''THE LITTLE RASCALS'': The comprehensive eight-disc set includes 80 uncut shorts from the years 1929-38.
DVD Report
''THE LITTLE RASCALS'': The comprehensive eight-disc set includes 80 uncut shorts from the years 1929-38.
October 26, 2008
- |
New Releases | Tom Russo
The gang's all here, no offense intended
You almost wonder if octogenarian former child actor Dick Moore is kidding when he comments in "The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection" (1929-38) that he's never understood why the classic, kidcentric theatrical shorts have such an enduring appeal. But finally, Moore - or "Dickie," to fans - recalls the explanation offered by one bowler-hatted costar: "Stymie [said], 'We were doing things that the older people wish they had done, that the younger people want to do . . . and we got away with it. And there was no meanness in it.' " Or, put another way - Hey, gang, let's put on a show! There's plenty of that old spirit in this eight-disc set of 80 uncut shorts, easily the best, most comprehensive DVD release there's been of producer Hal Roach's original "Our Gang" comedies. Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and Darla get all the play on the packaging, but the set covers enough ground that there's a full helping of the ensembles that preceded them, and that epitomized Roach's initial, more naturalistic vision. Take the fire engine racing installment "Hi Neighbor," amusingly flouting whatever paltry child-safety guidelines Hollywood might have offered at the time. Ditto for "Dogs Is Dogs," in which Wheezer gets the last laugh when his wicked stepbrother tumbles down a well. "Try jumpin' a little bit," directs Samaritan pal Stymie, dangling an inches-long rescue rope. Oh, the rascal.
Extras: While episodes are presented in their original release order, the liner notes could have done with a full episode guide. A solid 30-minute retrospective offers insightful film historian background and fresh reminiscences from a handful of surviving cast members. Companion featurettes include a segment on racism in the series, with commentators rationalizing that for the various ways the material offended, the kids also lived in a rather idealized, color-blind world for the era. (
"JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH" (2008)
Jules Verne's adventure classic gets a 3-D update courtesy of Brendan Fraser and special effects wiz-turned-director Eric Brevig ("Pearl Harbor"). There's a great, vertiginous set piece on a floating rock bridge, and you'll appreciate a clever conceit that characters see Verne's text as a real-life guidebook. Still, the movie feels hemmed in, presumably by its budget - an enclosed sci-fi world that's sometimes about as vast as your average indoor water park, only not as busy.
Extras: Optional 2-D viewing; commentary by Fraser and Brevig; pop science featurette. (New Line, $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99)
"SOLD OUT: A THREEVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH" (2008)
With "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" hitting theaters this week, the fanboy filmmaker cranks out a tie-in disc documenting another of his extracurricular speaking engagements before the faithful. You've got to wade through a lot of raunch, but if you want to hear a geek's geek hold forth, here's a five-hour earful. The set list, so to speak, covers everything from why Lois Lane should have filed assault charges in "Superman Returns" to how certain thespian castmates just can't stop hatin' when it comes to his onscreen appearances. (Hard to tell whether he's joking about that last part.) (
"THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL" (2003)
It certainly says something about the juiciness of Philippa Gregory's historical novel, not to mention of the annals of English royalty, that the book has already received screen treatment twice - in both the Scarlett Johansson-Natalie Portman Hollywood-budget version, which you saw, and this more modest BBC TV adaptation, which you probably didn't. Here, Natascha McElhone ("Californication") is Mary Boleyn, pushed by her family's cold ambition into an affair with King Henry VIII (Jared Harris, "The Riches"), only to be supplanted by the manipulations of her sister, Anne (Jodhi May). The telefilm's writer-director, Philippa Lowthorpe, strives hard for relevance, having McElhone and May address the camera in recurring confessional bits, and employing everything from handheld cameras to a snippet of night vision for the story's visuals. But compared to the feature, Lowthorpe's version, while compelling, feels stagier and notably smaller. Watch this one for subtler touches such as May's ever-present sideways smirk rather than for epic historical sweep. (BBC Video, $19.98; available now)
Documentary DVD | Ty Burr
Seeking to survive sophomore year
The idea sounds criminally easy: Pick a random teenager, follow him around with a camera for a few weeks, and, presto, you have an instant essay on coming of age in America. It depends on the teenager, though, and, to a lesser degree, on the filmmaker. For her debut movie, director Jennifer Venditti was lucky to stumble across 15-year-old Billy Price, of Brunswick, Maine. The result is called "Billy the Kid," and it's genuinely haunting - a portrait of a boy who'd give anything to be average.
Billy himself gives us the skinny on his life so far in the film's opening moments. He's a sophomore, a karate purple belt, 5 feet 7 inches, 104 pounds. He's articulate, nervous, adorable, so why does he sit alone every day in the school cafeteria? Because, as some kids are, he's a bit much for the small town around him. To paraphrase Jim Morrison, Billy wants the world, and he wants it now. Relax and go slower, advises his mother, but who listens to their parents when they're 15?
Much of the film's action concerns Billy's wooing of Heather, a shy fellow student who waitresses at a diner on Main Street. Venditti's camera tags along as he works up the nerve to talk to her, to ask her to take a walk, to eventually ask if she'd be his girlfriend; the suspense is agonizing because many of us have been right there, saying (or trying to say) these exact same things.
