DVD Spin Doctor

New DVDs: 'Standard Operating Procedure'

Errol Morris' "Standard Operating Procedure" is one of those few films whose emotional pull is considerably strengthened by its presentation on home video.

Documentary detective Morris used his patented device of mixing real interviews and re-enactments to investigate the nightmarish photos taken at Abu Ghraib. Morris calls it "a non-fiction horror movie" about the 2003 abuses at the U.S. prison in Iraq -- not much of a stretch.

Once Morris' unsettling film is over, reality takes center stage. In a Q&A session at the Berlin Film Festival, the director gives an impassioned defense of his work and methods.

Under fire from a few audience members, a visibly upset Morris says his controversial re-enactments "are in service of the truth. I don't believe that pursuit ... has to obey certain documentary rules." Morris spends the better part of a half hour back on his heels, churning up real-life drama that would fit right into his films.

When pressed about his documentary's focus on the story from the perspective of the young U.S. prison guards who'd been convicted of abusing prisoners, Morris says, "This was a story about those soldiers who took the blame. ... I confined myself to this story. Of course, there are others ..."

In doing so, Morris opened himself to criticism from those who saw the soldiers as villains, not the clueless kids that the documentary suggests. (The young woman who posed next to a murdered prisoner while giving a thumbs-up signal explains that she always smiles for the camera.)

Plenty of evidence for either viewpoint can be found in the hours of extended interviews and deleted scenes found in the Blu-ray extras. Much of this bonus material is as fascinating and chilling as the content in the documentary. Certainly a lot of it is better than the lengthy summations that Morris allows to drone on at the end of his film.

Sony has released the Abu Ghraib documentary on DVD and Blu-ray. This review refers to the "Standard Operating Procedure" Blu-ray, which has all of the bonus content cited.

In high-definition, Morris' artful images look sensational -- alternately beautiful and horrifying. Colors are rich (the blood imagery frequently tests your stomach) and the in-focus detail is super-sharp. The TrueHD audio is reference quality, among the best I've heard on Blu-ray so far. 

The exceptional quality of audio and video make this hell ride through Abu Ghraib an immersive experience, one not to be entered into lightly.

The soft-spoken Morris does a solo commentary that's largely observational, but still worthwhile. (Catch the Q&A first.) Also included in the extras is a Berlin panel session that opens with the question, Can a photograph change the world?

* * * * *

A fiction horror movie, "The Strangers " plays on the adult nightmare of home invasion. Like the recent European suspense film "Them," it focuses on a thirtysomething couple's fight against mysterious sadists whose intent seems to be to drive their victims mad before the physical violence even begins.

Liv Tyler stars with Scott Speedman. The movie was written by Bryan Bertino, a first-timer out of Texas. It plays at times like "Straw Dogs," with extra gore and Halloween masks. Bertino calls it a "terror movie."

"The Strangers" does its dirty business matter of factly, with few of the idiot-plot devices that propel lesser horror films. The movie does a good job of transporting viewers into the place of the terrorized couple: The questions of What would you do? -- and Would you do better? -- always hanging there.

The low-budget "The Strangers" won't go down as a horror classic, but it does its business with an efficiency and intelligence that should satisfy adults looking for a good scare -- especially those who consider themselves too evolved for torture porn such as "Saw" and "Hostel."

The Universal DVD comes with the theatrical and unrated versions. The "unrated" scenes add up to a couple of minutes, no big deal. The making-of docu has a few good things -- such as Tyler running around the set to get into terror mode before the cameras roll --- but it's mostly routine stuff. There are a couple of extra scenes. 

If the movie leaves you good and creeped out, consider bypassing the extras and just letting the film fade to black.

New and notable DVDs:

• Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection (MGM)
• Chaplin (Lionsgate)
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, season 8 (Paramount)
• Holiday Inn (Universal)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Lucasfilm/Paramount)
• The Sarah Silverman Program, season 2, Vol. 1 (Paramount)
• Short Cuts (The Criterion Collection)
• Standard Operating Procedure (Sony)
• The Strangers (Universal)

Complete list of of releases from last Tuesday on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org

New DVDs: 'Iron Man' solid on Blu-ray

Just when movie-goers finally seemed burned out on superhero movies, last summer saw the one-two punch of "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight," the later arguably the best of the superhero movie genre.

"Iron Man" came out first, pleasantly surprising critics and fan-boy skeptics. The Marvel Entertainment movie is indeed smart, exciting and perversely fun, even though its third act plays out no better than, say, "Transformers." If you blew it off in theaters, make things right on DVD. Or even better, on the "Iron Man" Blu-ray.

Let's begin with some pop-culture history: Back in the mid-'60s, "Iron Man" was Marvel Comics' black-sheep title, chronicling the adventures of an Establishment multimillionaire who performed his heroic deeds from inside a tin can-looking contraption.

The irony was, most of Marvel's superheroes were brooding, conflicted youngsters such as the amazing Spider-Man. The web-head made 150-point headlines as he battled the bad guys, but as Peter Parker he suffered money problems, self-doubts and the myriad indignities of youth. The Iron Man seemed a better fit for DC Comics, home of clean-cut flag-wavers like Superman and that square rich guy Batman.

Iron Man was "the stepchild in the Marvel universe," as one current Iron Man writer puts it.

Marvel chieftain Stan Lee says on the "Iron Man" DVD that he thought it would be fun to mess with the minds of his increasingly anti-establishment readers. He created Tony Stark, a playboy arms manufacturer whose fortunes flowed directly from the hated military industrial complex.

