Electric Shadow

FF09: John Gholson's Day 1

As I mentioned in a prior post, fellow Austinite John Gholson is contributing to Arthouse Cowboy during this year's Fantastic Fest. He's helping cover the gigantic amount of content that no one correspondent can cover on their own. Without further ado, here's John in the first of his sum-ups of his day at this year's Fantastic Fest: First Squad - Russia/Japan - Directed by Yoshiharu Ashino Synopsis: Russian scientists use a team of teen psychics to journey into the netherworld to stop the Nazis from resurrecting a German warlord. While an animated film about young psychics fighting Germanic ghost warriors (raised from the dead by Nazi occultists) sounds like a must-see, it ends up being fairly typical dramatic anime. "Talky" is not a word I want to use when describing an animated film, but First Squad offers heavy doses of exposition, not only from the characters in the animated segments, but also from live-action "talking head" experts on the historical fiction featured within. First Squad does little to transcend itself into being an actual good movie, but anime die-hards will probably be more forgiving of its slow pace and underdeveloped characters. Like many recent anime projects, it ends just as things get heated up (to set up the inevitable sequel), and the animation is suprisingly static (a cost-cutting measure, I'm sure). Gentlemen Broncos - USA - Directed by Jared Hess Synopsis: A young, unpublished writer has his novel, The Yeast Lords, stolen by an established science-fiction author. If art exists to satisfy the needs of the artist to create, then Gentlemen Broncos is certainly a work of art. It's also a terrible movie. I get the feeling that Jared Hess and co-writer (and spouse), Jerusha Hess, were endlessly amused by the mugging, unpleasant grotesqueries that populate Gentlemen Broncos--a mean-spirited comedy that feels like a Farrelly Brothers adaptation of a Daniel Clowes comic book. As an audience member, I felt like I was being asked to join in the mocking of those that the Hess's look down upon as the dregs of society, which, in the Gentlemen Broncos universe, is everybody. Unlike other cinematic enthusiasts of white trash (John Waters, The Farrelly's), the Hess's show open disdain toward their characters. The plot hinges on the writing talent of Benjamin (Michael Angarano), and the filmmakers bring Benjamin's work to life through fantasy asides starring Sam Rockwell as Benjamin's protagonist, Bronco. These asides are so ridiculous (most, if not all of them revolve around Bronco trying to retrieve his stolen gonad), that you can't buy into anyone thinking that this kid is talented, much less that a best-selling science fiction writer (Jermaine Clement as Dr. Ronald Chevalier) would want to plagurize such utter nonsense. The cut-aways to Chevalier's version of Benjamin's story are even more inexplicable, featuring Rockwell as a prancing, lisping transgender albino named Brutus who rides a missle-launching reindeer. Remember, this is supposed to be the hero of a well-regarded science fiction novel. The bizarre treatment of the fictional writing in the film is hugely detrimental to the characters and the central conflict. It's also insulting to the audience to ask us to buy into a story that the Hess's don't really stand behind in the first place. It's all one big gross, stupid joke. Gentlemen Broncos features an hour and a half of slack-jawed, talentless idiots talking about gonads, when they aren't puking or doing something that involves feces in some way. It's vile, and unfunny on an almost profound level. Jared and Jerusha Hess have created quite a movie for themselves. Solomon Kane - UK - Directed by Michael J. Bassett Synopsis: A Puritan with a penchant for violence seeks spiritual salvation as he hunts down the forces of darkness. I'm curious to know how they plan on marketing Solomon Kane. They've got a star (James Purefoy) who's a dead ringer for Hugh Jackman, and they've dressed him almost exactly like 2003's Van Helsing. Not only that, but most of Solomon Kane's "money shots" feature him in slow-motion battle with demons and monsters. I fear that mass audiences will dismiss it as a wannabe Van Helsing, and deprive themselves from an exciting (albeit unambitious) action swashbuckler. Kane gets the job done in the ass-kickery department, delivering the simple, predictable pleasures you'd expect from a property based on a pulp hero (created by Conan's Robert E. Howard). Kane's religious journey makes him slightly more interesting than the average sword-slinger. He's damned to Hell by a situation beyond his control, and is searching for answers from a God who isn't providing any. Honestly, the spirituality is just window dressing on what's essentially a story about a one-man army facing down an army of monsters, but the effort to make Solomon Kane even a little bit different is appreciated. I don't even think of myself as a "sword and sorcery" guy, and I had fun with this one. Paranormal Activity - USA - Directed by Oren Peli Synopsis: A couple, plagued by demonic forces, decide to document their haunting via video camera. It's easy to call Paranormal Activity the best film of its type since 1999's The Blair Witch Project, but, more than that, Activity is the best haunted house movie in years. Katie Featherston and Micha Sloat make for a realistic on-screen couple, and they don't behave too actor-ly, a simple thing that's ruined many a pseudo-doc before it. If you like being freaked out, Paranormal Activity is a must-see, but the nature of the scares (nail-biting anticipation, where often the only pay-off for your fear is a bump in the night) mean that the film's impact is immediately diminished on repeat viewings. If you have a wild imagination, watch out--Paranormal Activity is going to give you a coronary. The film forces you to become an active viewer, involving your senses in a way that I don't think I've ever seen a film do before. I watched every corner of the screen, listening for even the slightest unusual sound. Often, captured video is used to create an immediacy, but, in Paranormal Activity, it also creates intimacy, and that intimacy pays off in unforgettably hair-rasing ways.
Read More

