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Max’s Best DVD and Bu-ray Picks -- May, 2012

Many of the top nominees and winning films of the last Oscars are now on DVD and Blu-ray, and there are some really good ones worth seeing.  Here are my picks for the best of them so far released:

THE IRON LADY

Meryl Streep is amazing as Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She disappears into the role, looking, speaking, and acting like her. Besides her great best actress Oscar winning performance, it’s a very interesting story about a woman who dedicates her life to public service while still being married and a mother. On DVD and Blu-ray from Anchor Bay Entertainment.

WAR HORSE

A very moving film about a British horse who becomes one of the million horses who served on the battlefields of Europe in World War I. I wasn’t expecting to see so much war action, but it’s there and very realistically shows the horrors of war, any war, and their impact on those who fought in them.  The DVD and Blu-ray from Disney and Touchstone Pictures.

J. EDGAR

Leonardo Di Caprio plays the FB.I. chief from young man to old in this very interesting  biography that portrays Hoover as a man who loved his country and served it tirelessly for more than 40 years under eight Presidents, but we are left with wondering how much of his reputation can be relied on as being true. But then, we can wonder as much about any person in public life. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, gives us food for thought, and that is perhaps its greatest value. Hoover had two dogs, which says something good in itself. The Blu-ray and DVD from Warnr Bros.

WE BOUGHT A ZOO

I thought this would be another Doctor Doolittle but it’s more than that, it’s about a man’s devotion to animals which helps fill the hole in him after the death of his wife.  And it’s also a story about the coming together of an estranged father and son. Matt Damon does an excellent job as a man who risks everything to create a zoo for himself, his kids, his neighbors, and the animals. The DVD and Blu-ray is from 20^th Century Fox.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

Marilyn Monroe had her problems making the film THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL opposite Sir Lawrence Olivier in 1957, and this movie tells what happened during a week of filming in London. It’s told by a young writer who managed to work on the production and become a close friend of Marilyn’s, and perhaps her only friend during the shooting.  Michelle Williams is excellent as Marilyn, Eddie Redmayne as the young man who befriends her, and Kenneth Branagh as Olivier.  On Blu-ray and DVD from Anchr Bay Entertainment.

ANONYMOUS

This film makes the case that William Shakespeare did not write the plays we believe he did, but instead a British nobleman wrote them because in those long-ago days it would have been socially unacceptable if a high-ranking member of society stooped to writing plays. Most Shakespeare scholars reject the premise of this film but it makes for very interesting speculation and the re-creation of the period is wonderful.   The DVD and Blu-ray is from Sony Pictures.

ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

The beloved British comic strip comes to astonishing life thanks to computer graphics.  The boy detective and his adorable dog (aren’t we all?) get into adventures including an amazing pirate sequence with warring sailing ships. Lots of action and fun for kids. The DVD and Blu-ray is from Sony Pictures.

Also recommended this month on DVD:

SHARPE’S SERIES

That British rogue, sergeant and sometimes lieutenant Charles Sharpe (Sean Bean) takes on all missions and battles to defeat his country’s enemies in the Napoleonic Wars.  Based on the best-selling adventure novels of Bernard Cromwell, the Sharpes series was seen on PBS Television, has been available on DVD and now the series has been released in restored Blu-ray in a set of seven discs.  A real feast for the eyes, the Sharpes series is high adventure of a rare high standard and just plain fun.  And some adventures feature future stars including Jamie Bamber, James Purefoy, and Daniel Craig.  From BFS Entertainment.

THE RUNAWAY

Alan Cumming (host of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS Television) stars in this drama about young friends who first meet in gangland London in 1966 and again ten years later in the seedy East London and Soho district.  Critics say it’s “Gritty, strong stuff” and “Vintage gangster drama.”  And it’s way above most of the crime movies that are coming out of Hollywood these days.  On two DVDs from BFS Entertainment.

