TCM SPOTLIGHT: ERROL FLYNN ADVENTURES DVD REVIEW

Today, Errol Flynn is known primarily to modern audiences as the star of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, the 1938 Michael Curtiz classic. Because of this, he is thought of most for swashbuckling films.

The new TCM SPOTLIGHT ERROL FLYNN ADVENTURES 5 disc set from Warner Home Video focuses on his war films, all new to DVD and only available in this set. In the early forties, he made a series of WWII films. All but one of the films were directed by Raoul Walsh, who after Curtiz, he worked with regularly at Warner.

The films in this set are:

DESPERATE JOURNEY (1942) - Errol stars with Ronald Reagan in this film about pilots shot down in Germany during the war.

EDGE OF DARKNESS (1943) - In this Lewis Milestone directed film set in Norway, Errol and Ann Sheridan fight the Nazis in their village.

NORTHERN PURSUIT (1943) - Errol as a Canadian Mountie trying to stop Nazis by pretending to be one of them.

UNCERTAIN GLORY (1944) - Errol in France as an escaped prisoner who volunteers to help the Resistance.

OBJECTIVE, BURMA (1945) - An old fashioned action film with the battle of Burma as the centerpiece.

All the films are presented with the WARNER NIGHT AT THE MOVIES option. This feature, that goes back to the days of Warner VHS tapes, their is a way to play the films with shorts, trailers, cartoons, and other typical of the period entertainment shown before the film. You can also watch the shorts individually.

OBJECTIVE BURMA has an audio commentary from historians Rudy Behlmer, Jon Burlingame and Frank Thompson.

SHOULD I BUY IT?

Errol Flynn fans should enjoy this set quite a bit.

THE FILM NOIR CLASSIC COLLECTION VOLUME 5 DVD Review

The Film Noir is often referred to as the most American of film genres. The crime dramas, the became popular after WWII, were uniquely American. While some may point to the Western, Westerns were being made in France before the US. But the Film Noir began here.

They continue to be popular, with Warner Home Video releasing Volume 5 of THE FILM NOIR CLASSIC COLLECTION.

The set is made up of 8 films on 4 DVDs. Extras are limited to trailers.

The films in the set are:

DISC ONE

CORNERED (1945) - Dick Powell stars in this Edward Dmytryk directed this film with Powell searching for the Nazi who murdered his wife.

DESPERATE (1947) - Anthony Mann directs Steve Brodie as a man who unknowingly gets involved in a robbery. Raymond Burr and Jason Robards appear.

DISC TWO

THE PHENIX CITY STORY (1955) - No, that isn’t a misspelling. This film is set in Phenix City Alabama, called Sin City USA. Richard Kiley and John McIntire star.

DIAL 1119 (1950) - A man escaped from an asylum takes hostages in a bar, saying he will kill patrons unless the doctor who sent away is brought to him. William Conrad is the best known cast member.

DISC THREE

ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950) - A robbery, and a cop out to stop it in this film from Richard Fleischer.


CRIME IN THE STREETS (1956) - Don Siegel directs John Cassavetes, James Whitmore and Sal Mineo in this film about a street gang led by Cassavetes.

DISC FOUR

DEADLINE AT DAWN (1946) - A sailor has to prove his innocence before shipping out


BACKFIRE (1950) - Gordon MacRae tries to prove his friend (Edmond O’Brien) is innocent of murder.

SHOULD I BUY IT?

Film Noir fans should enjoy this set.

MY FAVORITE FILMS: THE STONE READER (2002)

One of my favorite films is the documentary THE STONE READER from 2002.

In 1972, filmmaker Mark Moskovitz read a rave review for a book called THE STONES OF SUMMER by a writer named Dow Mossman. Moskovitz buys the book based on that review, starts reading it, doesn't get into it and puts it aside.

Decades later, Moskovitz finds his copy, remembers buying it, and begins reading it again. This time, he is blown away by what he reads. When he finishes, he immediately looks up what else Mossman has written.

He then discovers that THE STONES OF SUMMER was the only book he ever wrote. Not only that, but he has essentially disappeared.

The film then follows Moskovitz as he tries to find out "What Ever Happened To Dow Mossman". He interviews those at the publishing company about the book and talks to old college professors to learn what Dow was like.

As some have claimed, Moskovitz goes about a very roundabout way of tracking down Mossman. He could have done it all in a few phone calls rather than in a 2 1/2 hour film. But those critics seem to miss the entire point of the film.

