The Red Shoes (The Criterion Collection) (1948)

Many of Powell and Pressburger's films explore the life of the artist and the power of the artistic imagination. In THE RED SHOES and PEEPING TOM, most notably, the writer-directors reveal the sacrifices that art sometimes demands from its acolytes.

Balletophiles often praise THE RED SHOES, but one need not be a fan of ballet to be amazed by the film's emotional power and extraordinary staging. On the Criterion DVD, the saturated reds that represent the artist's blood sacrifice, and the cool aqua-blues that represent the (false) promise of life and romance outside of art, appear with unmatched vividness. Powell is a master of color, and has influenced a generation of filmmakers (through the advocacy of his admirer Martin Scorcese) with his theories about how color and music contribute to the thematic impact of a film.

Anton Walbrook, who plays the impressario Lermontov in THE RED SHOES, is one of Powell and Pressburger's favorite actors, appearing to stunning effect in THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP as well. Moira Shearer, the actress/dancer who plays the lead, made her reputation on THE RED SHOES. She also dances in one segment of the rarely-seen Powell/Pressburger masterpiece THE TALES OF HOFFMAN.

The Criterion DVD has the beautiful sound and picture we've come to expect from the Voyager Company. Interesting disc features include: an audio track of Jeremy Irons reading from the original Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, the complete text of Powell and Pressburger's novelization of the movie, an extensive collection of Scorcese's memorabilia, and a comparison of the Red Shoes Ballet with the filmed storyboard sketches the directors used as a guide. One wonderful addition for Powell and Pressburger fans is their filmography -brief descriptions with cast lists and dates for all their films, most of which also have film clips included. It's a chance to see scenes from some of the long-lost works in their catalogue.

I've seen the original film of "The Red Shoes" a number of times over the years and just loved it. The story, ballet, music, color, actors, and the whole production are superb!

Later I acquired the RCA SelectaVision CED video disc edition (two parts) in the early 1980s. The CED issue unfortunately was prone to frame skipping, occasionally syncopating the ballet sequences. Still later, I obtained the Paramount VHS hi-fi release (1987). There was no frame skipping with the VHS tape, but the tops of all the frames tended to be somewhat bent and fluttery. Alas, I found no remedies for these problems.

Without question, this DVD release is the best of the lot, technically. And, I liked the additional background material contributed to this DVD edition. The DVD has great color with clear, well focused images. The only deficiency, in my opinion, is the movie sound track which sounds dated (1947), however it's on par or better than the forementioned VHS release.

Overall, I would class this DVD movie as one I would have to take, along with others, to a desert island on which I subsequently became marooned.

Buy The Red Shoes (The Criterion Collection) (1948) Now

This is a magnificent movie, one of the most voluptuous ever filmed (in Technicolor), one of the most influential, and one of the most satisfyingly melodramatic. Every bit of it works. At the most simplistic, it's a fairy tale, Hans Christian Andersen's The Red Shoes, that takes place in a ballet, which is repeated in real life.

At the heart of the movie is Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), the imperious impresario of The Ballet Lermontov. He can be cold, charming, ruthless. At a party he says, "If some fat harriden is going to sing, I must go. I can't stand amateurs." He's enigmatic except for his dedication to ballet. At that same party he meets Victoria Page (Moira Shearer), a young ballet dancer, and is intrigued by her.

"Why do you want to dance?" he asks her.

"Why do you want to live?"

"I don't know exactly why, but I must," he says.

"That's my answer, too."

He brings her into his ballet company and also hires Julian Craster, a young composer. Later, with three weeks to create a ballet, he has Craster compose the music to the story of The Red Shoes. Victoria Page will dance it. It is a triumph, but Page leaves the Ballet Lermontov to marry Craster. Lermontov is outraged and swears he'll never see her again. She needs to dance, though, and Lermontov slowly realizes he wants her back, completely dedicated to dancing, because he can make her a great dancer. He subtly woos her back to dance the ballet again, with tragic results.

The ballet of the red shoes is the story of a young girl, engaged to be married who loves to dance and longs to go the village fair. She spies a pair of red dancing shoes in the window of a shoemaker. Despite the reluctance of her fiance, she dons the shoes and begins to dance. She has a joyous time. As she tires, however, the shoes won't let her stop dancing and she can't take them off. She dances until she dies.

The movie works so well on so many levels. Anton Walbrook is marvelous. He can be cold and demanding and devious as Lermontov, but he conveys exactly Lermontov's utter dedication. At the end of the movie when Lermontov, alone on the stage, announces to the audience Victoria Page's death in a strangled kind of breaking screech...well, you'll sit up straight. Moira Shearer, who was in fact a young ballet dancer at Sadlers' Wells and had to be coaxed to take the role, is a gorgeous creature and a first-rate dancer. She carries off the acting requirements very well. With her flaming red hair, she is just a wonder to look at and appreciate.

And then there is The Red Shoes Ballet itself. This was the first time a movie's story line was interrupted for an extended dance piece. The music by Brian Easdale is so memorable that I doubt anyone who hears it will forget the main theme. Powell directed the ballet as a surreal fantasy. It starts on the stage of the theater, then shifts to a stage that was never built in a real theater, then shifts into pure cinema. After The Red Shoes, other musicals suddenly had to have ballets -An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain, and on and on -but none has ever been better than this.

