March, 2006: 2005 NBR Gala

by John Gallagher

NBR GALA : The 2005 NBR Awards Gala, held at Manhattan's Tavern on the Green on January 10, 2006, was a raging success. The star-studded list of honorees included George Clooney, Jane Fonda, Saul Zaentz, Ang Lee, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Felicity Huffman, Terrence Howard, Howard Shore and Q'Orianka Kilcher; presenters included Martin Scorsese, Milos Forman, Gretchen Mol, Amanda Peet, Charlie Rose, Susan Sarandon, Sigourney Weaver and Queen Latifah.

But for hardcore movie buffs, the real star of the night was George Feltenstein, who received the William K. Everson Film History Award. I have sung his praises often in these pages; as Senior Vice President of Theatrical Catalog Marketing at Warner Home Video, he has given us an incredible line of vintage DVDs culled from the MGM, Warner Brothers, and RKO vaults, beautifully restored and presented. An indication of how highly Warners values Mr. Feltenstein is the fact that Alan Horn, the chief of Warner Bros. Entertainment, was on hand at the NBR Gala to present him with the Everson Award. (A big thank you to WHV publicity head Ronnee Sass for all her help with the gala).

WARNER HOME VIDEO : If it seems these pages run top heavy with coverage of the WHV DVDs, it's simply because under George Feltenstein the company has become the most prolific home entertainment distributor on the market. 2006 will see even more amazing releases, including a John Ford/John Wayne collection (including a restored double disc of THE SEARCHERS), a separate Ford set, and collections devoted to Clark Gable, Pre-Code gems, Tennessee Williams, Jimmy Cagney and Warners tough guys, plus more Bette Davis and more Astaire-Rogers, among many others.

WHV kicked off the first quarter of this year with SAM PECKINPAH'S LEGENDARY WESTERN COLLECTION, a spectacular set comprised of RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (1962),   Peckinpah's first masterpiece, an elegiac End-of-the-West tale co-starring icons Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott; a two-disc fully restored original director's cut of   THE WILD BUNCH (1969), the quintessential Peckinpah film; the director's gentle, neglected THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE (1970) with stellar work from Jason Robards and Stella Stevens; and two versions of the formerly mutilated PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (1973), one being the 1988 restoration, the other a brand new reconstruction derived from Peckinpah's notes. This collection gives new life to four great films that, as the saying goes, have never looked or sounded as good. Each film comes loaded with documentaries, both new and old, and one's enjoyment is aided immeasurably by the audio commentaries from the posse of Peckinpah biographers/documentarians Nick Redman, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and David Weddle, who have performed similar duties on other Peckinpah DVDs.

WHV marked Black History Month with the DVD releases of three seminal films depicting the African-American experience – King Vidor's early talkie drama of sin and redemption, HALLELUJAH (1929), the first all-black feature from a major studio, and a milestone in sound film; the gospel-laden THE GREEN PASTURES (1936), with an all-black cast recreating Marc Connelly's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a Sunday School teacher telling the Old Testament stories to his children; and the delightful CABIN IN THE SKY (1943), Vincente Minnelli's screen debut, with a musical cast including Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Trailers, audio commentaries and vintage shorts are included on all three titles (THE GREEN PASTURES includes the 1933 short RUFUS JONES FOR PRESIDENT, with Ethel Waters and a 7-year-old Sammy Davis, Jr.).

To celebrate the Academy Awards, WHV released seven classic Oscar winners, ranging from 1931 to 1956. Wesley Ruggles' CIMARRON won Best Picture of 1931, and is one of the least known and creakiest of Oscar winners; the multi-generational Western epic opens with the famous Oklahoma Land Rush sequence, and comes with the 1931 cartoon RED-HEADED BABY and a trippy 1931 two-strip Technicolor short THE DEVIL'S CABARET (the first girl in the chorus line is 16-year-old Dorothy Coonan, who married director William Wellman three years later, after starring in his WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD). King Vidor's THE CHAMP is also from 1931, but is still a profoundly emotional dramatic experience, thanks to the first teaming of Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper. Beery tied for a Best Actor Oscar with Fredric March (DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE) and Frances Marion won the award for Best Story; nine-year-old Cooper as the devoted son of a washed up boxer deserved an Oscar himself for this one. The DVD includes another color musical short and a radio production of the film starring Beery. THE GOOD EARTH (1936), based on Pearl Buck's famous novel about Chinese peasants, was a troubled production – George Hill and Victor Fleming were the original directors before being replaced by Sidney Franklin, and this was Irving Thalberg's last production before his untimely death. Oscars went (dubiously) to Luise Rainer's acting and (deservedly) to Karl Freund's cinematography, but it's very off-putting to watch Caucasian actors made-up and playing Chinese; the movie is redeemed only by its still astounding locust plague sequence.

