute gift? Why wait? Coming next: a best of the year round-up.And if you want more choices, here's a recent column covering some of the biggest boxed sets out in recent weeks.
MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN COMPLETE SERIES($249.95 DVD; Shout Factory) THE MOD SQUAD COMPLETE SERIES ($219.95 DVD;
VEI/CBS)THE GENE AUTRY SHOW COMPLETE SERIES ($79.99
DVD; Timeless) -- Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is truly one of
the strangest, most compelling and influential shows in TVhistory. There's never been anything like it, before or since. Atheart, it's a soap opera, though most soap operas don't have awicked sense of humor or an explicit mockery of a consumeristsociety. Somehow, when family tragedy strikes and MaryHartman is more concerned about waxy buildup on her floors, itmanages to make fun of both the products shilled on TV and
the soaps where tragedy is daily bread and butter. How
shocked can a character truly be to hear they have a twin when
a week earlier they found out they were adopted and a week
later their wife is sleeping with her boss? But MH2 doesn'tsatirize soap operas the way the primetime Soap did, forexample. It really is a soap and like many daytime soaps it hasa talented cast (Mary Kay Place, Martin Mull) and delivers plottwists with relentless aplomb. But with Louise Lasser front andcenter with her deadpan - if not deadened -- delivery, you'realways off-kilter. She hides under the sink and would seem aprime candidate for medication if she didn't already seem to befloating on a haze of prescription pills. Are they mocking TV ordrugs to tweak your every move or both? Or neither? You couldnever really tell. And just when you're laughing the loudestMary Hartman has a breakdown that's show-stopping and real.I think. When Lasser left, the show morphed into on ongoingsoap with all the same characters and then even more oddlyinto a satire of talk shows that was brilliant in its own right long
before Larry Sanders. This set from Shout contains the entire
run of the original series before it shape-shifted into those
variations. It's the show that became a national phenomenon,
graced the covers of magazines, proved dearest to producerNorman Lear's heart and still leaves you flummoxed today as tohow exactly you're supposed to react. How many shows even
now can saythat?
The Mod
Squad knew
exactly what itwas: anentertaining,would-be coolshow withyoung peoplespeaking jiveand fightingcrime in a
multi-culti sort
of way thatwas bold forprimetimethoughobviously justcatching upMay 16, 2014
This is the print preview:
Back to normal view ยป
Posted: 12/11/2013 1:43 am
with real America. It was blessed with a cast that
was way cooler than the scripts or most of thecrimes they faced, led by Clarence Williams III asLinc, Emmy winner Peggy Lipton as Julie andMichael Cole as Pete. It was explosivelysuccessful and then faded away just as quicklybut for five years, it was ground-breaking. Theshow is dated now, but original fans will scarf thisup and newcomers will be tickled by how hep ittried to be and the fact that the actors maintainedtheir dignity throughout (a crucial factor in theshow's success). This set contains all five
seasons but not , alas, the reunion TV movie.
Gene Autry was also a ground-breaker on TV,
though in his case it was commercial, making the
leap from films and becoming his own production company powerhouse with this and other TV shows. He experimented withcolor right from the start, produced an anthology series when an ongoing serial might have seemed easier to tackle and madebarn-fuls of money doing it. I'm not sure who would beat or outdraw who in a fight: Autry or Roy Rogers. But of course themain point is that they would never fight in the first place; the bad guys always drew first and they were the good guys. TheGene Autry Show is interesting with its "contemporary" Westerns one week and episodes set decades earlier in others to
shake things up, but again this is for those nostalgia buffs who enjoyed it in the first place.
WOLVERINE ($39.99 BluRay; FOX)
DESPICABLE ME 2 ($34.98 BluRay; Universal)
THE LONE RANGER ($39.99 BluRay out December 17;
Disney)PRISONERS ($35.99 BluRay out December 17; Warner
Bros.)THE ROOFTOP ($29.98 BluRay; Well Go) -- Will there
be another Wolverine movie? When this Hugh Jackman
vehicle made more money than all the other X-Men
movies but one, you bet there will be. Hopefully soon,
they'll get the glowering/humor ratio just right and letWolverine have a genuinely gripping tale that's notdrenched in angst. Fat chance.
Despicable Me 3? Are you kidding me? Of course there
will be, not to mention a spin-off movie with the scene-
stealing little yellow guys, though since they'repractically the main draw in the first place, I'm not surethe Minions need or want their own movie. (Or more tothe point, certainly Despicable Me needs them.) DM2 is
similar to the mild first movie, but a little less so. Cometo think of it, maybe an all-Minions movie can get a littleGremlins and start some much-needed mayhem. If this
series has a problem, it's too much heart.
I'm one of the three people who didn't mind The Lone
Ranger. Heck, I was really in the mood for a Westernand I appreciated the tone throughout, which wasn't toojokey, or rather wasn't as jokey as I feared. It built to a
clever action finale that was amusingly over the top and
set to the music of the William Tell Overture in a verysatisfying way. Indeed, the movie consistently raised thestakes with each set piece, pushing the believability
farther and farther until the nutty finale in a way that had
an internal logic. I would have preferred...not a grittyLone Ranger, but a more realistic one, I think. But themovie they made was certainly more coherent than the
last few Pirates movies and those made $1 billion each sowhy this suffered so is beyond me. If you're in the rightframe of mind, give it a try.
Hugh Jackman enjoyed a commercial blockbuster with
Wolverine and solid critical reviews for the low-budget
Prisoners , a violent tale that has been hailed by critics for
its ensemble cast, which also includes Jake Gyllenhaaland Viola Davis. For this story of a father trying to protect
his family, the tension would surely have been greater at a
shorter running time, but that battle seems to have been
lost long ago in Hollywood. Today, two hours is considered
short.
Finally, it's not a Hollywood blockbuster but The Rooftop is
one of the nuttiest, most enjoyably offbeat flicks, with pop
star, actor and director Jay Chou writing the tunes andstarring in this tale of kids who live on rooftops in a majorcity and burst into song at the slightest provocation. Yes,they live on the roofs of buildings and sing and dancewhile they're at it. If this sounds remotely appealing to you,jump. Chou was born in the wrong era - what MGM mighthave done with his talents back in the day.
