Electric Shadow

Hong Kong Triangle


Sun Honglei, soon to be seen in Zhang Yimou's Blood Simple re-visioning Amazing Tales: Three Guns
The lazy comparison I've seen made to Triangle is Grindhouse, which is only similar to this movie in that it features famous directors teaming up. In just that respect, they're quite different, since instead of separate features, Hong Kong kings Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, and Johnnie To directed a single act (in the order listed) of a single "heist gone wrong" picture.

Simon Yam as realtor Sam
The three leads are an interesting mix as well. They play three very different guys who just happen to be drinking buddies. The actors playing them are similarly three different flavors of Chinese cinema actor. The most recognizable of them is Simon Yam, who's been acting for decades. He plays Sam, a realtor whose wife is running around on him. You probably know his face if you've seen some Hong Kong stuff but aren't an enthusiast. The most humorous footnote on his filmography for me was Gay Man on Bus in Drunken Master 3. Louis Koo is just on the other end of the experience scale from Yam, recently co-starring in a couple things. He's comes off in the Making-of featurette as kind of like a Cantonese Disney Channel kid who's really concerned with his hair looking perfect and how famous the people he works with are.

Pretty boy Louis Koo
My favorite actor of the bunch, Sun Honglei, plays Mok, an antiques dealer. Sun is the contemplative, immersive actor among them. He's only been doing movies for the last ten years or so, starting out in the one-two punch of Zhang Yimou's The Road Home and Happy Times. He went on immediately afterward to costar with Gong Li in Zhou Yu's Train. A couple years and a few projects later he worked with Tsui Hark in Seven Swords, and then did Mongol in 2007 around the same time Triangle was made. He's starring in the recently-wrapped Blood Simple re-do Three Guns for Zhang. I generally keep an eye on his IMDb profile to see what he's up to next. Gordon Lam (Lam Ka Tung) is really rather good as the cop with whom Sam's wife is cheating. Likewise solid are Kelly Lin as Sam's ultra-imbalanced wife and Suet Lam as a whacked-out drug dealer. As for the movie, it's solid stuff thanks to the three acts feeling about as cohesive as they would in a film directed by only one of these guys. It gets a bit muddled toward the middle, but the third act saves it. I intentionally avoided poking around to see who directed which part so that I wasn't watching it thinking "ah, how very To" or "Ringo you aesthetic mad genius, how I love you," but I still kinda picked up on who did what in the opening minutes of sections 1 and 2. I don't expect that to be the same for people who aren't into the work these guys do. For those who do, I should note that there's a nice nod in Ringo's act back to Tarantino, who was inspired by City on Fire when writing Reservoir Dogs. I enjoy the approaches of the three directors and I relish a good heist movie, so I was quite happy and at home here. Plot threads go unresolved or dropped in places, but save one instance of attempted vehicular homicide approaching Amnesia Bullets levels of implausibility, Triangle never remotely approaches laughable territory. Triangle only just last week came out on DVD from the folks at Magnet, who I find myself increasingly thankful to for releasing titles I'd have to otherwise import for exorbitant prices. Triangle played Cannes in 2007, so it's had a long journey to Region 1 availability not unlike many foreign films that aren't nominated for Oscars. The only extras are a Making of Triangle featurette [6:15] and a Behind the Scenes [13:31] chunk of footage from various points in production, the highlight of which is Johnnie To repeating Sun Honglei's name in a way that made me wonder if he'd been drinking on the set. The Making-of pulls footage from Cannes and some on-set stuff with the actors. This is worth taking a look at if it wasn't on your radar already.
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Death to Twepeating


The worst idea I've heard of since people decided to to live-tweet movies in the theater is the idea of reruns of TV shows featuring cast and crew live-tweeting along on the screen. This episode of Fringe aired about 100 internet years ago, but I had to put this up once I realized I'd never bothered to take the image off of my camera.
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Firth Consideration

I enjoyed Easy Virtue, but I know in my heart that I wouldn't even entertain the notion of making time to watch it a second time if not for Colin Firth. The same A Single Man star who in recent days has been buzzed as an Oscar contender can be counted on to make anything delightful for a short time, no matter how frothy or otherwise dull. He helped me make it all the way through What a Girl Wants. Twice, I'll admit.

Weinstein better deliver a nomination for this guy on Single Man
Easy Virtue is about English society heir John Whitaker (Ben Barnes) bringing a feminist, independent wife named Larita (Jessica Biel) home to meet his parents (Firth and Kristen Scott-Thomas). Noel Coward's sociological comedy is rather enjoyable as it lives on the printed page, but it is much more fun in filmed form thanks to the talents of Firth and the always sublime Scott-Thomas. Barnes and Biel do good work in the parts they're given. Of the two of them, Biel outperformed my expectations most.

Three marvels: Kimberley Nixon, Kristen Scott-Thomas, and Katherine Parkinson
If there's one most unsung performance from what I've read by others, it's that of the absolutely marvelous Katherine Parkinson as John's sister Marion, who's infatuated with an imaginary fiance. Parkinson is one of the stars of my beloved The I.T. Crowd that plays on Britain's Channel 4 and is most easily found on DVD or Netflix Watch Instantly in the USA. I can't forget to mention Kris Marshall as well, who plays servant Furber. American audiences no doubt know him best as "Colin With a Big Knob" from Love Actually. Of course, the late Saturday night PBS-watching crowd might know him from the will-it-never-end sitcom My Family. Avid anglophile Americans may even know him as Pasha/Strelnikov from the '02 Zhivago miniseries. Here he finally gets a chance to do understated comedy with marvelous tools like subtlety and wit, which mass-market productions don't let him near because they like how his eyes bug out. Extras on the Blu-ray of Virtue include a Feature Commentary with director Stephan Elliott and writer Sheridan Jones, Deleted Scenes [4:48], a Blooper Reel [8:47], and a featurette on the NY Premiere [6:09]. The excised scenes, as is often the case, are better left on the cutting room floor and DVDs. The bloopers include on particularly hilarious send-up that I will not spoil here. The featurette gets things over and done with quickly, and I haven't had the time to listen to the commentary but I'm sure it's as good as most tracks of europeans talking over comedies of their own creation. The movie's good, the extras are worth the time, and to top it all off, you get to see a scene in which Firth dances a mean tango.
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World's Greatest Second Wind


