Who’s Minding the Store: 1 August 2006

Another Tuesday. Another influx of new releases eager to drain away your hard earned dollars. Summer is usually slow for major DVD titles, since local theaters are still delivering the popcorn fodder that ordinarily defines the season. Still, along with the myriad of typical fare being offered, including the original Yours, Mine and Ours (with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball doing the Brady Bunch mixed family thing), the 2006 revamp of The Shaggy Dog (leave it to Disney to remake even its lamest live action titles) and yet another digital dip for the mythic Magnificent Seven (making it a fifth release for this Seven Samurai remake) there are some celebrated discs worth considering. Earning the S.E.A.L. Seal of Approval for 1, August 2006 are the following DVDs that PopMatters readers might be interested in. In alphabetical order, they are:

Beavis and Butthead: The Mike Judge Collection Volume 3 – the final 40 episodes in creator Judge’s juggling of the Beavis and Butthead legacy, these music video-less vignettes are just not as effective without their pop culture commentaries. Still, for fans who’ve longed to see these delinquent dorks take “Woodshop”, battle “Head Lice” and consistently fail in their efforts to ‘score’, this last installment of the DVD series is well worth a look.

The Mr. Moto Collection: Volume 1 – as odd as it sounds to our current cultural sensitivity, Golden Age Hollywood had no problem letting a Hungarian character actor play a Japanese detective in a series of racially dubious mysteries. When the performer in question is the captivating Peter Lorre, however, some minor ethnic stereotyping can be tolerated. While never quite as popular as their cinematic cousins featuring Charlie Chan, the Moto movies remain fascinating curios to Tinsel Towns treatment of Asian culture, and one of its more intriguing artists.

Olivier’s Shakespeare (Criterion Collection) – though his versions of the Bard’s classics may no longer be definitive (a certain Mr. Branagh could challenge his claim to such a statement) Laurence Olivier was definitely instrumental in bringing Shakespeare’s plays to a wider mainstream audience. Included here are his Oscar winning turns as Hamlet (1948), along with his nominated work in Henry V (1944) and Richard III (1955). As with all titles bearing the Criterion tag, the prints are perfect and the supplemental material divine.

Richard Pryor: Live in Concert – the unquestioned king of comedy delivers the definitive standup experience in this 1979 live performance. If you believe Dave Chappelle is the unwitting master of race-based humor, or deem that no one can out curse Chris Rock, here’s your chance to see the true titan of scandalous social criticism master his definitive domain. Forget his occasionally sloppy acting performances. This is the Pryor that built the legend.

Rude Boy – the Clash, in all their slapdash DIY glory, costar in the quasi-fictional film about a roadie who takes up with the seminal punk band as they tour a socially strapped 1980s England. Though much of the drama is hackneyed and forced, there is no denying the group’s power as a live act. It may not be as effective as 2000’s masterful documentary Westway to the World, this is still a must see souvenir for anyone with found memories of the ‘only band that mattered’.

PopMatters DVD Review: Click HERE

V for Vendetta – it seems like now, more than ever, we need a movie that advocates a people’s power to infiltrate and influence their government. Creator Alan Moore may be mad at the less than successful adaptation of his comic – sorry, GRAPHIC novel – and whine over how his ‘80s allegory has no significance in a post-2000 world, but with a script by those weird Wachowski Brothers and direction by Matrix alum James McTeigue, there is as much visual as political spectacle here.

PopMatters Film Review: Click HERE

What the ‘Bleep’ Do We Know: Down the Rabbit Hole Quantum Edition – promising a more complex and interaction approach to the polarizing docu-drama-mentary, this three DVD set offers brand new material meant to further supplement (and complicate) an already contentious presentation. Many still find this film’s mixing of metaphysics and science more nonsensically New Age than educationally enlightening, but any film that tries to address some of the big picture issues that the cultural conversation seems to neglect is definitely worth consideration.

PopMatters Film Review:Click HERE