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E o u
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c:
Everyone knows the names of the cast of "Cheers."
"CHEERS": COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
"FRASIER": COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
One sign of a truly great sitcom is that your atten
tion doesn't wander when an episode focuses on one
of the secondary characters. That certainly was true
of "Cheers." For example, when Carla's hairy ex-hus
band Nick Tortelli showed up, the show was every
bit as hilarious as when it focused on the love-hate
torment of Sam and Diane. The same is true for "Fra
sier," which mines laughs from the travails of Niles,
Daphne, Martin and Roz just as easily as from the
pompous Frasier Crane ($49.99 each, Paramount).
"BABYLON 5": COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON
"WISEGUY: MEL PROFm"
"Babylon 5" still ranks as one of the most audacious
shows in TV history. It was designed from the start
to tell one long story that would climax in the fifth
season. In other words, viewers got no truly satisfy
ing conclusion to anyone season or episode, because
it was all building up to the grand finale. And what
were the chances it would last exactly five seasons? It
did, and this set brings you one step closer to the end
($99.98, Warner Bros.). "Wiseguy," on the other hand,
benefited from self-contained story lines that lasted
roughly half a season, with Kevin Spacey's magnetic
turn as Mel Profitt ranking as the low-rated show's
high point ($59_99, Studio Works).
"IKlRU"
Director Akira Kurosawa's name instantly brings to
mind sweeping Shakespearean epics. But many feel
his masterpiece is 1952's "Ikiru" ($39.95, Criterion), a
poignant, slow-moving study of a civil servant who is
dying. No one will be surprised that Criterion does it
proud, with two extensive documentaries and a
scholarly commentary track. But the company's HVE
line deserves more attention as it releases famed Jap
anese titles less familiar to Westerners, like director
Kinji Fukasaku's 1968 yakuza thriller "Blackmail Is
My Life" ($29.95, HVE), a tale of young punks who
foolishly try to blackmail business associates of a
major crime boss. It's great fun and ripe for remake.
"OUT OF TIME"
Good guy Denzel Washington isn't so noble as a
Florida lawman who gets duped but good by a pretty
girl. Mining his misfit side, Washington stars in this
low-key nair with the moral lawmen should consider
-never, never "borrow" drug money from the office
safe to payoff a nice lady's medical bills.
Also out:
The gunfight at the OK Corral inspired any number
of great films, including John Ford's 1946 "My Dar
ling Clementine," starring Henry Fonda ($19.99,
Fox); Spencer Tracy was such a brilliant actor, no
body questioned him when he insisted on playing the
lead in 1941's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" ($19.98,
Warner Bros.) without elaborate makeup -he'd sim
ply suggest the beast within us all, while Frederic
March used every prosthetic trick in the book in his
Oscar-winning performance in the 1932 version also
included; few actors wore a dress as amusingly as
Cary Grant in Howard Hawks'1949 spoof "I Was a
Male War Bride" ($14.98, Fox); and maybe joining
the "Family Business" ($49.98, Showtime) isn't so
bad when that business is the adult film industry, as
shown in this truly out-there reality show.
Out next week:
The French mystery drama "Swimming Pool"; and
lots of complete first seasons from TV, namely the
goofy "Green Acres." the campy "Lost in Space"
and HBO's "Curb Your Euthusiasm."
E o u
~
.~
c:
Everyone knows the names of the cast of "Cheers."
"CHEERS": COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
"FRASIER": COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
One sign of a truly great sitcom is that your atten
tion doesn't wander when an episode focuses on one
of the secondary characters. That certainly was true
of "Cheers." For example, when Carla's hairy ex-hus
band Nick Tortelli showed up, the show was every
bit as hilarious as when it focused on the love-hate
torment of Sam and Diane. The same is true for "Fra
sier," which mines laughs from the travails of Niles,
Daphne, Martin and Roz just as easily as from the
pompous Frasier Crane ($49.99 each, Paramount).
"BABYLON 5": COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON
"WISEGUY: MEL PROFm"
"Babylon 5" still ranks as one of the most audacious
shows in TV history. It was designed from the start
to tell one long story that would climax in the fifth
season. In other words, viewers got no truly satisfy
ing conclusion to anyone season or episode, because
it was all building up to the grand finale. And what
were the chances it would last exactly five seasons? It
did, and this set brings you one step closer to the end
($99.98, Warner Bros.). "Wiseguy," on the other hand,
benefited from self-contained story lines that lasted
roughly half a season, with Kevin Spacey's magnetic
turn as Mel Profitt ranking as the low-rated show's
high point ($59_99, Studio Works).
"IKlRU"
Director Akira Kurosawa's name instantly brings to
mind sweeping Shakespearean epics. But many feel
his masterpiece is 1952's "Ikiru" ($39.95, Criterion), a
poignant, slow-moving study of a civil servant who is
dying. No one will be surprised that Criterion does it
proud, with two extensive documentaries and a
scholarly commentary track. But the company's HVE
line deserves more attention as it releases famed Jap
anese titles less familiar to Westerners, like director
Kinji Fukasaku's 1968 yakuza thriller "Blackmail Is
My Life" ($29.95, HVE), a tale of young punks who
foolishly try to blackmail business associates of a
major crime boss. It's great fun and ripe for remake.
"OUT OF TIME"
Good guy Denzel Washington isn't so noble as a
Florida lawman who gets duped but good by a pretty
girl. Mining his misfit side, Washington stars in this
low-key nair with the moral lawmen should consider
-never, never "borrow" drug money from the office
safe to payoff a nice lady's medical bills.
Also out:
The gunfight at the OK Corral inspired any number
of great films, including John Ford's 1946 "My Dar
ling Clementine," starring Henry Fonda ($19.99,
Fox); Spencer Tracy was such a brilliant actor, no
body questioned him when he insisted on playing the
lead in 1941's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" ($19.98,
Warner Bros.) without elaborate makeup -he'd sim
ply suggest the beast within us all, while Frederic
March used every prosthetic trick in the book in his
Oscar-winning performance in the 1932 version also
included; few actors wore a dress as amusingly as
Cary Grant in Howard Hawks'1949 spoof "I Was a
Male War Bride" ($14.98, Fox); and maybe joining
the "Family Business" ($49.98, Showtime) isn't so
bad when that business is the adult film industry, as
shown in this truly out-there reality show.
Out next week:
The French mystery drama "Swimming Pool"; and
lots of complete first seasons from TV, namely the
goofy "Green Acres." the campy "Lost in Space"
and HBO's "Curb Your Euthusiasm."