New DVDs: 'The Wrestler,' 'Frost/Nixon'

"The Wrestler," that battered but proud underdog of a film, triumphed as one of the top two or three American films of 2008 -- no matter what the film Academy had to say.

The Mickey Rourke comeback vehicle could beat to a pulp the Oscars' best picture candidates -- except, of course, for the undisputed champ, "Slumdog Millionaire."

The wrestling movie had to settle for best picture at the Indie Spirit Awards the day before the Oscars.

Neither the snub in the best picture noms nor Rourke's unexpected loss to Sean Penn for best actor was a surprise to "The Wrestler's" director, who'd already seen "every door in town shut in (my) face":

"You can't ever give a shit about what people are going to think about (your movie)," Darren Aronofsky says. "You gotta tell the stories you want to tell."

Fox Home Entertainment has released "The Wrestler" on Blu-ray and on DVD, in single-disc editions. The relatively low-budget movie was shot in the "middle of New Jersey in the dead of winter," so don't expect killer video, even in HD. There is persistent grain and much of the film was shot under less than ideal lighting conditions. Still, the Blu-ray faithfully delivers what was presented on theatrical screens.

The 5.1 audio is on the conservative side, mostly front centered with its peaks generated by the heavy metal anthems and Slash's guitar work on the soundtrack. The roar of the crowd could have used more roar from the back speakers.

"The Wrestler" DVD and Blu-ray benefit from an unusually good making-of documentary, shot mostly on location by Niko Tavernise, who did the production stills and the docu on Aronofsky's "The Fountain." It runs about 45 minutes.

"Within the Ring" skips the omniscient narrator in favor of letting the director and producer do most of the talking. The docu has a rough cut, no-PR-bullshit tone, with lots of hand-held footage. The extras make no mention of the film's success or the awards season. Mickey Rourke does not participate, predictably and unfortunately, but there's good candid stuff with the star in and out of the wrestling ring. 

The filmmakers' first and only choice for playing Randy "The Ram" was Rourke, despite pressure to use Nicholas Cage. They lost financing as a result. 

"It was tough to get the film made with Mickey Rourke, and now he's the best thing about the movie," Aronofsky says in the extras. 

"Mickey's tough. He's no walk in the park. To make him do his best work you have to really push him ... inspire him, challenge him." The director compares the fallen star to a B-student who learned to coast on pure talent, rarely reaching the A-level.

"Darren knows how to push my buttons," Rourke said in his excellent hourlong Charlie Rose interview (which would have been great on this DVD). "He hates when I say this, but he's tough. ... I owed him to give him all of myself."

Rourke never fails to put his own spin on a scene, Aronofsky says. "With Mickey you never know what he's going to do (when the camera rolls)."

Producer Scott Franklyn said that's exactly why they hired Rourke, to be Rourke. "As difficult as it was at times, I think he always believed in Darren. That's what kept him around and kept him passionate and hungry about the material." Apparently he believed in the director enough to work for no pay. 

Bruce Springsteen donated the stark theme song, after Rourke's hesitant request. The DVD includes the music video, as well as a payback video ad for the Boss' new album. Axl Rose, too, let the production use "Sweet Child 'O Mine" for free.

The Blu-ray (not the DVD) includes a roundtable discussion with old-school wrestling stars such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. Of Rourke, they say, "he became one of the boys" -- noting the actor's history as a boxer.

Lex Luger talks about the similarities between "The Ram" character and his own troubled career and personal life, apparently inspiration for the storyline about the Rourke wrestler and his daughter. Piper marvels how the actor subtly picked up on the gentleness that many of the pro wrestlers exhibit outside of the ring. 

The talk soon strays away from the movie and turns to the wrestling life and its "stigma." Valentine attacks the idea of wrestling being "fake." Even though the outcome of a match is never in doubt, he says, "We really suffer out there. We really take a beating."

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I'm not a big fan of Ron Howard's work, often emotionally sloppy and just good enough -- maybe he's another of those B-students -- but he delivers a sure-handed, non-manipulative work in "Frost/Nixon."

The movie features an excellent performance by Frank Langella as another fallen hero, Richard Nixon.

Langella was nominated in the Oscars best actor category, while the movie was among the best picture candidates. He reprised his role as the disgraced president from the West End "Frost/Nixon" play, source material for the movie.

Universal has released the movie on a single-disc DVD and Blu-ray. The "Frost/Nixon" Blu-ray looks and sounds first-rate, up to big-budget standards. The picture unspools at 2.39:1. Center speaker voices are crisp and clear, as they must be for this production.

The decent making-of docu is spread over 45 minutes and three parts, with the actors, filmmakers and David Frost giving their take on the project and the 1977 interviews. 

Howard does a feature-length commentary with too many one-minute gaps. He likens the film's interview sequences with the boxing scenes he helmed for "Cinderella Man."

There are some highlight clips from the broadcast, nothing of substance. Too bad the DVD doesn't include a PBS-style documentary on the president's sessions with Frost. Does anyone care what Kevin Bacon thinks of Nixon's plight, even if the actor makes perfect sense?

Howard says in the extras that the movie is a "reflection" of what happened on TV those nights in 1977. Playwright Peter Morgan's work of distilling the transcripts into theatrical lines that were dramatically strong yet accurate in essence convinced him to do the project, he said.

Frost (played by Michael Sheen) recalls Nixon's odd question, "Did you do any fornicating this weekend," which came right before the cameras rolled. It remains "a great mystery" to the British TV personality.

Howard's memories of the debate have Americans riveted to their TVs each of the three nights, although a lot of us remember the interview series as pretty much a snooze. Even Langella says, "I was rather bored with him" until the former president admitted what he did was wrong.