Cinetic to Release Collapse VOD in December

At a press brunch this morning, I learned from Cinetic's Matt Dentler that they are releasing Chris Smith's Collapse on their new FilmBuff VOD channel, and the filmmakers are managing their own theatrical rollout. The beauty of this is that even had the film gotten a "major markets" run in theaters done by a smaller scale distributor, the movie won't have nearly the reach it will being available on all the major cable providers.
Read More

Oz at 70

My very good friend Eric, who I consider a major authority on The Wizard of Oz, went to one of the one night only events last night and had the following to say: "Saw the premiere of the HD version of The Wizard of Oz tonight, in celebration of the 70th anniversary--one night only in 400 theaters. The theater at Governor's Square was almost full, with people of all ages. Three middle-aged women blew bubbles whenever Glinda appeared. The HD image almost looks 3-D, and I noticed background details I had never noticed before. You can see even more of Judy Garland's freckles than on the last DVD digital restoration. Most of all, it was fun to see it with a roomful of people. "But I do feel old. I remember the 40th anniversary in 1979, which launched the mega-merchandising, not only of Oz, but of movie-themed merchandise in general. And the 50th anniversary, when they added back the sepia wash to the Kansas sequences. And the 60th anniversary, when they did the first nationwide theatrical re-release in a generation. And now I'm gonna have to buy a blu-ray player, to get the next generation video release this Christmas." With this and Gone With the Wind coming in a similarly-outfitted edition in November, reactions like Eric's are indicative of what really will sell people on the HD hardware: a repertory presentation experience that most cinemas don't (or can't) provide.
Read More

7 Alternatives to Gala/Secret Screenings

Every year, there are high-profile studio pictures and Secret Screenings at Fantastic Fest. This year, I'm proposing some alternative choices for those who are uninterested in one or more of these (or are unable to secure themselves a ticket). It's extremely difficult for many to choose between a major studio movie with real live talent due to appear and some Korean flick they've never heard of before, but my aim is to help ease that choice and hopefully wreak some last-minute havoc on the carefully-chosen schedules many have already agonized over.

