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Z The World's Fastest
Indian ** Magnolia, $26.98
A by-the-numbers bio-pic
about an old coot in New
Zealand who sets off for
Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats to
set a land-speed record on his
Indian motorcycle. The most
shocking revelation? Anthony
Hopkins is still capable of giv­
ing a relaxed, cliche-free per­
formance . Everything else is
sleep-inducing.
Dave Chappelle's
Block Party
**'1,
Universal, $29,98
AN amiable if shambling
documentary that shows the
genial Chappelle pulling
together a dream block party
with terrific musical guests.
No gangstas here, just smart
talent like Mas Def, Erykah
Badu and the Fugees. A bonus
making-of documentary is
nice, but where is the footage
of every performance unedit­
ed and uninterrupted?
Also out: Director Rob Rein­
cr's delightful gem "The
Princess Bride: Collector's Edi­
tion" (Paramount; $24.96): the
tightest pants in San Francis­
co are documented in ''That
Man: Peter Berlin" (Water
Bearer Films; $29.95); and
Steve Martin seems hopeless­
ly lost in "The Pink Panther"
(Sony, $28.95). 40
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tf o a. Syriana
***'1,
Warner Bros., $28.98
ALL you need to know to
follow this complex drama is
one word: oil. Everyone
wants it or needs it -
everyone is made rich or
impoverished by it. A very
good directori al effort by
screenwriter Stephen
Gaghan, with Matt Damon,
Jeffrey Wright and George
Clooney all terrific. The only
drawback: modest extras
(like deleted scenes) when
we really wanted an
education ,
SMARTEST GUY IN THE ROOM:
Oland in "Charlie Chan in Paris."
Charlie Chan:
Volume 1
-1 ... **
~Ol(, $59.98
YES. Warner Oland is in
"yellow face" playing the
great detective. But Chan is
always the smartest man in
the room and one of the most
positive images of Asians
that Hollywood ever
produced. You get four flicks,
including the long-lost
"Charlie Chan in Paris"
(935). Even better, Lucy Liu
will remake Chan when she
plays him in a 2007 feature.
The Mary Tyler
Moore Show:
Complete Fourth
Season
****
Fox, $29.98
IS it possible? Four seasons
into the show, they say
goodbye to central characters
like Rhoda and Phyllis. yet it
keeps getting better. No other
sitcom ever kept improving
like this -thanks in part to
the introducti on of man­
hungry Sue Ann Nivens
(Bettv White), No extras, but
why bother gilding the lily?
Clark Gable: The
Signature Collection
***';' Warner Bros., 559.98
SIX good to great movies
starring Gable, with modest
extras. Standouts include
1936's epic disaster flick "San
Francisco" and the under­
appreciated gem "Boom
Town" from 1940. That drama
.. has Gable and Spencer Tracy
drilling for oil, makin!( and
losing money with "bandon .