December 12, 2008
Song Lyrics and Memoirs for All Seasons By CHARLES ISHERWOOD
The holiday season can be a bit of a bummer for die-hard theater lovers. They have already seen all of the important fall openings — all they care to, anyway — and they tend to turn up their noses at the festive fare aimed at extracting maximum dollars from tourists with children. To help divert your friends during this anxious time, these new books and DVDs — and one actual show guaranteed not to send sophisticated theatergoers into sugar shock — are recommended.
'THE COMPLETE LYRICS OF OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II' Edited by Amy Asch. (Alfred A. Knopf, $65.) Anyone with a glancing interest in theater will be familiar with a few immortal phrases from "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' " or "Some Enchanted Evening." But this hefty, handsome volume reveals anew the breadth, range and sheer fecundity of a central figure — maybe the central figure — in the evolution of the American musical theater. Hammerstein wrote revue songs, operettas, musical comedies and of course the musical plays, with Richard Rodgers, that changed the face of Broadway forever and are so crucial to the musical canon. The book contains 850 lyrics, a quarter previously unpublished, with deeply researched notes and commentary by Ms. Asch that add color and context, although the limpid poetry of Hammerstein's best lyrics needs little of either to shine.
'CHRISTINE PEDI'S HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS FOLLY' (at the Laurie Beechman Theater, various dates in December; tickets, $55). Christine Pedi, the brilliant impressionist who was an invaluable member of the "Forbidden Broadway" ensemble for many years, rides to the rescue of theatergoers who would rather commit seppuku than watch another "Christmas Carol." Her seasonal offering is a funny, festive little shebang that shows off her musical dexterity and precise ability to mimic the big-belters of Broadway and beyond. Liza Minnelli singing "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is priceless, but the pièce de résistance is Ms. Pedi's "Twelve Divas of Christmas," in which she sings each verse in the voice of a different actress, from Elaine Stritch to Patti LuPone to Carol Channing. (Click here for a video of Ms. Pedi in performance.)
'IN SPITE OF MYSELF: A MEMOIR,' by Christopher Plummer (Alfred. A. Knopf, $29.95.) A staggering parade of theater-world luminaries struts, swaggers and, yes, occasionally staggers through this compulsively readable memoir by this Canadian-born actor. Mr. Plummer seems to have worked with just about everyone imaginable— Ruth Chatterton and Katherine Cornell, Jason Robards and Laurence Olivier, Julie Harris and Judith Anderson, Tyrone Guthrie and Edward Everett Horton (!) — and he has a tasty anecdote about onstage, backstage or drinking-hole doings about every single one of them.
'SLINGS AND ARROWS: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION' (Acorn Video DVD, $59.99.) Devoted theater fans are not necessarily familiar with the nether reaches of the cable dial, so it's possible that they never discovered this indisputably brilliant Canadian television series, which was seen on the Sundance Channel and is loosely based on the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Each of the three six-part series depicts the backstage turmoil of a particular season, with special emphasis on productions of "Hamlet," "Macbeth" and "King Lear." The writing is as smart and funny as anything on television in recent years ("30 Rock" included) and the acting may just be better. (Related Article)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/theater/12cgif.html?sq=Song%20Lyrics%20Isherwood&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print
http://snipurl.com/83ma4
Showing posts with label DVD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DVD. Show all posts
Friday, December 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Best TV on DVD By GINIA BELLAFANTE
The New York Times
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November 25, 2008
Best TV on DVD By GINIA BELLAFANTE
Each week seems to bring more and more releases of television series and specials on DVD. Are you hankering to relive the complete first season of “Spin City”? It’s just out. While it is impossible to see everything, a critic can still cull the best of the year, even if from a vaguely arbitrary list. So here we go:
Amazon
STATE OF PLAY
DVD
This political thriller, produced as a mini-series for British television a few years ago, won multiple awards in its homeland, including a Bafta prize for the incomparably sardonic Bill Nighy. Here he sheds his patrician inflections for the near-Cockney pronunciations of a newspaper editor overseeing the investigation of two seemingly unrelated murders — the death of a black teenager at gunpoint and the mysterious fall of a research assistant on the tracks of the London Underground — that ultimately hint at significant connection. The assistant belongs to an ambitious member of Parliament in both the professional and biblical senses. Anonymous faxes are sent, lives are endangered and marriages crumble in what amounts to six sublime hours of diversion from holiday whining and madness. (BBC Video, $34.98.)
Amazon
THE SOPRANOS: THE COMPLETE SERIES
Why? Because you have “Moby-Dick” in your library, don’t you? Individual seasons of “The Sopranos” are available, of course, but this set, just released, brings together all 86 episodes on 28 discs, with the added value of a conversation between Alec Baldwin and David Chase. (Mr. Baldwin had hoped for a role but never got one.) Other features include a photo album, CD soundtracks and a filmed dinner with cast members. For $399.99, and especially in the current climate, we might want the recipes for every plate of veal Carmella ever produced — no, actually, the veal itself — but still, a complete set of one of the greatest series television has ever produced seems to fall in the ranks of cultural essentials. (HBO Video, $399.99.)
