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
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 20th 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 200th
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 100th 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.
