The week’s DVD begin with Downey, Senior, not Junior:
DVDs for June 5 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin in the 1960s:
Up All Night With Robert Downey Sr.:
Babo 73 (1964, 56 minutes), Chafed Elbows (1966,
58 minutes), No More Excuses (1968, 46 minutes), Putney Swope (1969,
85 minutes), Two Tons of Turquoise To Taos Tonight (1975, 56 minutes).
Even by the standards of the free-wheeling 1960s, Robert
Downey Sr. was a refreshing rebel. The former Golden Gloves boxer
turned three time court-martialed soldier began his film-making
career as part of New York’s Underground scene of the late 1950s,
along with Andy Warhol and John Cassavetes. This informal training
led to these five wild, inventive films, some not always greeted by
the era’s movie distributors. As film scholar Michael Koresky states
in the accompanying notes to these films: “What undoubtedly does
unite the films many stories—and all of Downey’s films—is the
director’s lack of inhibition.” Even Tons of
Turquoise, the latest appearing entry in the series of
five now available on two discs from The Criterion Collection’s
no-frills Eclipse label, celebrates Downey’s lack of plot, making it
his “Finnegan’s Wake.” It also features Downey’s frequent star,
his wife Elsie, mother of Robert Downey Jr. Downey Senior’s best
known film remains the still hilarious Putney Swope,
the mordant satire about Madison Avenue in which an African American
unexpectedly takes over an ad agency and uses it as a racial
bludgeon.
John Carter (**1/2)
This computer effects laden extravaganza takes “A Princess of Mars,” a
story by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, as its unlikely source.
In 1868, ex-Confederate soldier John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) finds a
magic medallion and is immediately whisked away to Mars, called
Barsoom by its inhabitants, who just happen to be in the middle of a
raging conflict. Carter sagely joins the side of Dejah (Lynn
Collins), not coincidentally the only beautiful creature with human
features. Most of the other warring factions are made up of
four-armed ogres, with a few shape shifters among them. Carter finds
he has enhanced powers, using them to keep Dejah from marrying
against her will and by helping her beleaguered father (Ciaran
Hinds). Director Andrew Stanton (Wall*E) juggles
spectacular set pieces with live action sequences and green screen
creations, all of which help gloss over the often confusing story
line.
Rated PG-13, 132 minutes. Available in all formats and combo packs. Various
editions hold varying supplements, including: commentary, Disney’s
Second Screen option for simultaneous viewing, an 11 minute
featurette focusing on Burroughs’ story, ten deleted scenes, a
comprehensive 35 minute “making of” featurette, brief bloopers,
and much more.
Three interesting movies of note arrive this week from
On Demand Warner Archives:
The Awakening (**), The Scapegoat (***), Vacation from Marriage (***1/2)
The psychological-horror The Awakening (1980, rated R, 101
minutes) never takes off despite its high pedigree of direction from
Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire),
cinematography from legendary lens-man Jack Cardiff, and with the
source being a novel by Bram Stoker, author of “Dracula.” In one
of his last starring roles, Charlton Heston plays an American
archaeologist who discovers the tomb of an unknown Egyptian queen
just about the time his pregnant wife leaves him and returns to the
U.S. Eighteen years later, the daughter, Elizabeth (Stephanie
Zimbalist), joins her father in Egypt for further investigation into
the queen, who just might share some of her re-incarnation traits
with Elizabeth. Newell creates some moody atmospherics but delivers
few horror-frights.
A similar assemblage of prestige adorns The Scapegoat
(not rated,1958, 92 minutes), a psychological drama starring always
fascinating Alex Guinness. He takes a dual role, with Bette Davis
chewing the scenery in a small part as his bed-ridden mother. Based
on a novel by “Rebecca” author Daphne Du Maurier, and with an
adaptation by Gore Vidal (still with us at 86), the film features
Guinness both as a French count and as a meek British school teacher
who passes as the count’s twin when presented with the opportunity.
As he fools the count’s wife, daughter and servants, the
mild-mannered man gains confidence, eventually thrusting him into the
same problems that beset the count when he so mysteriously
disappeared.
Alexander Korda, a stalwart of the 1940’s British film industry, directed
Vacation from Marriage (1945, not rated, 92 minutes), a
warm tale set in 1940 about Robert (Robert Donat), a staid clerk, and
his dowdy wife Cathy (never dowdy Deborah Kerr). Their boring
marriage has fallen into a deep rut by the time war breaks out. They
both join the military and eventually spend three years apart. During
that time, both self-reflect on their previously empty home lives,
while enjoying brief, innocent romances. They both decide to end
their marriage when they re-unite; that is, until they do meet again
as completely different people, giving this touching character study
an interesting twist along with its unique viewpoint on marriage.
The Diamond Queen, The Queen’s Palaces
B.B.C. Home Entertainment offers these two collections, of three episodes
each, featuring looks at Queen Elizabeth and at three of the
magnificent royal residences. Andrew Marr narrates Diamond
Queen, and he examines the queen’s sixty years on the throne,
her influence, and her relationships with prime ministers, world
leaders, and even her relatives. Fiona Bruce hosts Palaces,
an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at Buckingham Palace, Windsor
Castle and The Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Neither collection is rated and both run around three hours. Queen
also contains a “Commemorative Archive Montage,” and Palaces
holds a rare introduction by the Prince of Wales.
Phineas and Ferb: The Perry Files
Disney’s Phineas (voiced by Vincent Martella) and Ferb
(voiced by Thomas Brodie-Sangster) return to Danville to fight the
ominous O.W.C.A. (Organization With a Cool Acronym). Perry the
Platypus joins in the duo’s battle against evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
Rated TV-G, 154 minutes. The two disc set also offers
featurettes on OWCA and a peak at the Platypus Tour that traveled
around North America.
Arn: The Knight Templar—complete series
This rousing Scandinavian series, based on Jan Guillou’s
trilogy and arriving on two discs, takes the hero, Arn Magnusson
(Joakim Natterqvist), from his home in 1150 Sweden to the Crusades,
where he becomes the heroic Knight Templar. Along the way, he falls
in love with beautiful Cecilia (Sofia Helin), gains an education, and
fights various foes for his country and his religion. Compared to
Game of Thrones, the series offers action, romance, and
political intrigue.
Not rated, 265 minutes. The DVD collection also contains more than 40
minutes of “making of” featurettes.
Also on DVD: Act of Valor, Machine Gun Preacher, Safe House.