Instead of...Gentlemen Broncos (Paramount Theater) Merantau (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) A coming-of-age martial arts movie that significant in that it's the first one from Indonesia in 15 years. "Merantau" is the rite of passage in which youths go and survive in the big city with no help from their family. Instead of...Zombieland (Paramount Theater) Antichrist (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) People know what this movie is roughly more so than those who went in sight-unseen at Cannes. A limited IFC release in NY/LA means out-of-towners and even Austinites may not have the opportunity to see it otherwise. Instead of...Secret Screening 1 (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) Sweet Karma (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) This starts in the same timeslot as Zombieland/Antichrist, and could be the best of them all. A mute woman's sister is kidnapped, and the perpetrators are likely a Russian prostitution and human trafficking ring. She goes on a bloody quest for revenge. Genre action combined with very real issues piques my interest. Instead of...Secret Screening 2 (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) Trick R Treat (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) Whatever the second mystery show is, it will likely have some sort of actual theatrical release unlike Mike Dougherty's excellent, virtually direct-to-video horror anthology film. I'm reasonably certain this is one of the only chances to see this with an audience, and it plays really well. I wish WB had the balls to put it up against Saw. Instead of...Secret Screening 3 (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) Rampage (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) I've never watched a movie made by "Dr." Uwe Boll. This one is about a man who gets fed up with his dead-end life, builds an armored suit, and goes around murdering his home town. This is a "I can't believe I saw something like that in a theater" experience. Instead of...Secret Screening 4 (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) In another case of "if it gets picked up, who knows if it'll play in a theater near you," VG vs. FG is like so many love triangle girly animes, but full of blood and violence. Its first screening is up against the one and only show of Trick R Treat, so see it here. Instead of...Secret Screening 5 Fireball I'm sure whatever the recently-added SS5 is, it'll likely be possible to see it otherwise. Fireball is a Thai martial arts revenge movie about an underground, ultra-violent basketball league that puts a guy's brother in a coma. I always hope that distributors pick up movies like this one, but Magnet can't buy everything, and Thai films are otherwise tough to come by. Instead of...Daybreakers (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) Salvage (Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) I know Daybreakers doesn't come out until January, but even then it'll be on thousands of screens. A SWAT team invades suburban Liverpool and guns down a family, setting off a night full of "are they here to protect us or kill us" paranoia. Just the subject of this one creeps me out in light of as-we-speak debate over USA PATRIOT Act powers of search, seizure, and imprisonment. So why go to this show of Salvage and not the first? There's a daisy-chain effect at play. The first screening of this one is up against screening one of Dae-min Park's Private Eye, which I'm really looking forward to. The second show of Private Eye is up against Fish Story (hyped already as one of the best of the fest) and the retrospective screening of Jess Franco's Bare-Breasted Countess (link NSFW), also considered a hot ticket since Franco will be in attendance. These recommendations come from what programmers and pals have successfully hyped me on as well as synopses or filmmakers I'm interested in. Yet others are titles I worry may join titles I enjoyed last year like The Good, The Bad, The Weird, La Creme, and Muay Thai Chaiya, all of which have not as yet secured US distribution (and they may not). The festival buzz on these "unknown quantities" can make the difference between a pickup and not, so go see them and blow up twitter with positive reactions.
Read More

Ch-ch-changes

You can now leave Comments on entries where they're enabled (some posts don't merit it, so I'd prefer to focus discussion). You'll also notice there are links to an About/Contact page, my Twitter feed, as well as Archives sorted by date and category linked on every entry in addition to the main page of Arthouse Cowboy (if youre reading this in one of the many places I syndicate this content). More regular features and tweaks will make their debut during and after this week. Your lively participation in the comments section is encouraged and appreciated.
Read More

Observed, Reported


Observe and Report is one of the ballsiest wide releases in recent memory. Verging-on-psychopathic obsessive Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) is a mall security guard with delusions of heroism. I didn't quite go nuts for it back in March, preferring director Jody Hill's The Foot Fist Way and TV show Eastbound and Down to it, but I love what it has to say about modern perceptions of heroism. People espouse the belief that soldiers are heroes by job description, but in come reports of convicted perpetrators of rape and civilian murder in Iraq. The doesn't make all soldiers criminals in any respect, but it certainly calls into question blanket unqualified praise. Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe make hundreds upon hundreds of millions by portraying a world where there's black and white good and evil, but nothing resembling the nuanced world we actually live in, where the ideas that make us enemies of one another can be invisible to the naked eye. Do those dollars rolling in translate into American Idol-style votes for the "Fuck Yeah" America that people wish we could be again? I can imagine Ronnie going to see Transformers 2 and screaming "Fuck yeah!" as Optimus Prime rips heads off of Decepticons, wishing he could do that to "I-rackis" like Aziz Ansari's lotion hawker in O&R. It's going to have a healthy life on home video even though it didn't explode at the box office. Here's my review from SXSW '09. In what I consider a significant symbolic move, WB has opted to not include supplemental features on the DVD version of Observe and Report, putting them all on the Blu-ray. This, to me, indicates one of the biggest of the majors making a statement on where things are moving. The Gag Reel [12:14] is lifted by a section of Danny McBride toward the end, and it's partly duplicated in Seth Rogen & Anna Faris: Unscripted [7:38]. There's just shy of half an hour of Deleted Scenes/Alternate Lines [27:09], many of which are riffs that seem like they just didn't gel or hum along as well as the rest of the film. Basically Training [6:48] is a short piece about Rogen going from funnyman to action man, and the Forest Ridge Mall Security Recruitment Video [2:58] momentarily breaks the fourth wall by using footage of Rogen from the BT featurette out of costume and character. There's a Digital Copy included, and the Picture-in-Picture Commentary with director Hill and actors Rogen and Faris opens with the three of them questioning why anyone would want to watch them watching their own film. They planted a camera facing them sitting in the front row of a comfy-looking screening room. The Blu-ray came out yesterday (9.22) and is available from Amazon for $25. The movie on its own is available on DVD and as a Digital Download.