Amazon
MAD MEN, SEASON ONE
DVD
You have friends, cousins, brothers-in-law, ex-girlfriends — maybe in Denver, maybe around the block — who have yet to experience the exquisite historicism of “Mad Men,” Matthew Weiner’s series about consumer glorification and marital malfeasance in the New York of the early 1960s. Even though it seems as if everyone is watching, very few people actually are, so it is incumbent on viewers in the know to serve as cultural ambassadors and spread the word through gift giving. The first 13 episodes make up a season nearly as perfect as any that have come around. (Lionsgate, $39.99.)
Amazon
FORTYSOMETHING
Before he starred as a dyspeptic genius physician on “House,” Hugh Laurie starred as a dyspeptic physician in the thrall of a midlife crisis in the British comedy “Fortysomething.” Here he plays Paul Slippery, a man dealing with his wife’s professional turnaround and her possible wandering eye. At work he is mired in bureaucracy and at home he is given little reprieve, tortured as he is by his three sex-obsessed sons. The series, which was shown in 2003, is six episodes long; Mr. Laurie directed the first three. What “House” fan is likely to return it? (Acorn, $39.99.)
Amazon
FREAKS AND GEEKS: THE YEARBOOK EDITION
DVD
Created by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, this short-lived dramatic comedy about the politics of a suburban Detroit high school in the 1980s can be given to just about anyone from 38 to 50 with a nostalgia for paneling, army jackets, ski coats and other signifiers of early-’80s slackerdom. It is almost guaranteed to elicit a wistful, enthusiastic response. The current collection is a revamped version of one that preceded it in 2004, with two bonus DVDs and six hours of supplemental commentary and interviews. It also comes with a book — a yearbook, as it were — of essays and memorabilia. “Freaks and Geeks” is sweet and quietly funny, and it gave rise to the careers, as its devoted fans will remind you, of Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jason Segel, essential purveyors of the Apatow ethos. (Shout! Factory, $169.99.)
Amazon
FOYLE’S WAR, SET 5
This set contains three separate but related 100-minute films commissioned by the ITV network and revolving around the assignments that land on the desk of Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (played just short of ornery by the talented Michael Kitchen) during World War II. Closed off from the action on the front lines, Foyle is sent to Hastings, on the south coast of England, to battle the war’s residual wrongdoing: the murder and bribery committed by the politically ambitious and the profiteering. Foyle doesn’t drink, yell or tomcat — he’s been given none of the detective’s standard character flaws — but he is still riveting at every step of his crime solving. The visual pleasures are there, too: “Foyle’s War” is exacting in its period details of wartime English countryside. (Acorn, $49.99.)
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November 25, 2008
Best TV on DVD By GINIA BELLAFANTE
Each week seems to bring more and more releases of television series and specials on DVD. Are you hankering to relive the complete first season of “Spin City”? It’s just out. While it is impossible to see everything, a critic can still cull the best of the year, even if from a vaguely arbitrary list. So here we go:
Amazon
STATE OF PLAY
DVD
This political thriller, produced as a mini-series for British television a few years ago, won multiple awards in its homeland, including a Bafta prize for the incomparably sardonic Bill Nighy. Here he sheds his patrician inflections for the near-Cockney pronunciations of a newspaper editor overseeing the investigation of two seemingly unrelated murders — the death of a black teenager at gunpoint and the mysterious fall of a research assistant on the tracks of the London Underground — that ultimately hint at significant connection. The assistant belongs to an ambitious member of Parliament in both the professional and biblical senses. Anonymous faxes are sent, lives are endangered and marriages crumble in what amounts to six sublime hours of diversion from holiday whining and madness. (BBC Video, $34.98.)
Amazon
THE SOPRANOS: THE COMPLETE SERIES
Why? Because you have “Moby-Dick” in your library, don’t you? Individual seasons of “The Sopranos” are available, of course, but this set, just released, brings together all 86 episodes on 28 discs, with the added value of a conversation between Alec Baldwin and David Chase. (Mr. Baldwin had hoped for a role but never got one.) Other features include a photo album, CD soundtracks and a filmed dinner with cast members. For $399.99, and especially in the current climate, we might want the recipes for every plate of veal Carmella ever produced — no, actually, the veal itself — but still, a complete set of one of the greatest series television has ever produced seems to fall in the ranks of cultural essentials. (HBO Video, $399.99.)
Amazon
MAD MEN, SEASON ONE
DVD
You have friends, cousins, brothers-in-law, ex-girlfriends — maybe in Denver, maybe around the block — who have yet to experience the exquisite historicism of “Mad Men,” Matthew Weiner’s series about consumer glorification and marital malfeasance in the New York of the early 1960s. Even though it seems as if everyone is watching, very few people actually are, so it is incumbent on viewers in the know to serve as cultural ambassadors and spread the word through gift giving. The first 13 episodes make up a season nearly as perfect as any that have come around. (Lionsgate, $39.99.)
Amazon
FORTYSOMETHING
Before he starred as a dyspeptic genius physician on “House,” Hugh Laurie starred as a dyspeptic physician in the thrall of a midlife crisis in the British comedy “Fortysomething.” Here he plays Paul Slippery, a man dealing with his wife’s professional turnaround and her possible wandering eye. At work he is mired in bureaucracy and at home he is given little reprieve, tortured as he is by his three sex-obsessed sons. The series, which was shown in 2003, is six episodes long; Mr. Laurie directed the first three. What “House” fan is likely to return it? (Acorn, $39.99.)