MARY POPPINS 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION ($39.99
BluRay; Disney)ANCHORMAN: THE RICH MAHOGANY EDITION($26.98 DVD out December 14; Paramount)RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK ($26.98 BluRay out
December 17; Paramount) -- Perfectly timed to themaking-of movie Saving Mr. Banks (a blandly sentimental
film about P.L. Travers that wastes a good performance byEmma Thompson), here comes the 50th anniversaryedition of Mary Poppins. First and foremost...well first and
foremost is Julie Andrews practically perfect as the crisp,no-nonsense nanny. But I'd focus more on the ShermanBrothers, who delivered one of the best original moviemusical scores in history (alongside their excellent work
for The Jungle Book, their other masterpiece). The songs
are clever, inventive, tuneful, smart and push the story
forward or reveal character with ease. Like other family
friendly fare ( The Sound Of Music et al), it's often damned
with faint praise but this is a great movie from its production
design to broad performances (Dick Van Dyke keeps theromance between Bert and Mary Poppins at precisely thelittle boy crush it should be, for example) to those songs. Itwas indeed Walt Disney's final triumph and proved thisshowman had a lot more to give when he died.
Also timed to a new movie is yet another edition of
Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy. If you already
have the film on DVD or BluRay, there's certainly nothing
here you need to so, though like every other excuse for a
re-release of a film it has some exclusive content. The main
draw is of course the movie about a competitive local news
team, one of the bright spots on Will Farrell's resume. It's
always smart to surround yourself with talent and he does
that here with Paul Rudd and many others.
Franchises spark loyalty and a fierce sense of ownership,
which is why I bristle and refuse to retitle one of my favoritemovies of all time as Indiana Jones and the Raiders Of TheLost Ark. No, thank you. It's Raiders Of The Lost Ark andalways will be. Twelve year old boys can be very stubbornand that's exactly how this adventure makes me feel, in thebest sense of the idea: a 12 year old boy open to escapismand derring-do and even willing to worry that the heromight not make it, though of course he will. That's whyIndy's teenage bickering with Marion (Karen Allen) is sopitch-perfect. They have a sexy moment or two, but Indyfalls asleep just at the crucial moment and the movie gets alaugh and kids can relax and know the adult stuff will staybehind closed doors and the action will soon pick up again.
This celebration of the Hollywood serial is one of the great
homages of all time, not sending them up (like the sequel
Temple Of Doom did)
but creating the
ultimate serial of themall. I find things toenjoy in the othereditions of IndianaJones, but in truth this
is the only one youreally need and it'snow available onBluRay. So, now thatDisney owns therights, after Fordhangs up the whip(maybe one or twoadventures from now)who's going to play
Young Indy in the
prequels set beforeRaiders ? That's not
heresy: Sean PatrickFlannery was verygood in the TV seriesand River Phoenixwas just as appealingin his cameo. Therewill be another Indy;it's just a matter oftime.
NASHVILLE ($39.95
BluRay/DVD out
December 14;Criterion)CITY LIGHTS ($39.95
BluRay/DVD;Criterion)
GREY GARDENS
($39.95 BluRay;
Criterion)
TOKYO STORY ($39.95
BluRay/DVD; Criterion)
INVESTIGATION OF ACITIZEN ABOVE
SUSPICION ($39.95
BluRay/DVD; Criterion) -
- If you've got a movie
buff on your list, just give
them something new
from Criterion. Yousimply can't go wrong.In the past few weeks,as always, they've puton some new releasesand you have to reachfor the thesaurus to findenough superlatives totalk about the moviesthey're presenting withsuch care. Nashvillemay be my favoriteRobert Altman film and it
has simply never looked
better. One side benefit
of the switch fromcelluloid to digital in
movie theaters (you may
not have noticed, butfilm is officially dead atmost multiplexes) is thatevery time they want toshow any older moviethey have to strike anew digital print and thatusually means a 4K printwith better detail thanbefore. It's not
necessarily arestoration in theclassic sense, butdone with care itcan mean a hugeimprovement overwhat's been
available before.
That's certainly
true for this
brilliant look atAmerica asembodied bycountry music andthe people inNashville, boththe stars and thewanna-bes, thelovers, the friendsand thesycophants. It issprawling and
funny and scathing and moving and truly lives up to itsreputation every time I see it. This Criterion edition issuperlative and comes loaded with extras but the moviehas absorbed my entire attention so I can't offer an opinionon them. Soon, I'll watch them. Soon.
Of course, many say Charlie Chaplin's best work was in
his shorts (hmm, that didn't come out right) but if you'retalking feature length films, City Lights has moved to the
top of the list in recent decades. And no wonder, it's a puredelight, the crowning moment of glory for the Tramp andsentiment that is earned to say the least. Pureentertainment, with laughter and tears side by side as onlyChaplin could deliver. Unlike Nashville , this has been
taken great care of over the years, but this new edition is
handsomenonetheless, if not
essential for
someone with arecent version.
Unexpected
comedy can befound in the
haunting,
eminently
quotable
documentary film
Grey Gardens,
which has beenturned into a TV
movie and a very
good musical but
remainsunmissable herein its original form.A mother and a
daughter -- relatives of Jackie Kennedy -- live inglamorous squalor (and I do mean squalor) in theircrumbling mansion. They opine on life, play for thecamera, bicker with each other and astonish us at everyturn. You watch it the first time in slack-jawed amazement,a second time to savor their hilarious one-liners and bits ofwisdom and again and again after that like a totem.
What's remarkable in retrospect is that the Maysles and
others who filmed it never allowed these two eccentric
women to become the butt of the film, which must have
been awfully tempting.
Okay, now we're hitting four masterpieces in a row (I don't
use the term lightly). This one is Ozu's masterpiece TokyoStory . Like many of his other films, it quietly observes the
dynamics of a family, in this case via the journey of twoelderly parents who travel to Tokyo to visit their kids. Intypical "cat in a cradle" fashion, the kids are too busy topay them much attention. It was inspired by anothermasterpiece ( Make Way For Tomorrow, also on Criterion)
and while I personally would choose several other Ozu'sas my favorite, this has become the de facto pick for hisbest and it's certainly typical, heart-breaking and verygood. Needless to say, it's presented with care byCriterion and loaded with extras.