Read More

The Discovery of Robert Rich


Walt Disney as a friendly witness in front of the House Un-American Activities Comittee
I once wrote a paper about the Blacklist in school. It was nearly 30 pages long, with extensive research and citations. The title of that paper (double meaning and all) now rests atop this story because after staring at a blank page, I think the best stuff I remember about the original paper approximates how I feel about Peter Askin's film Trumbo. I urge anyone reading this to watch the movie and not just "Google" or "Wikipedia" (since these words are now verbs) Robert Rich. When I submitted the paper, which dealt with how the memes and ideologies from the days of the Blacklist continue to the present (this was 1999 or 2000), I was told it was too overtly political. Growing up in Texas was like living in an alternate universe. They meant that I was somehow defending or promoting Communism, which was completely off-base. I think I ended up neutering it into an examination of how the Blacklist affected modern Hollywood or something similarly uninteresting. I still managed to sneak some provocative stuff in, like the idea that conservative politics couldn't ever take over Hollywood due to the fact that conservatives are inherently not capable of being adept at humor. I phrased it differently, but that was the idea. There's no nuance to conservative "humor" naturally, since the word nuance is "too French" to be deemed acceptable. Trumbo began life as a staged reading written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo's son Christopher. The story of the Hollywood blacklist in the film is made up of talking head interviews, recordings of interviews with Dalton Trumbo himself, and readings of letters Trumbo wrote to friends, family, and adversaries. The letters are read by David Strathairn, Donald Sutherland, Joan Allen, Michael Douglas, Paul Giamatti, Nathan Lane, Josh Lucas, and Brian Dennehy (as well as Danny Glover in a deleted segment). Trumbo wrote one of my favorite films, Lonely Are The Brave. It's a movie that many "teabaggers" and Libertarian-leaning Republicans would resist believing was written by one of the Hollywood Ten, "pinko commie", whatever. The documentary released on DVD by Magnolia is indeed very good, and is a fitting tribute to one of Hollywood's most talented screenwriters who fought against the persecution of perceived "thought crimes". Extras include a deleted reading by Paul Giamatti and the collected deleted readings done by Danny Glover.
Read More

Disc Roundup (Movies) 9.15.09


Release of the Week An American Werewolf in London Full Moon Edition (Blu-ray & DVD) Beware the Moon [1:37:32] feature documentary Rick Baker: I Walked With a Werewolf [7:38] Previously-available extras: Feature Commentary with David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, Making An American Werewolf in London [5:16], An Interview with John Landis [18:20], Make-up Artist Rick Baker [11:15], Casting the Hand [11:00], Outtakes [3:08] The previously-released supplemental materials above are almost entirely duplicated in new interviews in Beware the Moon, which one should only watch after having seen the movie. I wouldn't ordinarily make that note, but I know plenty of people playing Blu-rays out there could be seeing the movie for the first time. The Walked With a Werewolf featurette has a very limited glimpse at the recently-delayed Wolfman movie with Benicio del Toro. As I blurbed the other day: I wish more studios treated their top-tier catalog titles like Universal has decked-out their second dip on An American Werewolf in London. The main attraction is Beware the Moon, a 97-minute feature documentary about the making of the movie put together by fans of the film, not a studio marketing department. It was obviously shot in HD, but is SD on the Blu-ray. That's the only unfortunate thing about it. What host/director Paul Davis may lack in game show-host charm and polish he more than makes up for in thoughtful staging, structure, and balance. this doc makes the Interview with John Landis and various other extras from the previous DVD & HD-DVD redundant for the most part. The movie looks like a fresh, grainy 35mm print from 1981 and the sound is top notch. Amazon has the Blu-ray for $16.99, and it's better than the vast majority of catalog upgrades out there. New Release

Firth is a better dancer than he gives himself credit for.
Easy Virtue (Blu-ray & DVD) Feature Commentary by director Stephan Elliott & write Sheridan Jones Blooper Reel [8:47] 4 Deleted Scenes [4:48] NY Premiere featurette [6:09] I reviewed this one a few days ago. A couple thoughts from that writeup: "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. "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."