Lee has said over the years that he regretted having a superhero deal death to the Vietnamese, but on the new "Iron Man" DVD, he's cackling away over that anti anti-establishment move.

Of course, Iron Man's looking hip as they come these days, with plenty of Muslim terrorists to blow up and cool-cat Robert Downey Jr. bringing Stark to life.

Paramount Home Entertainment has released "Iron Man" in spit-shined DVD and Blu-ray editions. All those high-tech weapons and toys look sharp and colorful, especially on the high-def disc. The movie unspools at widescreen 2.39:1, as in cinemas.

"Iron Man" sounds even better than it looks: The hyperactive audio comes in Dolby TrueHD (Blu-ray) and Dolby Digital 5.1 (DVD). Check out the chaos in the opening scene, as bullets from that mad minute in Afghanistan ricochet off the Hummer and slam into every corner of your living room.

The "Iron Man" extras are spread over two discs. Most of the good stuff is on the first.

"The Invincible Iron Man" tracks the millionaire-in-a-can from his 1963 creation through his big-screen debut, with the Marvel crew weighing in on all aspects of the character.

Lee says, "Of all the comic books we published at Marvel we got far more mail for Iron Man from women than any other title. I think a girl would want to mother him. There was something that rouses the female instinct" (with his heart problems). That probably explains the foursome Stark/Downey effortlessly sets up with some beauties at a party (a deleted scene).

One young writer points out that the details of Stark's sophisticated big-money lifestyle come from no experience whatsoever. Comic book writers aren't invited to celeb-riddled parties, he says, glumly.

"Tony Stark is a very difficult character to write because he's a lot smarter than any writer who's going to tackle him," story man Joe Casey points out.

The 48-minute docu covers the influence of graphic novels on the comic series, along with edgy story arcs such as "Extremis" and "Execute Program." "He's a character that can be molded for each generation, unlike most comic superheroes," an "Iron Man" worker points out.

The deleted/extra scenes are uniformly worthwhile, certainly strong candidates for inclusion in any director's cut. They include Stark losing $3 million at roulette; more-explicit hotness with the jet flight attendants; the swinging party scene; and some interesting looks at partially completed ILM fight scenes with the dueling iron men.

Disc 2 has some Downey screen tests (great, but ... this was necessary?) and a lengthy "Iron Man" making-of featurette that's surprisingly leaden. Director Jon Favreau seems tired and distracted throughout.

Also circling the DVD blog's players are "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," the thoroughly enjoyable busted-romance movie that acts all cool but is stickey-gooey old-fashioned in its heart; the animated "Click & Clack: As the Wrench Turns" from those "Car Talk" guys; and another Blu-ray-in-space disc, "When We Left Earth -- The NASA Missions."

New and Notable DVDs:

Adam 12, season 2 (Shout! Factory)
Banacek (Arts Alliance America)
Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series (Paramount)
The Best of Mr. Bean, Vol. 2 (A&E Home Video)
Billionaire Boy's Club (A&E Home Video)
Buried Alive (Sony)
Can't Hardly Wait (Sony*)
Click & Clack: As the Wrench Turns (Paramount)
Edward the King (Acorn Media)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal*)
Iron Man (Paramount*)
My Name Is Earl, season 3 (Fox)
My Three Sons, season 1, Vol. 1 (Paramount)
Sports Night: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
Trial & Retribution (Lynda La Plante, Acorn Media)
When We Left Earth -- The NASA Missions (Image*)

* = Blu-ray available

Complete list of this week's releases on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org

New DVDs: 'Young@Heart' rocks steady

"Young@Heart" seems like a one-tricky pony: A bunch of upbeat geezers do versions of rock songs in a choral setting. Wheel chairs, walkers and breathing machines help keep the stage show rockin'.

Anyone with an interest in pop culture already knows the high-concept at work here, but that shouldn't stop music lovers of any age from checking out this fine Channel 4 documentary on the New Hampshire seniors.

Here's how "Young@Heart" opens. We hear the stop-and-go power chords of the Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go." On the downbeat, a walker bangs the stage floor. A little old lady opens wide and screams, acting out the punk classic as if it were an English music hall ditty. The crowd goes wild.

Stephen Walker's docu tracks the Youngsters as they work up a new show ("Alive and Well") and debut it before a local audience. Some things go well; many do not.

The rock-chorus formula is tricky to execute, since the average age of these guys is 80. So when musical director Bob Cilman brings in Sonic Youth's "Schizophrenia," he knows no one has heard the (hometown) band, much less the song. Months of frustrating work lie ahead. Same with songs by Talking Heads, Jimi Hendrix, the Police and the Stones. Anyone up for "I Wanna Be Sedated"?

The movie hits its emotional peak as Fred Nittle takes a seat onstage and sings Coldplay's "Fix You." He's a big man with a bad heart who breathes with the help of an oxygen device. His assured performance is a tribute to two members who died the week before -- one was to sing the song with Nittle. Like many of the songs, the lyrics take on profound new meanings when performed by those knocking on heaven's door.

Powerful stuff. Likewise when the mourning chorus sings Dylan's "Forever Young" in front of a group of prisoners who no doubt miss their grannies. Hankies all around.

Fox Home Entertainment has released "Young@Heart" on a single DVD. It includes a dozen or so extra scenes and music videos, as well as a short film about the group's trip to L.A. for a show at the Wiltern.

The DVD extras don't tell the Young @ Heart history, unfortunately, so you have to piece it together during the movie. The group was founded in 1982 by resident of an elderly-housing project. The original acts had some female impersonations and a bit of a strip tease. The rock repertoire came much later.