Finally, here's a Criterion release I won't call a
masterpiece. Why? Simply because I've never seen it. It's
the Italian drama Investigation Of A Citizen Above
Suspicion. In this black crime drama about corruption (and
does Italy know corruption!) a police chief murders his
mistress and then idly wonders if anyone would evercharge him with the crime,. This leads him to dangle moreand more obvious clues as his men either willfully orincompetently ignore the bread crumbs leading to theirboss. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Filmand was hugely praised at the time and still consideredhighly notable. So chances are after I watch it, this will bemasterpiece number five.
DOCTOR WHO: THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR ($24.98
DVD; BBC)
DOC MARTIN SERIES 6 ($39.99 DVD; Acorn)
THE SIMPSONS SEASON 16 ($59.99 BluRay; FOX)
LILYHAMMER SEASON ONE ($29.95 BluRay;
Cinedigm/Flatiron)BREAKING BAD THE FINAL SEASON ($65.99 BluRay;
Sony)
GENE KELLY: DANCING, A MAN'S GAME -- OMNIBUS
($29.98 DVD out December 17; eOne) -- In my house,The Day Of The Doctor was a very big deal. In a good
stunt, the BBC aired the 50th anniversary special TV
movie about Doctor Who at exactly the same time all over
the world. That way, everyone could watch this latest taleabout the Doctor at exactly the same time. It was hugelysuccessful, sparking huge ratings and even drawing peopleto movie theaters, where they spent $10 million to watch a3-D version over the next few days, even thoughpresumably they'd seen it already! As for the episode itself,it was catnip for fans if not an ideal introduction tonewcomers. (I might send newcomers to Series 6 for MattSmith because it had the strongest most satisfying arc.)You got the current Doctor Matt Smith, loads of screentime for the previous Doctor David Tennant (it wasespecially fun to see how they played off one another) andone-off Doctor John Hurt as a heretofore unknown Doctor
responsible in one time stream for a genocidal act that has
haunted the Doctors ever since. The episode in typical sci-
fi fashion revolved around whether that genocidal act that
haunted the Doctors ever since should in fact take place.Ah, the joys of time travel. I enjoyed the darker edge of theDoctor in this reboot, but I'm pleased that this special pointsthe way to a more satisfying, believable path for theessentially peace-loving Doctor. And there were lots ofDoctors, from a tiny sliver of the next Doctor, to cameosfrom all the previous Doctors in one form or another downto an extended appearance from everyone's favorite Doctorof them all. It was satisfying family fare and a smart tweakto the storyline that has loomed over the last few years. Upnext? A Christmas special with the next Doctor properlyrevealed, so we can all start debating what we think abouthim!
Doc Martin is surely one of the most frustrating show on
TV. I really like the characters and the actors involved are
terrific. But the show's writers are simply determined to donothing but spin their wheels until the series finale whenthey'll presumably let the doc and his true love behappy.,..for a change. It's a simple fish out of water show
with a grumpy big citydoc forced to care forthe eccentric people
of a small village.
Real doctors mustwatch the show withglee as Doc Martintells patients to "shutup" without batting aneye and barks at theirevery stupidity. Aboutonce or twice aseason he has anemotionalbreakthrough (in
fairness, his parents
were truly dreadful)
and expresses hislove but then things
go right back to
where they were. And
yet, I can't stop watching. For heavens' sake, they have
one of the all-time great actors -- Eileen Atkins -- and
barely give her anything to do. If you've never seen it, start
at the beginning and you can yell at me later for getting youhooked on this frustrating but somehow still enjoyableshow.
The Simpsons keeps going on and on long after its sell by
date. But familiarity breeds indifference, so it's good to go
back to an earlier season and get a real sense of thequality of the show. Season 16 wasn't so bad, as thisBluRay set attests. It's not essential, the way the show wasin its early days but it's not so rote as the series feels now.(Even cartoons can only go through the motions so manytimes. ) And overall the series really has set a very high
standard of excellence both in their picture and sound
quality and the voluminous extras.
As long as he's free to tour whenever Bruce wants, I'm fine with
Steven Van Zandt enjoying his second career as an actor. This isanother fish out of water comedy: here he plays a new mobster butessentially it's the same guy from the Sopranos, but he's been sentto Norway in the witness protection program. Rural America wouldbe bad enough, but rural Norway? Needless to say, this eccentricseries has our hero butting heads with the locals as he tries toadapt to their strange customs, such as politeness. It's modeststuff, but delivered in a low-key manner that makes it enjoyable asis.
Breaking Bad stumbled a bit in Season Five as Walt became such
a monster. But it delivered a great finale where Walt found his
humanity again WITHOUT betraying the character arc they socarefully constructed over the past six years. It will be fascinatingto watch the entire series in years to come and see how it plays inone fell swoop, especially when you know where it's going. ButBreaking Bad is unquestionably a great TV series. Like The Wire,
it is essential viewing for anyone who wants to be TV literate. (Is
there such a thing? Yes, there is!)
Gene Kelly I'm sure was a delightful, happy man in his private life.
But he's always struck me as terribly insecure about his manhood.He simply never got over the fact that his one great talent wasdancing and that, to him, dancing simply wasn't very masculine.You can see it in his style of dancing, in his choreography, in hisevery manner and gesture. He seems always determined to bemuscular and virile and strong and even his swooning romanticgestures are the gestures of a man who is choosing to beswooning and romantic to get the girl or self-conscious about saidromanticism and cloaks it in the mantle of "classical," hi-falutin'ballet. It's why I've always preferred the effortless masculinity ofFred Astaire. You can't imagine Astaire feeling the need to insistthat dancing was masculine; he enjoyed dancing, so he did it. Butin 1958 Kelly oversaw and starred in a TV special specificallycreated to tell the world that dancing was "a man's game," and he
proved it was manly and strong (and not effeminate in the least!) by bringing in a host of major athletes to join him. He's anartist so there are moments of pleasure and it's certainly fun to see MIckey Mantle, Sugar Ray Robinson, Johnny Unitas and
Dick Button (a figure skater! Gene, if there's anything less manly than dancing in your eyes, surely it was figure skating?)
joining Kelly in his endeavor to make clear once and for all that dancing is not for girls. But this may be the only primetime TV
special devoted to a movie star trying to get a chip off his own shoulder.
BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME ($29.98BluRayl Magnolia)THE RUTLES ANTHOLOGY ($24.95 BluRay/DVD;
VSC/Broadway Video) GOOD OL' FREDA ($26.98 BluRay; Magnolia)
THE STONE ROSES: MADE OF STONE ($19.95
BluRay; MVD) -- Four documentaries that revolvearound music. They're all strictly for fans of thebands involved but worthwhile for those who care.
Big Star is one of the great should-have-beens, a
1970s purveyor of great power pop/rock songs ledby Alex Chilton and Chris Bell that flamed out before
it got remotely the attention it deserved. The
documentary Nothing Can Hurt Me tells their tale
with smarts and while mostly fans will watch anyone
unfamiliar with them will probably be buying theirmusic the minute it's over. Everyone should be a fanof the Beatles. If you're a fan of the Beatles andMonty Python, then the Rutles is your idea ofheaven. Eric Idle's mockumentary was wickedlyamusing at the time and has held up rather well,actually. Here you get both mockeries, along withmodest extras that might entice fans who boughtthem before. A documentary about the secretary forthe Beatles sounds like "no stone unturned" in thedesire to discuss simply everything about the FanFour, but Good Ol' Freda proves endearing
nonetheless, a sweet sidelong glance at the lads as
they explode into fame and what it looked like to the
people around them. Finally, Made Of Stone is a
love letter from the director Shane Meadows to the
great UK band Stone Roses as they reunited forsome concerts decades after their brilliant debut in1989. This is strictly for fans, especially since bonusfeatures do not include a complete concert as onewould hope. Still, Meadows does catch some
performance highlights that make you kick yourself formissing them the second time around.
BRUCE WEBER: THE FILM COLLECTION ($59.95
DVD; Docurama)THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR ($24.99 BluRay; FOX)
CARMEN JONES ($24.99 BluRay; FOX)
THE BLACK SWAN ($24.99 BluRay; FOX)
CALL OF THE WILD ($24.99 BluRay; FOX) -- Bruce
Weber is of course an iconic photographer who has
pursued an increasingly eccentric vision in
documentary films. When he gazes outward, Weber is
on steady ground. Thus, Broken Noses (a film about
boxing) and Let's Get Lost (a film about the
dilapidated jazz legend Chet Baker) are very goodidea. But the silly Chop Suey (in which the
distractingly handsome Peter Johnson sits at the feetof his betters and listens to their stories) and A LetterTo True (an ode to his dogs) are fatuous fare, best
left as home movies. You feel almost mean sayingso, since they're so open-hearted and sincere; it's likemaking fun of a teenager's diary. But he's a betterartist than that they're unworthy of him. The FilmCollection contains all four, so you don't have tochoose and if he (and Peter Johnson) should comeover, you won't have any explaining to do.
The Ghost And Mrs. Muir is a Hollywood classic. The
gimmick -- the ghost of a sea captain woos a lonely
single woman living in his lighthouse) could have
been pitched to any studio last week. But it's handledwith such intelligence and restraint and the leadperformances by Rex Harrison and Gene Tierner areso subtle and sweet and affecting that it raises the
entire film up. The capper is a romantic score by
Bernard Herrmann that is one of his all-time greatsand yes, that's saying something.
Dorothy Dandridge didn't get the career she deserved, but shemade the most of Carmen Jones, an Oscar-nominated
breakthrough in which she seduces Harry Belafonte right out fromunder his fiancee. It's the film version of the stage musical byOscar Hammerstein, with song lyrics set to the music of Bizet'sopera. Pearl Bailey is also a welcome sight but for Dandridge,after an Oscar nomination it was all downhill from here.
I'm less fond of The Black Swan. Tyrone Power as a pirate or
anything else never interested me. But fiery Maureen O'Hara as a
kidnapped woman who will butt heads with Power and undoubted
fall in love with both him and his cause? Now that's worth settingsail for.
Finally, Clark Gable is practically the screen embodiment of Jack
London's ideal male, a man's man who is self-sufficient,comfortable outdoors, but intelligent enough to woo a womanwhen the time is right. So he's perfect casting for Call Of The Wild,a glossy Hollywood take on London's glossy literary take on theYukon territory and the sled dogs that were torn between servinga faithful master (when they could be found) and the call of thewild. It's all entertaining hokum and the movie throws in LorettaYoung as the gal to civilize Gable, or at least have fun trying.Needless to say, the movie ignores the brutal finale of the bookwhere Gable's character is slaughtered by natives and goes for ahappy ending instead.
BOSTON RED SOX 2013 WORLD SERIES COLLECTOR'S
EDITION ($69.99 BluRay; A&E/Lionsgate) -- If for some sad
reason you're a Boston Red Sox fan, this set brings togetherseason highlights and all six games of the first Boston WorldSeries to be won at home since 1918. If you're a saner personand a Yankee fan, this gift makes the perfect warning for kids whomight be prone to naughtiness. Why threaten them with coal whenyou can threaten them by saying you'll stuff their stocking with theBoston Red Sox victory and force them to watch it?
*****
Most titles listed here will be available in multiple
formats and in multiple combinations, including DVD,
Blu-ray, digital download, video on demand,streaming and the like. The format listed is the formatprovided for review, not all the formats available. It is
often the most expensive version with the most
extras. Do check individual titles for availability in all
their various guises and price points.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the founder and
CEO of BookFilter, a book lover's best friend. It's a
website that lets you browse for books online the way
you do in a physical bookstore, provides
comprehensive info on new releases every week inevery category and offers passionate personalrecommendations every step of the way. It's like a fallbook preview or holiday gift guide -- but every weekin every category. He's also the cohost of ShowbizSandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals
the industry take on entertainment news of the dayand features top journalists and opinion makers asguests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael
Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of
DVDs and Blu-rays with the understanding that hewould be considering them for review. Generally, he
does not guarantee to review and he receives far
more titles than he can cover.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter:
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Loads of DVDs and BluRays to tackle as the last wave of titles come out before the holidays. A few of the releases below hit
stores on December 17 but most are out now. Need a last minute gift? Why wait? Coming next: a best of the year round-up.And if you want more choices, here's a recent column covering some of the biggest boxed sets out in recent weeks.
MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN COMPLETE SERIES($249.95 DVD; Shout Factory) THE MOD SQUAD COMPLETE SERIES ($219.95 DVD;
VEI/CBS)THE GENE AUTRY SHOW COMPLETE SERIES ($79.99
DVD; Timeless) -- Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is truly one of
the strangest, most compelling and influential shows in TVhistory. There's never been anything like it, before or since. Atheart, it's a soap opera, though most soap operas don't have awicked sense of humor or an explicit mockery of a consumeristsociety. Somehow, when family tragedy strikes and MaryHartman is more concerned about waxy buildup on her floors, itmanages to make fun of both the products shilled on TV and
the soaps where tragedy is daily bread and butter. How
shocked can a character truly be to hear they have a twin when
a week earlier they found out they were adopted and a week
later their wife is sleeping with her boss? But MH2 doesn'tsatirize soap operas the way the primetime Soap did, forexample. It really is a soap and like many daytime soaps it hasa talented cast (Mary Kay Place, Martin Mull) and delivers plottwists with relentless aplomb. But with Louise Lasser front andcenter with her deadpan - if not deadened -- delivery, you'realways off-kilter. She hides under the sink and would seem aprime candidate for medication if she didn't already seem to befloating on a haze of prescription pills. Are they mocking TV ordrugs to tweak your every move or both? Or neither? You couldnever really tell. And just when you're laughing the loudestMary Hartman has a breakdown that's show-stopping and real.I think. When Lasser left, the show morphed into on ongoingsoap with all the same characters and then even more oddlyinto a satire of talk shows that was brilliant in its own right long
before Larry Sanders. This set from Shout contains the entire
run of the original series before it shape-shifted into those
variations. It's the show that became a national phenomenon,
graced the covers of magazines, proved dearest to producerNorman Lear's heart and still leaves you flummoxed today as tohow exactly you're supposed to react. How many shows even
now can saythat?
The Mod
Squad knew
exactly what itwas: anentertaining,would-be coolshow withyoung peoplespeaking jiveand fightingcrime in a
multi-culti sort
of way thatwas bold forprimetimethoughobviously justcatching upMay 16, 2014
This is the print preview:
Back to normal view ยป
Posted: 12/11/2013 1:43 am
with real America. It was blessed with a cast that
was way cooler than the scripts or most of thecrimes they faced, led by Clarence Williams III asLinc, Emmy winner Peggy Lipton as Julie andMichael Cole as Pete. It was explosivelysuccessful and then faded away just as quicklybut for five years, it was ground-breaking. Theshow is dated now, but original fans will scarf thisup and newcomers will be tickled by how hep ittried to be and the fact that the actors maintainedtheir dignity throughout (a crucial factor in theshow's success). This set contains all five
seasons but not , alas, the reunion TV movie.
Gene Autry was also a ground-breaker on TV,
though in his case it was commercial, making the
leap from films and becoming his own production company powerhouse with this and other TV shows. He experimented withcolor right from the start, produced an anthology series when an ongoing serial might have seemed easier to tackle and madebarn-fuls of money doing it. I'm not sure who would beat or outdraw who in a fight: Autry or Roy Rogers. But of course themain point is that they would never fight in the first place; the bad guys always drew first and they were the good guys. TheGene Autry Show is interesting with its "contemporary" Westerns one week and episodes set decades earlier in others to
shake things up, but again this is for those nostalgia buffs who enjoyed it in the first place.
WOLVERINE ($39.99 BluRay; FOX)
DESPICABLE ME 2 ($34.98 BluRay; Universal)
THE LONE RANGER ($39.99 BluRay out December 17;
Disney)PRISONERS ($35.99 BluRay out December 17; Warner
Bros.)THE ROOFTOP ($29.98 BluRay; Well Go) -- Will there
be another Wolverine movie? When this Hugh Jackman
vehicle made more money than all the other X-Men
movies but one, you bet there will be. Hopefully soon,
they'll get the glowering/humor ratio just right and letWolverine have a genuinely gripping tale that's notdrenched in angst. Fat chance.
Despicable Me 3? Are you kidding me? Of course there
will be, not to mention a spin-off movie with the scene-
stealing little yellow guys, though since they'repractically the main draw in the first place, I'm not surethe Minions need or want their own movie. (Or more tothe point, certainly Despicable Me needs them.) DM2 is
similar to the mild first movie, but a little less so. Cometo think of it, maybe an all-Minions movie can get a littleGremlins and start some much-needed mayhem. If this
series has a problem, it's too much heart.
I'm one of the three people who didn't mind The Lone
Ranger. Heck, I was really in the mood for a Westernand I appreciated the tone throughout, which wasn't toojokey, or rather wasn't as jokey as I feared. It built to a
clever action finale that was amusingly over the top and
set to the music of the William Tell Overture in a verysatisfying way. Indeed, the movie consistently raised thestakes with each set piece, pushing the believability
farther and farther until the nutty finale in a way that had
an internal logic. I would have preferred...not a grittyLone Ranger, but a more realistic one, I think. But themovie they made was certainly more coherent than the
last few Pirates movies and those made $1 billion each sowhy this suffered so is beyond me. If you're in the rightframe of mind, give it a try.
Hugh Jackman enjoyed a commercial blockbuster with
Wolverine and solid critical reviews for the low-budget
Prisoners , a violent tale that has been hailed by critics for
its ensemble cast, which also includes Jake Gyllenhaaland Viola Davis. For this story of a father trying to protect
his family, the tension would surely have been greater at a
shorter running time, but that battle seems to have been
lost long ago in Hollywood. Today, two hours is considered
short.
Finally, it's not a Hollywood blockbuster but The Rooftop is
one of the nuttiest, most enjoyably offbeat flicks, with pop
star, actor and director Jay Chou writing the tunes andstarring in this tale of kids who live on rooftops in a majorcity and burst into song at the slightest provocation. Yes,they live on the roofs of buildings and sing and dancewhile they're at it. If this sounds remotely appealing to you,jump. Chou was born in the wrong era - what MGM mighthave done with his talents back in the day.