The Red Shoes is a magnificent movie. It deservedly remains one of Powell's and Pressburger's great accomplishments.

The Criterion edition is just about flawless with true color and great clarity. The commentary that accompanies the movie is fascinating.

Read Best Reviews of The Red Shoes (The Criterion Collection) (1948) Here

The Red Shoes was one of the best ventures by The Archers, the joint production company by Briton Michael Powell and Hungarian emigre to Britain Emeric Pressburger, considered to be the definitive film marrying ballet and cinema.

The story of the Red Shoes by Hans Christian Andersen forms the basis for the story of aspiring dancer Victoria Page, aspiring composer Julian Crasster, and ballet company impresario Boris Lermontov, who takes on the latter two under his wing. Crasster's involvement begins when portions of his work Hearts Of Fire is appropriated in a ballet, and he's given the job of orchestra coach, when he confronts Lermontov. Page comes to the attention of the maestro when the latter snubs an offer by the girl's aristocratic aunt to see her dance. To the Russian, ballet is more than poetry and motion, but his religion, and hence, not an audition. He tries her out at a separate audition, where she makes the final cut.

Lermonotov decides to stage his next ballet based on Andersen's tale, with Victoria as the principle (Victoria Principle? just kidding) and Crassner as the composer. The ballet is a hit, for Lermontov and the whole film, as it's the highlight of the entire movie, with Victoria's flaming red hair a marked contrast to her pale skin and outfit, the ruby red shoes forming a near-symmetry, as they are on her toes. The choreography as well as the music is masterful. Despite Lermonotov and Crassner's insistence that "the music is all that matters," for us the film viewer, it's also the colours and dancing that do as well. Indeed, though the cinematography missed an Oscar, the score and art-direction/set decoration did not.

However, as demonstrated by the departure of his previous star, Irina Boronskaya due to marriage, the authoritarian Lermontov takes this personally, almost a heresy to his religion of ballet. To him, a dancer relies on the doubtful comfort of human love. Once that doubt is removed, goodbye dancing shoes, tights, exercise bar, hello high heels, stockings, and kitchen. He is determined to make Page a master dancer, and anything that comes in the way, he sees as a detriment to himself.

As for the original story, it's of a girl who puts on a pair of enchanted red shoes that keep on dancing even when the girl doesn't want to. This movie is a reinterpretation of it, where the ballet soon turns to real life.

This was Moira Shearer's debut film, and first of only six movies, and the young Scot creates a vivid but fragile and fairylike Victoria, aspiring dancer, the subject of her Svengali-like mentor, and emotionally tortured between being a dancer and a housewife. As she did ballet from age six, an ideal choice. And Ludmilla Tcherina, who plays Irina and who just recently died, was a former prima ballerina of the Monte Carlo ballet, so another great choice. And admire or hate his petty authoritarian personality, Anton Walbrook's powerful personality drives the movie. But Leonide Massine as the flamboyant, camp dancing coach Grigori Lyubov steals the show. Shearer, Massine, and the two directors would be reunited in The Tales Of Hoffman.

A visual triumph in the dancing scenes, as is the foreign location footage. Oh, and the Archers team wasn't the only one inspired by Andersen's tale, as Kate Bush created a reinterpretation of it in her The Line, Curve, and Cross short film.

Want The Red Shoes (The Criterion Collection) (1948) Discount?

The 1948 classic film starring Moira Shearer (herself a professional ballerina) is no only an enjoyable semi-realistic fantasy film, in much the same lines as say The Wizard Of Oz, but a brilliant film technically to look at. It's drawn from the dark fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson (responsible for such stories as The Little Mermaid), in which a young girl is forced to wear red shoes with a will of their own. The poor girl dances until she dies. The concept is taken to a late 40's England, where the aspiring ballerina Victoria Page seeks to dance in the prestigious company headed by the eccentric, perfectionist and intensely driven impresario Lentmontov. The story provides the audience with a glimpse of dance rehearsals, theatrical life both pre-performance and during, the charm of the glamourosu life ballerinas are said to enjoy. But in reality, it is a study on obscession, the demand for virtuouso performance and the conflict between love of one's career and romantic love. Victoria Page is herself doomed to dance to her death when she is torn between her duty to Lentmontov and her love for his musical composer and choreographer. This movie is excellent for ballet fans, and for stage magic fansthe Ballet of the Red Shoes is the most striking moment in the film, an original ballet set against surreal, nightmarish backgrounds of carnivals, ballrooms and ghostly netherworlds where neon lights change colors in blinding and dizzying speed and danced to jazzy 40's music. The film is sure to impress adults (I disagree that it is for children due to the drama of the whole thing), and it is marvelously shot in Paris, London and Monte Carlo. A film like this does'nt come often.