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS (1937), on the other hand, is a bona fide classic, one of the greatest movies ever made under the Golden Age studio system. John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly and Dale Van Every expertly adapted Robert Louis Stevenson's story about a spoiled rich boy who falls off an ocean liner and is taken on board a Grand Banks fishing ship where he learns to become a man. Victor Fleming directed; it's incredible that the man whose credits include THE VIRGINIAN, RED DUST, BOMBSHELL, TREASURE ISLAND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, GONE WITH THE WIND, and A GUY NAMED JOE has been so neglected, but hopefully that will change with the forthcoming publication of a definitive Fleming bio from author Michael Sragow. CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS is one of Fleming's finest, and he elicits perfect performances from Spencer Tracy (Best Actor Oscar), Freddie Bartholomew, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Mickey Rooney and John Carradine. The DVD includes a couple of radio promos, and a   vintage MGM short and vintage MGM cartoon, but the prize here is the feature itself – an absolute must for children of all ages. Watching Jackie Cooper in THE CHAMP and Freddie Bartholomew in CAPTAINS reminds us of the quality of these young actors … and the skill of timeless directors like Vidor and Fleming.

Next up in the Oscar collection is the charming KITTY FOYLE (1940), a populist drama which won Ginger Rogers a Best Actress prize and officially established her as a solid dramatic actress after a decade of comedy and musical roles. Journeyman director Sam Wood guided Ginger in the title role of a Philadelphia working class girl torn between two lovers, rich Main Line scion Dennis Morgan (in one of his first starring roles) and honest but struggling physician James Craig (a likeable but low budget version of Clark Gable). Christopher Morley's novel had been a best seller and was adapted to film by none other than Dalton Trumbo, but in its attitudes and mores, the material is quite dated. Nonetheless Ginger makes it worthwhile, as does a great Tex Avery cartoon, BAD LUCK BLACKIE and KITTY FOILED with Tom and Jerry. Eight years later, Jane Wyman won the Best Actress Oscar for Jean Negulesco's JOHNNY BELINDA (1948), which earned 11 nominations, including Best Picture. Wyman won Best Actress playing a deaf-mute living on a Nova Scotia farm with father Charles Bickford and aunt Agnes Moorehead. She's befriended by the town doctor, Lew Ayres, but has her life turned upside down when she's raped by local thug Stephen McNally. This movie has been remade several times but this is the real deal, stunningly photographed by Ted McCord, who shot TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE the same year, and brilliantly enacted. This is high screen drama at its best, and long overdue for DVD presentation. Finally, Vincente Minnelli's LUST FOR LIFE (1956), with Kirk Douglas as Van Gogh and Anthony Quinn in an Oscar-winning performance as Gauguin, completes the set. Minnelli recreates the lush impressionistic palette of Provence, and controls the aggressive acting of Douglas and Quinn; indeed this is one of Douglas' best performances.

CONTROVERSIAL CLASSICS VOLUME 2 is yet another Warner Home Video set that's a must, bringing together three of the most important films of the Seventies – Sidney Lumet's DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975) and NETWORK (1976), and Alan J. Pakula's ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976), all in double-disc special editions with new documentaries. DOG DAY AFTERNOON is as powerful as ever: Pacino, the first major star to play a gay man in a mainstream film, is just mesmerizing. John Cazale (THE GODFATHER's Fredo) is heartbreaking as we realize what a loss we suffered with his early death. Loosely based on a true story about a botched Brooklyn bank robbery, Frank Pierson's script is a model of screen dramaturgy, Lumet's direction is right on the money. This is quite simply one of the great movies of the Seventies, and probably Lumet's masterpiece. Every part is perfectly cast – Charles Durning as the harried NYPD detective, James Broderick (father of Matthew) as the FBI man, Chris Sarandon as Pacino's lover. And that's Lance Henrickson (ALIEN) as Broderick's colleague, Dominic Chianese (THE SOPRANO's Uncle Junior) as Pacino's father, and my beloved Judith Malina (c0-founder of The Living Theatre, co-star of my movie THE DELI) as Pacino's mother. I loved this movie from the moment I saw it while I was a film student in Boston; I saw NETWORK a year later and didn't love it. 1976 was the year of TAXI DRIVER, SEVEN BEAUTIES and ROCKY. Those movies rocked; this NETWORK, a Paddy Chayefsky original, seemed too unbelievable at the time. Guess what … NETWORK   is now startlingly relevant. Weird but true. Peter Finch won his Oscar as a discarded TV newsman who is “mad as hell and just won't take it anymore.” William Holden as the old school producer, Faye Dunaway and Robert Duvall as the new TV breed, Oscar winner Beatrice Straight as Holden's long suffering wife – all do excellent work. What makes this movie great is the undeniable fact that what was once fantasy is now fact. Network television has deteriorated into a mélange of reality shows: NETWORK predicted this sad future a quarter of a century ago: Lumet and Chayefsky were ahead of their time, and NETWORK has assumed a new relevance. How sad for us.

