Hey folks, Harry here with this week’s column. It’s a very fine week – with one of the finest releases of the year, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. This is a required purchase integral to your own happiness. As usual – the images and titles are linked to Amazon – where you can learn more on the title as well as purchase it, which will continue to support the column and be welcomed with my personal appreciation. And yes, shortly I’ll be releasing the top titles from last month. I found that interesting.
Tuesday, the 4th of May, in the year of our lord, 2010…
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (Blu Ray)
There’s a lot of you folks out there that have just been too cool for this movie. That cynically believe they’re above a romantic vision of life. There are other people still that suffer under an illusion of understanding love as a singular absolute – and not a way to see the world. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO isn’t just about Omar Sharif and Julie Christie. It is about a love for Russia, a love of life especially in the worst times. It is about loving the ugly of life, the strong in life as well as the weak. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO is LOVE. It is the filmed soul of a poet by perhaps Cinema’s greatest poet… David Lean.
If there is a film that the glory of Blu Ray can’t quite capture… it is DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. Now, I can tell you, the transfer is gorgeous, the sound, image. It’s all as good as can be compressed and shown out of a gorgeous 1080p projector onto a beautiful glass bead light enhancing screen can give ya. But DOCTOR ZHIVAGO takes another level of life altogether in a movie theater in 70mm. Seriously – there are very few things in life like Zhivago in 70mm. It is more mesmerizing than anything created in the duration of my lifetime. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO transports you utterly not only into Russia in it’s most transformative era, but into the very mind of a Poet created by one of the great novelists of all time. Let DOCTOR ZHIVAGO teach you how to see the world. You’ll live longer. You life will be richer and you’ll be better for it.
This is simply one of THE movies ever made. A film that makes modern epics like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN or TITANIC seem… ordinary. There’s a magic in this film that few things can touch. The score is the music I hear in my mind when I watch my wife being happy when she doesn’t know I’m looking at her. You know, those moments that make you cherish your life.
The film instantly ages and gives texture to your soul. You are a better person, after you’ve seen it. I mean that absolutely. And whomever you ever watch it with, you might fall in love.
It goes without really needing to be said, this is the release of the week.
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (Blu Ray)
Now personally, I prefer GUNS OF NAVARONE and THE BIG RED ONE to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, but this is a pretty great WWII movie. And that should absolutely not be considered an insult. But it kinda drives me nuts when people call this the best war film ever made. Hell, it ain’t even Spielberg’s best war movie. It is actually my 4th favorite Spielberg WWII flick. Officially, the way I rate my fave Spielberg WWII flicks is thusly:
4. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
3. SCHINDLER’S LIST
2. EMPIRE OF THE SUN
1. 1941
And I absolutely mean that. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and SCHINDLER’S LIST are technically superior films – but as a viewer… they’re exhausting movie experiences that just put you through the ringer. EMPIRE may be Spielberg’s 3rd most emotionally manipulative film of his career, but I very much love it. I don’t mind being manipulated by a filmmaker. It’s why I love Zhivago for Crissakes! And 1941?
To a 7 year old kid, this was seriously one of the greatest movies of all time. The same people that have a stick up their ass about KICK ASS, completely have killed the children that love 1941 – and I blissfully remain that blissful kid. And it is because I watch 1941 and I’m wholly transformed. My conscious self outside of the moment of watching it can dissect it – but sometimes the intellect is just wrong. Sometimes you must just feel movies and 1941 feels great.
But I’m sorry – we were talking about the Blu Ray of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, right?
Look. It is great. The framing scenes still drive me nuts. But D-Day. Christ. That is unleashed cinema at its most awesome. But remember…
1941 is where it is really at. Just sayin’
LEAP YEAR
Ok – fuck it. I’ll be totally honest. I totally crush on Amy Adams. She’s just my current version of the crush I had on Meg Ryan back in the late 80s early 90s. She’s just kinda adorable. And if you like that kind of Romantic Comedy where you’ve got a girl that’s horribly wrong-minded and that scoundrel of a good guy kinda movie where everything is painfully obvious and yet… you kinda just love it because it is obvious and cheesy and all kinds of annoying in a way – but that can be alright if it is kinda sweet. There’s a word on the cover that really does ring true to me. Delightful. This movie is delightful.
