..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

The Best of 2005
	King Kong (Warner Home Video) DVDs are to movies as men are to apes. Most of the genetic material is the same, but the possibilities of intelligent design are greatly enhanced, significantly widening their potential. A movie does just one thing, and that becomes the starting point for a DVD, which can do so much more. The classic and eternally enjoyable 1933 sci-fi blockbuster has been given an outstanding black-and-white picture transfer. Somewhat under-appreciated because of the film’s basic age, the antiquity of the image actually adds to the movie’s aura. There is a commentary with special effects master Ray Harryhausen, whose career was inspired above all else by King Kong. On the second platter, a lengthy retrospective documentary goes over all that is known about the film’s gestation and execution, and beyond. Peter Jackson, taking time out from working on his current blockbuster-styled rendition of the same story, loaned out his special effects team to demonstrate how Kong was originally constructed, and, in an unprecedented expression of film fanaticism, restaged the movie’s legendary ‘spiders in the canyon’ sequence, attempting to make it look and feel as close as possible to what the original filmmakers had once intended. This isn’t just a movie on DVD, it is a profound resurrection of art that makes the potential of the format seem limitless.
	Sin City Recut · Extended · Unrated (Dimension Home Video) Director Robert Rodriguez is the Orson Welles of DVD supplements. Every project he has worked on is a masterpiece, because he doesn’t just break down the art of filmmaking, he demystifies it, actively encouraging those who are listening to imitate his endeavors. He even explains, viably, his own creative process, and offers tips on how to, well, think up new things yourself. The two-platter set presents the theatrical version of the wildly hedonistic action film on the first platter and an expanded version on the second platter that separates the shuffled anthology into three separate films (and an epilogue). Shot entirely in a studio using green screens, and based upon graphic novels that were conceived by co-director Frank Miller, the production format allowed Miller to apply his designs directly to the screen. Every shot is striking, especially when replicated through the pristine accuracy of the DVD. The audio delivery is just as pleasing. The numerous supplements are imaginative and entertaining, and are as intent upon sharing and teaching as they are upon telling the story of the film’s execution. (Honorable Mention: The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl—another filmmaking lesson from Rodriguez, and in 3-D, to boot.)
	Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) The 2005 wrap up to the science-fiction saga is a spectacular display of imaginative designs and dazzling action, absolute candy for an audio-video system in need of a high-energy rush. Additionally, the extensive DVD supplements do not simply report upon the film’s production, they utilize a record of its making to explore the filmmaking process itself. (Honorable Mention: Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds has a less creative supplement, but the film’s images are thrilling, and its audio mix is out of this world).
	Corporation (Zeitgeist Video) No genre has benefited more from DVDs than documentaries. The format enables such films to retain their initial artistic integrity and yet expand the education of their content to override every artistic compromise. A case in point is the excellent 2004 documentary by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, based upon the book by Joel Bakan, which explores, in an entertaining matter, a fundamental flaw in modern capitalism—that corporations are legally obligated to be evil, because they are required to place the interests of earning profits for their stockholders ahead of abiding by the other laws of the land or any other sort of moral consideration (unless such actions have too negative a public relations impact, thereby harming their profits). It is a stimulating film that opens your eyes to an alternative view of modern society, but that is just the foundation for the DVD. There are three commentary tracks, including separate and insightful talks by Achbar & Abbott and Bakan, which delve deeper into the topic while also explaining the dynamics of the film itself, and there are over 5 hours of deleted scenes and interviews that explore the film’s primary themes from every angle. (Honorable Mentions: Hoop Dreams, Born into Brothels, Five Films About Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Control Room, Inside Deep Throat, Gunner Palace, Burden of Dreams, Project Grizzly, F for Fake, and so on.)
	The Wizard of Oz Three-Disc Collector’s Edition (Warner) Warner released a perfectly decent collector’s edition of the 1939 classic a few years ago, but the updated release has a significantly improved picture transfer and more special features than the road in the movie has yellow bricks, including what appears to be the entire music recording sessions for the film, a history of author L Frank Baum, presentations of the silent film adaptations of his works, and extensive documentaries about the film’s creation and its lasting impact upon the world’s psyche. (Honorable Mentions: Ben-Hur, The Band Wagon)