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S   MEN still plays as a top notch thriller. The late Alan J. Pakula excelled in this genre (THE PARALLAX VIEW, THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR); here he tells the story of the Watergate break-in and the famous investigation by reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman) with a super cool style. He is aided immeasurably by the cinematography of the great Gordon Willis (THE GODFATHER, MANHATTAN), alternating the bright lights of the Washington Post newsroom with the chiaroscuro world of underground D.C. Yeah, this one really holds up, and not   least because of Redford and Hoffman's stellar work, and Jason Robards' scene stealing performance as editor Bill Bradlee. Another bit of related trivia – that's Dominic Chianese again, as one of the bumbling Watergate thieves.

So, three controversial classics from the Seventies. All are double discs, with outstanding new documentaries. Lumet gives us the audio commentary for DOG DAYAFTERNOON and NETWORK, and Redford (who also produced) is our guide on the audio of ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. Remastered picture and audio, extensive documentaries, and first rate commentaries make these titles essentials. Warner Home Video scores another grand slam with CONTROVERSIAL CLASSICS VOLUME 2.

When David Lean's RYAN'S DAUGHTER opened in 1970, the critics blasted the great British director's work. After the critical and commercial winning streak of THE BRIDGE ON TE RIVER KWAI (1957), LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965), Lean was devastated by the reception and didn't make another movie until 1984's A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984). Seen now in Warner's brilliantly restored DVD (a new digital transfer from 65mm elements), RYAN'S DAUGHTER emerges as one of Lean's most visually impressive pictures, a triangle love story set along the craggy shore of southwestern Ireland during the 1916 troubles. Robert Mitchum was cast against type as the local schoolteacher married to independently minded Sarah Miles, who gets involved with handsome young British officer Christopher Jones. Freddie Young's exquisite cinematography and Maurice Jarre's lush score are highlights, and the epic is further enhanced by the performances of John Mills and Trevor Howard. RYAN'S DAUGHTER is definitely worth re-appraisal; a great deal of care has gone into this DVD presentation, which includes a new documentary, two vintage documentaries, and audio commentaries by 13 personalities, include Lean's widow, Mitchum's daughter, Sarah Miles, various crew members, Richard Schickel, and directors Hugh Hudson and John Boorman.

The influence of Lean can be felt in the erotically charged THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (1988), an intimate love story (this time with Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin) set against the 1968 Prague revolution. Based on the Milan Kundera novel, directed by Philip Kaufman, this Saul Zaentz production has also been given the double-disc special edition treatment by WHV, and remains compelling nearly 20 years later. Kaufman and co-screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, co-star Lena Olin and editor Walter Murch offer audio commentary, and there's a new documentary about the making of the film as well.

George Feltenstein and Co. are extremely eclectic when it comes to releasing the classics. Check out the Agatha Christie/ MISS MARPLE COLLECTION – MURDER SHE SAID (1961), MURDER AT THE GALLOP (1963), MURDER AHOY (1964), and MURDER MOST FOUL (1964), all starring the irrepressible Margaret Rutherford as sleuth Miss Marple – and a bonus disc of the 1965 version of TEN LITTLE INDIANS, based on Christie's And Then There Were None , starring Hugh O'Brian, Shirley Eaton and Fabian. These are all absolutely delightful murder mysteries, a must for fans of the genre.

Finally, there is the joyous news of the release of THE BUSBY BERKELEY COLLECTION , five happy features showcasing the innovative and dazzling choreography of the great Berkeley – 42 ND STREET (1932), with Warner Baxter, Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler; GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (1933) with Powell, Keeler and Ginger Rogers; FOOTLIGHT PARADE (1933) starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Powell and Keeler ; DAMES (1934) with Powell and Keeler; and GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 (1935) with Powell and Gloria Stuart. This set has hours and hours of musical entertainment for you, with some of the greatest production numbers ever created on a Hollywood soundstage. Just a few of the highlights include the title number from 42 nd STREET; “We're in the Money,” “Pettin' in the Park” and “Remember My Forgotten Man” from GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933; “Honeymoon Hotel,” “By a Waterfall,” and the utterly sensational Cagney number “Shanghai Lil” (look for a glimpse of John Garfield as an extra) from FOOTLIGHT PARADE; “I Only Have Eyes for You” from DAMES; and “Lullaby of Broadway” from GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935.