The book is about the joy of reading. Everywhere that Moskovitz goes, whoever he talks to, the discussion turns to their favorite books. (After I finished watching it for the first time, I immediately went to a book store) They talk about other one book writers, and the nature of artists.

Does Moskovitz find Mossman? I'll let you see the film to discover for yourself.

Released to film festivals in 2002, THE STONE READER had an interesting route to DVD. It was first available as a Barnes and Noble exclusive (who also republished the by then out of print The Stones of Summer. It was later released to DVD in both a 2 disc standard version and a 3 disc special edition directly from the filmmaker. The DVD is out of print today, but used copies are available and you can watch it streaming from Netflix.

There was a bit of controversy about the release of the film on DVD. The director sent out an email to all the fans of the film (I was on the list) asking them to write a review of the film on Amazon to start positive word of mouth. He also joked something like "Even if you didn't see it yet, write a positive review".

Some news organizations picked up on this, not realizing it was a joke, and attacked the director for it, claiming he was trying to drum up positive word of mouth. Since most of the reviews were positive (Roger Ebert, who loved the film, showing it at his Overlooked Film Festival) no one had to phony any reviews.

But now, if you go to Amazon, you will see quite a few negative reviews for the film because of this. Part of this could also be because Moskovitz, in his day job, makes political commercials.  His political enemies are attacking his non-political film.

THE STONE READER stands as one of my favorite films of the past decade, and of the past several decades as well.

If you haven't seen it, try to find it.

BREWSTER McCLOUD (1970) DVD Review

Robert Altman fans rejoice!

Altman’s 1970 follow up to M*A*S*H, BREWSTER MCCLOUD is finally available on DVD through the Warner Archive.

BREWSTER has been one of the hardest to find Altman films. Never released on DVD, and hard to find even on video, many of his fans have never seen it. When I was going through a big Altman phase in the early 90’s, it took a lot of work to find a store that even carried it.

The film stars Bud Cort as the title character, a bird obsessed man living in the Houston Astrodome. He is surrounded by an assortment of oddball characters, like Margaret Hamilton from THE WIZARD OF OZ, Rene Auberjonois who essentially narrates the film, Stacy Keach in old age make up, as well as Shelly Duvall and Sally Kellerman.

The film is very odd. While Altman fans should love it, others may find it a bit TOO out there. As a somewhat casual fan of his work, I admire the film even if it isn't up there with his best for me.

As all Warner Archive titles, the only extra is the trailer. The film, which has been remastered, does look very good, much better than the old panned and scanned VHS I first saw it on.

BREWSTER MCCLOUD will be available July 13, 2010 from the Warner Archive. 

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: The Film vs the TV Series

As a huge fan of the TV series FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, I had never seen the film version up until a few weeks ago. Now, after having seen the film, I appreciate the series even more.

The 2004 film is quite good. Based on the popular non-fiction book by Buzz Bissinger, it features Billy Bob Thornton as a coach in small town Texas. Director Peter Berg, who is also involved in the series, films the story in an almost documentary like way, with seemingly stolen shots of the town, and ordinary day to day life. Both the film and TV series feel the same.

The difference comes from the characters. Billy Bob Thornton is one of the most interesting of actors. He is incapable of turning in a performance that isn't worth watching. That said, Kyle Chandler in the TV series is a far more developed character. That isn't really being fair as the series has run hours longer, giving Chandler time to get to know the character. But I would rather see Chandler in the lead than Thornton.

While the names of the characters and towns are different in the TV and film, both feature some of the same actors.

Connie Britton plays the coach's wife in both. Once again, this shows the difference in the two as, in the film, she is in several scenes but only really has one scene where she speaks. She is just a background character essentially. On the TV series, she is one of the lead characters.

Brad Leland also appears in both as the head of the booster club. In the film he is John Aubrey, with a silent movie style villain mustache. In the TV series, he is the more interesting and nuanced Buddy Garrity, a fan favorite.

Again, the film is a good one, especially if you like football films.

But the TV series is so much more.

STREET HAWK (1985) COMPLETE SERIES REVIEW

What ever happened to Rex Smith?

That was my initial reaction after watching the new STREET HAWK COMPLETE SERIES set.

Rex was one of the biggest stars of the late 70’s. He was on the cover of countless magazines. A big Broadway star, with hit singles, and the host of SOLID GOLD, he owned the early 80’s.

Yet, I haven’t seen him recently. He is still out there, on Broadway and in other tours, along with TV work. Interviewed on the new DVD set, he still looks the same.

Someone needs to revive his career.

