Release of the Week
Last Year at Marienbad
I went into my first viewing (while in college at a friend's house) as blind as possible. After having seen it twice more, I'm not sure I've gotten much more out of it than I did on my initial viewing. Then and now it feels to me like a feverish explosion of repressed memories and trauma, which has become a popular opinion over the years. If you're looking for a linear narrative, this is the wrong movie. The dynamic nature of Alain Robbe-Grillet's script leaves the viewer unable to predict what will come next with any degree of certainty. It's hard to imagine this film finding an audience in an age before home video, where re-watching the film would require another trip to the cinema.
Not a single other release this month features the amount and quality of immersive supplemental material as Marienbad, as one could easily expect of Criterion. The centerpiece of the extras is a new audio interview with director Resnais [33:04]. It's complimented by two additional featurettes, Unraveling the Enigma: The Making of Marienbad [32:36] and Ginette Vincendeau on Last Year at Marienbad [22:59]. The former includes interviews with Assistant Directors, the Script Girl (how progressive), and various Resnais collaborators. Film scholar Ginette Vincendeau piece is frank about the movie's reputation as possibly the most overhyped, over-praised art film in history. It also makes some interesting observations about possible interpretations.
My favorite extras are two Resnais-directed documentary shorts. Toute la Memoire Du Monde (1956) [20:57] is a gorgeous, though brief tour through the French National Archives. The photography makes it look like some sort of heist thriller, and it made me wish the director of Taken would craft something like that in the modern-day archives. Le Chant Du Styrene (1958) [13:40] is a more playful look at the production of polystyrene-based (plastic) goods in France. It's the kind of short educational film I wish I'd seen in school, subtitles and all, instead of the really lousy stuff we were stuck with. A more fleshed-out review overflowing with screencaps will follow later today.
New Releases (DVD & Blu-ray)
Waltz With Bashir
Last year's odds-on favorite for Best Foreign Language Film arrives on the format more people will discover it on than ever would theatrically. Features include a Making-of, Director's Commentary, Director Q&A, and Animatics.
At the Death House Door
A SXSW 2008 doc reviewed by Cinematical's Eric D Snider last year. Snider called it the "poignant, heart-rending story of Rev. Carroll Pickett, a soft-spoken Texas man who served for 13 years as chaplain at the notoriously execution-happy Huntsville Prison."
Confessions of a Shopaholic
From my review posted last night:
I've already forgotten the name of the protagonist of Shopaholic played by Isla Fisher. I skipped it in theaters but promised myself I'd watch this woulda-been-funnier-in-2006 consumerist comedy if only to marvel at its advanced aging. The movie isn't horrible by any stretch, but I couldn't bring myself to find any of the Girl in the Green Scarf's pathological lies and betrayals even mildly humorous.
The Bloopers are pretty good, as are the Deleted Scenes. Blu-ray exclusives include a Behind-the-Scenes featurette that spends more time on costume design than I ever thought I would ever put up with. Considering the subject of the movie, I suppose it makes sense, but I kept drifting. There are also a couple Blu-exclusive music videos I didn't watch featuring singers I've never heard of. A Digital Copy is provided with the Blu-ray so that you can selectively learn portions of life lessons on the go.
Pink Panther 2
What an amazing cast and what a disappointing effort overall. It's every bit as dreadful as you think and reeks of paychecks all round. A single bit of business that John Cleese does was the only time I laughed instead of groan. I should note that I didn't see the first one, but I don't think that would have helped.
I thought the highlight would be the 27 Pink Panther Theatrical Shorts included as "Disc 3," but I was a bit let down to find it was a DVD and not a Blu-ray. They all look fine, and 1964 Oscar-winning Animated Short The Pink Phink is first on the list. The Gag Reel is funnier than the entire movie by a longshot, even though in the interest of being family-friendly, it's censored. Featurettes include Drama is Easy...Comedy is Dangerous (stunts & gags), A Dream Team Like No Other (interviews with the brilliant actors in the cast). There's a BD-Java game called Master Thief-Global Crime Showdown! that, similar to every other BD-Java game, bored the life out of me. It's little more than a dumb trivia game. There's a Digital Copy included, as one expects on Blu releases from MGM.
Inkheart
Skipped it entirely. I might rent it at some point.
The Code (Direct to DVD/Blu-ray)
Colleagues say this was much better than the stigma of "direct to video" connotes. I'll give it a rent sometime.
Catalog New to DVD
Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory in Louis Malle's My Dinner With Andre.
My Dinner With Andre
The movie that defines "talky and philosophical" for many, Criterion's new Andre disc replaces a long-out of print and difficult to find DVD from years ago. Supplements include new video interviews with actors André Gregory and Wallace Shawn by Noah Baumbach (with cameraman Joe Swanberg), and "My Dinner with Louis" (an episode of the BBC's Arena), in which Shawn interviews director Louis Malle. A Criterion-standard booklet is also in the case, featuring a critical essay by critic Amy Taubin and the prefaces written by Gregory and Shawn for the published version of the script. As usual, worth every penny.
Yul Brynner in and Palestinian actress Daliah Lavi
Catlow
From my 6/24 review:
The last thing I expected to encounter today was a movie with Leonard Nimoy fighting in the nude. Two years after the original Star Trek series and just before his appearance in one of my favorite episodes of Night Gallery, Nimoy played a snarling bounty hunter baddie in Catlow. His presence and the fact the movie is based on a book by Louis L'Amour are likely the reasons why this wasn't made a Warner Archive title. The movie is really quite enjoyable and a welcome alternative to the crap clogging the multiplexes.
Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection
From my review posted yesterday:
In 1962, MGM hired Chuck Jones to do a series of Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts. Jones, best known for his work on Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, produced some real classics. The shorts would go on to be aired during the now-extinct Saturday morning cartoon block for decades. The end of the production run on this 34-short series also signaled the closing of MGM's animation department.
Warner Bros. fully remastered these shorts, but there are still artifacts present throughout. That being said, they look a lot better than other formats I've seen them in, from TV airings to VHS, which usually pan-and-scanned them.
Streaming Free
Last of the Mohicans
Watch Here
Some people would allege this to have been Michael Mann's last good movie. Mohicans is very good, but those aforementioned people are idiots.
Hell on Wheels
Watch Here
A really solid doc about the modern Roller Derby. It's free! No more excuses!