Add to this the crackling Warner Brothers style, saucy pre-Code comedy and eroticism, and Warners stock players like Guy Kibbee, Aline McMahon, Hugh Herbert, Sterling Holloway and Ned Sparks and you've got an irresistible collection of classic musicals. But that's not all, film fans. The set includes the brand-new THE BUSBY BERKELEY DISC , a kind of THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT compilation of the Best of Berkeley, including numbers from IN CALIENTE (1935) and GOLD DIGGERS OF 1937 (1937). And of course every disc in this collection is loaded with vintage Vitaphone shorts, cartoons and trailers. This is the kind of DVD release that has made Warner Home Video the best in the business, and has everyone wishing that the   other companies would follow their example for maximum audience gratification.

WHV releases of more recent movies include two of the year's best dramas – George Clooney's GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (2005) and Niki Caro's NORTH COUNTRY (2005). The National Board of Review voted the Clooney film the Best Film of the year (Charlie Rose presented the award to Clooney at our awards gala); it is an impeccably made, beautifully directed low-key recreation of the Murrow-McCarthy media/politics battle of the 1950s with David Straitharn perfect as Murrow. Clooney also acts in the picture, as producer Fred Friendly; as a director, he fulfills the potential of his first film, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND. He is truly an outstanding filmmaker, and GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK is a great film.

NORTH COUNTRY, directed by Niki Caro (WHALE RIDER) proves to be a revelation, with Oscar-nominated Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand in the true story of the first sexual harrassment class action suit (it was brought against a mining company in Minnesota). It's an extremely powerful motion picture that deserves to find a wide audience on DVD. The disc includes deleted scenes and a documentary.

PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO has a diverse range of current and new releases. Terrence Howard (the NBR's 2005 Breakthrough Actor) is sensational in HUSTLE & FLOW , the Craig Brewer film, co-produced by John Singleton, that won the Audience Award last year At Sundance. Howard and Brewer achieve the near impossible, creating a sympathetic pimp character; Howard brings enormous humanity to the role, and well deserved his Oscar nomination for Best Actor. (The highlight of the recent Oscars was the film's win for Best Song,“It's Hard for a Pimp”). Amy Vincent's cinematography is also noteworthy. The DVD includes commentary by writer-director Brewer, making-of documentaries and featurettes on the music, and footage of the Memphis premiere.

Billy Wilder's STALAG 17 (1953) gets the Special Edition treatment. It's one of Wilder's best, a comedy-drama set in a German POW camp during World War Two (and clearly the inspiration for HOGAN'S HEROES). The ensemble cast is headed by Oscar-winner William Holden as the cynical, essential Wilderian hero Sefton, with special mention to Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck as Animal and Stosh (recruited from the Broadway play), and Otto Preminger and Sig Ruman as the Kommandant and the German sergeant. The movie is endlessly compelling, a testament to Wilder's genius. This DVD comes with commentary from actors Richard Erdman (the head of the American POWs), Gil Stratton, Jr., (Sefton's stooge) and co-playwright Donald Bevan, plus new documentaries on the film's production, and the historical background of the German camps.

Paramount goes all out with THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: 50 TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION , a handsome packaging of both Cecil B. DeMille epics from 1956 and 1923. The '56 version is of course one of the most popular and beloved movies in history, with an all-star cast topped by Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Rameses, plus Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Debra Paget, John Derek, Yvonne DeCarlo, Vincent Price, Martha Scott, Judith Anderson,   John Carradine, and a literal cast of thousands. Several years in the making (DeMille actually filmed portions in Egypt and the Sinai), loaded with spectacle, color and pageantry, this is the ultimate DeMille picture, with some of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture. This set includes a six-part documentary, trailers from the film's various re-releases, fantastic footage from the New York premiere, and audio commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille's Epic The Ten Commandments . I'm delighted that Paramount has chosen to include the 1923 silent version, also with Ms. Orrison's commentary. DeMille tells a two-part story; the first section is the Biblical story, the second a contemporary morality tale. While many of his talkies, no matter how much audiences embraced them, were ridiculed by critics, DeMille was one of the best filmmakers of the silent era, and really knew how to tell a story with the camera – here's the proof, one of the great accomplishments of silent cinema. As an extra, we get the original hand-tinted color footage of the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea (the special effects secret to the latter? Two molds of Jell-O!).

Paramount brings out another epic in Peter Weir's 1981 Australian epic GALLIPOLI . Twenty-four-year-old Mel Gibson and Mark Lee (a fine actor who has worked almost exclusively in Australia) play two young innocents who patriotically enlist in World War One, only to become embroiled in the doomed Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey, the Crimean conflict that has gone down in history as one of the great slaughter fields. Weir's film is intelligent, compassionate and brutal at the same time, a key early work in a career that has included FEARLESS, THE TRUMAN SHOW, MOSQUITO COAST and DEAD POET'S SOCIETY. Likewise, this was an important film for Mel Gibson, coming after his exploitation debut in MAD MAX (1979) and proving he had real acting chops as well as movie star looks and charisma. This Special Collector's Edition DVD includes six making-of documentaries and the trailer.