NINE
God. This sure is one beautiful looking movie with some amazing performances all wasted on absolutely the wrong material. NINE just doesn’t work, though it has so much that is working. This film is something to watch in the background. Look up during most of Daniel’s scenes, when Penelope and Marion are on screen. The rest… not so much. That’s kinda how the film hits me. A real shame.
TOOTH FAIRY
Wow. You know, NINE is a film you can respect. Then there’s something like this. I mean. How are we to ever look The Rock in the eye now? I mean. Look at what the white men have done to him? I mean. They’ve completely emasculated him. That’s a winged eunuch who was once one of the great badasses around. And sure, that’s the whole point of the “fun” that this movie is trying to bring to us, but it’s just sad that it is working. Not unlike when Arnold Schwarzenegger was preggers. These are films made by men that hate men. They destroy their masculinity more graphically than any scene in CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. These are the movies where even I… a man that has had two facials and has had a friend refer to me as being Metro. But when I look at something that I would just not allow to have happened to me. Dangling from wires playing the fucking Tooth Fairy? As Kevin Smith would say, That’s Clown Shoes! What the fuck, Dwayne?
NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS
Ya know. Andy Griffith was kinda the most awesome thing ever for a bit in time. Oh, I’m not crazy – but ya know – when you see this and realize where Gomer Pyle came from, and just how amazingly awesomely funny Andy Griffith was at doing it even better… Well, I kinda thought a bit about Vincent D’onofrio’s Private Pyle a bit too. This doesn’t get dark an ounce, that’s just how my brain works. Discover this movie, you’ll be real glad you did.
THE NOTEBOOK (Blu Ray)
Yes I know I’ll be labeled a teenage girl for liking this movie, but fuck it – you all know I have a hell of a sack of ovaries hanging off this body of mine – and I don’t mind saying I’ve watched this and just hugged a pillow, giant smile and tears pouring out of me. But ya know what. In comparison to ZHIVAGO – it just is what it is. A puppy kind of love. Yes, it is a powerful yearning aching love, but when ZHIVAGO is in the list… this comes after NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS.
NEVER SLEEP AGAIN: The Elm Street Legacy
While it seems apparent that I must be some sort of Krueger fan of the likes… well, like the Trek people that love STAR TREK V… I tell you this. We can agree and become friends again when you order and watch this. An absolutely comprehensive 4 hour documentary that showcases with love the entire original franchise. Seriously a must own for any Freddy fans.
IRON MAN: ARMORED ADVENTURES Complete Season 1
This release kinda annoys me. You see. They’ve released two volumes of these so far. The first volume even had a lovely Blu ray release. So here comes the complete season set – and they do just a standard def release with no option for High Def? WTF? Right?
ESCAPE FROM L.A.
I remember feeling this was a pretty dismal failure when I first saw it back in the young angry years at AICN. Now though… When I’ve seen remakes of films not unlike ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK – where they’ve recast from a modern crop of actors – and with modern whiz bang newness directors. That when I put in this Blu Ray last night – I remember feeling a bit like I felt when I put in the BATMAN & ROBIN blu ray – “This might hurt” - But ya know. I was slightly inebriated – and I won’t dismiss that condition and its contributing powers of persuasion, but I think I’ve kinda made peace with this movie. It is a fun little thing – the sad part? Kurt was just kind of phoning this in. As a very astute ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK fan put it to me earlier tonight… “They should’ve screened the original film to Kurt before shooting – just so he’d get the voice back. He doesn’t sound the same.” For me, the best Snake Plissken is in the third act of TOMBSTONE. But that’s another tale. I remember hating Peter Fonda – and yes the effects are ridiculously awfully silly… but shit, they’re surfing down the GREASE drag racing strip. It is insane. But I love me that Basketball game. I love Pam Grier. I like Steve Buscemi – and while Kurt isn’t channeling Snake for very much of this movie – and his hair is just a bit too good looking here… I don’t sense lethality from him. He ain’t Boba Fett here, but in the original ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK? That motherfucking Snake could out shoot not only Boba Fett, but Han Solo… who did out draw Greedo. Dammit. It happened. Whimper. It did. I swear!