	L’Eclisse (Criterion Collection) A majority of films being released on DVD today are letterboxed with an aspect ratio of about 1.85:1, filling the screen of a 16:9 monitor, but few films take possession of that screen the way Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1962 feature does. The meticulously composed black-and-white images are spotlessly transferred, allowing the poetic mysteries of Antonioni’s modernistic romance to hold you spellbound, frame after frame. The accompanying commentary is equally astute, offering interpretations of what Antonioni was trying to accomplish without spoiling the film’s inherent secrets or limiting its potential. Other supplements offer an even more comprehensive breakdown of a key sequence within the film, and explore Antonioni’s career in greater detail. (Honorable Mentions: Jules and Jim, Divorce Italian Style, The Wages of Fear, The Tales of Hoffman and practically every other title Criterion has put out.)
	Titanic Special Collector’s Edition (Paramount) The extensive three-platter set presents the 1997 Oscar-winning blockbuster with an upgraded picture and sound transfer, while the supplementary features thoroughly convey the industry that was required to construct the monumental production, and use the film to tell the real story of the Titanic disaster in a unique and engaging manner. Most importantly, however, is the involvement of director James Cameron on one of the commentary tracks and in the other special features, because the DVD adeptly captures the passion behind his commitment to the film, thus explaining not only how the movie was made, but the emotional engine that rammed its creation past every obstacle.
	The Shield Season 3 (Fox) The best program on television, perhaps ever. The LA cop show has a remarkable moral density, a compelling array of characters, and an amazing narrative structure that allows every episode to stand individually even as each contributes to the gripping season-long and series-long plot arcs. The DVD, which also has a great sound mix, provides revelatory deleted scenes for every episode, outstanding commentaries for many of the episodes, and superb production documentaries. (Honorable Mentions: 24 Season Four, The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season—both enormously entertaining programs are accompanied by extensive and highly satisfying special features).
	Donnie Darko The Director’s Cut (Fox) A rarity, the DVD release does not replace or undercut the original DVD version of the disturbing 2001 suburban fantasy for adolescent assassins. Instead, it supplements it. The presentation alters scenes and adds a good 20 minutes footage, fleshing out characters and delving more deeply into the movie’s mysteries. Some of the new material is so complex, it invites frame-by-frame investigation. To further explore and explain the cult hit, the director, Richard Kelly, is joined on a commentary by one of the movie’s fans and an established director himself, Kevin Smith. Smith has an instinct for doing entertaining commentaries and coaxes everything there is to be coaxed from Kelly about the movie’s meanings and his experiences while making it. A second platter offers up even more background materials and details about what the movie is up to and how it was staged. (Honorable mention: Jay & Silent Bob Do Degrassi The Next Generation)
	Wonderfalls The Complete Series (Fox) Not only have DVDs provided successful television programs with a new mode of distribution and revenue stream, the format has also allowed failed TV shows to be rescued and connected with eager fan bases. Some shows are just too good for the mass-market tastes of broadcast television, and so they are cancelled not because of artistic shortcomings, but because of rarified artistic abundance, and that was the fatality that befell the very amusing 2004 spoof of the ‘fulfilled prediction’ genre. Caroline Dhavernas portrays a clerk in a Niagara Falls gift shop, compelled, when the various knick-knacks in the shop start speaking to her, to interpret their often inscrutable statements and help other characters avoid potential troubles. Not only is the series often laugh-aloud funny, but the thirteen episodes (only four were ever broadcast) form a complete, resolute and highly satisfying romantic comedy narrative. Additionally, the special features share the quixotic story of the show’s creation and struggle to succeed. (Honorable Mention: American Gothic The Complete Series is a more ambitious and thematically rich work than Wonderfalls, but production shortcomings leave the program somewhat uneven in quality, and the DVD has fewer special features).

December 30, 2005

DVD Roundup: This Week's DVD Releases
The Review Vault

- by Douglas Pratt

Douglas Pratt's DVD-Laser Disc Newsletter is published monthly.
For a free sample, call (516)594-9304 or go to his website at www.DVDLaser.com