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#149 | September 5, 2006
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"But Pop, I've seen things that I know are so wrong. Now how can I go back to school and keep my mind on... on things that are just in books, that aren't people living?"
-- On the Waterfront
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GreenCine offers offers free priority shipping for new DVD orders over $50. (You must choose "group my items into as few shipments as possible" at the time of checkout to be eligible for this offer.) So, for example, Brazil (Criterion) + Baron Munchausen = free priority shipping.
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 Playtime (Criterion) (1967; $29.97). Jacques Tati's memorable follow-up (ten years later) to Mon Oncle, returns Monsieur Hulot to a bafflingly modernist Paris. Tati's gloriously choreographed, nearly wordless comedies about confusion in the age of technology reached their creative apex with Playtime. "The most visually inventive film of the 60s is also one of the funniest," wrote Dave Kehr in the Chicago Reader. One to treasure. The new disc also includes Cours du Soir, a delightful 1967 Tati short.
More quickie reviews can be found on GreenCine's review blog, Guru.
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Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece The Seven Samurai had already been out once before courtesy Criterion, but the new edition puts the previous one to shame: a new High Definition transfer of the film, a new 4.0 sound mix, and (on disc three) a fascinating interview between Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima from the Director’s Guild of Japan in 1993, plus a wonderful doc, Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences. For starters. Or, we'll let Mike Restaino of DVDFile say it: "Commence drooling, everybody...nothing short of a watershed. Just try not to turn into Gollum while staring at this beautiful 3-disc edition (it is, indeed, precious)."
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Journalist Pete Hamill narrates Brothers...On Holy Ground, a heartbreaking film made in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, from the perspective of New York City Firefighters, their families, and friends. "A clinic in the power of simplicity, a 54-minute picture that packs a wallop," finds DVD Verdict. "Don't miss it."
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More like this: M. Hulot's Holiday | Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean
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More like this: Kagemusha | Ran
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More like this: Vertical Frontier | Underground Zero
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Reissues and pristine new editions of classics are the name of the game in this week's batch of releases:
Godzilla: Gojira Deluxe Collector's Edition (1954; $15.95). The star attraction of this new two-disc Godzilla set is the original Japanese cut of the film (the second version features the American theatrical release which added Raymond Burr and a revisionist script). "A classy release that elevates the general stature of the Godzilla franchise," raves the DVD Savant, "[F]ans will be enthusiastic about the extras on the double-disc set." Extras abound on the second disc, so, Burr or no, don't miss it.
Besides the aforementioned Seven Samurai set, today finds two other reissues from Criterion: the three-disc deluxe special edition of Terry Gilliam's Brazil ($44.96) features a new, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by the director and a treasure trove of Brazil-iana; while Federico Fellini's carnivalesque portrait of provincial Italy during the Fascist period, Amarcord ($29.97), arrives in a new, deluxe two-disc edition, with new audio commentary by film scholars Peter Brunette and Frank Burke, a new and improved English subtitle translation, and a new 45-minute documentary, Fellini’s Homecoming - among many other treats.
United 93 (2006; $21.76) is Paul Greengrass' eerie recreation of the airborne tragedy of 9/11, from the view of the ground and flight controllers, the passengers, and their nervous families awaiting word on the fate of their loved ones. "Shocking and supremely well-made," raved talltale.
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994; $12.45). Another cult title making its debut on DVD, Alan Rudolph's film transports us back to the 1920s of Dorothy Parker, the oft-quoted, witty woman at the center of the Algonquin Round Table. "What it tries to do it does so extraordinarily well," wrote Marjorie Baumgartner in The Austin Chronicle, "and that is to capture a moment in time and look more closely at the scars hidden underneath the blue ribbons gaily camouflaging Parker's slit wrists. Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance is so incredible that witnessing it is reason enough to take a look at this movie."
Also out this week: Kinky Boots (2006; $21.76); another reissue - Blade Runner: Director's Cut ($15.95); District B13 (2005; $20.41), an exhausting French action/sci-fi flick, a "lean, clean, adrenaline- and indignation-fueled B movie" (Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer); Unknown White Male (2006; $19.93); Our Brand is Crisis (2005; $21.45); Lost: Season Two (2006; $45.73), a.k.a., "Yep, Still on That Damned Island."
New anime: Kyo Kara Maoh! God [?] Save Our King! vol. 9 - the latest installment in the satirical fantasy series Now Playing magazine says "will catch many viewers off guard - while nonetheless leaving them wanting more."
GreenCine's review blog: Guru | A complete list of this week's new releases and all titles coming soon is available here | Your Queue
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We keep meeting up with Kirby Dick simply because he keeps making such vital and fascinating documentaries. In 2004, Francine Taylor spoke with him about Derrida; a year later, she covered an emotionally charged screening of his Oscar-nominated Twist of Faith. Now, with his very funny, entertaining and infuriating This Film Is Not Yet Rated in theaters, David D'Arcy asks him about the ways studios hamstring their competition, namely, indies and foreign films. Full article >>
If Hannah Eaves had to be interrupted during her talk with Andrew Bujalski about Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation, she couldn't have asked for a more appropriate disruption. Full article >>
The new documentary August in the Empire State focuses on three people caught up in the storm sparked by the Republicans descending on New York City for their National Convention in 2004. Michelle Goldberg, covering the story for Salon and Rolling Stone and author of Kingdom Coming, is one. Full article >>
GreenCine Daily, our consistently caffeinated blog, offers a recap of the just-wrapped Telluride Film Festival, while, halfway around the world, the Venice Fest didn't seem to like the latest Darren Aronofsky puzzler.
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With the fifth(!) anniversary of the date's tragic events fast upon us, we created a list of worthy September 11, 2001-themed films, both documentaries and features. Even the imperfect ones add good fodder for discussion and as a tool for reflection. For 9/11: A list.
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Details on the next GreenCine-sponsored screening at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts:
Wednesday, October 4, 7:30pm
Cabinetic & GreenCine present
The Fabulous Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Karel Zeman (1961, 83 min., 16mm, in Czech with English subtitles)
$8/$6 GreenCine and YBCA Members, Students, Seniors
Baron Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen served in the Russian military and was involved in several battles, most notably against the Ottoman Empire, until he retired in 1750. On his return to his hometown of Bodenwerder, he told tales of visits to the Moon and flights across the battlefield atop a cannonball. While there have been many stories and illustrations about his legendary life, Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman mixed animation and live-action to create this exceptional little-seen film version of these fantastic tales.
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