To get in, you have to be 70 years old. Some are beginners, others have professional chops.

You don't learn much on the DVD about chorus master Cilman, except that he's a bit of a dick with a heart of gold. (Cilman's executive director of the local arts council as well.) The singers seem to fear him a bit, since he can and will drop their songs if they don't perform up to the chorus' standards. "He eats nails," one Youngster says with a weak smile.

The Fox DVD of "Young@Heart" looks and sounds OK (based on a bare-bones review copy). Turn it up for the music videos of "Road to Nowhere" and "Stayin' Alive"/"I Will Survive."

Also circling the DVD blog's players this week are the Criterion Collection's trio of Max Ophuls films: "The Earrings of Madame de ...," "La ronde" and "Le plaisir."

New and notable:

An American in Paris (Warner)
Beetlejuice (Warner*)
Busby Berkeley Collection, Vol. 2 (Warner)
Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 5 (Fox)
Chuck: First Season (Warner)
Cybill (TV, First Look Studios)
Dirty Sexy Money (Disney)
Duckman, seasons 1, 2 (Paramount)
The Earrings of Madame de ... (The Criterion Collection)
La ronde (Criterion)
Le plaisir (Criterion)
88 Minutes (Sony*)
Gigi (Warner)
I-See-You.Com (Warner)
Kabluey (Sony)
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (Rhino)
The Love Guru (Sony*)
Made of Honor (Sony)
101 Dalmatians (live action, Disney)
101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (Disney)
Private Practice, season 1 (Disney)
Pushing Daisies, season 1 (Warner*)
Risky Business (Warner*)
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, season 3 (Time Life)
Star Trek: Alternate Realities Collective (Paramount)
Tortured (Sony)
Young@Heart (Fox)

*=Blu-ray available

Roundup of today's releases on my friend Harley's onvideo.org

New DVDs: 'The Big Lebowski'

"The Big Lebowski" introduced us to the Dude in 1998. Today, the Dude abides, thrives -- and provides an anti-role model for several generations of slackers and potheads.

The Coen Brothers' black comedy, the follow-up to Oscar winner "Fargo," disappointed critics and Hollywood bean counters upon release, but these days its righteous rep seems to grow exponentially. Certainly "The Big Lebowski" is a lot more fun to revisit than grumpy old "Fargo."

The hyperintellectual stoner noir bowling comedy (as the New York Times called it) is one of those near-perfect films in which every other line is a great quote, with myriad applications when the going gets weird.

"It's just flat out one of my favorite movies," says Jeff Bridges, an actor not known for slinging heffer dust. Bridges, of course, starred as aging pothead Jeff Lewbowski I (aka the Dude), a character based on a pal of the Coen's.

"The Dude is considered a Zen master," Bridges says with some amazement, quoting a conversation with an advanced Buddhist.

Since 2002, fans have flocked to Lebowski Fest, a cross between Burning Man and a woozy Saturday night bowling league. Fans dress in character, "Rocky Horror" style. In November, the fest rolls into New York; San Francisco hosted earlier this month. That makes four Lebowski Fests this year. A natural zesty enterprise, indeed.

Universal, which released a string of Dude DVDs, makes much-needed upgrades to the bonus features in "The Big Lebowski: 10th Anniversary Edition," a double-disc edition. Serious achievers (fans) can celebrate the movie's return with a "Lebowski" limited edition that comes in a faux bowling ball. The audio and video remain the same as the 2005 edition. An HD DVD also exists.

The latest DVD promises "all new" extras, which is semi-true but close enough for all but the pickiest achiever.

Disc 1 has two cool new interview-heavy pieces -- "The Dude's Life" and "The Dude Abides," which covers the characters and the film's legacy. Rolling out in new interviews are Bridges, the Coens, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro and Julianne Moore, all of whom regard the film and its production with obvious affection.

"I get all kinds of weird sex mail from men and women," confides Turturro, who plays Jesus, a purple-jumpsuit- wearing guy known for French kissing bowling balls. He's fired up for the "second coming of Jesus" if there's ever a sequel.

Disc 2 brings the marvelous "The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever's Story," in which docu maker Eddie Chung attends several years' worth of gatherings. "Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of the Dude" goes over the Busby Berkeley-like fantasy piece that so delights the stoner constituency. A point-and-click map lets you revisit some of the film's L.A. locations, such as the famed Johnie's diner (that I used to live behind).

One of the best special features has accomplished photographer Bridges walking us through the photo-album book he printed up for the cast and crew. (Bridges' wide-wide-angle photos have spiced up several other DVDs.) With his reading glasses pushed down low and his downhome storytelling chops, the viewer feels treated to a one-on-one visit with the Dude's dad.

Repeats from discs past are the odd and funny intro from Forever Young films, the decade-old making-of documentary -- looking two decades old -- production notes and some more photos.

Also circling the DVD blog's players this week is "Gulliver's Travels," the very fine TV movie of 1996 produced by Britain's Channel 4. Ted Danson stars. Terrific effects and cinematography marked this fantasy, which aired on NBC as one of the last splashy telefilm events.

