A lost Italian comedy heads the week’s DVDs:
DVDs for Jan. 17 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin in Italy:
Il Cappotto (The Overcoat) (***1/2)
A few years after his Italian film-making compatriots forged new
cinematic ground with their Neo Realist movement, director Alberto
Lattuada turned out this whimsical satire based on Nikolai Gogol’s
short story“The Overcoat.” But even by 1952, things still looked
pretty bleak in Italy, enough so that the story of a slow-witted,
lower level bureaucrat coveting a new overcoat had resonance. Carmine
(Renato Rascel) uses his savings to have a new coat tailored for him.
Freshly attired, his bumbling image improves at work and with his
colleagues. When his coat is stolen, however, his stature again
plummets, eventually driving him to fatal hysterics. But, like
Banquo’s ghost, he sticks around to hector those responsible for his
humiliation. Lattuada fills his film with many small, clever touches,
all outlined to give Carmine his inept portrait and to give the
director the opportunity to comment on the arrogance, corruption, and
laughable hypocrisy among the privileged classes.
Not rated, 107 minutes. The DVD includes commentary with
an Italian film professor, a 13 minute interview with screenwriter
and director Angelo Paquini, and 25 minutes of deleted scenes.
Age of Heroes (***)
Sean Bean stars in this World War II action-thriller
loosely based on the real-life exploits of Ian Fleming, the author of
the James Bond novels. Bean is Major Jones, the head of a select
British unit sent on special assignments. The motley but well trained
group parachutes into occupied Norway in 1942 to grab a radar device
that will become instrumental in the war. Their mission seems
suicidal, which gives the film a series of white-knuckle sequences,
many taking place across the picturesque Norwegian mountains.
Not rated, 108 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray,
includes the 15 minute featurette “An Age of Heroes” about the
real-life counterparts and their exploits. Plus: interviews with five
cast and crew, brief “Behind-the-Scene” footage, and 12 minutes
of deleted scenes.
Cold Sweat (***)
Thirty-one year old Adrian Garcia Bogliano has already
turned out more than a dozen horror movies, making this clever entry
no surprise, even for someone so young. His wild imagination combines
with his proficient film-making skills to render an effectively
horrific film. Two creepy old men use the Internet to lure beautiful
young women to their decrepit mansion. They then tie them up and
drench them in nitroglycerin so they can’t move. In the end, they do
not count on a spurned boyfriend who has followed his now captured
girlfriend. Tense and strange.
Not rated, 80 minutes. The DVD offers 24 minutes of
deleted and extended scenes, a 10 minute “behind-the-scenes”
featurette, and a six minute segment on effects.
Dirty Girl (**1/2)
Danielle (Juno Temple) is a surly, dangerously feisty
high school student in 1987 Norman, Oklahoma. She dresses
provocatively, lands in trouble at school, and regularly demeans her
mother (Milla Jovovich) and her religious Mormon fiancé
(William H. Macy). When placed in a “special”class at school
because of her behavior, she convinces her new best friend, the
outcast Clarke (Jeremy Dozier), to steal the car from his mother
(Mary Steenburgen) and his abusive father (Dwight Yoakam) and travel
to Fresno, California. There, she hopes to meet her biological
father. Large doses of youth-infused humor blends with a touching
reunion tale for a moderately entertaining mix.
Rated R, 9 minutes. The DVD also offers commentary and
four deleted scenes.
Division III: Football’s Finest (*1/2)
Who thinks these things up? Andy Dick as a macho
football coach? Really? But that’s the premise behind this lame,
obvious comedy with Dick playing Rick Vice, a high strung individual
who takes over coaching duties for the Pulham Blue Cocks, the worst
team in Division III. From there, the broad, very broad, humor comes
about as expected with ample amounts of crotch shot gags and
excessive pratfalls. With a supporting cast of Adam Corolla, Will
Sasso, Bryan Callen and others.
Rated R, 97 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray, offers
commentary, ten minutes of outtakes, and nine deleted and extended
scenes.
Bombay Beach (**1/2)
This whimsical documentary from Alma Har’el takes a look
at a trio of inhabitants of California’s Salton Sea area, a now
destitute village that once enjoyed great popularity as a resort. In
the 1950s, its proximity to Los Angeles drew celebrities and
notoriety. Now, the area and the waters have dried up considerably,
leaving a handful of people, several of whom Har’el highlights,
including a disturbed boy, a teen who fantasizes about playing pro
football, and an old-timer who seems to do little but drink and
smoke. The area can sometimes look deceptively beautiful, but it is
the human subjects that give the film its interest.
Not rated, 76 minutes. The DVD includes commentary,
three music videos by Har’el, four deleted scenes, three different
“Where are they now?” segments, and more.
Redline,
First
Squad: Moment of Truth
In director Takeshi Koike and writer Katsuhito Ishii’s
Redline, the first of two anime releases from Anchor
Bay’s Manga brand, a world wide racing tournament dominates the
furious action. Daredevil driver JP looks to be the favorite, if he
is not taken down by secret government agents or organized crime
operatives. Yoshiharu Ashino directed First Squad,
set at the start of World War II in Eastern Europe. A group of
Russian teenagers enlists to fight a special army of Germans who look
suspiciously like zombies. Neither film is rated and both are
available on Blu-ray.
Redline: 102 minutes. Also includes two guides to Redline.
First Squad: The Moment of Truth: 75 minutes.
Also on DVD: Abduction, Courageous, Dutch, The Ides of
March, License to Drive.