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Gojira (1954)

I just got my copy in the mail a day early and have just sat down to watch the American Version with Raymond Burr. I also own the Classic Media version that came out a few years back [The two disc set that's titled "Gojira"]. I have two computers side by side and decided to do a side by side compare of the two versions. My efforts have resulted in this conclusion. Both versions are nice for a film this old. Each has its good points and bad points. The earlier version by Classic Media has better, more balanced lighting. But it does show up more dirt specs and lines. Not a lot more i should add. The Criterion version has less specs and lines and is darker in dark areas and brighter in bright areas. The Criterion version has more contrast, Both films are very watchable. If i had to put a number on it, i would say the Criterion version is at least 20% better looking [video quality] than the older version. And the newer versions sound quality is 50% better than the older version. Here's the big major difference between the two. It appears that the Criterion version is giving us the absolute whole image from side to side and top to bottom. In the older version there are items in the film on the outer edges that are cut off more than the newer version. Its like the older version was mastered slightly zoomed in for whatever reason. If you didn't compare, you really wouldn't notice much difference. I have not watched anything else yet on the two discs, so cant comment on that "yet". Will update more then. In my opinion, this is worth double dipping. Another difference with the new version is the beginning opening titles. This new version has the old original Trans World Release opening. The older version has no opening titles. Also one last thing. The sound in the new version is excellent! Almost no clicks,pops or hiss at all. The sound is a major upgrade. The old version still has the clicks,pops and hiss, but that never bothered me. To me it actually adds to the overall experience. Well this review is not complete yet but it is my hope that this helps those of you who are still on the fence with buying this. Its a nice set to own.

Gojira is a film about the horrors of nuclear war. Japan was still feeling the effects, so to speak, of the nuclear strike on their country and weren't happy with a-bomb testing in the Pacific. What we have here is a giant lizard awoken by a nuclear bomb, destroying the Japanese country side with an anti-nuclear message.

Also included is the American re-working, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. This one is the one starring Raymond Burr. While it isn't a faithful translation and mutes some of the anit-nuclear message, it still manages to be a decent film.

Crirterion has done an amazing job with this release.

Video:

Being a Criterion release, you know this is a good looking transfer. There are some instances of dust, dirt and scratches, but nowhere near what we saw with Classic Media's release. The greytones are more solid and details are clear. This assessment goes for both Gojira and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Encoded in AVC with bit rates ranging from about 15-30 Mbps. It looks very, very good.

Audio:

Both movies contain remastered audio (mono only for both) and are free of hiss, pops and clicks. I don't know that either film has ever sounded this good.

Extras:

You have Photographic Effects where the director and effects photographer go into detail behind how some of the visual effects for the film were created. 1080i full screen (both people appear in a pillar and letter boxed format, though the effects are done full screen just as the movie was filmed). About 9 minutes.

Cast and Crew. These are interviews with various staff behind the film speaking about the film. There are 4 interviews total. Akira Takarada, 13 mins. Haruo Nakajima, 10 minutes. Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai, 30 minutes and Akira Ifukube, 50 minutes. All but Ifukube's interviews were done in 2011. Ifukube, has, unfortunately passed away and is obviously unavailable for interviews today.

Another section is call Tadao Sato. Tadao is a Japanese film critic, thus it was not included in the Cast and Crew interviews. 14 minutes.

The Unluckiest Dragon, 10 minutes. This is a photo based documentary of the fishing boat that was part of what prompted the use of fishing vessels as the start of the Gojira film. The vessel in question was witness of some of the nuclear testing done in the Pacific and of course, most on the ship died or were negatively impacted by the death ash.

Excellent, high quality, top notch extras. Everything was worth watching and was full of all sorts of great information.

Packaging

This one comes in a nice slip cover. Inside is a really cool fold out cardboard case holding the disc. On the fold out is an awesome Godzilla pop up, similar to children's pop up books.

Over all, this is a tremendous release. Many wonder why Criterion would release a film like this, but with how inbred Godzilla is in Japan's culture, and the American culture, it makes perfect sense to me. And they treated it with the respect it deserves.

If you have the Classic Media Blu Ray, double dip. The extras alone make it worth it, plus now you'll have an HD edition of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which was missing from Classic Media's release.

Highly recommended.

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This is the ultimate home video release of Godzilla. Not only has Criterion carefully remastered the original Japanese version of the film, but they've put just as much love and effort into restoring the 1956 American version as well. Most Americans grew up with that version, and even though many film buffs agree that the Japanese version is the definitive one, I'm very happy to that for Criterion's new release the American version was not just an afterthought. Unlike the disappointing Blu-Ray release of "Gojira" by Classic Media a few years back, this Blu-Ray not only gives you both versions of the film looking the best they have since their original theatrical releases, but also a monster-sized helping of supplimental features including new audio commentaries and interviews with the film's crew.

In short, it's a Criterion release through and through, which means you are getting the very best that the Blu-ray format has to offer. Fans of "Big G" would be remiss to not put this edition in their film library.

Read Best Reviews of Gojira (1954) Here

This review is for the Blu-ray edition, and I am going to focus on the technical aspects of the release, not the movie itself, the movie is a great classic and should be seen in its Japanese original form, whether through this BD or the previous Classic Media DVD, that's your choice.

First of all, the movie is not 1080p is 1080i, which might be because it's not comming from a direct filmscan, but through an HDCAM tape, since it's a film, not TV, the fields show half and half of the frame and when a projector or the TV does the conversion to progressive you have the original frame, if you have your BD and TV/Projector properly set up you won't see any interlaced images.