New and notable:
Baby Mama (Universal)
The Big Bang Theory (Warner)
The Big Lebowski (Universal)
Brian Regan: The Epitome of Hyberbole (Paramount)
Child's Play: Chucky's 20th Birthday Edition (MGM)
Cool Hand Luke (Warner)
CSI Miami, season 6 (Paramount)
The Fall (Sony)
Fist of Legend (The Weinstein Co./Genius Products)
Fox Horror Classics, Vol. 3 -- Chandu the Magician, Dr. Renault's Secret, Dragonwyck
Grey's Anatomy, season 4 (Disney)
Gulliver's Travels (RHI Entertainment/Genius)
I Want Candy (Magnolia Home Entertainment)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season 3 (Fox)
Medium, season 4 (Paramount)
Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work (Koch Vision)
Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre (Koch)
Smallville, season 7 (Warner)
Ugly Betty, season 2 (Disney)

Check out a list of all this week's releases on my friend Harley's onvideo.org

New DVDs: 'Honey West' back in action

"Honey West" sure looks good after 30-some years.

The private eye series, starring Anne Francis, ran only one season on ABC, but left its beauty mark on "Charlie's Angels," "Alias" and a bevy of other action shows with female leads.

In 1965, the idea of a smart sexy woman using martial arts to kick men's asses was something new. She even beat fellow jui-jitsu expert Pussy Galore to the punch by a few months. (Honor Blackman of "Goldfinger" fame apparently was offered the "Honey West" role, but decided to spar with 007 instead.)

Honey was the farthest thing from the housewives, loyal girlfriends and wise grannies that populated TV in those days. She drove a powerful Cobra convertible, owned an exotic ocelot and did a lot of her kung fu fighting in a tight black cat suit. When off duty, she favored animal prints, torpedo bras and USC-tight sweaters.

"A girl should stay around the house, don't you think?" a goon once sneered at West.

"Wouldn't that be a bit dull for you boys?" the private eye snaps back, with an icy smile.

VCI Entertainment has released "Honey West: The Complete Series" as a four-disc set. The full-screen images are outstanding, with almost no signs of wear or age. "Honey West" employed film noir lighting here and there, and those scenes look terrific, all contrasty and dramatic. The rest plays out over a relaxed gray scale. The unusually active and clever music sounds plenty cool, especially the "Pink Pather"-inspired theme by (Joseph) Mullendorel.

The "Honey West" setup had our girl taking over a detective agency from her dead father. Her partner was Sam (John Ericson), a studly wisecracker equally good with dames and his fists. Honey and Sam were black belts with a shared affection for surveillance devices and small explosives. Honey whispered into her makeup compact; Sam listed through his sunglasses.

Actress Francis ("Forbidden Planet," "The Satan Bug") was in her mid-30s when she played the role. Sex was a big part of the act, with Honey strategically changing clothes in front of the cameras and going undercover in various skimpy outfits. Honey was known for her pet ocelot, Bruce, but she'll forever remain a fantasy cougar in the minds of male Boomers. Glenn Gordon Caron of "Moonlighting" fame no doubt was one of them.

The delightful banter between Honey and Sam feels a lot like the Maddie and David interplay from "Moonlighting," another show about a middle-aged hottie running a detective agency. (Come to think of it, the way Honey says "Sam" sounds an awful lot like the way Sam says "Darren" on "Bewitched.")

"Honey West" plays beautifully today partly because its half-hour format zips right along. The episodes seem to start a third of the way into the story, a la the 007 movie openings. No problem: The supporting characters never need much introduction -- usually there's a rich guy who's either a patsy or a villain, a bunch of hoods, a grumpy police detective and an innocent or two.

Producer Aaron Spelling spun the series off from his "Burke's Law" after seeing "The Avengers" on British TV. Honey West actually was a pulp fiction creation, dating back to 1957. A few years after "Honey West," Spelling found his first big hit with "The Mod Squad," featuring cool undercover cop Peggy Lipton. He then, of course, rounded up "Charlie's Angels."

Vintage TV ads are the main extras on the "Honey West" set. Some bring back distant memories (flash cubes), others deliver the usual retro ironies. A Sucrets ad promises smokers they can light up despite those nasty sore throats. "Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch," the folks with black eyes declare. Maybe they crossed paths with Honey.

There are some fun publicity photos, but that's it for the special features. Anne Francis has been quite ill with cancer, so it looks like this mystery show will remain a bit of a mystery.

Also circling the DVD blog's players this week are the new trio of "film noir" releases from Fox, a handful of titles from the offbeat French filmmaker Chris Marker ("San soleil"), and the workplace comedy "The Promotion" with Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly.

New and notable:

Batman Double Feature (Warner)
Boomerang! (Fox Noir Classic)
Road House (Fox Noir)
Moontide (Fox Noir)
Bright Lights, Big City (MGM)
Cat Stevens: Tea for the Tillerman Live (MVD Visual)
Cheers, season 10 (Paramount)
The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chris Marker, Icarus Films)
The Sixth Side of the Pentagon (Chris Marker, Icarus)
Remembrance of Things to Come (Chris Marker, Icarus)
The Last Bolshevik (Chris Marker, Icarus)
Desperate Housewives, season 4 (Disney)
Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney (MVD Visual)
Ghost Whisperer, season 3 (Paramount)
Lagerfeld Confidential (Koch Lorber Films)
Life, season 1 (Universal)
Married Life (also Blu-ray, Sony)
The Office, season 4 (Universal)
The Promotion (The Weinstein Co./Genius Products)
Reprise (Norway, Miramax/Disney)
Storm Over Everest (WGBH Boston Video)
Then She Found Me (ThinkFilm/Image Entertainment)

Complete list of today's releases on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org

New DVDs: 'Redbelt,' 'August'

"Redbelt" is a David Mamet movie for people who don't like David Mamet movies -- a subset of humanity that most definitely includes me.