I decided to adjust how I covered Bobcat Goldthwait's World's Greatest Dad due to its innovative, non-traditional release plan. I knew everyone else would be scheduling coverage for the week of release, as per usual. I wanted to wait and see what happened with the length of its run in Austin. I'm not so pompous that I'd think one review from me would me more effective than the pile of reviews that came out timed to its opening. Since it didn't get a second weekend at the one theater in town playing WGD (the Dobie), I felt compelled to go ahead. I figured I'd wait until the waning weeks of its theatrical run, but I didn't expect that to come so soon. The reason I don't feel bad waiting this long is that most viewers, even those in indie-friendly Austin, will see this movie in their homes. It's still available via HD VOD (same price in Standard Def) on the vast majority of cable providers for $9.99, less than the cost of two tickets anywhere in the country. I knew I couldn't make the press screening in advance of an evening show here in Austin with both Bobcat and Daryl Sabara appearing in-person, so I opted to pay for the VOD viewing. It was the first time I had done it, and it worked really well. If there's any pretense in this review, it's in my hope that I can help boost the overall take of the movie since it's left many theaters. Robin Williams and Daryl Sabara are paired magnificently here, with Sabara surprising me the most with his portrayal of the world's worst kid. Kyle (Sabara) is the living embodiment of the mallrat mutants that make people not want to leave the house anymore. Everything is "gay" and "stupid" to him, and he has no concerns but his personal obsessions.

The brilliant Daryl Sabara, playing much more immature and toxic than he is in real life. It takes a brain to play a sleaze well...
Lance (Williams) is stuck with this cromagnon in a boy's body for his son, a beautiful girlfriend who doesn't want their relationship to be public, and diminishing attendance in his Poetry class. Lance is an aspiring writer who's never gotten noticed or published in a big way, and he's trapped on all sides until something terrible happens, offering him an escape at a cost. This inciting incident doesn't happen until a ways into the movie. Perhaps it's been spoiled for you already, perhaps not. Either way, I refuse to specifically spoil the tragedy that befalls Kyle's dad. It's hilarious for only an instant, quickly turning heartbreaking and soulful. That is the very moment many will discover that Bobcat Goldthwait is a truly gifted director and storyteller. With no qualifications, I feel that after this and Stay (retitled Sleeping Dogs Lie), he's one of the most talented auteurs we have discovered in the first years of this century. I'm convinced that had he let any studio or backer muscle him around, the movie would not be so wholly satisfying. The fact he stood his ground is a rarity in an industry of complacency and kiss-asses. Supporting cast are note-perfect, from the better-known Geoffrey Pierson (co-star of Bobcat's on Unhappily Ever After) to relative unknowns, like Jack's daughter Lorraine Nicholson and Naomi Glick, whose sole IMdB credit is WGD. Glick plays a bookish redheaded girl, and Nicholson plays the Emo Girl stereotype personified to riotous effect. They're just two examples of the many great ten or twenty line roles that stick with you well after the credits rolled. The film will similarly stick out toward the end of the year for those who see it, well after they've choked down piles of awards season junk.

Lorraine Nicholson nearly steals the movie more than once
I had the chance to chat with Goldthwait and Sabara, and it was particularly good to speak with Daryl (no offense, Bobcat). Many will rush to refer to him as The Spy Kids Boy, but that unfairly ignores his excellent work in Normal Adolescent Behavior (I disregard the tacked-on DVD title) and Keeping Up With the Steins. He's one of the rare child actors to go on to find good material and good people to work with. I followed up on a scoop picked up by Devin Faraci at CHUD regarding Bobcat's desire to adapt The Kinks' Schoolboys in Disgrace into a film. Bobcat seemed more vague about the order in which he was looking at different things happening, from Schoolboys to a slasher script he's working on to other, unspecified projects. In the next breath, I asked Daryl about his interest in applying his dance background to doing a musical. I don't know if Bobcat had already thought of Daryl playing Mr. Flash, the main character of Schoolboys in Disgrace, but I hope he has or does. Schoolboys follows Flash during his school days. In broad strokes, it's the origin story of a villain who who goes bad as a result of negative reinforcement. He serves as the antagonist of the next Kinks "theatrical" record, Preservation (Acts I & II). Adding Goldthwait's friend Robin Williams into the mix could be interesting as well, but enough with my starry-eyed dream casting. The music is memorable, the story is provocative, and with Goldthwait's eye and skill, Schoolboys in Disgrace has the potential of becoming a cult-spawning phenomenon.

The portrait of a wonderful collaboration
For the life of me, I can't get the audio file off of my recording device, so I can only offer my apologies that it can't be posted here. I should just go back to a tape recorder. The movie is excellent, and I recommend catching it if not in theaters where you live, on VOD at home of DVD/Blu-ray after that.
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Kaji & Lawrence: Curse of the Idealist