JULES VERNE’S MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

On DVD from Blue Apple Entertainment.  Se4t during the U.S. Civil War, five Northern prisoners of war escape in a hot air balloon that strong winds take them over the ocean wherethey are marooned on a desert island inhabited by pirates and prehistoric beasts.  The island’s longest resident, Captain Nemo helps them to escape back to their own country.  A very good remake of the 1961 British film. On DVD only  from Blue Apple Entertainment.

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD

A PBS television Masterpiece Classic film of Charles Dickens’ last and unfinished novel.  He wrote until he died the next day., leaving its ending a mystery.  It’s a real good mystery, a dark tale more sinister than anything Dickens had written,  and is being released as a tribue to his 200^th birthday.  It will keep you guessing about what happened to young Mr. Drood.  On Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Distribution.

Oldie on DVD

THE STRANG LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS

Barbara Stwncyck, my master’s favorite actress (mine is Lassie), played a femme fatale like few others, such as in this 1946 black and white film noir restored to look as good as any new release.  She keeps Van Heflin and Kirk Douglas (in his film debut) guessing as to whether she’s going to kiss or kill them.  Frog-throated Lizabeth Scott also co-stars.  In a combo Blu-ray and DVD pack from Film Chest and Cinema Classics. 

For kids and puppies

LANCELOT LINK: SECRET CHIMP

The delightful classic live-action television series for kids (1970-1972) stars some chimpanzees as spies who get into almost as many adventures as James Bond. All 17 episodes of the TV series have been restored in a 3-disc set from Film Chest and Cinema Classics. It’s lots of fun for kids and some of the proceeds go to animals through the Wildlife Way station in Los Angeles.

Documentaries

NOVA: SECRETS OF THE SUN

Even us dogs take a lot of things for granted, one of them being our nearest planet.  I didn’t know, and bet you didn’t either, that the sun contains all but 99.9 percent of the matter in our solar system and gives off hot plasma at nearly a million miles an hour.  No wonder the sidewalk feels hot under my paws in summer.  Scientists consider the sun to be one of the most amazing physics laboratories in the universe.  The fascinating hour-long documentary shown recently on PBS Television is now on Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Distribution. 

INSIDE NATURE’S GIANTS: GREAT WHITE SHARK

I never go in the water when sharks are around and for good reason. They are one of the most feared predators in the oceans.  This exciting documentary goes beyond the outside of the sharks we see and explores their anatomy and tells how they work .  The hour-long documentary shown recently on PBS Television is on DVD from PBS Distribution.

FRONTLINE: INSIDE JAPAN’S NUCLER MELTDOWN

The Fukushima earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011 and caused a nuclear plant disaster is studied in this very interesting documentary.  It contains rear film taken inside the plant and eyewitness interviews.  Workers at the stricken plant and owners of homes around it tell how they made frantic and dangerous efforts to stay alive.  The exciting hour-long documentary seen on PBS Television is on DVD from PBS Distribution.  It’s really one to see and talk about.

INSIDE NATURE’S GIANTS: BIG CATS

They don’t mean the pussy cats we dogs like to chase, but lions and tigers.  The documentary shows how they move, bite, and how the species differ from each other.  I’m all for the living in the wild, but I’m sure glad none of them are in my neighborhood.  The hour-long DVD is from PBS Distribution. 

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE BUDDHIST WORLD

This is a rare armchair way to learn about Buddhism through its most spectacular monuments built by Buddhists around the world, from India to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Cambodia and other exotic locations.  Bettany Hughes takes us on the journey that is both spiritual and architectural.  As seen on PBS Television, the 74-minute documentary is on Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Distribution.

AMERICA EXPERIENCE: GRAND COULEE DAM

You can get a college education from this terrific PBS Television series about American people past and present and various places that made or are making history.  The one focuses on the dam built during the 1930s Great Depression that made the western deserts bloom, put many people to work and provided a cheap and environmentally friendly source of power to a vast region.  But it wasn’t easy to build or popular with a lot of people. The 90 minute DVD is from PBS Distribution.