Amazon
FREAKS AND GEEKS: THE YEARBOOK EDITION
DVD
Created by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, this short-lived dramatic comedy about the politics of a suburban Detroit high school in the 1980s can be given to just about anyone from 38 to 50 with a nostalgia for paneling, army jackets, ski coats and other signifiers of early-’80s slackerdom. It is almost guaranteed to elicit a wistful, enthusiastic response. The current collection is a revamped version of one that preceded it in 2004, with two bonus DVDs and six hours of supplemental commentary and interviews. It also comes with a book — a yearbook, as it were — of essays and memorabilia. “Freaks and Geeks” is sweet and quietly funny, and it gave rise to the careers, as its devoted fans will remind you, of Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jason Segel, essential purveyors of the Apatow ethos. (Shout! Factory, $169.99.)
Amazon
FOYLE’S WAR, SET 5
This set contains three separate but related 100-minute films commissioned by the ITV network and revolving around the assignments that land on the desk of Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (played just short of ornery by the talented Michael Kitchen) during World War II. Closed off from the action on the front lines, Foyle is sent to Hastings, on the south coast of England, to battle the war’s residual wrongdoing: the murder and bribery committed by the politically ambitious and the profiteering. Foyle doesn’t drink, yell or tomcat — he’s been given none of the detective’s standard character flaws — but he is still riveting at every step of his crime solving. The visual pleasures are there, too: “Foyle’s War” is exacting in its period details of wartime English countryside. (Acorn, $49.99.)
Best Movies on DVD By DAVE KEHR
The New York Times
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November 25, 2008
Best Movies on DVD
By DAVE KEHR
DVD sales might have slumped recently, but you’d never know it from the super-duper collectors’ editions and cunningly packaged boxed sets coming out this season.
Amazon
A CHRISTMAS STORY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Adapted from the gently satiric writings of Jean Shepherd (who narrates the film), this 1983 movie about of a near-disastrous holiday in small-town Indiana, around 1940, has become the popular choice for secular, unsentimental seasonal entertainment. The new editions from Warner Home Video (Blu-ray $49.99, standard definition $39.98) come packaged in cookie tins with assorted holiday trinkets.
Amazon
HOLIDAY INN 3-DISC COLLECTOR’S SET
DVD
Christmas is only one episode in this Irving Berlin musical about a pair of song (Bing Crosby) and dance (Fred Astaire) men and a country inn that is open only for major holidays, but it gave Crosby the occasion to introduce “White Christmas.” This three-disc set includes the original black-and-white film directed by Mark Sandrich, as well as a colorized version and a CD of the soundtrack. (Universal, $26.98, not rated)
Amazon
DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
Ron Howard’s very busy live-action interpretation of the Dr. Seuss story features Jim Carrey as the embittered title character; the new two-disc edition includes a snow globe. (Universal, $34.98, PG)
Trailer: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Amazon
POLAR EXPRESS: 3-D
DVD
Robert Zemeckis brings Chris Van Allsburg’s beloved children’s book to life. The film offers classic Christmas imagery, rendered in glorious digital animation, subtly undermined by a theme of antimaterialism. Tom Hanks plays several different characters, including the young hero, through the technique of “performance capture” computer animation. The 3-D versions ($34.99 Blu-ray, $20.98 standard) use the long outmoded red-and-green glasses technology, so don’t expect an IMAX experience. (Warner Home Video, not rated)
Trailer: The Polar Express
Amazon
THE RED BALLOON/WHITE MANE
No real holiday content at all here, just a pair of seasonally appropriate child-friendly 1950s art-house classics from France, directed by Albert Lamorisse. He won an Oscar for “The Red Balloon,” in which a lonely Parisian boy (the director’s son, Pascal) is befriended by a helium balloon with a heart and mind of its own. (Criterion Collection, $19.95, not rated)
Amazon
WARNER BROTHERS CLASSIC HOLIDAY COLLECTION, VOLUME 2
“Classic” is probably overstating the case for these four lesser-known films, each with a holiday connection — “All Mine to Give” (1957), “Holiday Affair” (1949), “It Happened on Fifth Avenue” (1947) and “Blossoms in the Dust” (1941) — but on the other hand, you can’t say they suffer from overexposure. (Warner Home Video, $29.98, not rated)
Amazon
THE DARK KNIGHT
DVD
Christian Bale plays a Bush-era Batman not ashamed to use wiretapping, torture and rendition in his battle against a giggling nihilist: Heath Ledger’s Joker, who steals the show. Available in a range of editions, from the “Limited Edition Blu-ray with Batpod” ($64.98) to the humble single-disc standard definition ($28.98). (Warner Home Video, PG-13)
Trailer: The Dark Knight
Amazon
DR. SEUSS’ HORTON HEARS A WHO! (DVD GIFT SET)
Jim Carrey lends his voice to Dr. Seuss’s compassionate elephant in a computer-animated version of the 1954 children’s book, with other characters interpreted by Steve Carell, Carol Burnett and Seth Rogen. The different versions in the marketplace run from an Amazon-exclusive gift set that includes a plush toy and an audio storybook ($46.98), to a modest single-disc edition ($29.98). (Fox Home Entertainment, G)
Trailer: Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
Amazon
I AM LEGEND ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Will Smith stars as the (almost) last man on earth, who uses an abandoned Manhattan as his personal playground. Francis Lawrence directed this third, and most cuddly, version of the Richard Matheson story. The three-disc collector’s edition comes with a 44-page book and “six art cards of devastated cities.” (Warner Home Video, $49.98, PG-13)
Trailer: I Am Legend
Amazon
MAMMA MIA! THE MOVIE
DVD
A score of Abba standards wedded to a plot seemingly inspired by the largely forgotten 1968 film “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell,” with Meryl Streep as a single mom reunited with three past loves — Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth — one of whom is the father of her daughter (Amanda Seyfried). (Universal, Blu-ray $39.98, two-disc special edition $34.98, single disc $29.98, PG-13)
Trailer: Mamma Mia!