The film is not presented in it's original 1.33 aspect ratio, the width is perfect but there is a slight loss in the upper and lower parts of the image (it is clearly seen in the original GODZILLA title, look at the lower right logo), therefore the aspect ratio might be around 1.45, still and improvement from the previous DVD release, it was 1.33 but because it lost both width and height.

There is also another HUGE problem: the Noise Reduction. Since it's a pretty old film, film stocks from the original movie are in pretty bad shape, and CM instead of performing a full restoration (a-la Criterion), simply applied an inmense quantity of automatic Noise Reduction, resulting in lots of jittering and screen tearing. To tell you the truth, when checking the DVD versus the BD, I found hard to decide wich was poorer in Image quality, but I guess that MPEG-2 is quite an old codec now, and the Standard Definition makes everything look slightly blury, so all in all I prefer the BluRay since it's coded in AVC. The sound only includes the original Japanese audio in PCM linear, wich is fine in my book (I hate dubs), and the subs are more than ok.

The extras are the same that on the DVD, nothing new, and they are presented in their original MPEG-2 codification.

I would never recommend this BD to any Godzilla fan if already own the CM DVD, since I truly believe that this movie will eventualy get a proper release. However if you have never seen the original Godzilla, and don't care about the american version... Hey! It's a Blu-Ray and IT'S REGION FREE! (tested on a PS3 region "B")

Want Gojira (1954) Discount?

This review is mainly concerned with the original, Japanese version of Gojira (not dubbed). I find that inserting Raymond Burr's character and removing some of the original to do so takes a great deal away from this movie and what it represents.

Godzilla rises from his long sleep due to the effects of the hydrogen bomb. With each attack, the creature becomes more bold until Tokyo suffers a devasting attack, and only a miracle can save the country from another tragic visit by this risen giant.

The love affair plays a secondary but important part in the film. Emiko has been promised in marriage to a brilliant young scientist but has fallen in love with another man. It is the old world traditions clashing with modernity. Her father is a paleontologist who is probably the only person sharing empathy with Godzilla, feeling that destroying the beast will be depriving science of its one and only chance to study a creature from the prehistoric past.

What is often overlooked (and not really stressed in the American version) is the terrible dilemma the young scientist faces when he is begged to use his oxygen destroyer weapon against Godzilla. Only the viewing of the destruction and sadness make him realize there is only one course to take. I feel he is the most crucial and yet saddest character in the entire movie. He actually loses on a number of counts--his life's work (he destroys his formula so it could never fall into the wrong hands), his fiancee has decided to wed another, and in true samurai-like tradition, ends his life nobly. The scene of Godzilla's painful death at the same moment that this brave but troubled researcher ends his own is poignant in the extreme.

This film is not just about humans against an ancient monster awakened from the past. It is about the universal emotions of love, dedication and the dangers to which science can lead us. It is also about sacrifice and triumph over impossible odds.

It is important to remember that the original movie was produced not that many years after the devastation wrought on Japan by the atomic bombs. It does not take much of the imagination to see the same destroyed cities, dying and injured people and the heartache produced by an attack, whether monster or man-made, on such a massive scale. The burning buildings, high levels of radioactivity, the melting metal all conjure up the effects of the atomic bomb, and in many ways this movie is an illustration of what Japan experienced, as well as providing a cathartic effect to a nation that suffered perhaps the greatest horror of this century.

The underlying message here is that, like the oxygen destroyer, atomic weapons are the most destructive device ever invented by man. This movie, besides being a very scary monster film (it gave me nightmares when I was a little girl) is an anti-nuclear weapon vehicle which gets its message across through the characters of a enormous beast, a scientist faced with a moral decision, and a people bent on surviving. Godzilla is more then a movie; it is a social statement against any weapon that has the power to alter our world, and the people in it, forever.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the old gentleman who was encased within the Godzilla costume. A very short man playing a huge monster (he was about 5 feet tall), he was nevertheless delighted and surprised that his portrayal of the beast has continued to draw audiences even after all these years. It was an honor to meet him.

My advice is the best way to see this movie is in the original, uncut Japanese version without dubbing. I am not a big fan of dubbing anyway, and feel that since people know the story and what is being said, the language barrier disappears and the emotional impact of the film is felt on a much higher scale.

To me, this is one of the best movies produced and has stood the passing of time. It holds many lessons for those who are open to the warnings and human tragedies, both physical and emotional, that we are forced to face in a world that has advanced to the point of self-annihilation.

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Berlin Calling

I don't know who wrote the review posted above, but it's for a completely different movie. Berlin Calling is about the trials and tribulations of a Berlin based DJ in the early yaers of this millenium. Great movie.

Close-Up (The Criterion Collection) (2010)

A man on a bus gets mistaken for the famous Iranian filmmaker Mohssen Makhmalbaf, and he pretends to be him for a while, ingratiating himself into the life of a family by speaking of a project he is working on. He's not in it for the money, though he borrows taxi fare and is given food. It's the sense of being someone, someone who matters, someone who these people he has come to care about will look up to. When another Iranian filmmaker hears about the trial for this alleged conman, he asks permission to film it and follows up by reconstructing elements of the case, using the actual perpetrator as his main actor.