Mamet's dialogue often feels artificial, nearly spastic. No one talks that way, except for dumb oily salesmen -- his usual trade -- and punch-drunk fighters from B-movies.

And yet, "Redbelt" feels special, as many film critics have noted. Mamet eventually gets around to trashing his own movie ... but first let's check out all the good stuff:

English actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is sensational as Mike Terry, a jujitsu instructor working out of a modest L.A. dojo. Terry is equally hardcore and zen-like. We see his adult students battle to the verge of blacking out, but the teacher has no zest for pointless fighting.

Out of nowhere, the world declares war on the modest martial artist, attacking on multiple fronts.

First, a drug-dependent lawyer (Emily Mortimer, another Brit) accidently shoots out the school's front window while arguing with a cop who's a student. Call it blunt foreshadowing. Then, Terry rescues a TV action star who's outnumbered in a bar brawl. The grateful actor (Tim Allen, terrifically blank) rewards Terry with a an expensive watch and some Tinsel Town-thin friendship. The man-crush brings the martial arts master nothing but grief.

Terry's Brazilian wife (Alice Braga) borrows heavily from a loan shark. Terry struggles to find quick cash while his wife starts working a survival strategy that doesn't include her husband.

Meanwhile, evil mixed-martial arts promoters rip off Terry's signature teaching device of using a blind draw of marbles to assign handicaps to fighters.

This stew of bad mojo turns rancid, leaving the elegant martial artist with no alternative but to fight for survival -- $50,000 in prize money awaits if he abandons his existential code of honor, which doesn't allow for competition fighting.

Mamet's usual assortment of hustlers and users makes its appearance. The cast includes Ricky Jay, David Paymer and Joe Mantegna. As "Redbelt" descends into an old-fashioned fight movie, the Mamet rap sounds at home. Bring on the spit buckets and big cigars.

"Redbelt's" climax feels like a sellout of all that has come before -- the movie's well-earned emotions squandered on the preposterous. Still, the performances, fight scenes and compelling narrative set-up make "Redbelt" a winner by split decision.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released "Redbelt" on Blu-ray and DVD. Robert Elswit's widescreen images roll out at a dramatic 2.40:1. The Blu-ray shows off the production's sometimes subtle, oftentimes colorful crafts work to best effect. The Blu-ray's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 delivers the blow-by-blow action with accuracy and impact.

Mamet is everywhere in the extras, coming across as a blunt guy who nonetheless knows how to lighten up.

Of working in showbiz with real fighters, as he did in "Redbelt," Mamet says, "They don't bring a lot of bullshit to the equation. ... They spend their lives suffering. So they have extraordinary character."

Mamet had been training in jujitsu for about five years when he shot the movie. His Brazilian instructors helped choreograph "Redbelt," along with other known fighters. They're all profiled in a cool and snappy animated slide show.

"We got real, real lucky with actors," Mamet says. Leading man Ejiofor reminds the writer-director of Henry Fonda, the two sharing a "spectacular stillness."

"(Ejiofor) has such a beautiful face and looks like a fighter," Mamet says of his star. (He's not. I've trained in karate and came away from the film assuming he was a martial artist.)

Anyone wondering what the deal is with the Ultimate Fighting Championship should get their hands on one of these discs. The extras collectively present a decent primer on the league, its stars and MMA in general.

UFC president Dana White does a 16-minute interview, talking about MMA's Brazilian roots, early opposition from politicians such as John McCain (he called it "human cock fighting") and the sport's phenomenal success on cable TV.

The MMA fighting style is to employ numerous fighting styles all at once. Bruce Lee would have approved, White says: "He tried to get away from styles. ... He believed you need to train in everything to be a complete fighter."

UFC, he says, "Still is pure. It hasn't been corrupted." The DVD's documentarians aren't asking hard questions here.

Mamet shares the commentary with five-time UFC champion Randy Courture. As you'd expect, the track works best during the action scenes, although Mamet usually has something interesting to say.

* * * * *

The wounds in "August" are mostly self-inflicted. Josh Hartnett stars as a jerk who runs an Internet startup into the ground in the days just before 9/11 -- and just after the bubble burst all over Silicon Valley.

Even his engineer brother (Adam Scott), can't stand the guy.

The movie feels cold, partly because the main character slithers so successfully for much of the tale. He richly deserves an ass-beating, but when it comes, you find it hard to cheer. He's too much of a young twit to be a villain; too much of a dick to classify as a proper antihero.

David Bowie shows up as a Wall Street predator and avenger, a terrifically creepy performance in a bit part. Get a load of the startup office's pack of slackers, the laziest bunch since Cybill Shepherd's nameless staff on "Moonlighting."

First Look Studios' release of the indie film, by sophomore director Austin Chick, comes without bonus features, unfortunately. The film leaves you wanting to know more about what was what when the first generation of dot-com millionaires plunged back to earth.

Calendar "August" as a good rental title (for those not put off by the description).

New and notable:
Alfresco (Acorm Media)
August (First Look Studios)
Brotherhood of the Wolf: Director's Cut (Universal)
Chicago 10 (Paramount)
Color Honeymooners Collection 4 (MPI Home Video)
Duchess of Duke Street (Acorn)
Errol Flynn Westerns Collection (Warner)
Everybody Hates Chris, season 3 (Paramount)
How the West Was Won (also Blu-ray, Warner)
Linda Lovelace for President (Dark Sky Films/MPI)
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (Disney)
NCIS, season 5 (Paramount)
Pale Rider (Warner)
The President's Collection (Paramount)
Purple Violets (Weinstein Co./Genius Products)
Redbelt (also BR, Sony)
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (The Criterion Collection)
The Shield, season 6 (Sony)
The Three Stooges Collection: 1940-1942, Vol. 3 (Sony)
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (also BR, Disney)
What Happens In Vegas (Fox)
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (Weinstein/Genius Products)

Complete list of this week's releases on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org

New DVDs: 'CJ7,' 'Brand Upon the Brain'

The DVD industry's new releases are at a trickle as the Olympics gobbles up most people's video time. We're watching, too.