Amazon
300 LIMITED COLLECTOR’S EDITION
When the kids have had enough good will toward men, it’s time to slap on this extravagantly stylized representation of the Battle of Thermopylae, starring Gerard Butler as the leader of the Spartans and Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes, the Persian king. The director Zack Snyder uses digital technology to give the proceedings the airbrushed look of a graphic novel. The collector’s edition includes a 52-page hardcover book and an awesome Lucite paperweight. (Warner Home Video, $49.98, R)
Trailer: 300
Amazon
WALL-E
DVD
The lovably unstoppable custodial robot counts a string of Christmas lights among his souvenirs of a planet earth lost to pollution, but Andrew Stanton’s digitally animated film lies beyond seasonal categorization. It’s available in several different iterations, from a Blu-ray three-disc special edition ($40.99) to a plain vanilla single disc standard DVD ($29.99), all of which include a new short film, “Burn-E.” (Disney DVD, G)
Trailer: WALL-E
Amazon
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO: THE COMPLETE UNIVERSAL PICTURES COLLECTION
All 28 of the feature films that the burlesque comedians made for their home studio, from “One Night in the Tropics” (1940) to “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy” (1955). Includes a 44-page book. (Universal, $119.98, not rated)
Amazon
CASABLANCA: ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Warner’s latest edition of the studio’s signature title comes in both Blu-ray ($64.98) and standard ($59.98) versions in boxes packed with extras, including a 48-page photo book and a luggage tag. (Warner Home Video, not rated)
Trailer: Casablanca
Amazon
COLUMBIA BEST PICTURES COLLECTION
All but one (“The Last Emperor”) of Columbia’s Oscar-winning features, from “It Happened One Night” (1934) to “Gandhi” (1982). Mostly these 11 films seem to be repressings of Sony’s previous DVD releases, with the important exception of Robert Rossen’s 1949 “All the King’s Men,” which has been remastered and much improved over the initial release. (Sony, $135.95) .
Amazon
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL: TWO-DISC SPECIAL EDITION
DVD
Robert Wise’s cold war science fiction classic of 1951, with Michael Rennie as an interplanetary visitor with a message for humanity (a role played by Keanu Reeves in this season’s remake). (Fox Home Entertainment, Blu-ray $34.99, standard two-disc edition $19.98, G)
Trailer: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Amazon
THE GODFATHER: THE COPPOLA RESTORATION GIFTSET
Contains the gorgeous new restorations of the first two films (1972 and 1974) as well as the disappointing Part 3 (1990) and a wealth of supplementary material. (Paramount, Blu-ray $124.99, standard definition $69.99, R)
Trailer: The Godfather (1972)
Amazon
HEATHERS: LIMITED EDITION BOX SET
Michael Lehmann’s black comedy of high school life with Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, now packaged in a miniature metal locker with souvenir magnets and a T-shirt. Includes both standard and Blu-ray versions. (Anchor Bay, $89.97, R)
Trailer: Heathers
Amazon
HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS COLLECTION
DVD
Fifty musicals on 61 discs drawn from the combined holdings of MGM and 20th Century Fox. It’s an eccentric assortment, featuring everything from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Elvis Presley and “Moulin Rouge!,” though not the classic MGM productions of the ’40s and ’50s (which are now controlled by Warner Brothers). For hard-core collectors, the highlights will probably be three long out-of-print features from the Samuel Goldwyn Company: “The Goldwyn Follies” (1938), “Kid Millions” (1934) and the beautiful two-strip Technicolor restoration of Eddie Cantor’s 1930 “Whoopee!,” featuring Busby Berkeley’s first choreography for film. (MGM DVD/Fox Home Entertainment, $499.98, various ratings)
Amazon
JAMES BOND BLU-RAY COLLECTION SIX PACK
MGM begins rolling out the Bond films on Blu-ray with an initial selection of six — “Dr. No,” “Die Another Day,” “Live and Let Die,” “For Your Eyes Only,” “From Russia With Love” and “Thunderball” — and they look very nice indeed. The individual titles are priced at $34.98; Amazon offers an exclusive bundle of all six for $179.96.
Amazon
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE — 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION GIFT SET
John Landis’s enduring college comedy of 1978, now available in a box shaped like a house. Includes a new “making of” documentary with a running time of 98 minutes — only 11 minutes shorter than the film itself. (Universal, $34.98, R).