I don't want to give away more of the situation, captured here in a unique blend of documentary and fiction. What I do want to give is a personal account of my experience with this film, that I hope will motivate a few to take a look -and to be patient. The film doesn't work its magic right away -and in fact the beginning of the film can be somewhat disorienting.

Kiarostami has a way of finding the fantastic in the mundane. Somehow, he sets up his films in such a way that I can find myself for the most part merely interested wondering what it is all about, and then suddenly surprised to find myself overwhelmed, surprised by an emotional response that was not manipulated from me with music but somehow, mysteriously. This happened to me while watching ABC Africa, and even more powerfully during this film. His style, the way he achieves this, can almost be thought of as an anti-style -I know that may not make a lot of sense, but it would take longer than I have here to make clear what I am thinking when I say this. It seems like he is doing very little, but the effect is (in my experience) magical, unexplainable and overwhelming. (For those familiar with Paul Schrader's provocative work on "transcendental style" in Bresson, Ozu and Dreyer, I'd suggest Kiarostami as another who works in this vein -but whose work is quite distinct from these three).

I'll admit, I'm biased. I've become fascinated by the work of Kiarostami in the past few years. Plus, I am very much drawn to films where reality and fiction intersect and overlap in interesting ways. Still, I'm convinced that with a bit of patience -if you just give yourself the time to let the film work on you without bringing to it expectations that it won't fulfil -anyone would be overwhelmed by the marvelous simplicity of this film.

I'm very excited to hear that Criterion is re-releasing this film, and hope that it manages to receive wider attention and acclaim. Here's what to expect on the Criterion dvd release:

-a new, restored high-definition digital transfer

-an audio commentary by Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa and Jonathan Rosenbaum, authors of Abbas Kiarostami

-The Traveler, a notable early feature by director Abbas Kiarostami

-"Close-up" Long Shot, a forty-five-minute documentary on Close-up's central figure, Hossein Sabzian, five years after Kiarostami's film

-a new video interview with Kiarostami

-A Walk with Kiarostami (2003), a thirty-two-minute documentary portrait of the director by Iranian film professor Jamsheed Akrami

-a new and improved English subtitle translation

-and a booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Godfrey Cheshire

Shot in 40 days, using courtroom footage and reenactments with people playing themselves, this "new wave" film by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami is an absorbing journey into the nature of identity. What does an ordinary man become when he is assumed to be someone famous? The answer can be poignant, as it is in this film, and surprisingly complex.

Moved by director Mohsen Makhmalbaf's film "The Cyclist," a divorced and unemployed printer's assistant pretends for a moment to a fellow bus passenger that he is the director himself. Suddenly becoming the object of respect and admiration, he allows himself to be drawn into a ruse involving an entire family, who believe that he wants to make a movie about them.

Legally, he admits in court, he is guilty of fraud. But morally, he argues, he has not done and never intended any harm. He has the heart and soul of an artist, which the limited circumstances of his life have never permitted him to be. Respected and admired, taken seriously maybe for the first time in his life, he is lifted out of his suffering. How this is all played out before the cameras makes for a fascinating study of art, imagination, and self. This film is both wise and touching and a worthy addition to the Criterion collection.

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This brilliant dramatic re-creation of an unusual case of criminal impersonation examines the conceits of cinema on one hand, but also the state of post-revolutionary Iranian society, where dire poverty and lack of opportunities can crush aspirations, artistic or otherwise. The writer-director, Abbas Kiarostami ("A Taste of Cherry"), read about Sabzian's predicament in a magazine article, decided to film the trial, and then asked everyone involved to play themselves. A fascinating mash-up of reality and artifice, "Close-Up" is a minor miracle of engaged storytelling whose compassionate final minutes will leave an indelible impression.

Read Best Reviews of Close-Up (The Criterion Collection) (2010) Here

Like other movies by this director, Close-Up moves slowly but somehow develops a quiet momentum that continues after the screen goes dark. I think this is partly due to Kiarostami's sincerity. He feels a genuine interest and affection for his characters, and his movies can give you a powerful sense that yes, their lives are really like that, revealed in repetitions and small struggles.

The New Yorker excerpt quoted above suggests that Close-Up contains a protest against religious authority in Iran. I don't see this as a main theme. There may be some subtle reading on which post revolutionary Iranian society is criticized, but the Islamic judge in the trial appears as a fair minded man and not in the least a zealot. He helps bring about a satisfying resolution. Of all the characters it's the journalist who comes off looking most like a shabby opportunist.

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Elegant, mystifying, sad, beautful, these are just some of the words and feelings which come to mind having watched Close Up. The mixing of genres; is it fact, is it fiction etc. all leave you wondering afterwards, asking yourself what is reality, what is fiction?

That a movie as deceptively simple as this one has the power to stimulate one's mind in such a profound way is a great tribute to the filmaker. It also goes to show that there is a part of our brains, by-passed by almost all contemporary, Western cinema, which is open to simple stories about humble humanity and it's wayard dreams.

If all this sounds a little bit o.t.t., then watch the movie for yourself, allow it wash over you and I guarantee you will get an itch somewhere deep in your head, the part which actually makes you human.