As "Billy the Kid" unfolds, though, a darker aspect emerges, and Venditti isn't wholly equipped to handle it. What are we to make of the news that Billy has been taking books about serial killers out of the school library? An acceptably ghoulish adolescent fascination with the taboo? Or the sign of a deeper dysfunction?
Anyway, how much is the director exploiting her subject, and how much is he willing to be exploited? A more experienced filmmaker might not answer such questions but she'd at least confront them. On the other hand, "Billy the Kid" refreshingly reminds us what a big, fat lie most depictions of teenagers are in American movies and TV. Billy starts the film as a metaphor for every teenager who ever lived. By the final scenes he's both smaller and more heroic: a kid trying simply to be good at being himself.
Extras: director video and audio commentary, Venditti-directed short, trailer (Zeitgeist, $29.99)
Photography | Mark Feeney
Fame is the name of her game
"Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens" is, in effect, an infomercial. To be sure, it's an infomercial for a quality product. Leibovitz has long been the world's most celebrated celebrity photographer. But it's still an infomercial - for a family firm, as it were. The documentary, which aired on PBS's "American Masters" in January 2007, was written, photographed, and directed by Barbara Leibovitz, Annie's sister.
The documentary makes no real effort to separate Leibovitz's artistry (which is large) from her celebrity (which is vast). The closest thing to serious commentary comes when photography critic Vicki Goldberg remarks, "People do talk about . . . [Leibovitz's] story portraits. It's a story that's one sentence long. I really do think of them mostly as one-liners."
More representative is Hillary Rodham Clinton saying Leibovitz "has been a major chronicler of our country, what we care about, what we think about." Presumably, she was interviewed because Leibovitz has photographed her, though Clinton has nothing insightful to say about the experience (unlike Keith Richards and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who are among many, many famous talking heads in the documentary).
In addition to hearing from sitters and colleagues, the documentary shows Leibovitz shooting Kirsten Dunst in Versailles, George Clooney and Julia Roberts in New York, the Donald Trumps in Palm Beach, and so on. It's all quite glamorous and interesting, if also kind of empty. Minus the A-list names, and reverential tone, you might think you were watching something on E!
Extras: additional interview footage, trailer (Warner, $19.98)
ALSO THIS WEEK
"KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL" (2008)
Abigail Breslin is automatic casting as a Depression-era kid with a spunky sleuthing streak. Pleasant enough that you'll forgive the ironic juxtaposition of hard-times backdrop and feature-length plug for the budget-busting toy line.
Extras: DVD-ROM features. (New Line, $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99)
"TINKER BELL" (2008)
Finally, Tink speaks - for some, the most outrageous development of its kind since adults in the Peanuts' world quit wah-wah-wah-ing and actually spoke audibly in later specials. You'll come for the novelty, you'll stick around for the dependable storytelling from Disney's home entertainment division, which fills out Tinker Bell's back story as pixie-dusting herald of spring.
Extras: Kids' activities; production featurette. (Disney, $29.99; Blu-ray, $34.99)
"HELL RIDE" (2008)
Quentin Tarantino refuses to quit with the grindhouse stuff, putting his producer's stamp on this comeback vehicle (read: vanity project) from Larry Bishop. The '60s chopper genre vet writes, directs, and stars in - what else? - the story of a biker gang out for revenge.
Extras: Commentary by Bishop; production featurettes; cast member Michael Madsen's video diary. (
"ZOMBIE STRIPPERS" (2008)
The title says it all for this Halloween cash-in. It's camp trash, obviously, but maybe something to toast the season with if "Saw V" is sold out at the multiplex. With Robert "Freddy" Englund and Jenna "Been There, Done That" Jameson.
Extras: Unrated footage; cast and crew commentary. (
FOREIGN
"LADY CHATTERLEY" (2006)
French filmmaker Pascale Ferran's well-received peek at D.H. Lawrence sensuality is reissued in a 40-minutes-longer, more lingeringly voyeuristic version seen in Europe.
Extras: Interviews with Ferran and cast; individual scene commentary. (Kino, $39.95; available now)
"LUDWIG" (1973)
Luchino Visconti's sprawling drama recounts the life of 19th-century Bavaria's "Mad King" Ludwig II (Helmut Berger), from his unrequited love for his royal cousin (Romy Schneider) to his obsession with the music of Wagner (Trevor Howard) and his retreat into fantasy. Lavish but cold.
Extras: Visconti documentary; costume design spotlight. (Koch Lorber, $34.98; available now)
TELEVISION
"SANFORD AND SON": THE COMPLETE SERIES (1972-77)
"This is it, Elizabeth! This is the big one!" (Sony, $59.95)
"DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN": THE COMPLETE SERIES (1993-98)
Jane Seymour roughs it, elegantly, in this nicely packaged 42-disc set.
Extras: A pair of feature-length movies; four cast commentaries; set-exclusive featurettes. (A&E, $229.95)
Capsules are written by Tom Russo and titles are in stores Tuesday unless otherwise specified.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
