Max’s Best DVD and Blu-ray Picks, October 2011
The best movies I can recommend this month are oldies. Both the complete Star Wars series (first episodes shown in 1977), from 20th Century-Fox, and Ben-Hur (1959) are out on Blu-Ray and they are wonderful adventure films as you’ve never seen them before on your home television. There are enough extras on the Star Wars Blu-ray set to keep you watching the whole fall and winter ahead. Some purists are critical of the Star Wars Blu-ray discs because George Lucas made some changes to some parts of the original films and they think he should have kept them as they were first seen and remembered. Now they’re in spectacular high definition with the purest digital sound in the galaxy!
Ben-Hur (originally from MGM but now from Warner Bros.) looks great in Blu-ray but the wide-screen ratio is still too condensed. There are lots of extras, especially on the Blu-ray sets. For Charlton Heston fans (I’m not one of them) there is a 78-minute documentary with home movies of the actor taken at the time of the Ben-Hur filming. Just what I always wanted!
More oldies released this month: The Caine Mutiny (1954) on Blu-ray with Humphrey Bogart going bananas as a naval commander faced with mutineers Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, and Jose Ferrer, and (wow!) Cobra Woman (1944) on DVD with Maria Montez fang-vamping Jon Hall and Sabu on a South Seas island.
Some other oldies released this month are also among my master’s and my favorites:
Genevieve
A British comedy about two couples, classic car lovers who take part in the annual London-to-Brighton classic car rally. One of the couples challenges the other by racing them in a 1904 roadster they call Genevieve. What starts out as friendly sometimes turns more intense, but it’s still really all in fun and a great movie for anyone in need of some laughs, and today that means everyone. John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan play the couple with Genevieve. Their friendly rivals of the road are played by Kenneth More and Kay Kendall. Those four could tickle anyone’s funnybone. The movie won the Best British Film of the Year award in 1953. It’s released on DVD and Blu-ray by VCI.
The Incredible Shrinking Man
One of the best sci-fi films ever, about a young man who gets an accidental dose of nuclear radiation on a boat and begins to physically shrink. He gets so small that even a cat looks like a hungry giant to him as his home world shrinks to the size of a dollhouse, then a matchbox. Grant Williams plays the unlucky hero and you’ll never forget him or his plight. On DVD but not Blu-ray, from Universal.
New releases recommended this month:
Justice
A new British television crime series in which a new judge weighs justice in a tough town in Liverpool in northern England. Robert Pugh stars in cases involving violence, drugs, anti-social behavior and other contemporary issues in cases that are often very surprising. When you think you’ve figured out a case, a new development can make you think again. Fans of modern detective work will enjoy this fast-paced series from PBS Distribution that avoids visual brutality of most American crime films.
A Passionate Woman
In the 1950s, a bored British housewife falls in love with her neighbor, a charming (read “hot”) Polish fellow. His wife finds out and does him in with a handgun. But the housewife is carrying his baby, so what does she do? She keeps the passionate affair to herself for thirty years, then tells it to her son (he’s her child by her husband) as the young man is about to be married. How this is all resolved makes for what some critics call “brilliant, fantastic, fabulous.” From BFS Entertainment.
First Light
The true story of the experiences of the youngest Spitfire pilot to fight in combat in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Geoffrey Wellum, only 18 at the time, recalls at age 89 the harrowing adventure that still haunts him. If you’re looking for reality television, this fills the bill. Sam Heughan plays Wellum who went to war as a boy and came back a battle-scarred man. Powerful drama from PBS Distribution. I also recommend a new documentary marking the 70th anniversary of that historic air war, titled The Battle of Britain in which Colin McGregor recalls his experiences as a Royal Air Force pilot who was one of “the Few” who flew in that battle. Aerial films from the sky war enhance the powerful documentary.
Wuthering Heights
More about the creepy British moors. A new British television Masterpiece Theatre version of the Emily Bronte gothic love story that tells more of it than previous versions. Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy star as the tragic lovers, beautiful and willful Catherine Earnshaw and brooding Heathcliff. My master showed me the 1939 version with Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier which most viewers consider the best, as I do, but I still found myself engrossed in the new and longer version. On Blu-ray from PBS Entertainment.
Mansfield Park
A new version of Jane Austen’s novel stars Fanny Price as a young woman who goes to life with wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park and finds intrigue and romance in the mansion there. It would spook me out. Not everything is as it seems to her, and we wonder if she will ever understand its occupants or her place with them, not the least of which is will she find her true love there? A Masterpiece Theatre production on Blu-ray from PBSW Distribution.
Northanger Abbey
Another Masterpiece Theatre re-telling of the Jane Austen novel about a girl who reads so many gothic novels or romance and murder, she has trouble not concluding that both are at the bottom of a mystery at a medieval country mansion. Is the young son of the master of Northanger Abbey part of a plot to cover up a murder in which his father may be the murderer? I’ll never tell, but recommend you see this excellent mystery-romance on Blu-ray from PBS Distribution.
Masterpiece Mysteries: The Complete Inspector Lewis
My master and I have faithfully watched this new British television series and are very glad that it is now on DVD. Inspector Robert Lewis (Kevin Whately) and his partner, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (Laurence Fox) pit their wits against the top criminals of Oxford, England. All twenty mysteries through series four are on a 10-disc boxed set from PBS Distribution.