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Red Riding Trilogy (2010)

I bought this 3 DVD set subsequent to reading a rave review if it in the New York Review of Books. I can echo the enthusiastic comments; this BBC (Channel 4) drama is great viewing. Be warned that these gritty, sombre, uncompromising episodes (with three separate directors) are not pleasant viewing and will not appeal to those seeking a "nice night's entertainment".

The 3 episodes are separate but interlinked. The plot mainly revolves around corruption in the Yorkshire police force but interweaves the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (born in Red Riding)and a child murderer. It takes some concentration to understand the roles of the different participating characters and, on occasions, the speech of the actors. The plot becomes clearer as time progresses.

This is British drama at its intelligent best. Great acting, directing and well filmed. This recent production will grip the viewer's interest from beginning to the end. Just be warned not to expect a traditional happy ending.

It's not often that I watch British movies, so I was surprised at just how good this made-for-TV film was. English writer David Peace published a four-edition book about serial murders and police corruption in Britain. The books were adapted into three movies for British television, and while the crimes that take place are real, the stories are fictional.

What attracted me to the 1980 installment in the trilogy was that it starred British actor Paddy Considine, who I became an instant fan of after watching PU-239 (The Half Life of Timofey Berezin). Paddy is terrific as Peter Hunter, a police officer brought on to help with an unsuccessful investigation of a serial killer.

What I liked about the film is that it wasn't particularly fast-paced nor suspenseful like some American crime dramas, but a slow, building tension that really delivered by the film's conclusion. The cinematography was great, with cold and rainy scenes giving it a bit of a film noir vibe. I absolutely loved the movie's score, which was haunting and beautiful.

Remember, this is a made for television movie, not a big-budget blockbuster. So if you're expecting a movie in the vein of Seven, that's not what you'll be getting. What you can expect is amazing acting by an experienced cast, bubbling tension, and a surprise ending.

As far as Red Riding 1974 goes, I've been a fan of British actor Sean Bean since his breakout role as IRA soldier Sean Miller in Patriot Games. While he doesn't get much screen time in this particular film, he's representative of the top-notch casting. The film has an incredibly experienced cast of talented British actors, which makes 1974 a real treat. The standout performance in this film is definitely Rebecca Hall's portrayal of Paula, the mother of a slain child. While she didn't get to demonstrate her acting chops in Frost/Nixon (as love interest to David Frost), she's given plenty to work with in 1974.

Much like Red Riding: 1980, the film stars very slow, and patiently comes to a rolling boil by the conclusion. I also loved the lighting used as the film progressed, particularly a dinner party scene with shades of Eyes Wide Shut. What's interesting is that the movie was shot on 16mm film that was often used in the 70's, so a genuine period vibe is established. 1974 isn't the same quality as Red Riding: 1980, but a film you should check out if you like conspiracy movies.

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I have eagerly awaited the arrival of the "Red Riding" trilogy on DVD for some time. Something about the concept and execution of this project appealed to me in theory, and I must say that I was not let down! An ambitious British TV adaptation of several David Peace novels, the trilogy is filmed as three separate works with three separate directors. Several characters overlap and unify the films which center on a rural police force that has its own way of getting things done. Hard-edged and brutal, each chapter set in a different year (1974, 1980 and 1983) can stand alone--but together, this is a remarkable and affecting piece of work.

In "1974," Andrew Garfield (soon to be Spider-Man) plays a fledgling crime reporter hoping to make his name investigating a trio of local child murders. An affair with one victim's mother and some misdirection from local law enforcement lead him to confront a prominent citizen. He soon becomes the hunted as he doesn't know when to stop his search for the truth--and he may have to pay the ultimate price. In "1980," Paddy Considine plays a by-the-books cop brought in to re-investigate a serial killer case that has gone on for far too long. When it appears that one of the victims is not a part of the chain, this leads to another line of inquiry that may implicate several officers in police misconduct. And in "1983," David Morrissey (who has played a small role in the other films) steps to the forefront as lead inspector when another child abduction echoes the case that was solved in "1974." Reopening the case upsets old festering wounds and soon the truth about the crimes, cover-ups, and corruptions of the last 10 years come to a heated conclusion.

Garfield and Considine are terrific in "1974" and "1980" respectively. Each represent the moral center of a conspiracy that neither can control--and each is ultimately undone by the pursuit of truth. Both of these strong films would rate as 4 stars for me. It is in "1983," however, where things really start to get tied up and the knowledge of the previous films really enhance the series overall. Morrissey is absolutely devastating dealing with his own past corruption. As the facts about the child abductions and murders start to become clear, and several minor characters step up in surprising ways, the "Red Riding" trilogy becomes an extremely powerful examination of redemption. The 5 star finale left me thoroughly upset and disturbed--and the haunting tone of the film's final sequences will stay with me for a long time. An absolute recommendation, this is thought-provoking and adult entertainment--an experiment that worked exceedingly well. Two good films and one great one are made even better when seen in their totality! Don't miss it. KGHarris, 9/10.

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I was checking out the Movies on Demand last night on cable and discovered that the IFC, "in theaters now," film trilogy "Red Riding 1974," "Red Riding 1980" and "Red Riding 1983" was being offered, on DVD as the entire trilogy, and on cable as invididual films. Although I am not a fan of serial killer films, except, of course, for "Silence of the Lambs," I do like noir both in literature and movies. So, I gave "Red Riding 1974," a shot and wound up sitting through all 3 films in a row a nightmarish triple feature finally getting to sleep at around 4:00 AM not something I usually do. The experience was somewhat like looking at a car crash terribly upsetting, but I was unable to look away.

