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If you're tired of the unending sequels, remakes and knockoffs
of American and Japanese horror films, take a look at the industry coming out of
Spain, where guilt and ghosts and fear of the devil all seem quite alive in the
21st century. The six films in this three-disc collection, all made for Spanish
TV, are not the most ambitious productions to come out of the country. These are
more austere miniatures made by some of the most interesting genre directors in
Spain. Alex de la Iglesia directs " The Baby's Room," a darkly witty little tale of
young parents who buy a bargain house and find it haunted by spirits who only
show up on the baby-cam (a video version of the baby monitor). It's a little too
slight for a theatrical production, but, at 80 minutes, the spooky little ghost
story -- spiced with a well-handled sense of humor and an underplayed but
wicked little twist that brings the film full circle -- makes for a tasty
little feature. Jaume Balagueró's " To Let" takes another young couple (this one expecting a
blessed event) and another creepy old place (a dilapidated dump of an apartment
building), but this one is haunted by the real-estate agent from hell. Balagueró
turns the cavernous location into a dreary dungeon and delivers the struggle
with a few choice moments of gore. If they aren't the epitome of Spanish horror,
they effectively focus their small budgets on tight little stories and leave the
viewer just a little creeped out. The set also features " Xmas Tale," " A Real Friend," " Spectre" and " Blame," plus making-of featurettes for each
feature, all in Spanish with English subtitles.
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| Nixon: Election Year Edition |
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Just in time for election season -- and Oliver Stone's
upcoming "W" -- is a new release of his 1995 "Nixon," which I like to think
of as "Natural Born Presidents." Like so many of Stone's revisionist, fabulist
histories, it's a mix of biographical drama, historical speculation,
psychological fantasy and fever dream imagery. Anthony Hopkins anchors the
cinematic play with a meaty portrayal, taking Nixon from ambitious politician to
paranoid commander-in-chief with messianic visions. The historical insights are
filled with conspiratorial suggestions, but the sheer audacity is entertaining.
Joan Allen is a severe Pat Nixon, and James Woods, David Hyde Pierce, Powers
Boothe, Ed Harris, J.T. Walsh and E.G. Marshall co-star. Features the extended,
212-minute director's cut. New to this release is "Beyond Nixon," a 35-minute
documentary on the history and legacy of Richard Milhous Nixon by Stone's son,
Sean, and featuring commentary by author and historian Gore Vidal, John Dean
(White House counsel to President Nixon) and others. The rest of the previously
available supplements include two separate commentary tracks by Stone, 10
deleted/expanded scenes, and the complete 55-minute Charlie Rose interview with
Stone. Also available on Blu-ray.
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| Marco Ferreri Collection |
Eight films in an eight-disc digipak box set from Italian
iconoclast Marco Ferreri. He brings a decidedly European slant to his 1981
Bukowski adaptation " Tales of Ordinary Madness," dragging his Italian crew to the
streets of Los Angeles to find a seedy Hollywood of dim bars and cheap
apartments for Ben Gazzara's skid row poet Charles Serking. In his best moments
Gazzara kicks off his mask and drinks from the same bottle as his wino
compatriots, but otherwise he's a grizzled intellectual knight of a poet, too
poised to sink into rummy depths of his alcoholic character. " Seeking Asylum" stars Roberto Benigni as an unconventional
kindergarten teacher, part doting dad-figure, part anarchist. The humor is more
Ferreri than Benigni, but the actor delivers a curiously introspective and
certainly unpredictable performance. Ferreri's 1973 satire " La Grande Bouffe," his most notorious film, stars Marcello
Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli and Philippe Noiret as friends tired
of living who decide to go out in grand, indulgent style in one final orgiastic
weekend full of gourmet food and call girls. Also features " El Cochecito," " The Seed of Man," " Don't Touch the White Woman," " Bye Bye Monkey" and " The House of Smiles," plus the bonus documentary
"Marco Ferreri: The Director Who Came From the Future," and a 16-page
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| The Small Back Room |
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This claustrophobic drama about a research scientist and
military bomb-disposal expert (David Farrar) who has crawled inside the bottle
is a marked change of pace for director Michael Powell, the British master known
for his creative visual style and vivid narratives. His style is just as vivid
here (the most memorable scene is a nightmare image of a monster bottle of
alcohol pulling him into its orbit) as he closes the frame down upon his haunted
hero. Farrar and co-star Kathleen Byron previously starred in Powell's hothouse
drama of desire and repression, "Black Narcissus," and Jack Hawkins and Michael
Gough co-star. The Criterion disc features commentary by film scholar Charles
Barr, a new video interview with cinematographer Chris Challis, excerpts from
Powell's audio dictations for his autobiography, and a booklet with a new essay
by film scholar Nick James.
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| Orson Welles' Don Quixote |
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The footage in this film was directed by Orson Welles for a
dream production of Miguel de Cervantes' landmark novel, a project that he
filmed on and off for 15 years with Francisco Reiguera (strikingly gaunt and
theatrically animated) and Akim Tamiroff as Quixote and Sancho Panza,
respectively, in the modern world. This isn't a restoration -- Welles never
completed the film -- and it's not really a reconstruction of what might
have been; it's more a compendium of recovered footage edited into a rough
narrative by cult director Jess Franco, who assisted Welles on the production.
The footage varies wildly in quality from shot to shot, the awkward, indifferent
editing only draws attention to the weakness, and Franco piles in footage that
Welles never intended to use in the film. But the real crime against art is the
slapdash narration and dubbing and the distracting and sloppy visual effects
that Franco adds to the film. It works better as a flawed historical document
than a movie, because it sure doesn't look, sound or feel like a film by
Welles.
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In addition to his regular contributions to MSN Movies, Sean Axmaker is a
film critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a DVD columnist for MSN
Entertainment. He is also a contributing writer for GreenCine.com, Turner
Classic Movies Online and Asian Cult Cinema, among other publications.
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Get Smart! Please!In honor of bumbling Maxwell
Smart, a brief history of our favorite clueless detectives On the RocksWith 'Iron Man' and 'Hancock' featuring
heavy-drinking protagonists, we reflect on the most memorable drunks in movie
history UnclassicsThough they may be listed among the
greatest films of all time, these 10 movies deserve to be
downgraded | |
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