Trailer: National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Amazon
PARAMOUNT CENTENNIAL COLLECTION
Paramount timidly observes its 100th anniversary by upgrading some of its most popular library titles, including “Sunset Boulevard” (a big improvement over the botched 2002 release), “Roman Holiday” and “Sabrina.” (Paramount, $24.99 each, not rated)
Amazon
PINK PANTHER ULTIMATE COLLECTION
Nine of the 10 “Pink Panther” features (the 10th, “Return of the Pink Panther,” is owned by another studio), featuring Inspector Clouseau as interpreted by Peter Sellers (1963-1982), Alan Arkin (1968), Roger Moore (fleetingly, in the 1983 “Curse of the Pink Panther”) and Steve Martin (2006), as well as Roberto Benigni’s 1993 turn as Clouseau’s illegitimate Italian son. All this, and 190 “Pink Panther” cartoons to boot. (MGM DVD, $199.98)
Amazon
PLANET OF THE APES 40TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
DVD
Fox upgrades its 2006 “Planet of the Apes — The Legacy Collection” to Blu-ray. Includes all five films beginning with Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 original. (Fox Home Entertainment, $139.99, not rated)
Trailer: Planet of the Apes (1968)
Amazon
SLEEPING BEAUTY TWO-DISC PLATINUM EDITION
The first of the classic Disney features (1959) to come to Blu-ray ($34.99); also available in a very handsome standard definition transfer ($29.99). (Disney DVD, G).
Trailer: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Amazon
CRITERION BLU-RAY
Home theater enthusiasts have been waiting for the Criterion Collection, long the standard-setting company for video presentation of significant classic and foreign films, to dip its corporate toe into the new high-definition format; the first four titles will appear on Dec. 16: Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express,” Carol Reed’s “Third Man,” Wes Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket” and Nicolas Roeg’s “Man Who Fell to Earth.” They don’t disappoint. (Criterion Collection, $39.95 each, various ratings)
Amazon
DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS: A MODERN MUSKETEER
DVD
It was Douglas Fairbanks who, in a series of films beginning in 1915, created the go-getting American action hero, along with a large portion of our national identity. This collection has restored versions of 11 films, emphasizing his contemporary comedies like Allan Dwan’s “Modern Musketeer” (1917), but also including his first costume swashbuckler, the 1920 “Mark of Zorro.” (Flicker Alley, $89.99, not rated)
Amazon
GRIFFITH MASTERWORKS 2
Five features by the great form-giver of the early American cinema, D. W. Griffith, including the Museum of Modern Art’s restoration of the (nearly) complete “Way Down East” (1920) and Griffith’s underrated final feature, the brutally realistic “Struggle” (1931). (Kino International, $89.95, not rated)
Amazon
HOW THE WEST WAS WON ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
One of only two fiction films made in the enveloping widescreen three-strip Cinerama process, “How the West Was Won” has been restored by Warner Home Video to a dazzling approximation of its original grandeur. The highlight of this 1962 production is John Ford’s “Civil War” sequence, a complex blend of lyricism and bitter disillusionment. (Warner Home Video, Blu-ray $34.99, three-disc standard definition collector’s edition $59.98, G)
Amazon
MURNAU, BORZAGE AND FOX
Fox remains the only major studio to demonstrate a commitment to its silent features, and this follow-up to last year’s John Ford collection is a must-have anthology. It contains the two surviving films the great German director F. W. Murnau made for the studio, “Sunrise” (1927) and “City Girl” (1930), as well as 10 silent and early sound features by the incomparable Frank Borzage, the greatest romantic poet of the medium. (Fox Home Video, $239.98, not rated)
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November 25, 2008
Best Movies on DVD
By DAVE KEHR
DVD sales might have slumped recently, but you’d never know it from the super-duper collectors’ editions and cunningly packaged boxed sets coming out this season.
Amazon
A CHRISTMAS STORY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Adapted from the gently satiric writings of Jean Shepherd (who narrates the film), this 1983 movie about of a near-disastrous holiday in small-town Indiana, around 1940, has become the popular choice for secular, unsentimental seasonal entertainment. The new editions from Warner Home Video (Blu-ray $49.99, standard definition $39.98) come packaged in cookie tins with assorted holiday trinkets.
Amazon
HOLIDAY INN 3-DISC COLLECTOR’S SET
DVD
Christmas is only one episode in this Irving Berlin musical about a pair of song (Bing Crosby) and dance (Fred Astaire) men and a country inn that is open only for major holidays, but it gave Crosby the occasion to introduce “White Christmas.” This three-disc set includes the original black-and-white film directed by Mark Sandrich, as well as a colorized version and a CD of the soundtrack. (Universal, $26.98, not rated)
Amazon
DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
Ron Howard’s very busy live-action interpretation of the Dr. Seuss story features Jim Carrey as the embittered title character; the new two-disc edition includes a snow globe. (Universal, $34.98, PG)
Trailer: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Amazon
POLAR EXPRESS: 3-D
DVD
Robert Zemeckis brings Chris Van Allsburg’s beloved children’s book to life. The film offers classic Christmas imagery, rendered in glorious digital animation, subtly undermined by a theme of antimaterialism. Tom Hanks plays several different characters, including the young hero, through the technique of “performance capture” computer animation. The 3-D versions ($34.99 Blu-ray, $20.98 standard) use the long outmoded red-and-green glasses technology, so don’t expect an IMAX experience. (Warner Home Video, not rated)
Trailer: The Polar Express
Amazon
THE RED BALLOON/WHITE MANE
No real holiday content at all here, just a pair of seasonally appropriate child-friendly 1950s art-house classics from France, directed by Albert Lamorisse. He won an Oscar for “The Red Balloon,” in which a lonely Parisian boy (the director’s son, Pascal) is befriended by a helium balloon with a heart and mind of its own. (Criterion Collection, $19.95, not rated)
Amazon
WARNER BROTHERS CLASSIC HOLIDAY COLLECTION, VOLUME 2