Trumbo (DVD only) Paul Giamatti reads another letter written by Trumbo [4:45] Danny Glover (not in the final cut at all) reading a letter written by Trumbo [3:39] Trumbo is about more than just left versus right or American versus Communist, just as the Blacklist itself was. I'm trimming a longer piece on this for posting before Fantastic Fest obliterates my schedule this weekend. Triangle (DVD only) The Making of Triangle [6:15] Behind the Scenes [13:31] I forgot to mention a couple days ago that this is yet another Magnet title that defaults to an ear-splittingly bad English dub track by default. From my Sunday review: "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. "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." X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Blu-ray & DVD) Commentaries: (1) Director Gavin Hood, (2) Producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter Featurettes: The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with X-Men creators Stan Lee and Len Wein, Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Director Gavin Hood Alternate Scenes: Memory Erase Sequence, Tag Scene: Japan Blu-ray Exclusives: "Wolverine Weapon X Mutant Files Featurette: 10 Character Chronicles, "The Thrill of the Chase: The Helicopter Chase Sequence", "X Connect and On Set With Gavin Hood", X-Facts Trivia Track, Fox Movie Channel Presents: World Premiere BD-Live Exclusive: IMDb Live Lookup (requires internet-connected player) The best thing about this release is the Live Lookup BD-Live feature, which is actually useful. It live-checks IMDb over the player's internet connection for biographical info and credits for people in the movie, many of whom are emerging stars not unlike Hugh Jackman on the heels of the first X-Men movie. I'm amazed it's taken this long for this to be available on Blu-ray titles. Before long, I should hope that this is as much a standard feature as Chapter Selections. I didn't go see Wolverine just as I didn't see a number of other summer tentpoles (like Transformers 2...never watched the first either). From the rumors surrounding the script's insistence on cramming every licensable character imaginable into one less-than-smooth story to the dreadful word of mouth that followed The Big Leak of 2009, I had little interest in making time for this. I've read comics for years, and I couldn't care less about a movie centering on Wolverine. After finally sitting through the damn thing on Monday, I can easily say I wish that I hadn't. The only thing terribly stimulating for me was thinking of Harlan Ellison's "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream" when the image of Weapon XI came around. There was no relation to the actual story of Ellison's, mind you, but simply a connection between the imagery and that title. Good actors and directors and crews can only do good work when given good ingredients. That being said, no one cares what I think and I'm not actively trying to tell anyone that I know mindless, badly-staged action any better than the next guy. What I am saying however is that this could have been much, much better. I'd really like the sequel to make this one disappear from memory. Grace (Blu-ray & DVD) Part of an exclusive pre-release date deal where Best Buy was selling this and Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz for $20 a pop, Grace is the odd one out that I'm not terribly interested in. Catalog New to Blu