Those with an aversion to touchy-feely sports should check out "CJ7," an offbeat kids movie from Stephen Chow of "Kung Fu Hustle" fame. It's a sort of "E.T." adventure that the New York Times called "a devilishly entertaining curveball thrown at unsuspecting family audiences." (pictured)

Another fractured film about family comes from Canadian arthouse filmmaker Guy Maddin: "Brand Upon the Brain!" is a silent black and white film (with narration) about weird goings-on at an orphanage located in a desolate lighthouse. Something like the Hardy Boys meet "Dr. Caligari." Funny, creepy and unlike anything I've seen before. Criterion's release includes a couple of new Maddin short films produced for the DVD.

Here, for the record, are the new and notable DVD releases for the week.

The Art of War II: Betrayal (Sony)
Blue Murder, Set 3 (BBC, Acorn Media)
Brand Upon the Brain! (The Criterion Collection)
Caroline in the City (Paramount)
CJ7 (also Blu-ray, Sony)
Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game (Acorn Media)
Larisa Shepitko, Eclipse Series 11 (Criterion)
Felon (also BR, Sony)
The Love Boat: season 1, Vol. 2 (Paramount)
Muhammad Ali: Made In Miami (PBS Home Video/Paramount)
Prison Break, season 3 (also BR, Fox)
Raw Spice: The Unofficial Story of the Making of the Spice Girls (Shout! Factory)
Smart People (also BR, Miramax)
Watching the Detectives (Peace Arch/Genius Products)
The Wire, season 5 (HBO)
Wire in the Blood: Prayer of the Bone (Koch Vision)

New DVDs: 'The Counterfeiters' on Blu-ray

"The Counterfeiters" tells its tale of privileged death camp inmates without apology. While the ghastly churn of Hitler's Holocaust continues unseen, but only yards away, a group of printers and forgerers does its work trying to destabilize the economy of Britain.

This unusual Austrian film about a band of skilled death camp survivors won the 2007 Oscar for foreign-language film.

Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky ("Anatomie") says his movie's descriptions of events that actually took place near the end of WWII "are so preposterous that you couldn't invent them -- not to mention write them."

"I did my utmost to use authentic material because it was so good," the director says in the DVD extras for "The Counterfeiters." He wrote the movie using the memoirs of Adolf Burger, a 90-year-old printer depicted in the film. Burger gets co-writer credit and served as an active adviser. As a result, much of the factual information in the special features seems duplicative of the film.

"The Counterfeiters" plays as solid drama and downbeat entertainment. It took some heat for not including the usual ghastly depictions of the Nazi camps. It is, as the marketing took pains to point out, another kind of movie, one that begins and ends on the gold-speckled beach of Monte Carlo. Its soundtrack relies heavily on the tango.

Sony's "The Counterfeiters" Blu-ray proves something of an upgrade from the DVD (upconverted), but the high amount of grain in the images (from low-light shooting) tends to even out things. The audio is OK on both versions, nothing special.

Part of the film's success undoubtedly is due to the talented Austrian actor Karl Markovics (top photo), possessed of an unfamiliar face that seems made for the cinema.

Markovics plays the con man/forgerer Salomon Sorowitsch, "the most charming scoundrel in Berlin." A cop who busts him in Berlin resurfaces as a camp commander charged with producing a sea of bogus English pounds. He remembers "Sally" and has him transferred to oversee the money-making operation, called Operation Bernhard.

The forgerer gladly cooperates to save himself, but finds his deeds harshly questioned by a fellow inmate (the Burger character), who sets about sabotaging their efforts. Sally refuses to squeal on his moral friend, but continues trying to produce bogus American dollars for the Nazi war effort.

The extras feature Burger doing his road show about the WWII event before a group of students. He shares with viewers his "historical artifacts" about Operation Bernhard and fills in some missing pieces. Burger was one of only two characters in the film identified by their real names.

Director Ruzowitzky says in his solid, well-paced commentary that he tried to film inside a still-standing camp site, but was refused. He was angry because, "We were on the right side." But after touring the site, he felt relieved he had not brought his filmmaking operation inside to disturb its peace.

Ruzowitzky, who speaks English, also appears in video from an AFI screening of the film in late 2007. He talks about basing the film's Monte Carlo bookends on "rumors and stuff" about Sally. He says the master forgerer ended up in Argentina, duplicating paintings by old masters.

Of filming in Monte Carlo, he says, "Just for asking you have to pay millions and millions."

Other extras include a couple of deleted scenes that show off Sally's con man skills, a decent making-of docu and additional interviews. There is a lot of duplication across the extras, so I'd recommend starting with the commentary and the Burger material.

The Blu-ray has Sony's new menu set-up, which my player doesn't like much. Menus are quite good-looking, especially in HD. The standard DVD has a straightforward menu.

Also circling the DVD blog's players this week is Paramount's DVD release of "Star Trek: The Original Series -- The Complete Second Season". The package and execution are quite similar to the excellent HD DVD release of season 1 last year. Some of the old special effects are upgraded, impressively and with restraint. Highly recommended.