If you love Lawrence of Arabia, I'm fairly convinced you'll adore The Human Condition, but it depends on the expectations you set for yourself and how you approach watching all nine and a half hours of it. I saw a 70mm print of Lawrence for the first time Saturday afternoon. I'd seen the film many times, mostly on home video of one sort or another. A friend drove down to Austin from Dallas to see it for the first time, and he made an excellent choice, even with all the rain. I've never seen the movie in glorious detail, and save a couple projection hiccups and an infant that thankfully left us before too long, it was one of my favorite moviegoing experiences of the year thus far. The thing I couldn't stop thinking about the entire time was how Lawrence relates to The Human Condition and vice versa. Kobayashi's film came before Lean's, and I wonder if Lean saw any part of Human Condition before, during, or after the making of Lawrence. I swear I'll stop going on and on and on about this WWII film trilogy at some point, but this is something I had rolling around in my head while taking in that glorious Criterion set, but since I knew I'd be seeing Lawrence again soon, I wanted to hold off on where I felt this taking me. Before jumping in to this relationship I perceived, I have to get something off my chest. Something I've noticed in Human Condition reviews has bothered me greatly: other writers call it "challenging" and "a tough sit," each time specifically referring to the 574 minute runtime in place of questioning pacing issues or flow of the film itself. I feel these "critics" have taken the easy route of pointing at a number and choosing not to inject any critical thought into their judgment. Frankly, if only to be provocative, I'd allege some of them may have acted as if they'd seen it but in fact did not. Each individual film breezes by just like Lawrence has for me every time. The Kobayashi epic is three Lawrences, not one continuous thing that has to be seen all at once. There is absolutely nothing wrong with watching them all in one marathon screening, but choosing not to do so does nothing to ruin the experience. In original release, Volume III came out nearly two years after Volume II. It's perfectly acceptable to watch one volume per weekend if you so choose. I feel remiss for not putting a disclaimer in my original review recommending people take this approach. I crammed the three films into subsequent evenings, and I wish in retrospect I'd let them breathe more properly upon initial viewings. So, back to the analytical stuff I promised. Both films are based on novels, one historical and the other historical fiction. Both also feature a reluctant soldier protagonist. For me, comparing the similarities in "Heroes' Journeys" would make for fascinating graduate thesis in film studies, but there's something much more dynamic to be found in the relationship between the films. What really sets my synapses afire is the idea of how one can better appreciate The Human Condition having already seen Lawrence of Arabia. As a longtime devotee of the Lean film, Kobayashi's work felt like someone really liked me and had created a Japanese Lawrence trilogy, with the tragic loss of life and idealism magnified many times over for Kaji as compared to Lawrence. The major difference is that Kaji's story grows darker and more dire than Lawrence's. After all, Lawrence's British won WWI, and Kaji's Japan lost WWII. I may touch back on this as I do more research on Condition author Jumpei Gomikawa and his influences, which certainly could have included T.E. Lawrence's The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
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Blu Pricing I Can Believe In

So Amazon has The New World: Extended Edition Blu-ray for $12.99 now, $2 less than when I ordered. Oh, well. I pass the savings on to you, lovely readers. I found this meager price drop while browsing to buy Mongol, which is just $10 on Blu-ray with an included Digital Copy. Mongol was one of my favorites of 2007 (2008 for most reading this), and the trailer is embedded below for your consideration. Grab it at this price while it lasts. If Blu-ray pricing hits this level widespread, then the Blu-ray format might actually go mainstream and the physical media business as a whole could see a revival this fall and winter.
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TV on Disc 9.8.09

TV Disc Release of the Week

Worst Week The Complete Series (DVD only) Commentary with Executive Producer Matt Tarses and star Kyle Bornheimer on Pilot episode I really enjoyed this show and was kind of shocked to find out it had been cancelled and so many terrible sitcoms had hung around. Worst Week was an American remake of the British show The Worst Week of My Life. The UK series was comprised of 7 episodes a season, and the American version seems to have covered all the ground they did across the pond (I hate that expression but ran out of ways to rephrase UK/US). The show runs a little under six hours and is well worth tracking down. Amazon has it for $20. Fringe Season 1 Ashley loves the chunk of the first season that we saw, but I can't sink $50 into the Blu-ray at this point, so we may wait for them to pop up used. TV on Blu-ray needs to drop in price or nobody's going to buy it. The Office Season 5 Deleted Scenes Gag Reel 100 Episodes, 100 Moments The Office Promos Webisodes Episode Commentaries Academy of TV Arts & Sciences Presents The Office Blu-ray Exclusive: One-Liner Soundboard via BD-Live This show could potentially run for 20 years. Anyone doubt that it could? ER went for what, 15? Parks and Recreation Season 1 Episode Commentaries Extended Cut of Season Finale Deleted Scenes I really couldn't get into the show past the first couple episodes, but that all changed once I didn't have to deal with watching commercials. I really like all the people in the cast, and I dug the concept. The commercials killed the pacing. Harper's Island Select Episodic Commentary Harper's globe Webisodes Deleted Scenes Featurettes: Casting Harper's Island, One by One: The Making of Harper's Island, Guess Who?, The Grim Reaper I really love that CBS actually put a horror thriller serial into production. You usually don't see any one of those three words associated with a major network these days. That being said, it's not the smartest or most entertaining miniseries I've seen that revolves around a mysterious killer murdering the guests at an event. A beautiful heiress is set to marry her intended and their family and friends start disappearing in the days leading up to the wedding day. Little did anyone know (or...did they) that seven years ago, a serial killer murdered a bunch of people on the island they've picked for the destination wedding. It's worth Netflixing, but not necessarily owning. Criminal Minds Season 4 Deleted Scenes Profiles Gag Reel Working the Scene: A Look Behind the Scenes As much as I enjoy police procedurals, I'm an Anthropologist by schooling and Criminal Minds is ten times as addictive as the average Law & Order knockoff. Four years in, they've had a chance to build really rich character backstories, and it's starting to really pay off. I particularly like how they handle the Working the Scene featurettes on this set, where they tailor them to individual episodes (11 out of the 26 on here). TV on Disc is generally posted a few days after the corresponding week's Disc Roundup and covers the week's TV releases on DVD & Blu-ray. If you think I've missed something, feel free to send me an email.
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Irreverence in the Face of Greatness


Ever since seeing this scene in the first film of The Human Condition, I thought that, taken out of context, it's one of the funniest line translations/interpretations that they came up with. I didn't want to post this until after I'd run my reviews so as to not look flip.
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Disc Roundup 9.8.09

Release of the Week

The Human Condition (DVD only) 1993 Interview for Dir. Guild of Japan w/ director Masaki Kobayashi conducted by Masahiro Shinoda [13:43] 2009 Interview w/ star Tatsuya Nakadai [17:40] 2009 Interview w/ fellow director Masahiro Shinoda reflecting on the film [24:40] My full review can be found here. Masaki Kobayashi's nine and a half-hour epic (originally released in three parts) stands to this day as one of the great achievements in the history of Japanese cinema, both in ambition and execution. Now that I've had time to make it through the entire three-film feature and the included extras, I can state unconditionally that this set from Criterion is one of the most important DVD releases of the year. The film stars some of the biggest names in Japanese cinema of its day, and has grown considerably in esteem since its release. It finally stands the chance of wider viewing thanks to this, its first ever official home video release within the U.S. The three films begin during WWII and continue following its idealist main character after Japan's fall in 1945. The Human Condition follows Kaji, an idealistic young man in his 20's who goes from being supervisor of a labor camp to an unwilling soldier to a POW in a work camp himself. Kaji ascribes to socialist views in contrast with the authoritarian fascist Japanese government of the time. The story told is more an indictment on radical views of any sort, whether far left or right. The Human Condition is a truly great and rewarding film experience that will remain relevant until we as a species stop fighting wars and bickering in partisan politics. I don't expect either of those things to end in the near future. New Release