TETRO
Ya know what. It is just a matter of time. Coppola is going to melt our brains. It will happen. He has the skill. These last two films of the great Wine master… have been exquisitely high brow and obscure to the regular viewer, but he’s developing a novelistic approach, a literary style to his filmwork. He’s got a very definite edge in place. He just hasn’t quite hit upon the material that resonates universally… not yet. But I do believe it will happen again. He was obsessed as a filmmaker with commercial success, doing the studio dance for a time and he kind of lost that ferocity he had as a filmmaker, but he’s found it again. He has a whole new quiver – he’s doing very interesting work right now. Check this out.
MATINEE
Jesus God. It is so weird to be nostalgic about a nineties movie. That was in turn a nostalgic piece looking back at essentially my father’s childhood. I love this movie. It feels like it is in the same universe as THE IRON GIANT to me. And any kid that loves THE IRON GIANT – will also love this movie and should see it. That said, I’d prefer to see it on Blu.
Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980s, Vol 1
”Trippendicular” is a word used on the back of the box. How can you not buy anything described with the word “Trippendicular” – that’s enough for me. I’m on board. But that you get a sampling of the 80s Saturday Morning Cartoon heyday of Ed Grimley, Mister T, Chuck Norris, Dirk of DRAGON’S LAIR, Thundar The Barbarian and his amazing light sword!, The last creation of Tex Avery. And yes – evil shit like FLINTSTONES KIDS which will you’re your brain. But over all. It is like a Saturday morning. Something that gave you an excuse to hook up the Atari for a 30 minute block here or there. It is all good. 2 DVDs of fun. Let’s hope we get more of these!
K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER
From the Academy Award winning director, Kathryn Bigelow comes K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER… which is apparently a masterpiece. Well. Does that mean I have to like it now? Cuz I fucking kinda hate the accents which drive me nuts. The story is interesting, but these cartoon accents are killing me. I just can’t really take this film seriously.
SWEET TEEN
Ya know – these types of movies just are straight to DVD now. But ya know I’ll kinda always prefer this era of the fetishistic Lolita stories. In the seventies, there were a lot of these films made. And every market in the world was telling them. Especially Italy. The best of the Italian Lolita films is Fernando DiLeo’s THE SEDUCTION – but this is pretty darn fun too. The obvious reason to watch the movie is the titillation provided by hot young Italian women from the seventies. A particularly fine model and region of lovely womanhood to admire and covet. These films are, of course, morally reprehensible and should never be seen by stuck up assholes. So if you’re a stuck up asshole, go away.
DIRTY DANCING: Limited Keepsake Edition (Blu Ray)
I don’t think I can believe that I’ve gotten yet again a completely new Blu Ray release… AGAIN… for DIRTY DANCING – which I believe I have now been sent 5 different releases of DIRTY DANCING. I’m still waiting for the WET T-SHIRT EDITION with Jennifer Grey’s nipples reproduced via silicone – in a sheer white shirt kept wet by packaged in gliceron. I’m joking, of course, but I would totally get that version – because let’s be honest guys. We wholly approve of this movie, because it’s all about that wet t-shirt scene where they practice lifts – right? You know every frame. It’s on MR SKIN… where that sort of thing is appreciated for what it is. TITalation. And yeah, she hardly has any… but damn. Still. HOT. There’s a rememberance for Patrick Swayze on here that’s pretty sad – but otherwise, I kinda hate the packaging and how inaccessible it is within the packaging. I’d recommend any number of the other releases. IF you love DIRTY DANCING, get one of the cheaper editions.
That’s it for the first week of May. Next week we’ll look at DARIA, LEGION, EDGE OF DARKNESS, TOY STORY 1 & 2 on Blu, DAYBREAKERS, KARATE KID 1 & 2 on Blu, HANG ‘EM HIGH Blu, Fritz Lang’s M blu, MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Blu, MAN IN THE IRON MASK Blu, NORTH FACE, THE EDGE Blu, ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL Blu, MARKED FOR DEATH Blu, Single releases for a bunch of the MEL BROOKS titles on Blu, LEGEND OF THE TSUNAMI WARRIOR, MALICE IN WONDERLAND, TIDAL WAVE, KUNG FU MAGOO and some others. See you next week!