These three films are not for those who want to be entertained. I really cannot remember one moment of levity during the entire time I watched. This first movie in particular has an enormous impact, as it is the introductory piece and I never saw what was coming until it arrived no usual police procedural here. There is violence, however not for the faint of heart. As I wrote, I like noir, yet this film makes some of my favorites blanch in comparison! But I remained riveted...and I am no masochist!!

I would like to write about each film separately, but there is not a place for me to review them one at a time so I will try to give the reader a synopsis of the trilogy. Please understand that by doing this, my review will be unusually long, but hopefully informative.

The "Red Riding" set is based on author David Peace's quartet of novels truly grim whodunits, complicated by greed, corruption, conspiracy and local politics. The movie is set in gloomy, and seemingly always rainy, northern England, in Leeds, Yorkshire. The mean weather gives the viewer a feeling of foreboding throughout...and rightly so. Cynical, alienated young Eddie Dunford, (brilliantly portrayed by Andrew Garfield), has just been named crime correspondent for the Yorkshire Post. He is ambitious and this is his first major assignment. The new job happens to coincide with the death of his father, but his family obligations take a back seat to his zeal to succeed. He wants to become another Woodward or Bernstein, even as the Watergate scandal is erupting back in the colonies. Yep, Eddie really wants to earn his investigative journalist stripes fast and he is willing to take risks to do so.

Dunford's grim assignment involves the disappearance of 10-year-old Clare Kemplay. "Clare is ten years old. She is fair and has blue eyes and long straight hair." The last time Clare was seen, the day before Eddie gets the case, she was wearing an orange waterproof anorak, a dark blue turtleneck sweater, "pale blue denim trousers with a distinctive eagle motif on the back left pocket and red Wellington boots." Throughout the movie the figure of the little girl appears in sudden blurs with her orange jacket and red boots bright against the northern gloom. Spooky and so sad. Meanwhile, a jaded group of reporters takes bets on whether the child's body will be found by Christmas.

The images of the girl that the viewer sees are the same images that are seared into Eddie's mind after he looks at photographs of the crime scene. He is determined to stick with the case even after he is warned away...heavily-handed warned away.

Dunford's investigation uncovers 2 other similar incidents of young girls who disappeared in the vicinity and met violent ends both cold cases now. He strongly believes there is a connection between the murders, especially when Clare's strangled and mutilated corpse turns up. No spoiler here. This is usually how disappeared children are found...when they are found. Dunford is determined to solve the murder and also find out who, if anyone, is set on suppressing evidence. He looks to those with power, those in high places, which is where his clues lead him. As Eddie follows his leads he enters a dark, dark world.

In all three films the visuals, the camera work, are extraordinary and really help to set the disturbing mood. The choppy camera movement parallels the choppy dialogue, which is a bit difficult to understand because of the actors' thick Yorkshire accents. I was watching so intently that I literally forced myself to be patient until I could understand much of the local dialect. The photography, especially of the northern rural scenery and urban city-scapes, is exquisite at times you can almost see every blade of grass blowing in the wind, and the angular compositions of buildings, streets and alleyways great landscapes, remsembling good paintings!

None of these films are linear. All three are really complex and frequently frenetic. There are flashbacks, flash forwards and black-outs. Minor characters in the first offering, remain so far in the background one barely notices them, become major characters in later films. I strongly advise watching all 3 movies in order. I don't think I could make sense of them viewing them separate and apart.

The cast in "Red Riding 1974": Sean Bean as a local and very powerful businessman, Anthony Flanagan, as a good friend of Eddie's, and Rebecca Hall as Eddie's lover who is also the mother of one of the dead girls, (years after the fact), do a superb job. They really seem so involved like actual people not actors. And Tony Mooney and Sean Harris play a couple of cops I would never want to run into! The director really captured the feel, the ambiance, of the early 1970's. I was amazed at how easy it was to be transported back in time.

The film was adapted into three feature-length television episodes which aired in 2009. The three segments, (1974, 1980 and 1983), are directed by three different filmmakers. Julian Jarrold, ("Becoming Jane"), is masterful here, in the 1974 version. The screenwriter is Tony Grisoni. Peace's literary quartet is turned into a trilogy. I have no idea why the screenwriter left out one book, unless he combined it with another.

"Red Riding 1980" is perhaps my favorite in the trilogy. The characters here are more developed, and since Part One provided such an excellent background, the storyline is easier to follow. I also became more accustomed to the northern English accent, thus understanding the dialogue was no longer a problem.

The setting is the same, Leeds, Yorkshire, and just as dismal and depressing as the scenario in "Red Riding 1974." Many of the characters reappear here, as they also do in Part 3, and the theme of heinous crime, local politics, corruption and conspiracy permeate this episode also. Here the backdrop, however, does not deal with a series of child abductions and murders, but centers around the "Yorkshire Ripper," (an actual character), and a series of prostitution murders and mutilations.

