DVD Pick of the week: THE THREE MUSKETEERS/THE FOUR MUSKETEERS 2-MOVIE COLLECTION (lionsGate Home entertainment)
Director Richard lester scored back-to-back box-office hits with these rollicking adaptations of the classic Alexandre Dumas story, originally intended as a single epic but then divided into two films, released in 1973 and ’74, respectively.
Michael York plays D’Artagnan, the young swordsman eager to join the Queen’s Musketeers: Athos (Oliver Reed), Porthos (Richard Chamberlain) and Aramis (Frank Finlay). He gets his chance when treachery rears its head, personified by the nefarious Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) and his cunning cohorts, Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) and the ruthless, one-eyed Rochefort (Christopher lee). It’s one for all and all for one — and boisterous, non-stop action and adventure, accentuated by lester’s patented slapstick and some of the best swordfights ever committed to film.
The energetic cast (of both films) also includes Raquel Welch (in a Golden Globe-award winning performance) as the lovely Constance, whom D’Artagnan is (understandably) drawn to; Jean-Pierre Cassel as louis XIII and Geraldine Chaplin as Queen Anne, simon Ward as the Duke of Buckingham, spike Milligan and Roy kinnear.
The lightness of the first film is supplanted by a darker, nastier turn in the second film, but both are splendid screen renditions of the oft-told tale, perhaps the best ever filmed. The second film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design. Both films are rated PG.
ALSo oN DVD
ANIMATION EXPRESS (Image entertainment): A collection of 26 animated shorts that run the gamut from traditional hand-drawn to state-of-the-art CGI, including “Drux Flux,” “Invasion of the space lobsters,” “sainte Barbe,” “land of the Heads,” award-winners “sleeping Betty” and “Madame Tutli-Putli,” as well as bonus shorts. The DVD and the Bluray each retail for $29.98.ARTHUR HAILEY’S DETECTIVE (lionsGate Home entertainment): Tom Berenger stars as a Catholic priest-turned-detective investigating a series of strange murders in this adaptation of Arthur Hailey’s best-seller, originally a miniseries on the Hallmark Channel. The whodunit too often get lost amidst the soap-opera trappings, but there’s a tricky twist ending and a highprofile cast: Annabeth Gish, Cybill shepherd, Bruce Boxleitner, Charles Durning, Frank Whaley, Charles Cioffi, Jack Conley, Norman Alden, Rutanya Alda and Richard Riehle.
BARE KNUCKLES (Image entertainment): Jeannette Roxborough plays a single mother who turns to bare-knuckle boxing to make ends meet in this fact-based melodrama produced and directed by eric etebari. No Million Dollar Baby but not bad, with good roles for Martin kove (also a co-producer) as her promoter and Chris Mulkey as her trainer. The cast also includes louis Mandylor, Roxborough’s real-life daughter Taya, and etebari himself. Rated PG-13.
“BING CROSBY: THE TELEVISION SPECIALS”: VOLUME ONE (Infinity entertainment Group): The first in a series of rarely-seen television specials hosted by the inimitable Bing Crosby (1903-’77), this boxed set ($29.98 retail) includes Crosby’s debut special from 1954, which featured Jack Benny, as well as subsequent specials with such guest stars as Bob Hope, Frank sinatra, Dean Martin, the smothers Brothers, louis Armstrong and others.
CIRCLE OF PAIN (lionsGate Home entertainment): It sure is. There are a few unintentional yucks in this dopey, hackneyed action opus centering around a martial-arts tournament. Actual professional fighters (including Heath “the Texas Crazy Horse” Herring, Roger Huerta, Frank Mir and kimbo “kimbo slice” Ferguson) appear, in and out of the ring. Rated R.