Crank 2: High Voltage (Blu-ray & DVD) Feature Commentary with writers/directors Neveldine/Taylor Featurettes: Making Of Documentary, Crank 2: Take 2 Digital Copy Theatrical Trailer Blu-ray exclusives: Crank'd Out Commentary with cast and crew w/ Bonus View Picture-in-Picture Mode Gag reel Wrap party Bookmarks & Blu-line Time Slider Lionsgate Live Jason Statham is becoming his own closet industry. So the first one ended with what appeared to be Chev Chelios (Statham)'s untimely, spectacular demise. No, it turns out he survived a fall that would kill anyone in a movie where the laws of physics and biology apply. That doesn't describe either this sequel or the movie that came before. It's loud, goofy, and utterly insane...and for once, I'm completely fine with that. It wasn't screened for critics in first run, and then a whole ton of critics went nuts for it. Critics and fans alike cried loudly for a second sequel, and I'd be surprised if one didn't happen. There are three editions of this title (2 DVD and 1 Blu), and the Blu-ray has all the stuff people really want on it, particularly the Crank'd Out Commentary. The single DVD has the widescreen & pan-and-scan versions of the movie and that's it. Valentino: The Last Emperor (Blu-ray & DVD) This is a doc I missed but heard good things about. Dance Flick (Blu-ray only) I'm only mentioning this movie because it's part of the Blu-ray Assault of 2009. It's being released only on Blu for now, with DVD to follow later. So this means all of you out there dying to see this coming-of-age classic can rush out and buy a Blu-ray player to satisfy your hunger to see this masterpiece in 1080p. New to Region 1

That Hamilton Woman Feature Commentary with noted film historian Ian Christie New video interview with author and editor Michael Korda Theatrical trailer Alexander Korda Presents, a 1941 promotional radio piece for the film A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Molly Haskell Now you, too can own Winston Churchill's favorite movie! Churchill allegedly wrote a passage of Lady Hamilton (as it's known in the UK) to drum up support for a war. Who'd have guessed a politician would do that? The pairing of Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh makes for a really wonderful period romance from director Alexander Korda. Homicide Feature Commentary with writer-director David Mamet and actor William H. Macy New video program featuring interviews with recurring Mamet actors Steven Goldstein, Ricky Jay, J. J. Johnston, Joe Mantegna, and Jack Wallace Gag reel and TV spots A booklet featuring an essay by critic Stuart Klawans At last, one of the most sought-after Mamet titles is available on DVD with some decent-looking extras from Criterion. This rocketed to the top of my catch-up list, so I hope to get my hands on it soon. Catalog Reissue

Bedknobs & Broomsticks Deleted Song "A Step in the Right Direction" [3:48] Featurettes: The Wizards of Special Effects [8:07], Music Magic: The Sherman Brothers [11:27], "Portobello Road" Recording Session [1:01] I covered this one here. New to Blu

The New World: Extended Edition ($15) The Quick and the Dead ($20) Requiem For A Dream ($10) Silverado ($20) Over the Top ($15) Creepshow ($15) Dead Calm ($15) Sphere Freddy vs. Jason The Postman The studios are really ramping up the speed of catalog releases to Blu-ray, even if in many cases (the above included), they're really just ports of existing editions. I've listed the current Amazon price of these next to their title, because in a few cases, they're well worth grabbing while the prices stick. My order for The New World: Extended Edition is already in, and I'm contemplating Over the Top and Dead Calm on sheer impulse. Disc Roundup is posted each week at some point, depending on how many discs I have to get through. If you think I've missed something, feel free to send me an email at the name of this column at gmail dot com.
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480: The Human Condition


I'm doing my best to resist the urge to declare Masaki Kobayashi's The Human Condition one of the greatest films I've ever seen. The fact that it's actually a film trilogy makes it easier to rationalize not saying that, but I'd be hard-pressed to not admit it's among the most fulfilling and richly-textured cinematic experiences I've had. The chance of a repertory film program or festival showing it theatrically is slim to none, so I'm exceedingly grateful to The Criterion Collection for cleaning up all 574 minutes of it. Kobayashi's masterwork has never been available on home video in the US. I had only ever read about it in books and articles online, and it very much exceeded my expectations. In a perfect world, the original Alamo Drafthouse would schedule a 10-hour screening of a restored print and coordinated feast, with the richest dishes coming during the scenes of suffering and starvation in the second and third films. The three films begin during WWII and continue following their main character after Japan's fall in 1945. The Human Condition follows Kaji, an idealistic young man in his 20's who goes from being supervisor of a labor camp to an unwilling soldier to a POW in a work camp himself. Kaji ascribes to socialist views in contrast with the authoritarian fascist Japanese government of the time. In execution, the story told is more an indictment of radical views of any sort, whether far left or right in a given context.

One of the many lines of dialogue that...

...sound oddly familiar five decades after the movie was released.
Playing Kaji in The Human Condition was actor Tatsuya Nakadai's breakthrough role, which would propel him on to a still-going-strong career in Japan. He acted in Yojimbo for Akira Kurosawa during a filming break on Human Condition and would become Kurosawa's "new Mifune" after their famous falling-out. Echoes of Kaji resonate in Nakadai's stirring and powerful performance in Kagemusha. The Human Condition is comprised of three films that are each comprised of two volumes of the novel. In their original release, the film installments were titled No Greater Love (Early 1959), The Road to Eternity (Late 1959), and A Soldier's Prayer (1961). Criterion's wonderful four-DVD set released this Tuesday includes each film on its own disc, with roughly an hour of interviews and original trailers on a fourth. Volume 1: No Greater Love [3:26:00]

Kaji comes off brash and strident in the opening scenes of Volume I. He's not entirely sympathetic for the audience due to his harsh treatment of his girlfriend Michiko. He's reluctant to marry her or sleep with her. Michiko practically begs him into her bed, and he still refuses. His reasoning is that he stands the chance of being called up for military service at any moment, but I got the sense he was really petrified by the realities of a fully committed relationship. He embodies how people feel about romantic relationships. We want them to stay perpetually in that "new" stage, where everything feels fresh. The sex is amazing, and everything feels wholly unfettered. That paradise changes and evolves due to the fact time is a progressive concept, not a static one. Kaji would love for everything to just stay where it is and not change. The thing that changes his direction is that he's offered a military service exemption to take a job supervising a work camp in China. He marries Michiko and heads off for Manchuria.

