January Chill Edition Warner Serves Up a PEANUTS DVD Treat Plus: 3:10 TO YUMA, New Criterions & More
The battle for supremacy between the two high-definition DVD formats
seemed to come to an end last week when Warner Bros exclusively jumped
on-board the Blu Ray bandwagon, abandoning the HD-DVD format which they
had been part of since the format’s inception. While Warner
refuted rumors that they had been given some compensation for their
move -- stating that sales numbers showed a clear preference for Blu
Ray in the minds of consumers -- it was nevertheless a somewhat
inexplicable decision given their previous “dual format”
strategy and the amount of HD-DVD standalone players that were sold in
the last two months of 2007. More than that, sales numbers of both
formats continue to be sluggish, and one of the top high-definition
titles -- “Planet Earth” -- which Warner released actually
sold more units on HD-DVD than Blu-Ray!
There’s no question, though, that Blu-Ray is now in good shape --
at least in terms of its relationship with HD-DVD. Without Warner --
one of the only studios that has really embraced high-definition video
and produced outstanding supplemental packages for both formats --
HD-DVD will struggle to survive, which is a shame since the format has
certain elements that Blu-Ray is only just beginning to iron out (like
internet connectivity), and was able to be priced considerably under
Blu-Ray in terms of both hardware and software...all the while
providing as outstanding a viewing experience as its more expensive
brethren. Indeed, had this been a “format war” waged on an
even playing field with the same titles available in both formats,
HD-DVD would have won on price and performance alone.
Yet with Warner onboard, and seemingly no response from Toshiba’s
HD-DVD camp, Blu-Ray is poised to capture the HD-based optical wars,
though one wonders what the long road ahead will have in store for the
format. Blu-Ray hardware remains prohibitively more expensive (the PS3
is still priced at $399 and the best BD standalone, the Panasonic BD30,
runs over that), and is likely to remain well over the level that
HD-DVD players were discounted at this past year. More over, without
any competition from HD-DVD, it’s unlikely that there will be any
incentive to run the sorts of consumer-friendly sales we saw in 2007.
Software prices are likely to remain at their current levels and while
one can see hardware prices somewhere in the $200-$300 range for
lower-end Blu-Ray machines, we’re a long way from seeing the
“magic price point” that the masses will find appealing.
It’s the latter aspect that has to trouble BD backers as we move
ahead, and it would be the same situation had HD-DVD been the
“victor” here. Mainstream consumers have expressed little
interest in either format in relation to standard DVD, while some
analysts feel the future lies with digital delivery (downloads,
video-on-demand) for HD content -- and that consumers who were so
reluctant to jump onboard regular DVD years ago after years of VHS will
feel the need to change formats again...especially when the difference
between DVD and high-definition DVD isn’t the leap that VHS to
DVD was.
It’s something we’ll be keeping an eye on in the months
ahead, and rest assured we’ll cover it all -- no matter what
format we happen to be reviewing! New From Criterion
Among the new additions to the Criterion Collection this month are an
Agnes Varda box-set and an edition of Lindsay Anderson’s
“This Sporting Life.”
4 BY AGNES VARDA offers
a quartet of Varda’s mest renowned works, including “La
Pointe Courte” (1954, 80 mins.), “Cleo From 5 to 7" (1961,
89 mins.), “Le Bonheur” (1964, 80 mins.), and
“Vagabond” (1985, 105 mins.). Extras are abundant, from
three other shorts Varda produced between 1958 and 1961, documentaries
on the production of each film, extensive interviews, trailers,
archival footage of Varda discussing her career in a French television
program, and a foreword from the director prior to each film. Transfers
are in their original 1.66 widescreen aspect ratios (except for
“La Pointe Courte,” which is presented in full-frame),
making this a must for French cinema aficionados and Varda devotees
most especially.
Anderson’s 1963 debut film, THIS SPORTING LIFE (134 mins.)
is rightly regarded as one of the greatest British films of the
‘60s, starring Richard Harris as a rugby player who falls for a
widower (Rachel Roberts) in working class Yorkshire. Taut performances,
a strong sense of time and place mark this appropriately gloomy early
work from Anderson, which Criterion is newly issuing on DVD in a
double-disc set offering a commentary track from Anderson historian
Paul Ryan and screenwriter David Storey, plus a 2004 BBC Scotland
documentary on Anderson, an interview with Anderson’s first
producer Lois Sutcliffe Smith, Anderson’s documentary short
“Meet the Pioneers” (1948) and a 1952 short
“Wakefield Express,” concerning the town that served as the
setting for the film; and Anderson’s final film, “Is That
All There Is,” from 1993. The 1.66 transfer is strong and the
package strongly recommended.
