The week’s DVDs begin in Northern Ireland:
DVDs and streaming for April 7 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin in Northern Ireland:
Odd Man Out (****)
By the late 1940s, Hollywood had already begun churning out stylish film noir. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, director Carol Reed was also turning out some of the finest films of the genre. In his 1947 Odd Man Out, now available from The Criterion Collection on a new remastered Blu-ray produced by Curtis Tsui, Reed used the Irish Troubles as a backdrop for his story, from F.L. Green’s novel, about Johnny McQueen, played by increasingly popular James Mason. McQueen, recently paroled from jail, pulls off a heist with his gang, the Organization, an à clef pseudonym for the I.R.A., the Irish Republican Army. The job goes awry and Johnny kills a man, takes a bullet himself, and then becomes separated from his gang. He subsequently stumbles, Homer-like, through this unnamed town (but recognized as Belfast), facing various adversaries yet also unlikely protectors. At one point, while delirious, he incongruously sits for a painting by a wild-eyed artist (Robert Newton). Meanwhile, Kathleen Sullivan (Kathleen Ryan) waits for him and lies to the police as they close in, nabbing other gang members, including Cyril Cusack and Dan O’Herlihy. Reed teams with cinematographer Robert Krasker to capture the shiny patina of the rain and then snow-soaked streets and the dimly lit, narrow passageways teaming with danger (Reed and Krasker would soon team up again for the sublime The Third Man). The night-long ordeal epitomizes what, according to critic Imogen Sara Smith, became a Reed trope, that of “a stranger’s groping quest through the labyrinth of a great city.”
Not rated, 116 minutes.
Extras: the nearly two hours of supplements include a 24 minute interview with film scholar John Hill, a 16 minute “making of” featurette, a 1972, 54 minute feature documentary on James Mason, a 21 minute segment on William Alwyn’s film score, and an audio recording of Odd Man Out with Mason, Ryan, and O’Herlihy. Plus: a ten page booklet with essay from Imogene Sara Smith.
All at Sea (***)
In the history of cinema, no actor has arguably been more enjoyable to watch than Alec Guinness. Even in this slight comedy, one of the last from venerable Ealing Studios and now available from Warner Archive, Guinness carries the narrative load as William Horatio Ambrose, a naval man recently steered into retirement because of his inveterate sea-sickness. He lands in a coastal town and buys a rundown amusement arcade on the local pier. Once there, however, the mayor and town council throw repeated obstacles and regulations in Ambrose’s way. He meets them with sprightly aplomb, eventually cutting land ties and turning the pier into an ostensible floating craft free of land restrictions. As was his habit, Guinness takes multiple roles, however brief, playing the ghosts of his sea-worthy ancestors. It’s fun and pure silliness but serves as a capstone to Guinness’ relationship with Ealing after such jewels as The Lavender Hill Mob, The Ladykillers, and others.
Not rated, 82 minutes.
And, finally, from this week’s TV arrivals:
Manhattan—season one
This unexpectedly gripping drama of 13 episodes on four discs takes place in 1944-1945 and is set mostly in the New Mexico desert near Los Alamos. There, the country’s foremost scientists work on the fabled Manhattan project building an atomic bomb. Filled with real and fictional characters and a smattering of technical jargon, the series chronicles the interactions of the scientific teams working with as well as against each other, but with everyone always working to beat the Nazis. Although mythical figures such as Robert Oppenheimer (Daniel London) appear, the focus mainly rests on the young groups assembled (similar to The Imitation Game) under their grizzled leaders, Dr. Akley (David Harbour) and Frank Winter (John Benjamin Hickey), married to disgruntled botanist Ph. D. Liza (Olivia Williams). The season sees espionage, a shoot-out, marital infidelity, personality conflicts, sexual escapades, and even some peaks inside the facilities in Berlin and in Oakridge, Tennessee. The intrigue combines with a personal element for an engaging experience. With, among many, Katja Herbers, Rachel Brosnahan, and Daniel Stern, who also directs an episode.
Not rated, 622 minutes.
Extras: commentary, a 15 minute making of” featurette, ten minutes on creating the army base and scientific community from nothing, ten minutes on Robert Oppenheimer, ten minutes on the period’s costume designs, and more.
The Missing—Limited Series
Television fare seems to be constantly improving, as further evinced by this excellent Starz limited series of eight episodes now on two discs. Frances O’Connor and James Nesbitt play Emily and Tony Hughes, a happily-enough married couple who travel on holiday from England to France with their five year-old son Oliver. One day in a small village, the boy becomes lost in a chaotic soccer-match crowd, thereby setting off the series. The Hughes drop everything and begin their search along with the local authorities, including aging detective Julien Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo). The boy stays lost for the eight years of the fractured narrative in the story and script by brother team Harry and Jack Williams. As the series switches back and forth in time over the eight years, the Hughes split, Julien retires and then returns again, and Emily marries Mark Walsh (Jason Flemyng), a British detective she met during the ordeal. Tony never lets go, moving to the French town and constantly annoying everyone as he falls deeper into despair, all while various shady characters drop in and out. Heightened suspense combines with the inevitable sense of discomfort, as even the final outcome comes as a surprise.
Not rated, 472 minutes.
Extras: a three minute “behind-the-scenes” featurette, two minutes on the series’ “Transformations,” and two minutes on “Time Changes All.”
Also on DVD and streaming: Happy Valley, Human Capital, The Immigrant, Killers, Pelican Dreams, Preservation.