“Classic” is probably overstating the case for these four lesser-known films, each with a holiday connection — “All Mine to Give” (1957), “Holiday Affair” (1949), “It Happened on Fifth Avenue” (1947) and “Blossoms in the Dust” (1941) — but on the other hand, you can’t say they suffer from overexposure. (Warner Home Video, $29.98, not rated)
Amazon
THE DARK KNIGHT
DVD
Christian Bale plays a Bush-era Batman not ashamed to use wiretapping, torture and rendition in his battle against a giggling nihilist: Heath Ledger’s Joker, who steals the show. Available in a range of editions, from the “Limited Edition Blu-ray with Batpod” ($64.98) to the humble single-disc standard definition ($28.98). (Warner Home Video, PG-13)
Trailer: The Dark Knight
Amazon
DR. SEUSS’ HORTON HEARS A WHO! (DVD GIFT SET)
Jim Carrey lends his voice to Dr. Seuss’s compassionate elephant in a computer-animated version of the 1954 children’s book, with other characters interpreted by Steve Carell, Carol Burnett and Seth Rogen. The different versions in the marketplace run from an Amazon-exclusive gift set that includes a plush toy and an audio storybook ($46.98), to a modest single-disc edition ($29.98). (Fox Home Entertainment, G)
Trailer: Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
Amazon
I AM LEGEND ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Will Smith stars as the (almost) last man on earth, who uses an abandoned Manhattan as his personal playground. Francis Lawrence directed this third, and most cuddly, version of the Richard Matheson story. The three-disc collector’s edition comes with a 44-page book and “six art cards of devastated cities.” (Warner Home Video, $49.98, PG-13)
Trailer: I Am Legend
Amazon
MAMMA MIA! THE MOVIE
DVD
A score of Abba standards wedded to a plot seemingly inspired by the largely forgotten 1968 film “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell,” with Meryl Streep as a single mom reunited with three past loves — Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth — one of whom is the father of her daughter (Amanda Seyfried). (Universal, Blu-ray $39.98, two-disc special edition $34.98, single disc $29.98, PG-13)
Trailer: Mamma Mia!
Amazon
300 LIMITED COLLECTOR’S EDITION
When the kids have had enough good will toward men, it’s time to slap on this extravagantly stylized representation of the Battle of Thermopylae, starring Gerard Butler as the leader of the Spartans and Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes, the Persian king. The director Zack Snyder uses digital technology to give the proceedings the airbrushed look of a graphic novel. The collector’s edition includes a 52-page hardcover book and an awesome Lucite paperweight. (Warner Home Video, $49.98, R)
Trailer: 300
Amazon
WALL-E
DVD
The lovably unstoppable custodial robot counts a string of Christmas lights among his souvenirs of a planet earth lost to pollution, but Andrew Stanton’s digitally animated film lies beyond seasonal categorization. It’s available in several different iterations, from a Blu-ray three-disc special edition ($40.99) to a plain vanilla single disc standard DVD ($29.99), all of which include a new short film, “Burn-E.” (Disney DVD, G)
Trailer: WALL-E
Amazon
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO: THE COMPLETE UNIVERSAL PICTURES COLLECTION
All 28 of the feature films that the burlesque comedians made for their home studio, from “One Night in the Tropics” (1940) to “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy” (1955). Includes a 44-page book. (Universal, $119.98, not rated)
Amazon
CASABLANCA: ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Warner’s latest edition of the studio’s signature title comes in both Blu-ray ($64.98) and standard ($59.98) versions in boxes packed with extras, including a 48-page photo book and a luggage tag. (Warner Home Video, not rated)
Trailer: Casablanca
Amazon
COLUMBIA BEST PICTURES COLLECTION
All but one (“The Last Emperor”) of Columbia’s Oscar-winning features, from “It Happened One Night” (1934) to “Gandhi” (1982). Mostly these 11 films seem to be repressings of Sony’s previous DVD releases, with the important exception of Robert Rossen’s 1949 “All the King’s Men,” which has been remastered and much improved over the initial release. (Sony, $135.95) .
Amazon
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL: TWO-DISC SPECIAL EDITION
DVD
Robert Wise’s cold war science fiction classic of 1951, with Michael Rennie as an interplanetary visitor with a message for humanity (a role played by Keanu Reeves in this season’s remake). (Fox Home Entertainment, Blu-ray $34.99, standard two-disc edition $19.98, G)
Trailer: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Amazon
THE GODFATHER: THE COPPOLA RESTORATION GIFTSET
Contains the gorgeous new restorations of the first two films (1972 and 1974) as well as the disappointing Part 3 (1990) and a wealth of supplementary material. (Paramount, Blu-ray $124.99, standard definition $69.99, R)
Trailer: The Godfather (1972)
Amazon
HEATHERS: LIMITED EDITION BOX SET
Michael Lehmann’s black comedy of high school life with Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, now packaged in a miniature metal locker with souvenir magnets and a T-shirt. Includes both standard and Blu-ray versions. (Anchor Bay, $89.97, R)
Trailer: Heathers
Amazon
HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS COLLECTION
DVD
Fifty musicals on 61 discs drawn from the combined holdings of MGM and 20th Century Fox. It’s an eccentric assortment, featuring everything from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Elvis Presley and “Moulin Rouge!,” though not the classic MGM productions of the ’40s and ’50s (which are now controlled by Warner Brothers). For hard-core collectors, the highlights will probably be three long out-of-print features from the Samuel Goldwyn Company: “The Goldwyn Follies” (1938), “Kid Millions” (1934) and the beautiful two-strip Technicolor restoration of Eddie Cantor’s 1930 “Whoopee!,” featuring Busby Berkeley’s first choreography for film. (MGM DVD/Fox Home Entertainment, $499.98, various ratings)
Amazon
JAMES BOND BLU-RAY COLLECTION SIX PACK
MGM begins rolling out the Bond films on Blu-ray with an initial selection of six — “Dr. No,” “Die Another Day,” “Live and Let Die,” “For Your Eyes Only,” “From Russia With Love” and “Thunderball” — and they look very nice indeed. The individual titles are priced at $34.98; Amazon offers an exclusive bundle of all six for $179.96.