Hero (also on DVD) Digital Copy Featurettes: Close-up of a Fight Scene, Inside the Action: A Conversation With Quentin Tarantino & Jet Li, "Hero Defined" Making-of Storyboards Soundtrack Spot One of my most anticipated titles of the week has not disappointed in the least. This goes right on the Chinese martial arts Blu-ray shelf next to Crouching Tiger, House of Flying Dagger, and Curse of the Golden Flower. I can finally retire my Hong kong import DVD I bought two years before Miramax released this movie stateside. The Close-Up of a Fight Scene extra is new. Hero and the other three Kung Fu titles below are available separately and in a 4-Blu box set for $74.99 ($30 for Hero on its own). Iron Monkey Donnie Yen Interview Quentin Tarantino Interview The Blind Swordsman Zatoichi Exclusive Interviews with Crew Behind the Scenes These are both blugrades of their previous editions. The picture and sound is fantastic on both. Iron Monkey is $25.99 on its own from Amazon, as is Zatoichi. The Legend of Drunken Master (Jui kuen II) English Dub Audio ONLY Behind the Master: An Interview with Jackie Chan This is actually Drunken Master 2, and the same disapppointing shortcoming of the DVD is on this disc: the original Cantonese audio track isn't even optional, it's nowhere to be found. I was hoping this would be fixed, given this opportunity. Oh well, maybe next time. The featurette is again carried over from DVD. Army of Darkness Screwhead Edition Creating the Deadites [21:26] Alternate Ending [4:39] Theatrical Trailer The transfer is great. The sound is booming and clear. The problem here is that this is far from a definitive HD version of a title that I own around four versions of on DVD. The fact there aren't more extras on this thing is borderline hilarious to me. The video transfer is so good that I can make out dust & dirt on the lens and in the frame. The Creating the Deadites featurette is new and just fine by me, but other than that, all you have is an ending and a trailer that might look great in HD, but does nothing to make up for missing documentaries and commentary tracks. What a goddamn shame. The Hannibal Lecter Collection: Manhunter The Silence of the Lambs Hannibal The first movie and the sequel are new to Blu, but Demme's masterwork is a reissue of the existing Blu-ray. Silence of the Lambs retains the same extras from its prior Blu-ray release, but Manhunter and Hannibal are both completely barebones even though previous DVD extras are out there. Misery Child's Play These two titles are part of a trend that I'd like to see stop. They both include DVD copies of the movie (the most recent SE's presumably), but the Blu-rays are movie-only. Are studios saving bitrate on the Blus by leaving the extras that were never going to be higher than SD quality out, or are they building obsolescence into "first gen" Blu-ray discs? The latter is sure what it looks like to me at this point. The odd thing is, this "no extras" Blu thing didn't happen on Spaceballs, also an MGM title released by Fox Home Entertainment.... Wrong Turn Wrong Turn 2 Van Helsing ...and mysteriously these three don't need a separate DVD for all the extras (yes, I know that Helsing is Universal, not Fox). The picture and sound upgrades on all three are noticeable. There's not a whole lot to say other than that. Catalog Repackage/Reissue

I Am Cuba Ultimate Edition Spanish and Russian Soundtracks The Siberian Mammoth feature documentary Film About Mikhail Kalatozov feature documentary Long Interview with Martin Scorsese Interview with co-author Yevgeney Yevtushenko Original American trailer Collectible Booklet Long out of print in the US, Mikhail Kalatozov's anti-Batista film was re-released by Milestone Films last week in a deluxe three-disc DVD set complete with a cigar box-style case and piles of extras. It's $35.96 on their website versus $44.95 at Amazon. I'm not sure if shipping and sales tax could bring the prices closer to parity, but I'd go with getting it from Milestone if only because there's a disgustingly long wait time from Bezos-Mart. I hope to review this one during or after Fantastic Fest, depending upon when I can secure a copy. The Wes Craven Horror Collection (DVD only) The Serpent and The Rainbow Shocker The People Under the Stairs This is a pretty solid deal at $15 on Amazon, which breaks out to $5 each. There's also a $5 Candy Coupon inside the case. Isn't that nearly what it cost to rent movies at Blockbuster? Wow, what a difference! John Carpenter Master of Fear (DVD only) The Thing Prince of Darkness Village of the Damned They Live This is an even better deal than the Wes Craven set, with four movies for $15 at Amazon and the same $5 Candy Coupon inside. I'm not a sugar junkie, I just like the seasonal Reese's Pumpkins, so sue me. 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.
Read More

The Coming Monsoon

The lead-up to a major festival is always hell for me. This past week's Disc Roundup is coming in mere minutes, and a Fantastic Fest preview piece is coming as well. Last week's TV on Disc update will follow later today, and I should be posting this week's installments of Disc columns before everything FF takes me over come Thursday. I've also got all-around good guy John Gholson covering the festival with me, since I can't see everything. More on him and what he'll be posting soon.
Read More

American Werewolf: Catalog Blu Done Right


Taken from feature documentary Beware the Moon, included on Universal's worthy Blu-ray of An American Werewolf in London
I wish more studios treated their top-tier catalog titles like Universal has decked-out their second dip on An American Werewolf in London. The main attraction is Beware the Moon, a 97-minute feature documentary about the making of the movie put together by fans of the film, not a studio marketing department. It was obviously shot in HD, but is SD on the Blu-ray. That's the only unfortunate thing about it. What host/director Paul Davis may lack in game show-host charm and polish he more than makes up for in thoughtful staging, structure, and balance. This doc makes the Interview with John Landis and various other extras from the previous DVD & HD-DVD redundant for the most part. The movie looks like a fresh, grainy 35mm print from 1981 and the sound is top notch. Amazon has the Blu-ray for $16.99, and it's better than the vast majority of catalog upgrades out there.

This is basically the only decent screen capture I could get of the very animated John Landis
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More