COLUMBIA PICTURES FILM NOIR CLASSICS II (sony Pictures Home entertainment): The latest collection of classic-era thrillers, each making its DVD debut and each one newly remastered and restored: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Broderick Crawford star in Fritz lang’s 1954 adaptation of Human Desire; Pushover (also ‘54) stars Fred MacMurray, Dorothy Malone and kim Novak (in her first credited role); Jacques Tourneur’s Nightfall (1957) marked an early screenplay for future Oscar winner stirling silliphant and stars Aldo Ray and Anne Bancroft; The Brothers Rico (1957) stars Richard Conte, James Darren and Paul Picerni in the title roles; and Vince edwards stars in 1958’s City of Fear. This five-DVD boxed set retails for $59.95.
CRIMES OF FASHION (Image entertainment): Originally broadcast on ABC Family in 2004, this featherweight comedy stars kaley Cuoco as a fashion student who discovers she’s heir to a mob fortune. “The sopranos” veteran Dominic Chianese plays her Mafia mentor and Megan Fox her fashionsavvy arch-nemesis.
EYEBORGS (Image entertainment): lethal surveillance robots go on the rampage in this paranoid sci-fi thriller filmed on location in Winston-salem. Adrian Paul plays a DHs agent who starts to figure out the trut … but is it too late? Others in the cast include Danny Trejo, luke eberl, John s. Rushton (also a producer), Megan Blake, Dale Girard, Juan-Carlos Guzman and Mark Joy (as the president). I would be remiss not to mention director Richard Clabaugh, who co-wrote the script with wife Fran. The award-winning CGI effects are impressive, and area residents will enjoy seeing the local landmarks (including yours truly in a split-second cameo). Rated R.
FROM MEXICO WITH LOVE (lionsGate Home entertainment): kuno Becker plays a migrant farm worker who turns to boxing in this immigration melodrama with an underdog sports bent. stephen lang, steven Bauer and Bruce McGill (as the obligatory grizzled old trainer) lend support. This doesn’t stray far from formula, but the cast gives it some heart. Rated PG-13.
I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF (lionsGate Home entertainment): The latest big-screen example of writer/producer/director Tyler Perry’s patented blend of soap opera and sass stars Taraji P. Henson as a hard-living singer saddled with her late sister’s children (Hope Olaide Wilson, kwesi Boakye and Freddy siglar in his screen debut), which compels her to turn her life around. In support: Adam Rodriguez, Gladys knight, Mary J. Blige, Pastor Marvin Winans and Perry himself, as both Madea and Joe. Madea’s version of Bible stories is a highlight of this uneven but (typically) well-meaning film, based on one of Perry’s touring plays. Rated PG-13.
THE LOVELESS (Blue Underground): Future Oscar winner kathryn Bigelow made her feature debut co-writing and co-directing (with Monty Montgomery, later a “Twin Peaks” producer) this evocative 1982 melodrama about a ’50s biker gang, led by Willem Dafoe (in his first starring role) that pulls into a jerkwater Georgia town en route to Daytona. Full of mood and attitude, but the draggy pacing is problematic. Nevertheless, this has a cult following. Nice turn by Marin kanter as a teenaged townie who catches Dafoe’s eye. Rated R.
RAIN FALL (lionsGate Home entertainment): kippei shiina plays John Rain, a hired assassin who traipses through Tokyo while being pursued by the CIA (represented by Gary Oldman, who shouts a lot) in this slick but needlessly protracted adaptation of Barry eisler’s best-selling novel, which ends with a whimper and not a bang. Rated R.
TENDERNESS (lionsGate Home entertainment): Director John Polson’s dour adaptation of Robert Cormier’s novel stars Russell Crowe as a brooding detective on the trail of a teenager (Jon Foster) recently released from a mental institution after killing his parents — and who has recently picked up a runaway teenager (sophie Traub). Moody but muted. Rated R.
UNCLE SAM (Blue Underground): The Bluray debut ($29.95 retail) of director William lustig’s uneven, semi-satirical 1997 shocker about an undead Desert storm victim (David Fralick) who goes on a rampage after his body is shipped home. One of screenwriter larry Cohen’s weirdest concepts, although the cast is loaded with favorites: Robert Forster, Timothy Bottoms, Bo Hopkins, Isaac Hayes, PJ soles and William smith (who recites one of his own poems over the end credits). Dedicated to lucio Fulci. Rated R.
