Who’s Minding the Store: 03 April, 2007

Having spent the last eight months dishing out advice about the weekly plethora of DVD releases hitting the marketplace, SE&L has begun to sense some manner of merchandising pattern. It’s a ploy more problematic than the dreaded double dip and more irritating than the basic bare bones title. No, this new B&M blueprint could be labeled “2T2W” – translation: Testing the Want Waters. It seems like, more and more, major entertainment distributors are waiting (sometimes for several years) to measure the amount of interest the fans still have in a certain specific title. Then they will hold off releasing said movie/TV show until desire trumps design. Then, they can package up anything they want and guarantee some manner of sales explosion. This is clearly the case with our prime pick this week. Ardent admirers of this show have waiting so long for this series completing box set follow-up that they were ready to accept almost anything. And that’s exactly what they get the week of 3 April:

Twin Peaks: The Complete Second Season

All right, all right – it’s a TV show, so discussing it would be in direct contradiction to SE&L‘s FILM only mandates. But it’s also the by-product of cinematic genius David Lynch’s auteur imagination, so sue us. Many fans felt that this series jumped the proverbial killer fish when Laura Palmer’s murderer was finally revealed, and there are debates all over the ‘Net about the effectiveness of the finale (about as open ended as you can get, frankly). Between the cockeyed character conversions (Nadine now thinks she’s in high school???) and the Black Lodge/White Lodge mumbo jumbo, what started out as the most accomplished one hour TV drama in the history of the medium slowly de-evolved into a kind of surreal stunt series. Not even the influx of famous directors (including a much maligned pass by actress Diane Keaton) could quell the complaints. Still, as one of the many ‘holy grail’ releases that devotees have long hoped for, this is a must own DVD collection – flaws and all.

Other Titles of Interest

All That Jazz – Music Edition

Bob Fosse’s autobiographical deconstruction of the movie musical holds up today as one of the ’70s last masterpieces, a movie of startling depth and personal exposure. Still, with a previous DVD release already on shelves, this double dip seems like a considered cash grab. With only a few song oriented extras differentiating the two packages, fans should really think twice before indulging in such a misguided marketing ploy.

Charlotte’s Web

Why it took so long to bring this beloved children’s classic back to the big screen – especially after the Oscar nominated success of the similarly themed Babe – is anyone’s guess. While many still prefer the animated version from the ’70s – featuring a fabulous turn by the late Paul Lynne as Templeton the Rat – this is indeed a wonderfully inventive offering filled with wholesome family fun div>

Death of the President

Talk about your over hyped non-events. When this mock documentary about the assassination of George W. Bush was announced for inclusion at the Toronto Film Festival, tongues began wagging feverishly on both sides of the political fence. Words like “dangerous” and “treasonous” were tossed about. Then the movie was shown. Terms like “derivative” and “unexceptional” became the norm. Thanks to DVD, you can now decide for yourself.

Silent Partner

No one knew what to expect from this supposedly standard heist flick when it first hit theaters back in 1978. But thanks to magnificent work from Elliot Gould and Christopher Plummer, and some sequences of shocking, over the top violence (including one memorable moment involving a fishtank), this intriguing Canadian effort definitely deserves a wider audience. With its arrival on the digital format, here’s hoping it finds a warm home theater welcome.

S*P*Y*S

Trying to trade on the chemistry displayed between the actors in Robert Altman’s masterful M*A*S*H*, Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland are re-teamed to play secret agents trapped in some standard espionage events. Without the caustic political undercurrent present in the pair’s previous work together, many dismissed this off the mark merriment. But as flat out farcical comedies go, it’s a decent diversion.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Black X-Mas: Unrated Version

Forget about the fact that all commercial critics seem to hate horror. Ignore the reality that Bob Clark’s original is a far more startling experiment in fear. Take this remake for what it is and give Glen Morgan credit for bringing a decidedly personal purview to the motion picture macabre. Then simply sit back and enjoy this sensational old fashioned slasher film. In one of those ‘how quickly they forget’ situations, what would have been celebrated two decades before is now lambasted as dull and dumb. But Morgan actually makes this update into something far more interesting – a look at familial discord taken to disturbing, disgusting extremes. By giving enigmatic killer Billy a backstory, including a particularly dysfunctional home life, we learn what would cause someone to be so vile…and so villainous. If you ignore the dimensionless nature of the victims and settle in for a good bloodletting, Black X-Mas will not disappoint.