DVD Pick of the week: “BOB HOPE: ‘THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES’ COLLECTION”
(Universal studios Home entertainment)
Comedy’s the name of the game in this six-film DVD collection that celebrates the screen legacy of the legendary Bob Hope (1903-2003), inarguably one of the best-loved entertainers in American history.
The 1938 comedy Thanks for the Memory, based on Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s play Up Pops the Devil, gave the performer his theme song; Hope is joined by Bing crosby and Dorothy lamour for Road to Morocco (1942), the third of their seven “Road” movies and widely considered one of the best, which earned Academy Award nominations for Best original screenplay and Best sound Recording; the 1948 Western spoof The Paleface teamed Hope with Jane Russell and won the oscar for Best song
(“Buttons and Bows”).
The remaining three films paired Hope with Paulette Goddard, and remain among the best of the films that either made: The Cat and the Canary (1939), based on the John Willard play, and 1940’s The Ghost Breakers (1940), based on a Paul Dickey/charles W. Goddard play, are quintessential “old-dark-house” mystery comedies of the pre-war era, and the 1941 comedy Nothing But the Truth, based on a Fredric Isham novel, sees Hope’s character vowing not to tell a lie for 24 hours. (Hmmm… that’s a familiar concept!) The boxed set retails for $39.98.
ALSO ON DVD
ABOVE AND BEYOND (Timeless media Group/ mTI Home Video): An award-winning, canadianmade mini-series ($24.95 retail) that dramatizes the Atlantic Ferry operation during World War II, in which warplanes were flown from Newfoundland to england in order to defend the nation from the Nazis. The cast includes Richard e. Grant, kenneth Welsh, Jason Priestley, Jonathan scarfe, liane Balaban and Joss Ackland (as churchill).THE ARISTOCATS (Walt Disney studios Home entertainment): A special edition ($29.99 retail) of the award-winning, animated 1970 Disney musical featuring the voice of eva Gabor as a mother cat, who along with her three kittens, embarks on a wild adventure through Paris as they attempt to claim an inheritance that is rightfully theirs. other familiar voices include scatman crothers, Phil Harris, sterling Holloway, Paul Winchell and maurice chevalier, who came out of retirement to perform the opening song. Rated G.
“THE AWKWARD COMEDY SHOW” (New Video): A stand-up comedy documentary ($19.95) retail showcasing the talents of the title troupe, whose members include marina Franklin, Baron Vaughn, eric Andre, Hannibal Buress and Victor Varnado (also the director and executive producer).
DOMINICK DUNNE: AFTER THE PARTY (IndiePix): A two-DVD “collector’s edition” ($29.95 retail) of the excellent 2008 documentary tracing the life and career of author and advocate Dominick Dunne, who died last year.
“GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL”: SEASON ONE, PART 1 (Image entertainment): A three-DVD boxed set ($24.98 retail) containing 11 episodes from the 2008 of the popular reality series, spun off from syFy channel’s original “Ghost Hunters” series, following paranormal investigators Robb Demarest, Dustin Pari, Barry FitzGerald and Brandy Green as they traverse the globe seeking supernatural phenomena throughout the world.
KILL THE POOR (Genius Products): Director Alan Taylor’s adaptation of Joel Rose’s novel stars David krumholtz and clara Bellar as a young couple trying to thrive and survive in a crimeriddled tenement on the lower east side of New York city, circa 1982. episodic but sometimes very effective, with a solid supporting cast: Paul calderon, otto sanchez, Heather Burns, Damian Young, Jon Budinoff, Zak orth, larry Gilliard Jr., Fisher stevens and cliff Gorman in his final role (the film is dedicated to him). completed in 2003 and released in ’06. John malkovich was one of the producers.
THE LANDLORD (massive ego Productions/ Tempe Video): Writer/producer/editor/director emil Hyde’s debut feature is a raunchy, low-budget horror spoof starring Derek Dziak as a beleagured landlord whose tenants keep getting possessed, murdered and/or devoured by the pair of ancient, flesh-eating demons (Rom Barkhordar and lori meyers) — and that’s just the beginning of the story. Broad, silly and a little too long, but Hyde (who also appears in a small role) and the actors (most making their screen debuts) make the most of it. Not bad, and not to be confused with Hal Ashby’s 1970 film of the same name. one special feature of the DVD is a built-in drinking game!