Paramount has one of the best contemporary comedy catalogs, and two recent releases showcase two of their best. AIRPLANE! (1980) comes in a new special edition celebrating the Jim Abrahams/Zucker Brothers maiden voyage, spoofing Fifties aviation epics like THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (1954) and ZERO HOUR (1957), with terrific comedic turns from Leslie Nielson, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Barbara Billingsley, Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty. The filmmakers keep the low-brow gags and one-liners flying at a mile a minute. Maybe only one out of three work, but at the pace they're going it stills packs plenty of laughs. My personal favorite has always been the jive talk bits. AIRPLANE!: “DON'T CALL ME SHIRLEY!” EDITION includes audio commentary from the three directors and producer Jon Davison, as well as deleted scenes and a clever menu function that interrupts the action for interviews with cast and crew.

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986) has become a cult classic, Paramount has put together a terrific special “Bueller … Bueller …. Bueller …” edition. John Hughes made some wonderful pictures in his heyday (SIXTEEN CANDLES, PRETTY IN PINK, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES); I think this is his best, with a charming performance from Matthew Broderick as the high school super hero who plays hooky with girlfriend Mia Sara and best bud Alan Ruck. Their adventures in Chicago and in suburbia are exhilarating; this is one of the great feel good movies of all time. This edition includes a feature on Ben Stein, who discusses how his small part as a teacher in this movie changed his life, interviews with the cast from 1986, and a brand new documentary. Grab this one; it stands up under repeat viewings … as do the South Park episodes from Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Paramount Home Video just released SOUTH PARK: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON , positively one of the most fiendishly funny seasons. The fifteen episodes (with mini-commentaries from Parker and Stone) include such classics as “Krazy Kripples” (Jimmy and Timmy join the Crips gang), “South Park is Gay” (the boys become metrosexuals), “Christians Rock Hard” (Cartman starts a Christian rock band) and two of the all-time greatest SOUTH PARKs – “Fat Butt and Pancake Head” (Cartman brings Jennifer Lopez to life on his hand) and “Raisins” (a spoof of Hooter's). This is great stuff, and the show just gets better all the time.

SONY/MGM : Before there was ENTOURAGE,   there was ACTION . Joel Silver's 1999 TV series about the trials and tribukations of Hollywood producer Peter Dragon (Jay Mohr)   lasted for only 13 episodes on the F/X channel. Recently it's been part of Trio's Brilliant But Cancelled program, but now the complete series is available on DVD “uncut and unbleeped.” ACTION is absolutely hilarious, with completely despicable characters working their way through the Hollywood food chain. The late Buddy Hackett excels as Mohr's uncle/chauffeur, Illeana Douglas has one of her best roles as a prostitute-turned-producer, R. Lee Ermey is brilliant as macho director Titus Scroad, and terrific cameos are supplied by the likes of Sandra Bullock, Salma Hayek, and Keanu Reeves. The writing is irreverent and profane, without a redeeming character in sight, so it's not surprising the show didn't last, but for mean, cynical comedy deflating the Hollywood ethos, ACTION is must see TV.

Sony/MGM fills in the blanks on Marlon Brando's filmography. BURN! (1970) is Gillo Pontecorvo's follow-up to THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS, with Brando as Sir William Walker, an 1840s agitator sent to a Caribbean island to ignite a slave revolt. His plot goes deeper, an insidious colonial scheme hatched by British interests who want to take over the island's sugar trade, then return the blacks to slavery. Brando gives one of his better late performances, complex and intelligent, and there's a great Ennio Morricone score, but unfortunately this release is the dubbed American version, cut by 20 minutes. The restored Italian-language director's cut has been making the rounds of repertory houses, so hopefully the definitive DVD version won't be far behind. Sidney Lumet's THE FUGITIVE KIND (1959), based on a Tennessee William play, casts Brando as a guitar playing drifter who ambles into a small town and arouses the local women (Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward). Everything is very overwrought, the direction very stagey, and the movie is at times unintentionally funny, but it's worth a rental. A DRY WHITE SEASON (1976) is an excellent, seldom seen drama about apartheid in South Africa; Donald Sutherland and Susan Sarandon star, and Brando has a brief but very effective role as a lawyer.

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) is now available in a two-disc special edition; the Oscar winner for Best Picture is still remarkable effective, even with the over-extended flashbacks. Jon Voight became a star as hustler Joe Buck, Dustin Hoffman expanded the promise of THE GRADUATE with his portrayal of Ratso Rizzo, and their chemistry is riveting. The late John Schlesinger, a Londoner, brought a fresh eye to New York City, and his portrayal of late 60s Manhattan is real time capsule stuff. The set includes a new documentary and audio commentary by producer Jerome Hellman.

