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