STREET HAWK was his biggest role. He plays Jesse Mach, a motorcycle cop assigned to desk duty after an accident. He is recruited to become a crime fighter on a specially designed motorcycle. Joe Regalbuto (best known for MURPHY BROWN) plays the engineer who designs the motorcycle.

The show is part CHIPS and part KNIGHT RIDER, and it is all 80’s. Complete with a Tangerine Dream score, this should be a big hit with fans.

The series aired in 1985 on ABC. It was originally intended to air on Monday nights, before Monday Night Football. But, according to Rex Smith in a documentary on the DVD, the head of the network wanted to air the Craig T. Nelson / Elisabeth Shue Viet Nam war drama CALL TO GLORY in that time period. Instead, the show was put on Friday nights, opposite megahit DALLAS. While STREET HAWK held its own at #2 opposite DALLAS, it was cancelled.

As Smith goes on to say, the head of the network was fired and MACGYVER was given that Monday night slot. It became a huge hit, as STREET HAWK could have.

WHAT IS ON THE DVD

The set features all 13 episodes on 4 DVDs.

DISC ONE

PILOT - Setting up the show, with Jesse being injured and recruited to ride. Christopher Lloyd appears as the bad guy. Interestingly, this episode features a different leading lady, Jayne Modean (who you are sure to recognize as she was a popular 80’s actress, and would briefly marry FULL HOUSE star Dave Coulier).

A SECOND SELF - Jesse’s friend comes to visit. The friend is played by none other than George Clooney in one of his first TV roles. Jeannie Wilson takes over the female lead.

THE ADJUSTER - In this episode, Jesse stops a jewelry robbery.

DISC TWO

VEGAS RUN - Jesse try to protect a mob witness. Sybil Danning guest stars.

DOG EAT DOG - Here, Jesse gets involved in what turns out to be a murder case.

FIRE ON THE WING - A blackmailer becomes an arsonist. Clu Gulager appears.

CHINATOWN MEMORIES - Jesse helps an old girlfriend. Keye Luke guest stars

DISC THREE

THE UNSINKABLE 453 - Bianca Jagger appears in this episode about prison escapees.

HOT TARGET - Joanne Kerns and Charles Napier appear in this episode about gun runners.

MURDER IS A NOVEL IDEA - An author is targeted for murder.


THE ARABIAN - Jesse investigates murder at a horse stable.

DISC FOUR

FEMALE OF THE SPECIES - The great Dennis Franz appears in this episode about a wealthy family targeted by terrorists.

FOLLOW THE YELLOW GOLD ROAD - Jesse vs gold thieves.

Disc four features a 41 minute documentary featuring new interviews with Rex Smith, Joe Regalbuto, and Jeannie Wilson. They seem to enjoy talking about the show, although you wish someone from production was there to talk about the history of the show a bit more. There is a bit of an Ernie Anderson narrated promo for the show that you wish was included in its entirety.  Anderson, the voice of ABC, and father of Paul Thomas Anderson, had one of the great voices of all time.

There are also stills and text recaps of the show and stars.

SHOULD I BUY IT?

If you remember the show, or want to relive the 1980’s, this is well worth picking up.

THE SUPER HERO SQUAD SHOW VOLUME 1

Anyone remember THE MUPPET BABIES? The baby versions of all the Muppets who lived in the nursery?

Well, Marvel took a lead from that and came up with THE SUPER HERO SQUAD. Airing on the Cartoon Network, the series features miniature versions of all the Marvel characters who team up to fight criminals. Not quite the baby versions, these are just at a smaller scale.

Most Marvel favorites are here, Iron Man, Wolverine, Thor, the Hulk, Silver Surfer, Falcon and bad guys like Dr. Doom.

The show looks great. The animation is bright and lively. It also features a terrific voice cast including Mark Hamill, Cheryl Hines, Taye Diggs, Greg Grunberg, Wayne Knight, James Marsters, Kevin Sorbo, George Takei, Michelle Trachtenberg, Robert Englund, LeVar Burton, and Tom "Spongebob" Kenny. Even Stan Lee himself voices a character.

WHAT IS ON THE DVD?

The disc contains seven episodes on one DVD.

The extras include a brief interview with Stan Lee, a music video, and several trailers.

SHOULD I BUY IT?

THE SUPER HERO SQUAD should be a fun viewing for the young Marvel fan.

THE SUPER HERO SQUAD: QUEST FOR THE INFINITY SWORD VOLUME 1 will be available July 13, 2010 from Shout! Factory.