Documentaries
I look everywhere for old bones in the back yard, but also love watching with my master Antiques Roadshow on television where people bring their treasures to experts who tell the what they’re worth. Now the best of the series is in a three-disc set from PBS Distribution. Some are found in attics or basements of old houses, some at garage sales, while others are family heirlooms. Items range from a 1795 Massachusetts-made pair of Federal-style side chairs valued up to $50,00, a rare 1800s Rhode Island rifle and power horn values up to $120,00, to posters from the American women’s suffrage movement valued at up to $15,000. One disc focuses solely on political treasures while another shows those rescued from rubbish heaps, dumpsters and demolition sites that are valued now at up to $100,000. Fun antiquing from PBS Distribution.
American Experience: Houdini
Harry Houdini was perhaps the world’s greatest illusionist (not sure if he was a Republican or a Democrat) and escape artist, freeing himself as he tempted fate by performing acts involving drowning or suffocating. His greatest escapes are brought to life through archival films and dramatic recreations performed by Bob Fellows, a modern-day Houdini. The hour-long documentary is from PBS Distribution.
PBS Explorer: Ancient Marvels
A fascinating trip back in time to some of the world’s most amazing ancient wonders.
Ghosts of Machu Picchu takes us to the “Lost City of the Incas,” discovered in 1911, the most famous archaeological ruin in the Western hemisphere. “Riddles of the Sphinx” is a visit to Stonehenge in southern England, perhaps the best-known and most mysterious relic of prehistory. “Secrets of the Parthenon” is a NOVA special about the Greek government’s restoration project that takes us into the minds of the ancient Greeks. “Easter Island/China Bridge” complete the five disc set from PBS Distribution.
The War of 1812
Most of us know little about it, but it is called the war that helped shape the destiny of North America. Next year will be its 200th anniversary, so it’s a good time to watch this fascinating documentary. From 1812 to 1815, Americans battled against the British, Canadian colonists, and native warriors. This two-hour documentary from PBS Television uses re-enactments, animation, and commentary of historians to reveal little-known sides of an important war that reassured America’s freedom and expanded its boundaries.
Jacques Pepin: Essential Pepin
The famous American chef with the French-sounding name shares more than 125 recipes from his long and legendary career that included 26 episodes on television. The three-disc set includes his “The Complete Pepin” and “Jacques Pepin: Fast Food My Way,” from PBS Distribution. Julia Child called Pepin “the best chef in America,” and now you can learn his secrets for a perfect apricot and pistachio soufflé or basic french fries, chocolate truffettes, and simple chicken with tarragon butter. My mouth is watering.
Cook’s Country, Season 4
Filmed in a renovated 1806 New England farmhouse, family-friendly recipes back then are re-imagined for today’s home cook. All 13 episodes from the fourth season of the television series are in a two-disc set from PBS Distribution. Recipes include banana pudding, apple dumpling, Nashville Hot Chicken, and St. Louis BBQ Pork Steak. A bonus feature are printable versions of 27 recipes.
History Detectives: Season 9
My master and I love this television series as people with something old ask experts to find out their history and authenticity. This new three DVD set shows again how modern technology and search methods can shed new light on historical objects. Included are objects from the American Civil War and the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
NOVA: Engineering Ground Zero
The award-winning science series explores the rebirth of the World Trade Center in New York City after the 9-11 terrorism disaster. The site has become one of the largest and most complex restoration objects on the planet. NOVA crews capture behind-the-scenes struggles of architects and engineers to make the buildings safe and highly secure. The program includes interviews with architects, Mayor Michael Bloomberg who is chairman of the 9-11 Memorial Foundation, and Michael Arad, creator of the concept for the 9-11 Memorial.
Craft in America: Family
Four craft artists discuss their creativity. Former President Jimmy Carter meets Philip and Matt, son and grandson of Ed Moulthrop, a Georgian known as the “father of modern woodturning,” who are both carrying on the family tradition. In another segment, Paul Marioni and his son Dante tell about their sculptural and kinetic glass making,. Other segments show Cliff and Holly Lee showing their two sons their craft combining traditional Chinese techniques with modern in creating porcelain vessels and metal art. Lis Sorrell creates fine-crafted custom cowboy boots, one of the few women in this field, and shows her two teenage daughters her skills so they can carry on the craft as a family tradition. Excellent arts and crafts documentary from PBS Distribution.
The Craft in America Collection
All three seasons of the Peabody-award winning television series dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and celebration of craft and its impact on American cultural heritage. The three-disc set tells of the origins of the American craft movement and then advances to how crafts artists tell a story, prove a point, or bring attention to social, political, or historical issues. A wonderful exploration of the many facets of craft artwork in America, from PBS Distribution.
For puppies and kids
RIO
My master and I watched this animated film with some neighbor kids and we all laughed and loved it. If you don’t know, Blu is the hero, a Macaw who never learned to fly while living with his owner and best friend Linda in a small town in Minnesota. Linda thinks Blu is the last of his kind, but then learns there is a female macaw living in Rio de Janeiro, so they go there to find her. Their adventures are exciting and fun for kids and the whole family to watch together. From 20th Century-Fox.
Spooky Buddies
Don’t you just love puppies? I do! These talking puppies are back in an all-new movie that takes them far across town to a mysterious mansion where something very spooky is going on. In a race against a no-good hound, the Buddies and their new friends, Pip, Zelda, Rodney and Skip, must stop Warwick the Warlock and save the world from his dastardly deeds. It’s a fun doggie adventure for kids and the whole family from Walt Disney.
That’s all for October, movie fans. See you next month at the same fire hydrant.
Woo! Woo!