CRITERION : John Ford's sublime YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939) comes to DVD courtesy of Criterion, with Henry Fonda in the title role. This is Fordian Americana at its best,   young Abe gets his first law case, defending two brothers falsely accused of murder. The Fordian stock company are here of course, headed by Ward Bond, Francis Ford, and Russell Simpson. This is one of Ford's most subtle works, and he is at the peak of his career (in 1939-40 he had an astonishing run of films – YOUNG MR. LINCOLN, STAGECOACH, DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, THE LONG VOYAGE HOME, THE GRAPES OF WRATH). Criterion includes a profile of John Ford's early career and a talk show episode with Henry Fonda, both from the BBC; archival audio interviews with Ford and Fonda; a radio dramatization; and a booklet with essays by Geoffrey O'Brien and Sergei Eisenstein

UNIVERSAL : Among the joys of DVD are the supplemental extras that fans have come to expect. Leave it to Peter Jackson to take this to the ultimate degree, as Universal Studios Home Entertainment releases PETER JACKSON'S KING KONG PRODUCTION DIARIES , an elaborate and lavish package that documents the making of PJ's ape epic from September 2004 to April 2005, two discs packed with materials that originally was available online but is now beautifully rendered for DVD. The diaries cover all aspects of the filming and documents the filmmakers' grueling schedule, effectively revolutionizing the art of making-of documentaries, since we're with Peter Jackson and his cast and crew as the film is being made. The two-disc set includes beautiful artist's renderings from the film. I happened to love Jackson's KING KONG, and eagerly await its DVD release. The Oscars gave it three technical awards, and the NBR awarded the movie our prize for Best Special Effects (presented at our awards gala to Joe Letteri and Christian Rivers by KONG co-star Colin Hanks).

Some really great news from Universal Studios Home Entertainment – four new collections are on the way from the vintage Paramount catalogue, highlighting Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, Mae West and Cecil B. DeMille. More on these releases to come …

20 th CENTURY-FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT has three new titles in their outstanding Fox Film Noir series, all with exceptional audio commentaries by noir author/expert Eddie Muller. Otto Preminger's FALLEN ANGEL (1945) has been overshadowed by its direct predecessor, LAURA (1944), but it's a fantastic crime drama on its own with Preminger and Dana Andrews reunited, joined by Linda Darnell, Alice Faye (in an atypical role), Bruce Cabot and the wonderful Charles Bickford. Dana Andrews' daughter Susan joins Muller on the commentary. Joseph L. Mankiewicz's NO WAY OUT (1950) introduced Sidney Poitier to the screen with an explosive drama of racism; it's still disturbing, with a no-holds-barred performance by Richard Widmark as a virulent racist. Robert Wise's HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL (1951) blends elements of GASLIGHT and SUSPICION with a style reminiscent of Wise's mentor Val Lewton in a quite effective thriller starring Richard Basehart and Valentina Cortesa. Fox Film Noir has fast become one of the stellar classic film series on the market, and the company should be applauded for taking care with the transfers and the extras.

Fox's new series of “Marquee Musicals” looks like another winner. Walter Lang's WEEK-END IN HAVANA (1941) is a Technicolor extravaganza set on a Caribbean cruise with Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda at their best, supported by leading men John Payne and Cesar Romero, and comic relief Sheldon Leonard and Billy Gilbert. It's fascinating to see stock footage of Havana during its heyday as a vacation resort, and NBR member and Everson Film History Award winner Jeanine Basinger is on hand with audio commentary to put it all in context. Another Everson winner, Richard Schickel does the commentary on PIN-UP GIRL (1944), the quintessential World War Two Betty Grable   vehicle, backed up by Joe E. Brown, Martha Raye and Eugene Pallette. In the 30s and 40s, Darryl Zanuck's 20 th Century-Fox never had the stars or songs to rival MGM's musicals, but what they lacked in resources they made up in sheer energy, and these are lots of fun to watch. The third title in the series is the 1955 Fred Astaire musical DADDY LONG LEGS , in which the hoofer plays a millionaire mentoring Leslie Caron. Jean Negulesco's stylish film also features Terry Moore and Thelma Ritter; the audio commentary includes Fred Astaire's daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie. The Marquee Musicals all feature still galleries, trailers and collectible lobby cards and promise to five musical fans more Grable and Faye in future releases.

NO SHAME FILMS : One of the best things to happen on the home video market in 2005 was the debut of No Shame Films ( www.noshamefilms.com ),

a label dedicated to the American DVD releases of quality (and largely forgotten) Italian films, ranging from art-house fare to thrillers. Titles are digitally restored, packed with interviews, documentaries, photo galleries and collectible booklets, often in double-disc editions. I've written about No Shame's first dozen releases in this column; the company has proven to be quite prolific, so let's catch up:

PARTNER (1968): Bernardo Bertolucci was greatly influenced in his early films, so much so that he almost created an Italian New Wave by himself. In PARTNER he takes his Godardian vision to the max, adapting the Dostoevsky story “The Double” to show a young revolutionary's relationship to his doppelganger. It's a film you have to pay attention to, but definitely has its aesthetic rewards, and any film featuring the magnificent Stefania Sandrelli is enough to keep me awake. No Shame outdoes itself with extras: interviews with Bertolucci and the film's editor, screen tests with the lead actor, an entire second feature Eduardo Bruno's HIS DAY OF GLORY   (1969), rescued from obscurity and featuring interviews and archival materials.