MARY POPPINS 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION ($39.99
BluRay; Disney)ANCHORMAN: THE RICH MAHOGANY EDITION($26.98 DVD out December 14; Paramount)RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK ($26.98 BluRay out
December 17; Paramount) -- Perfectly timed to themaking-of movie Saving Mr. Banks (a blandly sentimental
film about P.L. Travers that wastes a good performance byEmma Thompson), here comes the 50th anniversaryedition of Mary Poppins. First and foremost...well first and
foremost is Julie Andrews practically perfect as the crisp,no-nonsense nanny. But I'd focus more on the ShermanBrothers, who delivered one of the best original moviemusical scores in history (alongside their excellent work
for The Jungle Book, their other masterpiece). The songs
are clever, inventive, tuneful, smart and push the story
forward or reveal character with ease. Like other family
friendly fare ( The Sound Of Music et al), it's often damned
with faint praise but this is a great movie from its production
design to broad performances (Dick Van Dyke keeps theromance between Bert and Mary Poppins at precisely thelittle boy crush it should be, for example) to those songs. Itwas indeed Walt Disney's final triumph and proved thisshowman had a lot more to give when he died.
Also timed to a new movie is yet another edition of
Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy. If you already
have the film on DVD or BluRay, there's certainly nothing
here you need to so, though like every other excuse for a
re-release of a film it has some exclusive content. The main
draw is of course the movie about a competitive local news
team, one of the bright spots on Will Farrell's resume. It's
always smart to surround yourself with talent and he does
that here with Paul Rudd and many others.
Franchises spark loyalty and a fierce sense of ownership,
which is why I bristle and refuse to retitle one of my favoritemovies of all time as Indiana Jones and the Raiders Of TheLost Ark. No, thank you. It's Raiders Of The Lost Ark andalways will be. Twelve year old boys can be very stubbornand that's exactly how this adventure makes me feel, in thebest sense of the idea: a 12 year old boy open to escapismand derring-do and even willing to worry that the heromight not make it, though of course he will. That's whyIndy's teenage bickering with Marion (Karen Allen) is sopitch-perfect. They have a sexy moment or two, but Indyfalls asleep just at the crucial moment and the movie gets alaugh and kids can relax and know the adult stuff will staybehind closed doors and the action will soon pick up again.
This celebration of the Hollywood serial is one of the great
homages of all time, not sending them up (like the sequel
Temple Of Doom did)
but creating the
ultimate serial of themall. I find things toenjoy in the othereditions of IndianaJones, but in truth this
is the only one youreally need and it'snow available onBluRay. So, now thatDisney owns therights, after Fordhangs up the whip(maybe one or twoadventures from now)who's going to play
Young Indy in the
prequels set beforeRaiders ? That's not
heresy: Sean PatrickFlannery was verygood in the TV seriesand River Phoenixwas just as appealingin his cameo. Therewill be another Indy;it's just a matter oftime.
NASHVILLE ($39.95
BluRay/DVD out
December 14;Criterion)CITY LIGHTS ($39.95
BluRay/DVD;Criterion)
GREY GARDENS
($39.95 BluRay;
Criterion)
TOKYO STORY ($39.95
BluRay/DVD; Criterion)
INVESTIGATION OF ACITIZEN ABOVE
SUSPICION ($39.95
BluRay/DVD; Criterion) -
- If you've got a movie
buff on your list, just give
them something new
from Criterion. Yousimply can't go wrong.In the past few weeks,as always, they've puton some new releasesand you have to reachfor the thesaurus to findenough superlatives totalk about the moviesthey're presenting withsuch care. Nashvillemay be my favoriteRobert Altman film and it
has simply never looked
better. One side benefit
of the switch fromcelluloid to digital in
movie theaters (you may
not have noticed, butfilm is officially dead atmost multiplexes) is thatevery time they want toshow any older moviethey have to strike anew digital print and thatusually means a 4K printwith better detail thanbefore. It's not
necessarily arestoration in theclassic sense, butdone with care itcan mean a hugeimprovement overwhat's been
available before.
That's certainly
true for this
brilliant look atAmerica asembodied bycountry music andthe people inNashville, boththe stars and thewanna-bes, thelovers, the friendsand thesycophants. It issprawling and
funny and scathing and moving and truly lives up to itsreputation every time I see it. This Criterion edition issuperlative and comes loaded with extras but the moviehas absorbed my entire attention so I can't offer an opinionon them. Soon, I'll watch them. Soon.
Of course, many say Charlie Chaplin's best work was in
his shorts (hmm, that didn't come out right) but if you'retalking feature length films, City Lights has moved to the
top of the list in recent decades. And no wonder, it's a puredelight, the crowning moment of glory for the Tramp andsentiment that is earned to say the least. Pureentertainment, with laughter and tears side by side as onlyChaplin could deliver. Unlike Nashville , this has been
taken great care of over the years, but this new edition is
handsomenonetheless, if not
essential for
someone with arecent version.
Unexpected
comedy can befound in the
haunting,
eminently
quotable
documentary film
Grey Gardens,
which has beenturned into a TV
movie and a very
good musical but
remainsunmissable herein its original form.A mother and a
daughter -- relatives of Jackie Kennedy -- live inglamorous squalor (and I do mean squalor) in theircrumbling mansion. They opine on life, play for thecamera, bicker with each other and astonish us at everyturn. You watch it the first time in slack-jawed amazement,a second time to savor their hilarious one-liners and bits ofwisdom and again and again after that like a totem.
What's remarkable in retrospect is that the Maysles and
others who filmed it never allowed these two eccentric
women to become the butt of the film, which must have
been awfully tempting.
Okay, now we're hitting four masterpieces in a row (I don't
use the term lightly). This one is Ozu's masterpiece TokyoStory . Like many of his other films, it quietly observes the
dynamics of a family, in this case via the journey of twoelderly parents who travel to Tokyo to visit their kids. Intypical "cat in a cradle" fashion, the kids are too busy topay them much attention. It was inspired by anothermasterpiece ( Make Way For Tomorrow, also on Criterion)
and while I personally would choose several other Ozu'sas my favorite, this has become the de facto pick for hisbest and it's certainly typical, heart-breaking and verygood. Needless to say, it's presented with care byCriterion and loaded with extras.