Finally there’s Swedish filmmaker Alf Sjoberg’s MISS JULIE (1951, 90 mins.),
an adaptation of August Strindberg’s 1888 play about a
businessman’s daughter who crosses classes when she gets involved
with his servant. Censored in the U.S. due to its mature content at the
time, Criterion’s restored DVD offers a video essay from
historian Peter Cowie, an archival interview with Sjoberg, a 2006
documentary about the play, the trailer, and additional essays and
notes. New This Week
BE MY VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN (***, 75 mins. total, 1967-77; Warner): After
many years with Paramount, the beloved Peanuts franchise has moved to
Warner Home Video for a new series of DVDs, starting this week with a
remastered presentation of "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown," along with
one of the first Charlie Brown specials -- 1967's "You're In Love,
Charlie Brown" -- and the 1977 effort "It's Your First Kiss, Charlie
Brown."
While
the three specials offered here are identical to the roster included on
the prior Paramount DVD, Warner’s effort is a huge improvement in
every way. Colors are not only a little warmer, but the transfer is
sharper and much clearer; when I placed the older Paramount DVD on for
a comparison, it was immediately apparent how much more satisfying the
Warner remastering is. Now, that doesn’t mean there still
aren’t some issues with the original animation (and Warner
thankfully hasn’t applied too much noise reduction to smooth over
the image, either), but the result is a transfer that’s been
freshly restored instead of looking like it’s been derived from
an older video master by comparison. The sound, also, seems much more
vibrant than its predecessor as well.
As far as the content goes, "It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown" was
one of the first specials I actually recall seeing as a young child.
Watching it again on DVD, I can see why some Peanuts purists objected
to the story, which focuses on Charlie Brown escorting the "little
red-headed girl" to a dance following a big school football game. While
there are some laughs here, Charles M. Schulz's story actually gives
the red-headed girl a name (Heather) and shows her on-screen -- thus
losing some of the mystery behind Charlie Brown's lifelong crush, but
still resulting in a pleasant enough special. The music by Ed Bogas and
Judy Munsen, alas, lacks the magic of Vince Guaraldi, but works well
enough in the concluding moments.
"Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown" is a cute, though not especially
memorable, 1975 effort with Charlie Brown watching in angst as his
classmates trade cards and tokens on Valentine's Day. Vince Guaraldi's
score – one of his last -- is pleasant, but the big surprise on
the DVD is the inclusion of "You're In Love, Charlie Brown," one of the
earlier Peanuts specials and, in some ways, one of the best.
Essentially a collection of skits linked together through CB's attempts
at communicating with the red-headed girl before summer vacation, this
is a smart and poignant episode, marked by one of Guaraldi's best
scores for all the Peanuts shows.
Another benefit to Warner’s involvement is that Peanuts fans can
look forward to extras on these new discs. The Valentine’s DVD
only includes one featurette, “Unlucky in Love: An Unrequited
Love Story,” but it’s a keeper: a 15-minute segment
featuring interviews with producers Lee Mendelson and Phil Roman,
Charles Schultz’s wife Jean, son Craig, and various cartoonists,
all recounting the honesty of Schultz’s story and where this
particular special fits within the Peanuts legacy.
It’s a fitting tribute on a superb disc, one that nicely kicks
off Warner’s line of Peanuts DVDs. Next up: “It’s the
Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown,” due out roughly a month from now. New on Blu-Ray and DVD
3:10 TO YUMA: Blu-Ray and DVD (***, 122 mins., 2007, R; Lionsgate):
Rock-solid adaptation of the Elmore Leonard sagebrush saga, previously
brought to the screen in the 1957 Glenn Ford-Van Heflin rendition.