Also, "I Got The Feelin': James Brown in the '60s" from Shout! Factory; the Salvador Dali docu "Decoding the Mind of a Genius" from MVD; and Genius' rerelease of the original "Lonesome Dove."

New and notable:
The Counterfeiters (also Blu-ray, Sony)
The Executioner's Song: Director's Cut (Paramount)
Family Ties, season 4 (Paramount)
The Five Doctor (Warner)
Get Smart, season 1 (HBO Home Video)
I Got The Feelin': James Brown in the '60s (Shout! Factory)
Joy House (Koch Lorber Films)
The Killing of John Lennon (Genius Products)
Lonesome Dove Collector's Edition (also Blu-ray, Genius Products)
Nim's Island (also Blu-ray, Fox)
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (The Weinstein Co./Genius Products/Miriam Collection)
Route 66 (Infinity Entertainment)
Salvador Dali: Decoding the Mind of a Genius (MVD Visual)
Star Trek: The Original Series, season 2 (Paramount)
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (direct to video, Sony)
Wire in the Blood: Prayer of the Bone (Koch Vision)

Complete list of this week's releases on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org

New DVDs: 'WarGames,' 'Privilege'

"WarGames" is still a blast to play, even after a quarter century.

The movie -- about a kid who breaks into the military's computers and nearly sets off WWIII -- made stars of youngsters Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. Along the way, it introduced the American public to computer culture and the concept of hacking, both fairly obscure in 1983.

The "WarGames" technology looks borderline ancient, of course -- ridiculously long DOS commands and glowing green screens. Still, the movie inspired a generation of future geeks and hackers, as the new DVD's extras insist.

Producer Leonard Goldberg remembers shopping the project to Hollywood's major studios, who were baffled by the story and the technology. MGM finally took a chance and was rewarded with a minor classic and a Generation X touchstone.

MGM/Fox has released "WarGames -- 25th Anniversary Edition" in a single-disc package that comes preloaded with a half-dozen fun and clever extra features.

Stars Broderick and Sheedy roll out for the making-of docu, but unfortunately pivot man Dabney Coleman remains undercover.

The widescreen (16x9 enhanced) images look good, colorful if a bit ruddy. 2.0/5.1 audio is OK, about what you'd expect. The DVD replaces an exhausted MGM version from 1998.

Part of the film's appeal was it made technology cute, hip and a bit sexy. Sheedy credits the filmmakers with giving the super computer an electronic voice, humanizing things a bit ("Would you like to play a game?"). Broderick says he he got the part because he had a knack for appearing smart and nerdy ("emphasis on 'appear' "), although in real life he couldn't even type.

Goldberg and the story's creators tell how "WarGames" almost came out dark and dense. The writers were inspired by Stephen Hawking, the wheelchair-bound physics genius, and wondered what would happen if he were to take on a brilliant young pupil before becoming incapable of communication.

At one point, a version of the script revealed the Hawking character's face as he suddenly wheeled around. It would be John Lennon. Several scripts were to follow, none by the original writers.

"WarGames" started filming with Martin Brest at the helm, but the studio didn't like the dailies' tone. He made a quick exit (and landed on "Beverly Hills Cop"). The young stars feared they, too, were on the way out.

New director John Badham (good with kids = "Saturday Night Fever") came on board and decided Broderick and Sheedy "were not having any fun." He fixed that, encouraging them to bring their own youthful stuff. The original writers, sacked during development, returned. And so the Cold War film about global nuclear war came back from the dark side.

Still, Goldberg says of the finished movie, "It's (for) kids, but you get the feeling it's aimed at adults." Fan Richard A. Clarke, the ex-national security adviser, says "Something like it did actually happen."

NORAD, the outfit that monitors nuclear missiles' comings and goings, was in on the project from the start. The official story is told in the unusual extra "Inside NORAD: Cold War Fortress."

Other extra features include "Attack of the Hackers" (they testify to the film's influence); the silly "Tic Tac Toe: A True Story"; and a promo for the late-in-coming sequel "The Dead Code," also just released.

* * * * *

In 1965, Peter Watkins made "The War Game" for the BBC. The story of a nuclear war and its effects on a rural English town was deemed too disturbing for public TV, and so it went out a feature film, to assorted controversies.

Two years later, Watkins followed up with a pop-star film that proved every bit as prescient as MGM's "WarGames."

"Privilege" starred Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones as a rock star co-opted by state and church for purposes of controlling potentially violent youth. Watkins shot the film as a bogus documentary, based largely on a Canadian short about the singer Paul Anka ("Lonely Boy" -- it's included here as an extra).

Of the "Privilege" pop puppet, the evil manager declares: "He belongs to the world, and therefore has no right to himself." The words come almost directly from Anka's handler in the Canadian docu.

"Privilege" has lost some of its absurdist edge because, as it predicts, today's music stars are holistically commoditized and so frequently raped by the media. Back then, the idea of a rocker becoming a brand and fronting a large chain of discos and stores -- "to spread happiness" to the masses -- seemed ridiculous.

Watkins writes in the DVD booklet that the Nazi docu "Triumph of the Will" was another big influence, most obvious in the scene in which the pop star convinces a stadium full of rogue youth to convert to religion. "We ... will ... conform," they chant, as the band offers a goose-stepper's salute.

Actor/singer Jones and his onscreen girlfriend Jean Shrimpton took heat at the time for their flat, emotionless performances, which probably play better today. The supermodel Shrimpton managed to swallow every other line, but looked damned fine doing it in a druggy-hottie way.