Finally, here's a Criterion release I won't call a
masterpiece. Why? Simply because I've never seen it. It's
the Italian drama Investigation Of A Citizen Above
Suspicion. In this black crime drama about corruption (and
does Italy know corruption!) a police chief murders his
mistress and then idly wonders if anyone would evercharge him with the crime,. This leads him to dangle moreand more obvious clues as his men either willfully orincompetently ignore the bread crumbs leading to theirboss. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Filmand was hugely praised at the time and still consideredhighly notable. So chances are after I watch it, this will bemasterpiece number five.
DOCTOR WHO: THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR ($24.98
DVD; BBC)
DOC MARTIN SERIES 6 ($39.99 DVD; Acorn)
THE SIMPSONS SEASON 16 ($59.99 BluRay; FOX)
LILYHAMMER SEASON ONE ($29.95 BluRay;
Cinedigm/Flatiron)BREAKING BAD THE FINAL SEASON ($65.99 BluRay;
Sony)
GENE KELLY: DANCING, A MAN'S GAME -- OMNIBUS
($29.98 DVD out December 17; eOne) -- In my house,The Day Of The Doctor was a very big deal. In a good
stunt, the BBC aired the 50th anniversary special TV
movie about Doctor Who at exactly the same time all over
the world. That way, everyone could watch this latest taleabout the Doctor at exactly the same time. It was hugelysuccessful, sparking huge ratings and even drawing peopleto movie theaters, where they spent $10 million to watch a3-D version over the next few days, even thoughpresumably they'd seen it already! As for the episode itself,it was catnip for fans if not an ideal introduction tonewcomers. (I might send newcomers to Series 6 for MattSmith because it had the strongest most satisfying arc.)You got the current Doctor Matt Smith, loads of screentime for the previous Doctor David Tennant (it wasespecially fun to see how they played off one another) andone-off Doctor John Hurt as a heretofore unknown Doctor
responsible in one time stream for a genocidal act that has
haunted the Doctors ever since. The episode in typical sci-
fi fashion revolved around whether that genocidal act that
haunted the Doctors ever since should in fact take place.Ah, the joys of time travel. I enjoyed the darker edge of theDoctor in this reboot, but I'm pleased that this special pointsthe way to a more satisfying, believable path for theessentially peace-loving Doctor. And there were lots ofDoctors, from a tiny sliver of the next Doctor, to cameosfrom all the previous Doctors in one form or another downto an extended appearance from everyone's favorite Doctorof them all. It was satisfying family fare and a smart tweakto the storyline that has loomed over the last few years. Upnext? A Christmas special with the next Doctor properlyrevealed, so we can all start debating what we think abouthim!
Doc Martin is surely one of the most frustrating show on
TV. I really like the characters and the actors involved are
terrific. But the show's writers are simply determined to donothing but spin their wheels until the series finale whenthey'll presumably let the doc and his true love behappy.,..for a change. It's a simple fish out of water show
with a grumpy big citydoc forced to care forthe eccentric people
of a small village.
Real doctors mustwatch the show withglee as Doc Martintells patients to "shutup" without batting aneye and barks at theirevery stupidity. Aboutonce or twice aseason he has anemotionalbreakthrough (in
fairness, his parents
were truly dreadful)
and expresses hislove but then things
go right back to
where they were. And
yet, I can't stop watching. For heavens' sake, they have
one of the all-time great actors -- Eileen Atkins -- and
barely give her anything to do. If you've never seen it, start
at the beginning and you can yell at me later for getting youhooked on this frustrating but somehow still enjoyableshow.
The Simpsons keeps going on and on long after its sell by
date. But familiarity breeds indifference, so it's good to go
back to an earlier season and get a real sense of thequality of the show. Season 16 wasn't so bad, as thisBluRay set attests. It's not essential, the way the show wasin its early days but it's not so rote as the series feels now.(Even cartoons can only go through the motions so manytimes. ) And overall the series really has set a very high
standard of excellence both in their picture and sound
quality and the voluminous extras.
As long as he's free to tour whenever Bruce wants, I'm fine with
Steven Van Zandt enjoying his second career as an actor. This isanother fish out of water comedy: here he plays a new mobster butessentially it's the same guy from the Sopranos, but he's been sentto Norway in the witness protection program. Rural America wouldbe bad enough, but rural Norway? Needless to say, this eccentricseries has our hero butting heads with the locals as he tries toadapt to their strange customs, such as politeness. It's modeststuff, but delivered in a low-key manner that makes it enjoyable asis.
Breaking Bad stumbled a bit in Season Five as Walt became such
a monster. But it delivered a great finale where Walt found his
humanity again WITHOUT betraying the character arc they socarefully constructed over the past six years. It will be fascinatingto watch the entire series in years to come and see how it plays inone fell swoop, especially when you know where it's going. ButBreaking Bad is unquestionably a great TV series. Like The Wire,
it is essential viewing for anyone who wants to be TV literate. (Is
there such a thing? Yes, there is!)
Gene Kelly I'm sure was a delightful, happy man in his private life.
But he's always struck me as terribly insecure about his manhood.He simply never got over the fact that his one great talent wasdancing and that, to him, dancing simply wasn't very masculine.You can see it in his style of dancing, in his choreography, in hisevery manner and gesture. He seems always determined to bemuscular and virile and strong and even his swooning romanticgestures are the gestures of a man who is choosing to beswooning and romantic to get the girl or self-conscious about saidromanticism and cloaks it in the mantle of "classical," hi-falutin'ballet. It's why I've always preferred the effortless masculinity ofFred Astaire. You can't imagine Astaire feeling the need to insistthat dancing was masculine; he enjoyed dancing, so he did it. Butin 1958 Kelly oversaw and starred in a TV special specificallycreated to tell the world that dancing was "a man's game," and he
proved it was manly and strong (and not effeminate in the least!) by bringing in a host of major athletes to join him. He's anartist so there are moments of pleasure and it's certainly fun to see MIckey Mantle, Sugar Ray Robinson, Johnny Unitas and
Dick Button (a figure skater! Gene, if there's anything less manly than dancing in your eyes, surely it was figure skating?)
joining Kelly in his endeavor to make clear once and for all that dancing is not for girls. But this may be the only primetime TV
special devoted to a movie star trying to get a chip off his own shoulder.
BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME ($29.98BluRayl Magnolia)THE RUTLES ANTHOLOGY ($24.95 BluRay/DVD;
VSC/Broadway Video) GOOD OL' FREDA ($26.98 BluRay; Magnolia)
THE STONE ROSES: MADE OF STONE ($19.95
BluRay; MVD) -- Four documentaries that revolvearound music. They're all strictly for fans of thebands involved but worthwhile for those who care.
Big Star is one of the great should-have-beens, a
1970s purveyor of great power pop/rock songs ledby Alex Chilton and Chris Bell that flamed out before
it got remotely the attention it deserved. The
documentary Nothing Can Hurt Me tells their tale
with smarts and while mostly fans will watch anyone
unfamiliar with them will probably be buying theirmusic the minute it's over. Everyone should be a fanof the Beatles. If you're a fan of the Beatles andMonty Python, then the Rutles is your idea ofheaven. Eric Idle's mockumentary was wickedlyamusing at the time and has held up rather well,actually. Here you get both mockeries, along withmodest extras that might entice fans who boughtthem before. A documentary about the secretary forthe Beatles sounds like "no stone unturned" in thedesire to discuss simply everything about the FanFour, but Good Ol' Freda proves endearing
nonetheless, a sweet sidelong glance at the lads as
they explode into fame and what it looked like to the
people around them. Finally, Made Of Stone is a
love letter from the director Shane Meadows to the
great UK band Stone Roses as they reunited forsome concerts decades after their brilliant debut in1989. This is strictly for fans, especially since bonusfeatures do not include a complete concert as onewould hope. Still, Meadows does catch some
performance highlights that make you kick yourself formissing them the second time around.
BRUCE WEBER: THE FILM COLLECTION ($59.95
DVD; Docurama)THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR ($24.99 BluRay; FOX)
CARMEN JONES ($24.99 BluRay; FOX)
THE BLACK SWAN ($24.99 BluRay; FOX)
CALL OF THE WILD ($24.99 BluRay; FOX) -- Bruce
Weber is of course an iconic photographer who has
pursued an increasingly eccentric vision in
documentary films. When he gazes outward, Weber is
on steady ground. Thus, Broken Noses (a film about
boxing) and Let's Get Lost (a film about the
dilapidated jazz legend Chet Baker) are very goodidea. But the silly Chop Suey (in which the
distractingly handsome Peter Johnson sits at the feetof his betters and listens to their stories) and A LetterTo True (an ode to his dogs) are fatuous fare, best
left as home movies. You feel almost mean sayingso, since they're so open-hearted and sincere; it's likemaking fun of a teenager's diary. But he's a betterartist than that they're unworthy of him. The FilmCollection contains all four, so you don't have tochoose and if he (and Peter Johnson) should comeover, you won't have any explaining to do.
The Ghost And Mrs. Muir is a Hollywood classic. The
gimmick -- the ghost of a sea captain woos a lonely
single woman living in his lighthouse) could have
been pitched to any studio last week. But it's handledwith such intelligence and restraint and the leadperformances by Rex Harrison and Gene Tierner areso subtle and sweet and affecting that it raises the
entire film up. The capper is a romantic score by
Bernard Herrmann that is one of his all-time greatsand yes, that's saying something.
Dorothy Dandridge didn't get the career she deserved, but shemade the most of Carmen Jones, an Oscar-nominated
breakthrough in which she seduces Harry Belafonte right out fromunder his fiancee. It's the film version of the stage musical byOscar Hammerstein, with song lyrics set to the music of Bizet'sopera. Pearl Bailey is also a welcome sight but for Dandridge,after an Oscar nomination it was all downhill from here.
I'm less fond of The Black Swan. Tyrone Power as a pirate or
anything else never interested me. But fiery Maureen O'Hara as a
kidnapped woman who will butt heads with Power and undoubted
fall in love with both him and his cause? Now that's worth settingsail for.
Finally, Clark Gable is practically the screen embodiment of Jack
London's ideal male, a man's man who is self-sufficient,comfortable outdoors, but intelligent enough to woo a womanwhen the time is right. So he's perfect casting for Call Of The Wild,a glossy Hollywood take on London's glossy literary take on theYukon territory and the sled dogs that were torn between servinga faithful master (when they could be found) and the call of thewild. It's all entertaining hokum and the movie throws in LorettaYoung as the gal to civilize Gable, or at least have fun trying.Needless to say, the movie ignores the brutal finale of the bookwhere Gable's character is slaughtered by natives and goes for ahappy ending instead.
BOSTON RED SOX 2013 WORLD SERIES COLLECTOR'S
EDITION ($69.99 BluRay; A&E/Lionsgate) -- If for some sad
reason you're a Boston Red Sox fan, this set brings togetherseason highlights and all six games of the first Boston WorldSeries to be won at home since 1918. If you're a saner personand a Yankee fan, this gift makes the perfect warning for kids whomight be prone to naughtiness. Why threaten them with coal whenyou can threaten them by saying you'll stuff their stocking with theBoston Red Sox victory and force them to watch it?
*****
Most titles listed here will be available in multiple
formats and in multiple combinations, including DVD,
Blu-ray, digital download, video on demand,streaming and the like. The format listed is the formatprovided for review, not all the formats available. It is
often the most expensive version with the most
extras. Do check individual titles for availability in all
their various guises and price points.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the founder and
CEO of BookFilter, a book lover's best friend. It's a
website that lets you browse for books online the way
you do in a physical bookstore, provides
comprehensive info on new releases every week inevery category and offers passionate personalrecommendations every step of the way. It's like a fallbook preview or holiday gift guide -- but every weekin every category. He's also the cohost of ShowbizSandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals
the industry take on entertainment news of the dayand features top journalists and opinion makers asguests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael
Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of
DVDs and Blu-rays with the understanding that hewould be considering them for review. Generally, he
does not guarantee to review and he receives far
more titles than he can cover.
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