Amazon
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE — 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION GIFT SET
John Landis’s enduring college comedy of 1978, now available in a box shaped like a house. Includes a new “making of” documentary with a running time of 98 minutes — only 11 minutes shorter than the film itself. (Universal, $34.98, R).
Trailer: National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Amazon
PARAMOUNT CENTENNIAL COLLECTION
Paramount timidly observes its 100th anniversary by upgrading some of its most popular library titles, including “Sunset Boulevard” (a big improvement over the botched 2002 release), “Roman Holiday” and “Sabrina.” (Paramount, $24.99 each, not rated)
Amazon
PINK PANTHER ULTIMATE COLLECTION
Nine of the 10 “Pink Panther” features (the 10th, “Return of the Pink Panther,” is owned by another studio), featuring Inspector Clouseau as interpreted by Peter Sellers (1963-1982), Alan Arkin (1968), Roger Moore (fleetingly, in the 1983 “Curse of the Pink Panther”) and Steve Martin (2006), as well as Roberto Benigni’s 1993 turn as Clouseau’s illegitimate Italian son. All this, and 190 “Pink Panther” cartoons to boot. (MGM DVD, $199.98)
Amazon
PLANET OF THE APES 40TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
DVD
Fox upgrades its 2006 “Planet of the Apes — The Legacy Collection” to Blu-ray. Includes all five films beginning with Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 original. (Fox Home Entertainment, $139.99, not rated)
Trailer: Planet of the Apes (1968)
Amazon
SLEEPING BEAUTY TWO-DISC PLATINUM EDITION
The first of the classic Disney features (1959) to come to Blu-ray ($34.99); also available in a very handsome standard definition transfer ($29.99). (Disney DVD, G).
Trailer: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Amazon
CRITERION BLU-RAY
Home theater enthusiasts have been waiting for the Criterion Collection, long the standard-setting company for video presentation of significant classic and foreign films, to dip its corporate toe into the new high-definition format; the first four titles will appear on Dec. 16: Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express,” Carol Reed’s “Third Man,” Wes Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket” and Nicolas Roeg’s “Man Who Fell to Earth.” They don’t disappoint. (Criterion Collection, $39.95 each, various ratings)
Amazon
DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS: A MODERN MUSKETEER
DVD
It was Douglas Fairbanks who, in a series of films beginning in 1915, created the go-getting American action hero, along with a large portion of our national identity. This collection has restored versions of 11 films, emphasizing his contemporary comedies like Allan Dwan’s “Modern Musketeer” (1917), but also including his first costume swashbuckler, the 1920 “Mark of Zorro.” (Flicker Alley, $89.99, not rated)
Amazon
GRIFFITH MASTERWORKS 2
Five features by the great form-giver of the early American cinema, D. W. Griffith, including the Museum of Modern Art’s restoration of the (nearly) complete “Way Down East” (1920) and Griffith’s underrated final feature, the brutally realistic “Struggle” (1931). (Kino International, $89.95, not rated)
Amazon
HOW THE WEST WAS WON ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
One of only two fiction films made in the enveloping widescreen three-strip Cinerama process, “How the West Was Won” has been restored by Warner Home Video to a dazzling approximation of its original grandeur. The highlight of this 1962 production is John Ford’s “Civil War” sequence, a complex blend of lyricism and bitter disillusionment. (Warner Home Video, Blu-ray $34.99, three-disc standard definition collector’s edition $59.98, G)
Amazon
MURNAU, BORZAGE AND FOX
Fox remains the only major studio to demonstrate a commitment to its silent features, and this follow-up to last year’s John Ford collection is a must-have anthology. It contains the two surviving films the great German director F. W. Murnau made for the studio, “Sunrise” (1927) and “City Girl” (1930), as well as 10 silent and early sound features by the incomparable Frank Borzage, the greatest romantic poet of the medium. (Fox Home Video, $239.98, not rated)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
About.co: 8 DVD/ VCR Combo Recommendations
Top 8 DVD Recorder - VHS VCR Combinations
DVD recorder/VCR combos are here. For those that are both replacing a VCR and want a DVD recorder, this flexible option gives you the best of the old and the new. You can use these units to play DVDs and VHS tapes, as well as record or copy homemade recordings (such as camcorder tapes, television recordings, etc...). However, keep in mind that DVD recorder/VCR combos cannot be used to copy commercially made DVD movies to VHS or commercially made VHS movies to DVD, due to copy-protection.