AMERICAN MASTERS: MARGARET MITCHELL:

AMERICAN REBEL

The author of Gone With the Wind is profiled in this installment of the wonderful PBS Television series.  Most people know of her only for writing the famous novel that was made into perhaps the greatest American movie ever made.  But she was more than a writer, she was a pioneering newspaper reporter and writer, women’s rights atavist, and supporter of liberation causes for African Americans.  Tragically, she died at the age of 48, having been hit by a car while crossing the street.

Friends said she never looked before did that, so let me urge everyone young or old to look both ways.  Dogs, too.  The hour-long documentary is on DVD from PBS Distribution.

TITANIC AND ME

This is a very worthy addition to the media attention to the 100^th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Titanic in 1912.  Descendants of passengers and crew share their stories of the disaster.  The 50 minute documentary seen on PBS Television is on DVD from PBS Distribution.

TITANIC’S FINAL MYSTERY

Another excellent documentary about the Titanic, this focuses on how modern technology has raised new questions about what really happened the night the “unsinkable” ship sank when it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York in 1912.  It’s no joke to say this is a chilling documentary, on both Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Distribution. 

RACING DREAMS

I didn’t know it, and you may not either but NASCAR racing is the second most popular sport in America.  This documentary tells why millions of people go to the car races and focuses especially on two boys and a girl aged 11 to 13 and their supercharged cars and ambitions. They fearlessly race extreme go-carts at speeds up to 70 mph to win trophies or just for the thrill of it.  On a 90-minute-long DVD and Blu-ray from PBS Distribution.

NOVA: CRACKING THE GENETIC CODE

If you scratch a dog, what do you get?  Maybe fleas.  Scratch a human and you get DNA a genetic code that tells how every part of them is built, through scientific research of three billion chemical letters.  Okay, so I don’t understand about the genetic code, and if you don’t either, this is an easy way to find out about it.  The hour-long DVD is from PBS Distribution.  Anyone interested in science will love this one and it makes a great school science class project.

NATURE: RIVER OF NO RETURN

A river in the Idaho wilderness called the Frank Church, named after the U.S. Senator is one of the wildest in the world.  Set in a 2.5 million-acre wilderness of deep canyons and mountain forests, it s home for lots of wildlife including wolves.  We learn about it all by following a newly wed  young couple on a year-long honeymoon that started off as a romantic adventure but ended up changing their lives.  The hour-long DVD and Blu-ray is from PBS Distribution.

OZ AND JAMES’  BIG WINE ADVENTURE -- CALIFORNIA

Oz Clarke continues to try to educate James May (of the “Top Gear” British television series) about budget wines under $20.  They take an hilarious eight-week tour of California vineyards traveling in a luxurious Monaco RV.  It’s four hours of vintage entertainment (pardon the pun) on two DVDs from BFS Entertainment.  

STORYCORPS: ANIMATED SHORTS

Everyone can use some good news, and this is a program of ten stories culled from the archives of the American Folklore Center at the Library of Congress.  Some are recollections of the past, some are about people surviving handicaps, may of them heartwarming and inspirational.

The DVD is only a half hour but a lot is packed into it, from PBS Distribution.

ART21: ART IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: SEASON 6

The sixth season of the Peabody award-winning series showcases some of today’s most acclaimed artists who show and tell about their work in relation to our fast-changing world.  The artists come from all over the globe, from Manhattan and Nigeria to Beijing to Brazil.   The four hour program seen on PBS Television is on DVD from PBS Distribution.

YOGA FOR THE REST OF US:

EASY YOGA FOR EASING PAIN WITH PEGGY CAPPY

The poplar yoga exercise guru shows how the ancient discipline can help the millions who suffer from arthritis or those who are injured from work, sports, or age.  Peggy Cappy shows and tells how gentle yoga movements can relieve jont pain.  As seen on PBS Television, the 70-minute DVD is from PBS Distribution.