LOVE AND ANGER (1969): This is a long lost (in this country, anyway) anthology film, with episodes directed by Bertolucci, Godard, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Carlo Lizzani and Marco Bellocchio. Bertolucci's short features The Living Theatre (Julian Beck and Judith Malina) in one of the few existing records of this landmark experimental theatre group. All the films are very avant-garde, but essential for Bertolucci and Godard completists, stunning evocations of the student revolutionary movement in late 60s Europe.

DEVIL IN THE FLESH (1986): Marco Bellocchio's controversial film about politics and passion documents an affair between an 18-year-old student and a beautiful but disturbed woman (sexy Marushka Detmers), who is engaged to a political radical awaiting trial. The real controversy stems from the inclusion of a hardcore fellatio scene (years before THE BROWN BUNNY); No Shame presents this title, like all its   releases, in uncut digitally remastered versions, with original documentaries and interviews.

A WHISPER IN THE DARK (1976): No Shame unearths one of the best horror films of the 70s, a haunting thriller set in a Venetian villa, with John Philip Law (DANGER DIABOLIK) and Nathalie Delon (former wife of Alain) as the parents of a gifted boy who has an imaginary friend who might not be so imaginary. Loosely based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw , this is a really atmospheric, stylish and elegant piece, directed by the completely forgotten Marcello Aliprandi, with an evocative score from Pino Donaggio (CARRIE). Extras include an interview with cinematographer Claudio Cirillo, best known for his work with Italian maestro Ettore Scola (WE ALL LOVED EACH OTHER SO MUCH).

YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY ( 1972): Director Sergio Martino helped create the Italian giallo (horror or thriller) with THE STRANGE CASE OF MRS. WARDH (also available from No Shame), and here's one of his best ... plus it has my favorite title. Gorgeous Martino favorite Edwige Fenech (also from MRS. WARDH) stars in this sexy, violent story of murder and madness, set in the Italian countryside. It seems as though every Italian film, regardless of genre, has an outstanding musical score, and this one is no exception, with great work by frequent Morricone orchestrator Bruno Nicolai. Interviews with Fenech, Martino and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi are included.

THE BIG ALLIGATOR RIVER (1979): No Shame is bringing the work of Sergio Martino to an American audience, and he emerges as a key Italian genre director. This entry is not one of his best, a part of the late 70s post-JAWS cycle that saw the witty ALLIGATOR and PIRANHA in this country. Here we have Barbara Bach and Mel Ferrer in Southeast Asia, involved with a jungle resort that is upsetting the natives … and their crocodile god (despite the title)! Martino wisely keeps his camera off the giant rubber croc.

B-movie Euro-hunk Luc Merenda stars in two gritty action movies, THE LAST ROUND (1976) and A MAN CALLED MAGNUM (1977). The Last Round is a reworking of the YOJIMBO/FISTFUL OF DOLLARS story, with Merenda as a boxer playing two criminal gangs off each other. No Shame includes a fantastic bonus on this disc, a CD of 70s Italian action movie themes performed by Entropia. A MAN CALLED MAGNUM is a slambang gangster flick set in the Neapolitan underworld, with an audio commentary by director Michele Massimo Tarantini, a   former cameraman for Sergio Leone. Tomas Milian has had a distinguished international career, from Visconti to spaghetti westerns to TRAFFIC, and he has one of his best vehicles in EMERGENCY SQUAD (1974) playing an Interpol agent avenging the murder of his wife by a cartel of bank robbers. No Shame's extras includes interviews with the always entertaining Milian, and the last interview with director Stelvio Massi.

Ursula Andress and Jack Palance star in the sex comedy THE SENSUOUS NURSE (1973), with biting social satire typical of Italian comedy. An aging count (Mario Pisu of Fellini's JULIET OF THE SPIRITS) has a heart attack; his “loving” family employs the hottest nurse they can find (Andress) to bring him closer to his reward. Like all of No Shame's release, this one is also uncut and uncensored, and includes an interview with director Nello Rossati.