Director James Mangold’s version pits Christian Bale as the
staunchly moral rancher who joins a group of his fellow townspeople in
escorting outlaw Russell Crowe to justice in the form of a train to the
state prison. Gorgeous cinematography -- which looks spectacular on
Blu-Ray -- is the film’s strongest asset, along with the
performances of both Bale and particularly Crowe, who has a field day
as the charismatic, conniving “bad guy.” That said, the
film still feels a bit on the long side, with a disappointing climax
putting the damper on what might have been a classic genre entry. Still
worth watching, though, particularly in high-definition, where
Lionsgate’s 1080p transfer is utterly marvelous. Every aspect of
the scenery is breathtakingly rendered on Blu-Ray, along with a strong
uncompressed 7.1 PCM soundtrack that captures Marco Beltrami’s
score -- one which has a few noticeably “Goldsmith-ian”
flourishes at various points. Supplements are ample across both Blu-Ray
and standard DVD, including commentary from Mangold, deleted scenes,
Making Of featurettes, a segment on the music and interactive HD menus. GOOD LUCK CHUCK: Blu-Ray and DVD (**½, 101 mins., 2007, Unrated; Lionsgate):
Not-bad raunchy comedy with Dane Cook as a bachelor who meets and falls
for gorgeous Jessica Alba – who has more than a small streak of
bad luck going for herself. The requisite gross-out humor is partially
off-set here by game performances from Cook and Alba, making
“Good Luck, Chuck” a bit more than typical Farrelly
Brothers fare. Lionsgate’s DVD looks fine, the Blu-Ray release is
even more impressive (as is the 7.1 PCM audio), with both releases
offering commentary from Cook and director Mark Helfrich, deleted
and/or alternate scenes, music montages, and seven Making Of
featurettes.
WAR: Blu-Ray and DVD (*½, 103 mins., 2007, R; Lionsgate):
Tepid thriller wastes the talents of Jason Statham (as an FBI agent)
and Jet Li (the assassin he’s after) in a slow-moving production
that barely clicks into gear other than a few set-pieces in the second
half. Lionsgate’s DVD presentation is fine and the Blu Ray disc
even better, offering a 7.1 PCM soundtrack and extras including a
scoring featurette with composer Brian Tyler, a gag reel, deleted
scenes, Making Of featurettes and both a visual and audio commentary
from the writers and directors.
MAN ON FIRE: Blu-Ray (*, 146 mins., 2004, R; Fox):
Typically over-directed Tony Scott mess, an adaptation of an A.J.
Quinnell novel first brought to the screen (to equally disastrous
results) in a 1987 film with Scott Glenn, Brooke Adams, Danny Aiello,
and Joe Pesci.
Following a rash of kidnappings, Denzel Washington plays an
ex-mercenary hired by parents Marc Anthony and Radha Mitchell to watch
over their precocious little girl (Dakota Fanning) in Mexico City.
Despite Washington's best efforts, Fanning is kidnapped by a group of
thugs tied to Anthony's prior dealings, and Denzel quickly turns Rambo
in a one-man assault at getting her back.
You'd think someone might have learned from the original "Man On Fire"
and not bothered producing another rendition of its source, but
director Tony Scott and writer Brian Helgeland apparently thought their
film would have improved upon its predecessor. After a watchable, if
overlong, first hour, though, the 2004 "Man On Fire" becomes an utter
disaster, totally wasting the talents of its cast in an ugly, endless
vigilante saga that's the most self-indulgent yet of Scott's works. No
matter what scene you're watching, Scott cuts away to another shot,
inserts a special effect, throws subtitles on the screen (even when the
characters are speaking English!), zooms in, zooms out, or cuts to
something else altogether. The result is a mind-numbingly restless and
unpleasant film that made moderate box-office bucks solely on
Washington's reputation.
On the supplemental side the Blu Ray disc rolls snake eyes: incredible
with 50GB’s of space they couldn’t even include the
commentaries from the single-disc DVD, much less all the extras from
the 2-disc Special Edition! The crisp AVC-encoded transfer and DTS-MA
audio are potent, though, for those who care for the film. New on HD-DVD
WHITE NOISE (**, 98 mins., 2005, PG-13; Universal) WHITE NOISE 2 (**, 99 mins., 2007, PG-13; Universal): Both “White Noise” and its new direct-to-video sequel hit HD-DVD last week courtesy of Universal.
The original, moderately successful 2005 theatrical release stars
Michael Keaton as a grieving widower who turns to investigator Ian
McNeice in order to use EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) to contact his
late wife.
“White Noise” stars off as a compelling piece with a strong
performance by Keaton holding it together, but eventually flies off the
tracks and culminates in an absurd conclusion that leaves a bad taste
in the mouth.
“White Noise 2" is an in-name-only sequel with Nathan Fillion as
a guy who loses his family but gains the ability to see an aura around
people who are about to die. Despite fine work from Fillion and Kate
Sackhoff, this Patrick Lussier-directed sequel (released theatrically
in certain international territories) is a convoluted mess that shares
little in common with its predecessor outside of another botched ending
that negates what little suspense was generated before it.