This shot is from what I'll forever refer to as The Zombie Sequence, where POWs tumble out of boxcars and then descend upon a food cart fighting and crawling.
The first film in the series sees Kaji challenged both by his ideals and his opponents. He's defeated at nearly every turn thanks to the machine surrounding him turning right every time he goes left. More than anything, No Greater Love is about the best of intentions and ideas being helpless against an overwhelming tide. Knowledge of his leanings and a major, intentional misperception at the film's climax leads to Kaji's military exemption being revoked. The most (and only) bothersome part of the film for me was Nakadai's propensity for reacting by bugging his eyes out as if he'd been punched in the gut every time he was surprised or saddened by something. After seeing the following installments, I got over this by telling myself that he was playing Kaji as a very sheltered, naive kid who was 25 on the outside and around 13 on the inside. The experiences he has in the first film rapidly matured him much to his personal detriment. Volume 2: The Road to Eternity [2:58:00]

We rejoin Kaji in the barracks during his basic training, where he is surrounded by a cross-section of the Japanese male of the time. Many are unhappy to be fighting in the war at all, but make the most of where they're stuck. Others are fiercely patriotic and blindly loyal. The majority of the film is spent watching the men grow (with some stagnating) as they approach the test of their immortality: their first battle on the front lines.


The trilogy's only true "battle" sequence is this film's climax, and it only lasts around 20 minutes. The time spent developing the characters in Volume 2 is extremely well-spent. The hook into the next film leaves us inside a scene rather than at the end of one. Volume 3: A Soldier's Prayer [3:10:00]

The final chapter in the story is also the darkest in tone. During the course of it, Japan loses the Pacific War, and Kaji goes from calling himself a monster in the previous film to an animal here. The inference being that he had a sense of control over his own life up until this point. The picture is awash in deep black tones and more avant garde shooting techniques, resulting in a very arresting last leg of the journey.

The back cover gives away the fact Kaji becomes a Soviet POW, so I don't consider mentioning that here a spoiler. Nor do I consider it a spoiler to add that he does not become a POW until some ways into the film. Many of the situations call back to the portions of No Greater Love and The Road to Eternity that earned their considerable length once he is placed in a forced labor camp. A Soldier's Prayer delivers some most satisfying resolution in more cases and characters than one. There's one encounter in particular that left me laughing with delight. Anyone who watches the film will know what I refer to here when they see it. The movie ends poetically and gently, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Supplements The fourth disc of the set is comprised of just the right quantity of extra material. I, for one, am relieved there was no film scholar interested in recording a 570-minute commentary. That isn't to say I wouldn't love to spend a few months studying the years of production on the film, but I don't think I'd be done reviewing this by next month if there were.

1993 Interview for Dir. Guild of Japan w/ director Masaki Kobayashi conducted by Masahiro Shinoda (Double Suicide) [13:43] This is a thoughtful, friendly back and forth about the making of the film and the elements of the story that touched Kobayashi's personal experiences during the war. Kobayashi couldn't help compulsively fiddling with his smoking paraphernalia. They make an unexpected crack about Yasujiro Ozu living with his mother that made me chuckle. If you don't know anything about Ozu, you probably won't get it, but that's fine by me. Watch some of the Criterion discs of his work as penance and we'll call it square.

2009 Interview w/ star Tatsuya Nakadai [17:40] Of the three interviews, this is the one I will probably rewatch the most now that I'm newly fascinated by the rest of Nakadai's filmography. It's actually difficult for me to see Kaji in the sage lines of his face at this point.

2009 Interview w/ fellow director & Kobayashi devotee Masahiro Shinoda reflecting on the film [24:40] The longest interview piece is also the most information-rich. Shinoda knows so much about Kobayashi and his films that I'd love to see him produce a feature documentary about the man's life and work. Human Condition I: No Greater Love trailer [4:34] Human Condition II: The Road to Eternity trailer [2:41] Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer trailer [2:55] I won't point out precisely where, but there are five short video anecdotes hidden in the menus of disc 4. They're very worthwhile bits that were trimmed from the Takadai and Shinoda interviews. They vary in length and subject, totaling around 8 minutes in all. This is a title I recommend owning and not waiting for Netflix to send you all four discs of in the correct order. I know a couple of budding filmmakers that I want to gift this set to because it'll be better for them than their first semesters of film school. In the event Criterion produces a Blu-ray down the road, I'd gladly fork over $25 for new high-def discs. At the moment, the Criterion Store has the lowest price on the set pre-tax at $63.96, and Amazon is offering it for $79.95. If you enjoyed reading this review and Amazon finds a way to beat Criterion's price down the road, a portion of your purchase from that link will support the continuance of this column.
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Remains of the Week

I'm refining and cleaning up my Human Condition review. Many things I had planned were hopelessly set back when I received word I was getting a review copy of that and subsequently got it and watched it. Next week brings some interesting things I've been developing and refining such that they really become regular features and not neat ideas I come up with that disappear. This week's Disc Roundup will be up tonight or in the morning at the latest, with TV on Disc following soon after.
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Faces of Kaji

My full review of the Criterion's The Human Condition will come later today. In advance of that, I've decided to post some screen captures I've taken of the film's protagonist Kaji, as played by Tatsuya Nakadai. Nakadai would go on to rival Toshiro Mifune as the best-known Japanese actor outside his home country. The images are shown below in chronological order from the three films. More to come later.