The gem of this group of releases is SECRETS OF A CALL GIRL (1973). The title was coined for its American release; the original Italian title translates to something like ANNA, A PARTICULAR PLEASURE. The exquisite Edwige Fenech plays a young woman who falls in love with a flamboyant playboy who turns out to be a vicious gangster, and the story chronicles her efforts to get away from him. This is a great vehicle for the actress, and director Giuliano Carnimeo gives the movie a pace and dynamism that reminded me of early 30s Warners melodramas. Interviews with Fenech, Carnimeo and the writer Gastaldi are included.

HIGHTONE releases the indie FOUR DEAD BATTERIES (2004) through Warner/Elektra-Atlantic. Here's Gio Crisafulli with a review:

“There are a plethora of films which I'm sure have a similar synopsis: Four buddies whose love lives are in the midst of upheaval learn about life through their sexual encounters with women. However, I knew while watching FOUR DEAD BATTERIES at the Brooklyn Digifest that I was enjoying one of the finest comedies I'd seen in years. In an industry devoted to indulging a narrow, male, hyper-sexual, commercial demographic, this film is a mature, funny, entertaining, and well crafted, cinematic work.

Writer and director Hiram Martinez could have set us up for low-brow AMERICAN PIE-type humor. Instead, like David O. Russell's FLIRTING WITH DISASTER or Alfonso Cuarón's Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN which offer mature and adult considerations on what can sometimes be a crude sexuality, Martinez presents an entertaining movie focused on understanding behavior, and the particular nature of sexual relationships. In that way, it's a lot like Woody Allen's better work, or if you could imagine a high-brow version of Kevin Smith. The film is not without jokes of a raunchier variety, like when one of the buddies describes a female character's genitalia as having “kung-fu grip.” But generally speaking, I can't imagine Ashton Kutcher or Seann William Scott being on the level of this film's material.

Each of the main characters leads his own narrative thread while working within the framework of the buddy circle. It opens with Hennessy (Benjamin Travers) learning that his fiancé has broken up with him. He sort of exemplifies the paradox of many a good fellow. As a guy he wants to get laid. But instead of going for it when he has the chance with an attractive and willing neighbor (Maria Olivares), he obsesses over his breakup. And although there's nothing about his ex (LG Taylor) that is necessarily to die for, we can relate to him not wanting to let go. He may be the film's most sympathetic character.

Perhaps the most unsympathetic is Nick (Rob Webber), an English teacher cheating on his wife with the school principal. He and his wife Hannah (Annie Armstrong) have been together since high school, and he laments not having had memorable intercourse for six years. But his character doesn't seem to have been written simply as the one the audience is supposed to hate. And when Hannah confronts him about his infidelity it is a moment that is authentic. When he's then dumped by his mistress (Kendal Ridgeway) we see what some might consider his truly tragic, or perhaps pathetic, nature.

Harold (Dave Zubradt) is a happily married man until his wife decides she wants a baby.

“Judy's never met a kid she didn't want to give birth to” Harold explains of his wife, played by Dana Cuomo.

Though they are a sexually boring couple, to help the cause he reluctantly indulges her in a sexual fantasy she's thought up only to find that it's the best sex they've had, for him. She on the other hand finds it disgusting even though it was her idea.

Patrick (Patrick Dall'Occhio) is a womanizer who is perfectly content with what he has going.

“Though shall not commit adultery,” Harold tells Nick. To which Patrick asks, “Is that the fifth commandment?”

“Seventh.” Harold informs him. “Are there seven?”

When he explains to a girl he sleeps with why he's moving on from what for him was just sex, it briefly reminds me of the way Christian Bale's character in AMERICAN PSYCHO delivers running commentary to an unsuspecting victim sitting on his couch while behind him Bale prepares for the execution. In FOUR DEAD BATTERIES, Patrick wants nothing in his perfectly formulated sex life to change. So perhaps it's not too shocking that in this film he genuinely falls for a girl despite his worst intentions. And wow, is she a charmer. Her name is Shae, played by Alison Becker from MTV's BOILING POINTS. More than any of the film's other characters she knows what she wants and how to get it. When she's needy, she knows she's needy. When she could use sex to get her mind off someone else, she knows how to get it. But there is nothing about her that seems manipulative. She puts everything on the table. She's sincere, and warm. I wonder now if she's just an open and fully aware person, or an undercover player.

This movie is not about plot. It is more involved in the process through which each character lives its life, and faces its own inner demons and outer challenges. And it's funny. I must admit I was shocked to find that Martinez was only twenty-five years old. What I saw was a movie by a mature filmmaker, who does not try to emulate, manipulate, try too much, or act as if he's just letting the camera roll like many do with digital video. Rather, he allows a story to unfold through the behavior of its characters, letting the actor's shine, and the camera take on a charm of its own. He effectively creates a visual narrative of back story combined with current conflict for each character. And even though it stays focused on the guys, the women are real people with three dimensions who have their own lives and nuances, and are fleshed-out very well by the actresses.

                                      JOHN GALLAGHER

                                          jgmovie@aol.com