Both movies look superb on HD-DVD in their VC-1 encoded transfers, and
are each supported by active Dolby TrueHD soundtracks. Extras include a
good amount of extras on “White Noise 2,” including deleted
scenes and several featurettes in HD, while extras on the original
“White Noise” are recycled from the prior Special Edition
DVD and are comprised of deleted scenes, commentary, and “Do It
Yourself” EVP featurettes.
THE PIANIST: HD-DVD (***½, 150 mins., 2003, R; Universal):
Pianist-composer Wladyslaw Szpilman’s harrowing chronicle of his
survival in the war-torn Warsaw ghetto during the Holocaust was
brilliantly brought to the screen by director Roman Polanski, with
Ronald Harwood adapting Szpilman’s autobiography. Adrien
Brody’s Oscar-winning performance is outstanding, and the
haunting visuals of the film are brought perfectly to HD-DVD by
Universal. The VC-1 encoded transfer is impressive and the Dolby TrueHD
audio equally potent, with fine extras ported over from the prior
Special Edition, including a documentary on the film’s production
and extensive cast and crew interviews.
MOBSTERS: HD-DVD (*½, 104 mins., 1991, R; Universal):
Incredibly stilted, boring attempt to mix a chronicle of famous
‘20s gangsters with a youth formula established by “Young
Guns” flopped at the box-office back in 1991 and hasn’t
improved with time, either. Christian Slater IS Lucky Luciano (go
figure) with Patrick Dempsey as Meyer Lansky, Richard Grieco as Bugsy
Siegel and Costas Mandylor (he of the career that went nowhere) as
Frank Costello in this slow-moving mob drama with cameos turned in by
Michael Gambon, Anthony Quinn and F. Murray Abraham. Richard
Sylbert’s production design is top-notch but there’s little
here to recommend, not even with a fine VC-1 encoded transfer and Dolby
TrueHD audio. New on DVD
DEATH SENTENCE (*½, 106 and 111 mins., R and Unrated; Fox):
Unpleasant, if skillfully executed, revenge thriller based on a
‘70s novel by Brian Garfield, author of “Death Wish.”
Kevin Bacon gives a good performance as a father who takes the law into
his own hands after his teen son is slain in a gang robbery; things get
even worse once the thugs follow Bacon back home, resulting in yet
another attack on his dwindling family. “Death Sentence”
starts out fine, becomes reasonably compelling in its mid-section (with
a terrific garage chase sequence, executed in one long take, by
director James Wan), but then the wheels fall out from under during the
picture’s latter stages, which turn pretentious and culminate in
an unsatisfying, predictably blood-drenched climax. The movie’s
conflicting messages are messy enough, but adding further insult to
injury is John Goodman’s complete miscasting as one of the
thugs’ fathers, a role that rates as the nadir of his career
output. A (deserved) box-office casualty from last summer, Fox has
released “Death Sentence” in a good looking 16:9 transfer
with 5.1 audio, with short behind-the-scenes featurettes, a “Life
After Film School” segment with Kevin Bacon, and both the R-rated
theatrical cut and its extended Unrated version included on the
single-platter release.
JOHN FRANKENHEIMER COLLECTION (MGM/Fox):
Four-disc box-set offers previously-released versions of
“Ronin,” “The Manchurian Candidate,” “The
Train” and “The Young Savages.”
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT (85 mins., 1986, R; MGM/Fox): Spike
Lee’s first film -- following a young woman (Tracy Camila Johns)
who chooses between Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell and Spike Lee
himself -- hits DVD in a 1.66 transfer with mono sound from MGM. Extras
are not on-hand for this particular “joint.”
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT: 40th Anniversary Edition (***½, 110 mins., 1967; MGM/Fox): New
Special Edition of Sidney Poitier-Rod Steiger classic offers a
commentary with director Norman Jewison, Steiger, Lee Grant and
cinematographer Haskell Wexler; a “Movie-Making in the
‘60s” featurette and two other segments, including one on
the score by Quincy Jones; the original trailer; and a 16:9 (1.85)
transfer with 5.1 Dolby Digital audio. NEXT
TIME: The latest reviews and more news! Until
then, don't
forget
to drop in
on the official Aisle Seat Message
Boards, check
out the newly relaunched Aisle
Seat Blog, and
direct
any emails to our email address. Cheers Everyone!
Copyright 1997-2007 All Reviews, Site and Design by Andre
Dursin