Kaji in Part I

Kaji in Part II

Kaji in Part III
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Bedknobs & Broomsticks Reissue


There really aren't nearly enough musical adventure films for children that feature Nazis. The new "Enchanted Musical Edition" of Bedknobs and Broomsticks from Disney features the same cut and transfer as the 30th Anniversary Edition from 2001, but it includes new extras. The cut is the 139-minute "restored version" that's longer than the one many became familiar with on VHS, which clocked in at arounf 90 minutes. The cover art is also vastly-improved. The original art made it look like a cartoon soccer movie. Similar to the recent re-release of Pete's Dragon, the centerpiece extra on here is a featurette covering special effects called The Wizards of Special Effects [8:07]. It isn't very long and isn't very well-served by the synergistic hosting done by some girl from The Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place. Much more interesting is Music Magic: The Sherman Brothers [11:27], which features the present-day composers of the music in Bedknobs, who also did the music in Mary Poppins. The "A Step in the Right Direction" Reconstruction [3:48] features production stills accompanied by Angela Lansbury's recorded vocal track for a song deleted from the film. The footage has been completely lost, but this is a pretty good look at what the number was supposed to be like. David Tomlinson's "Portobello Road" Recording Session [1:01] is a very brief clip of footage taken when they recorded one of the better-known numbers in the movie. Four Trailers are also included, and all are full of 60's Disney nostalgia.
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Requiem on Blu for $10


The smooth, crisp HD picture and DTS-HD Master 7.1 audio on this Tuesday's blugrade of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream makes it worth re-buying. The extras are all carried over from the Unrated Cut DVD: the making of documentary, two Feature Commentaries (Aronofsky & Director of Photography Libatique), Deleted Scenes w/ optional Director's Commentary, Ellen Burstyn interviewing Hubert Selby Jr., and Trailrs & TV Spots. This is especially tempting since Amazon has it for $10.
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TV on Disc 9.1.09


TV Disc Release of the Week The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (DVD only) This 13-episode set of detective tales is based on stories written by Conan Doyle contemporaries. None of them feature Holmes himself, but they're all set in the same Victorian world. Thames Television premiered The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes on ITV in the U.K. back in 1971. Nearly 40 years later, it's still interesting, excellent television. This edition is marked "Set 1" because ITV commissioned a second series of 13 episodes that aired in 1973. One can safely assume Acorn Media will be releasing that one as well at some point. It's an anthology-format series, and all the characters follow the Holmes model for the most part. For me, it plays like Marvel Comics' What If? series. What If? Sherlock Holmes Were a Woman/Ghost Hunter/Thief and so on. Featured actors include: John Neville, Peter Vaughan, Donald Sinden, Donald Pleasence (Blofeld!), and Jeremy Irons. Irons' turn is notable in that it's his first on-screen appearance.

The 4-disc, 654-minute set comes highly recommended for Holmes fans particularly, but in general terms for anyone interested in good TV programming (even 38 years later). The set also includes profiles of the "rivals" and their creators. I'll be reviewing this in greater depth as time permits me to watch 50-minute installments. It's currently running at about $50 on Amazon. Two and a Half Men Season 6 (DVD only) Gag Reel Featurettes: Growing Up Harper, The Women of Two and a Half Men My review from yesterday. Supernatural Season 4 (Blu-ray & DVD) Creator Commentary on three episodes Extended/Unaired Scenes Gag Reel The Mythologies of Supernatural [59:20 total] There are more specifics in my review from earlier today. Brothers and Sisters Season 3 (DVD only) Bloopers Deleted Scenes Featurettes: The Mothers of Brothers & Sisters, The Ojai Experience, In-Between Scenes (Behind the Scenes) The "huge extended family" drama from ABC is still going strong in its third season. What a surprise that there's solid viewership for a well-advertised, strongly-cast adult drama. The "Mothers" featurette is comprised of cast members talking about the influence of their mothers on their lives and the "Ojai" one is about a real family winery in California. Desperate Housewives Season 5 (DVD only) Deleted Scenes Bloopers Audio Commentaries on select episodes Featurettes: Teri & Cherry, Evolution of a Modern Classic, Cherry-Picked Even a major strike can't slow down Sunday night's reigning nighttime soap. I've lost track of the show, but some time-jumping that went on recently was unexpected and interesting. I'll always love this show for greatly raising the profile of Felicity Huffman. There's over 1000 minutes of Housewives to be had here in addition to the above extras. Regarding featurettes: Teri & Cherry is about Ms. Hatcher and show creator Marc Cherry, the second on listed above speaks for itself (ha-ha), and Cherry-Picked is a collection of Marc Cherry's favorite moments from the fifth season. C.S.I. Season 9 (Blu-ray & DVD) Deleted Scenes Featurettes: Crime Scene Initiation, Rats in Space, From Zero to 200 in Nine Seasons, Good-bye Grissom Blu-ray Exclusives: CSI Mode on Disc 3, Interactive Investigative Mode on Disc 4, all featurettes in HD, and BD-Live downloadable content This season featured the major changing of the guard from William Peterson's Gil Grissom to Lawrence Fishburne's Dr. Raymond Langston. It had been a long time since I'd regularly watched the show, but this change in dynamic brought me back, even though I missed most of the season. There are two things in TV I'm a huge sucker for: courtroom drama and procedurals. Law & Order gives me both, but C.S.I. gives me twice as much procedural. There's a reason it's been on for 9 years. This is the second season of the show to be released on Blu-ray, following Season 1 hitting the HD format back in May. Seventeen and a half hours of CSI Season 9 can be ordered from Amazon at the following links on DVD and Blu-ray. In what I hope is a "going forward" move, both versions are the same price at Amazon, $59. The Game Season 1 (DVD only) two interviews with Executive Producer Mara Brock Akil Commentary on three episodes by Mara Brock Akil A spinoff of Girlfriends, this show follows three women with a husband, son, or boyfriend who play on the same pro football team. It won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing and is one of the few primetime shows out there that features minorities in anything outside a supporting capacity. Heroes Season 3 (Blu-ray & DVD) Deleted Scenes Pinehearst Commercial Tim Sale Gallery of Screen Art Audio Commentaries w/ Cast & Crew Featurettes: The Super Powers of Heroes, Completing the Scene, Genetics of a Scene, The Writers' Forum, Alternate Stories, The Prop Box Blu-ray Exclusives: Commentaries add Picture-in-Picture, Hero Connections Bios, D-Box Motion Enabled (ha!), Featurettes all in HD, Season 4 Sneak Peek, Featurette: Building Coyote Sands What is there to say about the third season of Heroes? I think everyone is hoping it really bounces back in a big way this year. TV on Disc is generally posted a few days after the corresponding week's Disc Roundup and covers the week's TV releases on DVD & Blu-ray. This week's installment is hopelessly tardy thanks to being the inaugural edition of this feature. If you think I've missed something, feel free to send me an email at the name of this column (the one with Cowboy in the title) at gmail dot com.
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Supernatural Season 4


