'Spider-Man 2' keeps the story swinging
It's been well established that the biggest part of what's enabled director Sam Raimi to hit the mark, again, with ''Spider-Man 2" (2004) is his fans' passion for his source material and its abundant angst. In fact, Raimi digs back as far as a mid-'60s story line for a key dramatic moment that finds Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) literally tossing his costume in the trash because of the havoc the superhero biz is wreaking on his personal life, particularly with star-crossed love Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst).
But another crucial element of Spider-Man's big-screen success is that the movies do things that the comics simply can't. Think about it: With Superman, it's a pretty straightforward leap between page and screen as far as visualizing what it looks like for him to take flight. But with Spider-Man, there's really no way of studying a static image of the character swinging down a city street and processing that as something even remotely resembling the breathless, barely controlled full-body fling presented by Raimi and company. They expand the web-slinger's repertoire only slightly in the sequel, but they've also included a villain, Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), who affords them a similar opportunity. Well played by Molina, ''Doc Ock" is fused with a set of menacing mechanical tentacles that, on-screen, truly do seem to have a life of their own. It's another case of Raimi not only doing the comics justice, but doing them one better.
Extras: Cast and crew commentary with Raimi and Maguire; numerous worthwhile production featurettes. (
''LUTHER" (2003)
For an actor who not only was tapped to play Shakespeare but did so memorably and in an Oscar winner for best picture to boot (''Shakespeare in Love," of course), Joseph Fiennes hasn't been nearly as visible as one might expect. Here, he's cast as history-making Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther, bringing a quiet intensity to the role that's more in line with the handful of films he's done since his not-quite-breakout. As put together by veteran television director Eric Till, the film does a respectable job of making a Cliffs Notes version of Luther's long-distance clashes with the Catholic Church -- but it also frequently feels like TV work despite Fiennes's efforts. (It's seemingly no accident that the film comes to life most in a courtroom-drama inquisition scene.) Peter Ustinov appears in his last film role as Frederich the Wise, the spirited buffer between Luther and Rome. (MGM, $25.98)
''EATING" (1990)
Indie director Henry Jaglom (''Going Shopping") delivers what's subtitled as ''A Very Serious Comedy About Women and Food" -- and this is, in fact, pretty much the entire film. Specifically, he trains his cinema verite camera on a group of Southern California women who've come together for a birthday celebration but who've been so beaten down by the culture of body image that enjoying the cake seems almost taboo. Not that this is a bevy of supermodels -- they're average women going through everyday struggles. Still, the Altmanesque flavor that Jaglom appears to want to give this dish mostly eludes him, as the majority of his cast's ''natural" conversations are distractingly self-conscious.
Extras: Commentary by Jaglom. (New Video, $26.95)
''PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H" (1979-86)
''Oz" it's not -- but this cult Australian import does hold minor curiosity value (read: a rental) for its head-scratching gimmick of setting a soap opera in a women's prison. This three-disc set collects episodes from throughout the TV show's run. Early segments are less edgy than they fancy themselves to be; an ostensibly sadistic prison guard nicknamed ''The Freak" (Maggie Kirkpatrick) plays like Nurse Ratched lite. But a riot story line from the series's wrap-up has its moments -- not to mention a gang of inmates who look (intentionally?) as if they stepped out of a Pat Benatar video.
Extras: Cast and crew interviews. (A&E, $49.95)
A stark glimpse of a troubled troubadour
''Elliott Smith -- Olympia, Washington" isn't your garden-variety pop-music DVD. There's no scintillating backstage footage, no revealing interview segments or arty quick-cut editing. Editing isn't really an issue when you're dealing with 40 minutes of videotape that's as raw and unvarnished as the subject himself. Smith, who died at the age of 34 last year, was a gifted songwriter and a troubled person, and both of those qualities are plain during this 12-song set, performed at the 1999 Yoyo Ago Go Festival in Washington. It's just Smith, his acoustic guitar, and a roomful of young, pierced devotees -- all of whom, including Smith, seem to be trying really hard to make it through the songs and their lives without falling apart. It's painful, poignant viewing, and I found myself spending much of it willing him to hit the high notes. The film's rare cinematic flourishes -- i.e. close-ups -- are of Smith's fingers, with the nails bitten to the quick; his face, which is fixed with a look that falls somewhere between sweetly smiling and about to cry; and faces in the crowd, which are clinging to every lovely lick and pained phrase. The set list, mostly taken from ''XO" and ''Figure 8," features some of his best songs (among them ''Son of Sam," ''Division Day," ''Easy Way Out," and ''Stupidity Tries"), and they're stripped to the bone. The film, which follows closely on the heels of Smith's posthumously released recording ''From a Basement on the Hill," won't answer any of the many questions that remain about his life and his death. But for Smith's fans, it's something to hang on to. (MVD, $16.95)
A curtain call for stage's golden age
Some starstruck fans of the Broadway stage tote around autograph books. Television producer Rick McKay took a video camera. Anyone with a passing interest in the history of American theater should be eternally grateful.
