How To Spend $20
...and send it right to George Lucas
By Les Winan
September 21, 2004
Taking a look ahead at the week's DVD releases is always dicey for your wallet. Nearly every week, there's a disc that would fit nicely into any size collection. When it comes time to decide what to buy, there are really two determining factors: how much you love the content and the quality of the extra features on the disc.
As a result, decisions will be totally subjective (I bought the full run of the unjustly canceled ABC dramedy Sports Night, no matter that the discs are featureless, The Criterion Collection edition of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a disc I had been dreaming of for years). The massive unreleased studio (film and television) back-catalogue means that every week there's likely something for every film fan.
For people who want to stink: Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)
Maybe it's just that I've never really partaken in either, but the smell of both coffee and cigarettes makes me cringe...together, that's just deadly. I can't even handle it. Thank god I didn't marry a coffee-guzzling smoker, because kissing a coffee-flavored ashtray sounds like hell to me. Whether or not you're into either coffee or cigarettes, if nothing else, the film should be interesting to check out. Directed by Jim Jarmusch, Coffee and Cigarettes is made up of series of vignettes with coffee and cigarettes as the common theme. The cast is made up of a wide variety of recognizable faces: Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Steve Coogan, Alfred Molina, the Wu-Tang Clan, and The White Stripes all pop up, making up the most unique cast in recent memory. If you're into Jarmusch or coffee and/or cigarettes, the disc comes with deleted scenes and an interview with Taylor Mead (one of the less recognizable cast members).
For all of the Lindsay Lohan pervs out there who don't realize that she's a Twinkie away from 300 pounds: Mean Girls (Widescreen) (2004)
All I'm saying is that both Lindsay Lohan and her equally stupid "nemesis" Hilary Duff have the look of people that are either going to put on about 50 pounds or have to go into serious eating disorder spirals to look like Hollywood wants them to. I also think both are a few drinks away from either a Playboy spread or a Paris Hilton-esque amateur porn video. Frankly, I think the downfall will be swift. I look forward to it. All credit, however, to Lohan for, at a minimum, picking interesting projects. Despite the fact that it wasn't the most successful film of the year, a Tina Fey-written comedy about high school girls is at least an interesting concept. Pick up the DVD like Lohan picks up a drink, and you'll find an audio commentary with director Mark Waters, screenwriter/actress Tina Fey, and producer Lorne Michaels (which is notable for the fact that Lohan isn't involved, she reported called the whole audio commentary thing "retarded". Okay, I made that up); bloopers; deleted scenes; and featurettes. Thrilling.
For people with nothing better to do: Felicity: The Complete Third Season (5-DVD Set) (2000)
You know, maybe I would buy this set if it included extra features like "Inside Keri Russell's Dressing Room: A Girls Gone Wild Hidden Camera Exclusive". But even then, I make no promises.
For people who yearn for 1950s Italy: La Dolce Vita (1960)
Ah life! Ah the sweet life! Ah life as a young gossip columnist in Rome! It sounds like every boy's dream! Federico Fellini's classic film hits DVD with an audio commentary with critic and film historian Richard Schickel (I really like that critics' audio commentaries are popular, as seen with this and Roger Ebert on Casablanca and Citizen Kane...if only we could get one on the DVD of Without a Paddle); photo galleries; a Fellini interview; featurettes and other ancillary extras. It's a nice package that would likely be nicer if Fellini and Marcello Mastroianni were still alive, but you'll just have to take what you can get.
For people who really like seeing midgets run around in furry costumes: Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen) (1977-1983)
Quite possibly the most obvious DVD Pick of the Week in history, the Star Wars Trilogy finally hits DVD this week, and it's about time. After a conspicuous absence from the medium, George Lucas and his revisionist cronies finally have put out a package that will have nerds lining up for miles. Much has been made about Lucas' overriding revisions on these films. I certainly think that it's his right to tinker with his own creation, as much as it's the right of every person who fell in love with these films in the theater to want to see the original versions of them.
While it's a shame that Lucas couldn't compromise and include both versions on these discs, let's be honest. Nobody is going to not buy these discs simply because the original films aren't included. While we're being honest, we should also acknowledge that George Lucas is the primary perpetrator in the "make the fans buy multiple copies of each movie Hall of Fame". So I think it's safe to assume that, roughly a year after Episode 3 hits DVD, we'll be treated to a full set of discs for all six movies that will have even more features and, quite possibly, the original versions of each film. Again, that's George's prerogative, but as with the current release, the constant tinkering, and the declining quality of the plot, acting and storytelling in Episodes 1-3, it represents a general disrespect to the people who made these films successful: the fans.
Like most, I'll be lining up to get my copy of this DVD set (and personally send Lucas another $60), and I'll certainly enjoy watching the films, tinkering; clunky dialogue; Ewoks and all. I don't think an enormous travesty that the original films aren't going to be available, mostly; I just feel that it would be a nice gesture to fans.
If I'm disappointed about anything on these discs, it's that there's no audio commentary from Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, or, most upsetting, Billy Dee Williams. I would really have enjoyed hearing a cast-only commentary where they reminisce about the films that literally made their careers (for whatever that's worth individually now) and try to keep Billy Dee from pitching Colt 45 during the track. The other thing I'm disappointed in is that they didn't include Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's segment with Star Wars fans on the disc.
Luckily for the legions of fans out there, the extra features are bountiful. However, a word of caution, if you buy this set in the "full screen" edition, you're a complete idiot. Honestly, you could not be dumber. In fact, if you've even thought about it, you deserve nothing less than to have 1,000 nerds melt your DVD collection on your front lawn. On all three films, you'll find an audio commentary with George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, Carrie Fisher, and Lawrence Kasdan. In addition, you'll be able to check out making-of footage; old TV advertising and trailers; poster and photo galleries; and featurettes. It's an outstanding package that really whets your appetite for the likely-next-to-come Star Wars DVD Pick of the Week.
September 21, 2004
500 Nations (4-DVD Set) (1995)
Asylum of the Damned (2003)
The Battle of Algiers (3-Disc Criterion Edition)
Blindness (1998)
Carandiru (2004)
Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)
The Country Girl (1954)
The Demon (1978)
The Devil's Arithmetic (1999)
Dog Gone Love (2003)
East of Hope Street (1998)
Epidemic (1988)
Escape from Wildcat Canyon (1999)
Felicity: The Complete Third Season (5-DVD Set) (2000)
Grizzly Mountain (1997)
Homo Sapiens 1900 (2000)
How to Draw a Bunny (2002)
Ichi the Killer: Episode Zero (2002)
John Cassavetes: Five Films
King Solomon's Mines (2004)
A Jersey Tale (2003)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Mean Girls (Full Frame) (2004)
Mean Girls (Widescreen) (2004)
Moses (1976)
Mr. Show: The Complete Fourth Season (2-DVD Set) (1998)
Outrageous! (1977)
Prince Cinders (1994)
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
Roseland (1977)
Smell of Campher, Fragrance of Jasmine (2000)
Star Wars Trilogy (Full Frame) (1977-1983)
Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen) (1977-1983)
Tintorera (1977)
Touching Wild Horses (2002)
Twenty Bucks (1992)
Twentynine Palms (2003)
What Alice Found (2003)
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