LONESOME JIM (Genius Products): steve Buscemi directed this amiable, bittersweet comedy with casey Affleck in the title role, as a troubled young man who returns home to Indiana and tries to re-connect with his family — seymour cassel as Dad, the superb mary kay Place as mom, and kevin corrigan as his suicidal older brother — while tentatively wooing a local nurse and single mother (liv Tyler). Rated R.
“ROYAL PAINS”: SEASON ONE (Universal studios Home entertainment): mark Feuerstein plays a disgraced doctor who becomes personal physician to the beautiful residents of the Hamptons, in all 12 episodes from the 2009 season of the UsA Network comedy series. This three-DVD boxed set retails for $59.98.
SHUTTER ISLAND (Paramount Home entertainment): martin scorsese’s adaptation of Dennis lehane’s best-seller reunites him with leonardo Dicaprio as a troubled federal marshal searching for a missing person in a mental hospital located on the title isle. Ben kingsley, max von sydow, mark Ruffalo, michelle Williams, Patricia clarkson, emily mortimer, elias koteas, Ted levine, Jackie earle Haley and John carroll lynch round out a superior cast, but only kingsley and von sydow make much of an impression. extremely well made but excruciatingly overlong, which tends to diminish the suspense rather than enhance it. one of scorsese’s most disappointing films, but undeniably interesting as interesting failures go. Ironically, it was one of his biggest boxoffice hits. Go figure. Rated R.
SLEEPING BEAUTY (Walt Disney studios Home entertainment): A 50th anniversary “Platinum edition” of Walt Disney’s 1959 animated classic, based on charles Perrault’s 17th century fairy tale. In addition to being a huge box-office hit (including subsequent re-releases), the film scored an oscar nomination for Best musical score. The two-disc “Platinum edition” DVD retails for $29.99 and the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack for $35.99. Rated G.
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (Walt Disney studios Home entertainment): History was made when Walt Disney undertook the making of the first animated feature film in the United states, a 1937 adaptation of the classic fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, featuring the voices of Adriana caselotti as snow White, lucille la Verne as the evil Queen and Harry stockwell as the Prince. many Hollywood insiders predicted it would fail. over 60 years, numerous re-releases and countless millions of dollars later, it’s clear that they were wrong. Disney received an honorary Academy Award (actually one regular-sized statue and seven miniatures), and the film’s score earned a nomination. The two- DVD retails for $29.99, the Diamond edition Blu-ray/ DVD combo pack for $39.99. Rated G.
“TCM SPOTLIGHT: CHARLIE CHAN COLLECTION” (Warner Home Video): A selection of four low-budget mysteries, released by monogram Pictures after Twentieth century Fox had dropped the series, featuring the classic character created by earl Derr Biggers: sidney Toler plays the inscrutable chinese sleuth in Dark Alibi, Dangerous Money and The Trap (all 1946), the latter marking Toler’s final film, then Roland Winters assumed the role of chan in The Chinese Ring (1947). This boxed set retails for $39.92.
WILD OCEAN (Image entertainment): John kani narrates this award-winning, pictorially pleasing documentary about the annual winter migration of sea creatures along south Africa’s Wild coat. originally in ImAX and 3-D, this (not surprisingly) loses some of its grand scope, but it doesn’t lay its conservation message on too thick, allowing the spectacular visuals to do it.
THE WOLFMAN (Universal studios Home entertainment): Benicio Del Toro plays the title role in this expensive, long-delayed remake of the 1941 horror classic, an actor who returns home to his ancestral home in england and is bitten by a werewolf, thereby cursing him as well. Great special effects, but a reasonably enjoyable first half comes undone, clearly indications of postproduction re-shoots, re-editing and re-jiggering (hence the delay). Director Joe Johnston stepped in when original helmer mark Romanek stepped down. Anthony Hopkins, emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving and Geraldine chaplin add a touch of class in support, although there’s not much for anyone to do (including the audience) between transformation scenes. Rated R (also available in an unrated edition).