The subtitle of ''Broadway: The Golden Years" is ''By the Legends Who Were There," and, man, they aren't kidding. Ninety-one aging stalwarts of the stage were interviewed over five years, talking about the life of the working player from before World War II to the end of the 1960s.
The film takes off from the notion that for a charmed few decades, theater in New York was cheap, plentiful, creative, and joyous. Ben Gazzara talks of standing on a Times Square street corner in the early '50s and seeing ''The King and I," ''A Streetcar Named Desire," and ''Guys and Dolls" all playing within sight of one another. ''Broadway: The Golden Years" is packed with lovely details of a time when 25 cents would let you stand in the back of the theater.
This is first and foremost a fan's notes, however, with only the barest organizing framework and a lack of historical distance and context. In other words, it's the videotaped equivalent of a primary research data dump. But, to quote Bette Davis, what a dump. Late in the film, Kitty Carlisle Hart comments that the American theater ''is the only thing we invented except for jazz, and it's gone." What McKay does here is capture the last echoes before they fade completely away.
Extras: Director commentary; deleted scenes; alternate ending. (BMG, $19.98)
ALSO THIS WEEK
''BOBBY JONES: STROKE OF GENIUS" (2004)
Jim Caviezel (''The Passion of the Christ") takes on the 1920s and '30s golf star in a biopic that's less under par than sub-par.
Extras: Documentary on the real Jones; filmmaker commentary; production featurette. (
''MY FLESH AND BLOOD" (2003)
This documentary portrait of a California woman with 11 adopted special-needs kids will leave you amazed -- at her boldness, her generosity, her resilience, and the little things that make us think we've got it tough.
Extras: Filmmaker commentary; follow-up interviews. (Docurama, $26.95)
''LAST DANCE" (2002)
Author-illustrator Maurice Sendak reaches out to a different audience, collaborating with Pilobolus Dance Theatre on an ambitious, Holocaust-themed piece.
Extras: Filmmaker commentary; supplemental shorts. (Now available from First Run Features, $29.95)
FOREIGN
''HERO" (2004)
Jet Li finally gets mainstream attention for a role that's more than just shoehorned casting as a lone warrior of Chinese legend. Directed by Zhang Yimou (''Raise the Red Lantern").
Extras: Production featurettes; sit-down with Li and Quentin Tarantino. (Miramax, $29.99)
REISSUES
''COLOR OF A BRISK AND LEAPING DAY" (1996)
Christopher Munch (''Harry and Max"), working in black and white, directs a beautifully shot story about a young idealist (Peter Alexander) determined to save a Yosemite Valley short-line train. With Michael Stipe of R.E.M.
Extras: Filmmaker commentary; Yosemite railway featurette. (New Video, $26.95)
''IT'S ALL TRUE" (1993)
Orson Welles's career went south in more ways than one when he headed to Brazil post-''Citizen Kane" to make an ambitious film about local culture. His studio infamously pulled the plug; this documentary presents the footage that was shot, along with interviews piecing together Welles's undoing. (Paramount, $14.99)
''RACING WITH THE MOON" (1984)
Small-townies Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage look for some good times but also find some tough ones in their last days before shipping off for World War II.
Extras: Commentary by director Richard Benjamin; production featurettes. (Paramount, $14.99)
''THE FANTASTIC FILMS OF RAY HARRYHAUSEN: LEGENDARY SCIENCE FICTION" (2004)
It's special effects, old-school style in this collection of career highlights from the legendary stop-motion animator. Includes ''20 Million Miles to Earth," ''Earth vs. the Flying Saucers," ''It Came From Beneath the Sea," and more.
Extras: Production featurettes. (Sony, $57.95)
TELEVISION
''NORTHERN EXPOSURE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON" (1991)
Rob Morrow suits up for more quirky doctoring in the Great White North. Caveat emptor: Some have groused online that the collection is a thin one at a steep price (said to be a result of the series's complicated music rights).
Extras: ''Unexposed" footage; deleted scenes. (Universal, $59.98)