I was introduced (and subsequently hooked on) Supernatural by the overflowing buckets of love CHUD's Devin Faraci has poured on it in recent weeks. I can't believe that I didn't notice there was a show on TV this heavily steeped in mythology and heaven and hell...ahem, supernatural goings-on. This fourth season saw time travel and a further upping of the ante when it comes to the fight between the forces of good and evil. If you aren't already on board with the show, this is not where you want to jump in. Start at the beginning and things will make a lot more sense. Extras include Creator Commentary on three episodes, Extended/Unaired Scenes, a Gag Reel, and The Mythologies of Supernatural [59:20 total]. Mythologies is much more comprehensive than you expect from a TV show DVD featurette. It's split into seven parts, with a couple easter eggs hidden in the second section's menu. Warner Bros. released Supernatural Season 4 on DVD and Blu-ray last Tuesday (9.01.09). Order form Amazon by clicking on the box art below.

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Azucar Bien Fuerte (Good, Strong Sugar)


The reason Sugar is one of the best movies I've seen lately that's about baseball is that it concerns itself more with a real personal journey rather than yet another "by golly, we won the game!" story. The team that brought together Half Nelson to much acclaim has exceeded the expectations many would have of the followup from a breakout indie success. The authenticity of the non-professional actors meshes with a contemplative, somber script to really envelop you in the world of the Dominican ballplayers at the movie's center. This is not your average "road to being a superstar" picture by any stretch.

Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) is a young buck with one hell of a pitching arm. He needs to make it to the big leagues to provide for his mother and family back home. He's a caring, good son, and a good-hearted young man all around. Like so many players that go from "la isla" to the minors, the business of baseball is a very unforgiving mistress compared to what it was like for him back home. I was kept in suspense throughout due to the expectations lesser films of late have set for me. I've come to expect a cheap, jarring event to rock the world of the movie, but instead, Sugar allows the strange, far from benign world of the U.S. to wash over, soak into, and wear down "Azucar" bit by bit. Extras include Deleted Scenes and three featurettes: Making Sugar: Run the Bases, Play Beisbol! The Dominican Dream, Casting Sugar: Interview with Algenis Perez Soto. The Blu-ray exclusively includes the Unrated Cut, but I have no idea what was cut from the theatrical version. Sugar came out on Blu-ray and DVD last Tuesday and can be ordered from Amazon here: Blu-ray/DVD.
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Two and a Half Men Season 6

Two and a Half Men continues its role as one of my guilty pleasures on TV. It's corny, unapologetically goofy and slapstick, and I watch it compulsively. Interesting developments that kept the show fresh this season include Charlie (Sheen) becoming a good deal more domesticated, much to his surprise, and Jake (Angus T. Jones) getting friendly with the girl next door. Alan (Jon Cryer) continues to get himself into an endless series of odd situations with women, including his receptionist's mom. Extras include a pair of featurettes and a Gag Reel. Growing Up Harper covers the growth of Angus T. Jones over the years as his character, as an actor, and as what seems like a pretty cool young guy. The Women of Two and a Half Men covers the female co-stars and guest stars on the show. The sixth season came out on DVD last Tuesday (9/1) and is now available at Amazon for around $35. Click on the box art below to order.

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Human Condition Preview


Adapted from an epic 6-volume novel over 3 films, Masaki Kobayashi's The Human Condition is considered one of the great achievements in Japanese film history. Criterion has successfully restored the entire picture with astounding clarity.

Disc 1 is currently sitting inside my Blu-ray player (a better DVD upconverter than my SD-DVD player). Each disc is composed of two volumes separated by an intermission, with the total running time exceeding nine and a half hours. I'm part of the way through Chapter 1 and wish I'd had a solid morning & afternoon to spend with the whole thing today.

The included booklet folds out origami-style and includes the chapter listings, credits, notes on the restoration, and a critical essay by Phillip Kemp, a freelance critic and film historian who teaches film journalism at the University of Leicester.

The Human Condition streets this coming Tuesday from Criterion.
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Disc Roundup 9.1.09


Release of the Week Gaumont Treasures 1897-1913 (DVD only) Kino's Gaumont Treasures box set is a condensed, subtitled version of Gaumont's "Le Premier Cinema" set that was released in France last year. Based on the strength of the materials included here, I should hope they release the Le Premier Cinema features they left out as Gaumont Treasures Volume Two. I'd buy it in the blink of an eye. The Gaumont Film Company is the oldest still-running film company in the world, having been around since 1895. Treasures features work from three of the cinema's great pioneers, though only two of them are really well-known to most US film lovers and historians. The three directors effectively passed the torch of running Gaumont to one another, from Alice Guy to Louis Feuillade to Leonce Perret. One of whom, Perret, directed himself as an actor. The box set concentrates the work of each filmmaker on its own disc.

Alice Guy's The Birth, The Life, and Death of Christ
In a year that finds many critics rallying behind an excellent female director (Kathryn Bigelow) for awards consideration, it's nice to see the early work of Alice Guy on DVD. Guy was of one of the most important and prolific early film directors during her time working with Gaumont in France before she "went Hollywood" and moved to the States. The Alice Guy disc features 3 hours & 45 minutes of films shot between 1897 and 1907, including what I understand to be one of the first religious epics: The Birth, the Life, and the Death of Christ (1906), which runs 33 minutes. The films from Guy range from half a minute to around half an hour, and span the period in cinema history where movie making went from being a "trick" or optical illusion to being a full-fledged storytelling medium.

Louis Feuillade's Bout de zan Steals and Elephant
Louis Feuillade is best known for spy serials such as Les Vampires and Fantomas, but his influence across all genres is much broader than many have been taught. Feuillade is estimated to have directed anywhere from 600 to 800 films: thrillers, comedies, tragedies, historical epics, satires, and the list goes on. Feuillade also carries the distinction of helping pioneer the multi-crap-sequel trend with his Bebe and Bout de Zan series that featured a small child actor getting into all kinds of mischief. Granted, his serials of this sort were around 10 minutes long as opposed to studios making feature film sequels into tens and twenties of installments and "reimaginings" these days. Kino offers around three and a half hours of Feuillade's work here from various periods. I would love to have seen all the Bebe and Bout de zan shorts that weren't included, however (again, hoping for a Volume Two). The disc also includes Louis Feuillade: Master of Many Forms [10:33], which covers an astounding amount of ground in less than a quarter of an hour, including Feuillade's founding the styles of "La film esthetique" (Esthetic Film) and "La vie telle quelle est" (Life As It Is). None of the Fantomas serials appear here, as the titles included end with his early 1913 work just before that series.