The movie suffered numerous distribution indignities that kept it from public view until a 2005 retrospective of the director's work. Watkins' highbrow rant in the booklet suggests that Universal kept the movie locked away for political purposes. (Lew Wasserman ... it's a stretch).

Images on the New York Films DVD look surprisingly fresh. The soundtrack lacks punch in the musical scenes, but the songs pretty much suck anyway.

There is no making-of docu, unfortunately. The Anka documentary, however, provides big value: It's an engrossing study of teen celebrity, rabid fandom and life in the trenches of showbiz.

* * * * *

Also circling the DVD blogs' players this week are "Two Fat Ladies" (previously reviewed); the Italian B-war movie "Inglorious Bastards" (about to be reviewed); "Dark City Director's Cut" on Blu-ray; and the rock documentaries "Love Story" (Arthur Lee) and "Shine a Light" (Scorsese and the Stones). A big week for DVD releases, finally.

New and notable:
The Audience Strikes Back (Indie-Pictures)
The Band's Visit (Sony)
Beverly Hills 90210 season 5 (Paramount)
Classic British Thrillers (Michael Powell, MPI Home Video)
Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' With the Godmother (Magnolia)
Dark City Director's Cut (Blu-ray and SD, New Line)
Dark Shadows: The Beginning No. 5 (MPI)
Doomsday (Universal)
Freakazoid (Warner)
Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo (New Line)
The Hills, season 3 (Paramount)
A History of Britain: The Complete Collection (A&E Home Video)
Inglorious Bastards
The Lost Boys (Blu-ray, Warner)
The Lost Boys: The Tribe (Warner)
Love Story (L.A. band, Start Productions)
Masters of Horror Season 2 Box Set (Anchor Bay)
Never Back Down (Summit Entertainment)
Robin of Sherwood: The Complete Collection (Acorn Media)
Shine a Light (Paramount)
Stargate: Continuum (MGM)
Tai Chi Master (Weinstein/Genius/Dragon Dynasty)
Two Fat Ladies (Acorn)
Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection (Fox)
WarGames: 25th Anniversary Edition (MGM)
WarGames: The Dead Code

Complete list of this week's releases on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org

New DVDs: 'Two Fat Ladies,' in full

"Two Fat Ladies" waddled over to these shores in the mid '90s, adding spice to what was already an eclectic mix on the Food Network. Back then, "Iron Chef" was fresh and the "Fat Ladies" were, well, phat.

After 1999, the Food Network branded itself into blandness, and, alas, the Fat Ladies cooked no more. Jennifer Paterson, the lady who drove the show's signature Triumph motorcycle, died rather suddenly of lung cancer.

The complete "Two Fat Ladies" DVD set, just imported by Acorn Media, contains a 2004 BBC tribute to Paterson that tells of her fairly amazing life growing up bold and British, with a total disregard for authority. For decades, the well-traveled cook was in high demand at London's choicest dinner parties, both as a guest and a caterer.

"You could always hear her voice in the recipes," a friend says.

The Fats didn't know each other before the show and, according to the producer, didn't spend much time chatting off camera. Still, Clarissa Dickson Wright showed up at the hospital bearing Paterson's requested last meal of caviar, the story goes.

Caviar, of course, wasn't "Two Fat Ladies" fare.

Lard and butter were the basics for most dishes, slathered on in portions that would give a nutritionist hives. The BBC chief of the time recalls their "pornographic zeal" in pouring on the butter. "They were determined that as many people as possible should die early because they've eaten (these recipes)."

The show had its share of great-looking dishes, too, and offered honest culinary instruction. It made no pretense of keeping up with cooking trends, however. The Fats officially hate vegetarians.

Paterson lit up a ciggie when things got slow and a glass of spirits always was close at hand. To cook, "All she required was a large whisky and a lot of attention," another friend says.

The motorcycle with sidecar attached for Dickson Wright was the BBC's idea. Paterson had buzzed about London on "scooters" for decades. The Fats traveled the back roads of Britain for segments that ran between the cooking sessions.

Dickson Wright doesn't get much face time in the extras, repped only by a brief text bio. On the show she's a full partner. She, too, enjoyed a life of note, and so the ladies swapped great tales as they cooked. There was always time to burst into song (the Fats sang their own TV theme number).

The "Fat Ladies" DVD set has OK audio and video, in stereo and TV full screen. A brief booklet has "eight yummo recipes," including the famous "Hedgehog" meatloaf. "Quekke treat!"

(Detour: I was once in a rock band called "Fat Men With Guitars." None of us was fat, at least at the time.)

* * *

Also circling the DVD blog's players this week is the frozen-tundra horror movie "The Last Winter," which brings to mind the (far better) remake of "The Thing." Fans of that John Carpenter film probably will enjoy this clever low-budget pic. The plot works in global warming in novel fashion.

Criterion brings two great films to market, both of which I'll be covering reviewing on the DVD blog: "High and Low" is the label's rerelease of the Kurosawa crime classic; "Vampyr" resurrects the truly strange and nightmarish horror movie from 1932.

New and notable:

Abel's Island (not my bio! First Run Features)
Bird (Warner)
Blues in the Night (Warner)
Pete Kelly's Blues (Warner)
Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends (Warner)
'Round Midnight (Warner)
The Boston Strangler (Weinstein Co./Genius Products)
High and Low (The Criterion Collection)
LA Ink (Genius)
The Last Winter (Genius)
21 (Sony)
Vampyr (Criterion)

Complete list of this week's releases on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org