1. JVC DR-MV99B DVD Recorder/VCR Combination
The JVC DR-MV99B is a DVD Recorder/VCR combo that offers both good performance and a versatile feature package. This combo records on both the DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW formats and plays back most DVD and CD formats, including MP3 and Divx files. In addition, using the VCR section, the consumer can both record directly to VHS (HiFi) or dub non-copyprotected video content from VHS to DVD or DVD to VHS. The MV99B also has a front mounted DV input (iLInk) that allows direct video and audio transfer from digital camcorders. Also, with its HDMI output the DR-MV99B can upscale to both DVD and VHS up to 1080i The MV99B is also equipped with an ATSC tuner, for the reception of digital TV signals after Feb. 17, 2009.2. Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK DVD Recorder/VCR Combo
The Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK has just about everything a user needs in a DVD recorder/VCR combo, including the ability to record most DVD formats and play back most DVD and CD formats, including Divx, MP3, and Divx files. In addition using the VCR section, the consumer can both record directly to VHS or dub non-copyprotected video content from VHS to DVD or DVD to VHS. Also, with Panasonic's enhanced 4-hour recording mode, you can record sporting events and longer movies onto DVD with the same video quality as the 2-hour recording mode. The incorporation of HDMI and video upscaling makes the EZ47VK a good partner for use with an HDTV. The 47VK also has an ATSC tuner, for the reception of digital tv signals after Feb. 17, 2009.
3. Toshiba DVR650 DVD Recorder/VCR Combination
The Toshiba DVR650 is a very flexible DVD recorder/VCR combo. Some of the practical features include the ability to record in most DVD formats and play back most DVD and CD formats, including Divx, MP3, and WMA files. In addition using the VCR section, the consumer can both record directly to VHS or dub non-copyprotected video content from VHS to DVD or DVD to VHS. The incorporation of HDMI and video upscaling to 1080i makes the DVR650 easy to use with an HDTV. This unit also has both an NTSC, ATSC, and QAM tuners, for the reception of digital tv and basic digital cable signals after Feb. 17, 2009.4. Sony RDR-VX555 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo
The Sony RDR-VX555 is a DVD Recorder/VCR combo with a twist. Unlike most other DVD recorders and DVD recorder/VCR combos, this unit has no built-in tuner. In order to record TV programs, you must connect a Cable Box, Satellite Box, or other type of Desktop Box used for receiving either analog or digital television signals. However, the VX555 certainly does not leave out other important features, such as multi-format DVD recording and playback, DVD to VHS and VHS to DVD crossdubbing, iLink DV video input for digital camcorders, CD playback, and video upscaling via HDMI output. If you are looking for a DVD recorder/VCR combo, and used a separate box for accessing television programming, check out the Sony RDR/V555.5. Samsung DV-VR357 DVD Recorder - VCR Combination
If you are confused about whether to replace that aging VCR with a DVD recorder, now may be the time with the Samsung VR357 DVD Recorder/VCR combo. The VR357 records to all five recordable formats DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD-R/+RW and DVD-RAM, and has composite, S-Video, and iLink video inputs. In addition, on the DVD playback side, the VR357 can play back Divx files and has both component and HDMI video outputs and features 720p/1080i upscaling via the HDMI output. Of course the Vr357 can still record and play back VHS tapes. However, keep in mind that to record television programs, you need to use an external tuner, such as cable or satellite box. To find out more details on whether the VR357 is right for you, download the User Manual.6. Toshiba DVR-600 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo
The Toshiba DVR600 is a basic DVD recorder/VCR combo with practical featuress, including the ability to record in most DVD formats and play back most DVD and CD formats, including Divx, MP3, and WMA files. In addition, using the VCR section, the consumer can both record directly to VHS or dub non-copyprotected video content from VHS to DVD or DVD to VHS. The incorporation of HDMI and video upscaling to 1080i makes the DVR600 easy to use with an HDTV. However, keep in mind that this DVD recorder/VCR combo does not have built-in tuners. In order to record television programming, you need to connect a cable box, satellite box, or DTV converter into the audio/video line inputs of the DVR600.7. Sony RDR-VXD655 DVD recorder/VCR combo
Sony's RDR-VXD655 DVD recorder/VCR combo has the ability to record in four of the five available recordable DVD formats: DVD+R/DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/DVD-R/DVD-RW so you can make DVDs that will play in just about any DVD player. Of course, you can still record and play back in VHS. This is not only a flexible recorder but has high-end playback features, including progressive scan and video upscaling via HDMI. Add a full complement of video inputs, including a DV input, and the incorporation of both NTSC and ATSC tuners, this DVD recorder/VCR combo is ready for the analog-to-digital Television broadcast transition on February 17, 2009.8. JVC SR-DVM700US DVD/miniDV/Hard Drive Combination Recorder
If you are looking for a DVD recorder that is a cut-above the typical consumer-based unit, you might want to check out a professional unit, such as the JVC SR-DVM700US. This recorder not only features DVD-R/-RW and DVD-RAM recording capability, combined with a large 250GB hard drive, but also adds miniDV recording and playback capability. In addition, the DVM700US also has cross-dubbing and editing capability. Although the capabilities of this unit are extensive, it does not have a built-in tuner or 720p/1080i/1080p upscaling output capability, and is expensive. This is definitely a unit best suited for the more serious user or video editor. For a detailed look at the features and functions of the JVC SR-DVM700US, download the User Manual.
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