Leonce Perret's The Mystery of the Rocks of Kador
Leonce Perret's work is closer to what modern filmmaking became, and frankly, he composed and directed films superior in execution to that which D.W. Griffith was putting out at the same time. Only two of his films are included: The Mystery of the Rocks of Kador (1912) [43 mins] and The Child of Paris (1913) [124 mins], so there's still nearly three hours of Perret's work. The hour and two-hour feature film really only started being made in the early 10's. I had honestly never heard of Perret prior to watching this set, and now I can't imagine not having been exposed to his work, which would be emulated and stolen from for years to come. Leonce Perret: The Filmmaker's Filmmaker [17:40] is the only extra, and it is just as excellent as the Feuillade featurette. The Gaumont Film Treasures 1897-1913 box set is an essential component in any true cineaste's library. I will hold out hope for a complimentary second volume that includes more work from these directors during this period. New Release

Sin Nombre (DVD only) twelve Deleted Scenes [10:03] Feature Commentary with director Cary Fukunaga and producer Amy Kaufman I just wish this were also available on Blu-ray. The extras have no fat on them. Here's my review from yesterday.

State of Play (Blu-ray & DVD) two Deleted Scenes [3:39] The Making-of State of Play [18:45] I wish more people had a chance to see this one. My review/old-man-rant from earlier today.

DisneyNature's Earth (Blu-ray & DVD) Earth Diaries - The making of DisneyNature's first feature film [42:32] Blu-ray exclusive: Filmmaker's Annotations, DVD copy of the movie This goes on collectors' Nature Film shelf right alongside Baraka, the Planet Earth miniseries and its offshoots. Taken from the same hours upon hours of footage as Planet Earth, this James Earl Jones-narrated Disney Earth doc tells a more condensed story that isn't afraid to show things like a lion successfully hunting an elephant and other bloody, death-involving things. People who came out of press screenings crying, "oh, what will the children think?" are infected by the same over-cautious culture that is hermetically sealing kids inside static environments and never letting them go outside so they end up out of shape and wimpy like Russell from Pixar's UP. The Earth Diaries featurette is worth sitting through, and the Filmmaker Annotations are basically a pop-up text and video track that's only on the Blu. This is a great reference disc for that big beautiful HDTV in or coming to many homes. Sugar (Blu-ray & DVD) Featurettes: Making Sugar: Run the Bases, Play Beisbol! The Dominican Dream, Casting Sugar: Interview with Algenis Perez Soto Deleted Scenes Blu-ray exclusive: Unrated Cut on the Blu-ray I've heard really good things about this one and will be watching it in the morning. [Edit: reviewed here on 9.8.09] Direct to Video

Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (Blu-ray & DVD) Let's hear it for Bring It On Part Five, folks. A friend of mine did drum programming for the composer and had a track licensed for use in the movie. I might be guilt-tripped into watching it. Great. Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas (DVD only) I will be reviewing this one in the coming days. From the press release: Convicted and sentenced to death in Texas for 11 murders (commuted to life in prison by then-governor George W. Bush), Henry Lee Lucas (Antonio Sabato, Jr., General Hospital, Melrose Place) confessed to more than 350 murders, most with partner Ottis Toole (Kostas Sommer). But due to an ongoing habit of making confessions, then recanting them, it is unknown how many he actually committed. Flashbacks recreate the crimes, violence, ruthlessness and callousness of one of America's most infamous serial killers, who once revealed, "Killing is like eating and you eat because you're hungry. Sometimes I just got hungry." Devotion: An Unauthorized Tribute to Michael Jackson (DVD only) Featurettes: "The Memorial", "Media", "Global Phenomenon", and "Charity Work" If the non-stop news coverage ending traumatized you, this is the perfect fix! A scant two months after his death, this hastily-compiled "tribute" doc is little more than a 50 minute (70 including the featurettes), commercial-free version of what kept going ad nauseam on TV. The highlight here is a couple clips of crazy Joe Jackson being pretty incoherent. The filmmakers pieced together a bunch of stock footage pretty well, all things considered. Frankly, this doc does a cleaner, more efficient job of telling his life story than the major cable networks did. New to Blu

Braveheart Sapphire Series Gladiator Sapphire Series I haven't looked at either due to the studio dragging their feet on review copies. What I hear about the picture on Braveheart is that it's great. On the other hand, Gladiator is apparently not so good due to mixed source elements. There are all-new extras on both. These discs are a top priority as soon as I get them, but I'm not breaking myself in half to get them, since "the story" has already played itself out. M*A*S*H The Girl Next Door High Crimes These Fox titles are all Blu-grades of their existing special editions. The MASH transfer was the one I was worried about, and upon first inspection, it looks pretty good. I need to give it some more time and attention. High Crimes and The Girl Next Door look and sound great upon a quick glance. Fire & Ice Blue Underground has Blu-graded its excellent special edition of this animated, Ralph Bakshi-directed fantasy film. I haven't had a chance to look at it, but the existing DVD is pretty excellent. From what a friend tells me, this is an excellent non-Disney catalog animation reference disc. Reissue Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (DVD only) All the original extras remain from 2005, but for a limited time, they're including a "Beanz" Pooh-dressed-as-Tigger plush. The main reason I'm even mentioning this title in this column is that I support this style of use for these characters, not the abominable live-action-in-suits and CG kids' TV series I flip past occasionally. Those other implementations of the characters have nothing to do with Winnie the Pooh. Christopher Robin has become a little girl with a too-cutesy dog. It's weird that they took the sequence that most terrified me as a kid (Heffalumps and Woozles) from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and made a cuddly new toy out of it in Lumpy the Heffalump. This kind of brand extension I can accept. Disc Roundup is posted each week on Thursday, sometimes Friday, depending on what kind of a mountain I have to get through. If you think I've missed something, feel free to send me an email at the name of this column at gmail dot com. Don't include any underscores, dots, or numbers instead of letters, or it'll go into a black hole, from whence never to return.
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