The local residents are justifiably horrified at the murderer's five year reign of terror. He had killed thirteen women and left seven for dead. The police haven't come up with anything close to solving the crimes and the city's inhabitants are outraged. Stores close early and women are afraid to go out during the day, let alone at night. Assistant Chief Constable Peter Hunter, (Paddy Considine), is brought in to take over the case, infuriating the corrupt and complacent Yorkshire police. Hunter immediately establishes a superior team of 2 other excellent investigators, Manchester detectives John Nolan, (Tony Pitts), and Helen Marshall, (Maxine Peake), to work alongside him. The married Hunter, who has earned a reputation for being "squeaky clean," slipped up once and had a brief affair with Dectective Marshall, his employee, which will come back to haunt them both. These three are to review all previous material concerning the "Ripper," and investigate the ability and motivation of the West Yorkshire Constabulary to solve the murders. Is there a cover-up here? When a friend of Hunter's suddenly becomes the subject of an investigation, and then Hunter becomes the subject of another 'inquiry,' things really begin to happen and the the plot picks up pace. James Marsh, (Academy Award Winner in 2009 for Man On Wire), is the director and again, Tony Grisoni adapts the screenplay from the novel.

Part 3, "Red Riding 1983," directed by Anand Tucker, ("Hilary & Jackie"), is the final act of the British crime trilogy. A ten year-old schoolgirl, Hazel Atkins, has gone missing on her way home from school. The press compares the disappearance to that of Clare Kemplay, found brutally murdered in 1974, almost a decade before. The case remains unsolved. Detective Maurice Jobson, (David Morrissey), is finding he has a conscience, at long last! He can no longer bear the shame of witnessing the web of deception created by the West Yorkshire police, with cover-ups spiraling uncontrollably. The bleak scenario is heightened, and it is in this final film that the material from the first two episodes become unified with the thrid.

This last film is as dark and desperate as the others. The storyline involves a male prostitute, a corrupt lawyer/solicitor, and a debased policeman. The reoccurring characters are all so human complex people with complex motivations. Many of the same people from the first two episodes return. Again, the violence is quite explicit. There is redemption here, and the viewer reaches an awareness of the ugliness which can lurk beneath the appearance of normality at least I became aware of this. There is a line which is repeated a few times in the trilogy, "the North, where we do what we want," which manifests the three films.

Director Tucker deserves much crdit for tying up this finale neatly no loose ends here. While in the first 2 films there was time to develop plot and characters, here the primary business was to create a believable ending, and in this, "Red Riding 1983" succeeds.

"Red Riding 1974, 1980 and 1983" are phenomenal films. I really want to stress, for those inclined to watch this is not an easy experience but for me it was worth the ride. Highly recommended for people who love the VERY noir. All three motion pictures are produced by Revolution Films. The trilogy has already been released to theaters in the US in February 2010.

Jana Perskie

Nineteen Seventy-Four: The Red Riding Quartet, Book One (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Nineteen Seventy-Seven: The Red Riding Quartet, Book Two (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Nineteen Eighty: The Red Riding Quartet, Book Three (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Nineteen Eighty-Three: The Red Riding Quartet, Book Four (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

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I love this series. I own the original UK version. But I must admit. If you have not read the original novels--you will be adrift. Not through lack of film/adaptation quality--but through accents which render much of the dialogue un intelligible to US audiences. Accents are sometimes so thick (especially first segment 1974) that plot development is a Muddle. I can only hope that Blu Ray of this incredible series includes English subtitles--to make the series right. Not the first time that BBC series left off the obvious-subtitles. But this time--so necessary. Whether Rankin/Peace or other same such--no one should think that we USA'ers can understand dialects--even tho we have read the originals.

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One Good Cop & A Stranger Among Us - Blu-ray Double Feature (2012)

It doesn't just entertain, but it also shows you how things have changed since the movies were made. Not just in reality, but also in movie making. Love them both, especially "A Stranger Among Us."

great movies in one compact case makes more room for more movies on my shelve that makes it easier to get more movies.

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Mill Creek does it again, this time with two Police/Detective themed films, BOTH of these are rated R.

Both are in thier original widescreen ratios, and have optional english captions.

The PQ and AQ are great with this release.

One Good Cop stars the great Michael Keaton

A Stranger Among Us stars Melanie Griffith.

Mill Creek is really releasing some stellar products lately!

Recommended!

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I would encourage anyone to upgrade their older VHS or DVD movies to at least Bluray 2D quality (3D for those who have 3D grade TV's) as the quality of the picture is 100% better then VHS tapes and nearly 50% better then DVD's. The sound quality has been improved and upgraded as well. Most Blu-ray's have many more features that can be viewed as well which make for a much fuller movie experience too! Oh and just so you know, even if you don't own a Bluray movie you should go buy an on sale Bluray player. Why? Because a Bluray player scans the disk many more times than just a standard DVD player, that it will even make your older DVD movies look much better. That is, as long as you have a flat screen type of TV that was purchased in the last five years. Good luck and go get some!

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Kal Ho Naa Ho

This movie is simply beautiful. It is a story of love and sacrifice and friendship and all that is good in us.

In an age where there are so many movies coming out of Hollywood that glorify our baser instincts, it is wonderful to see a movie like this that celebrates what we can be is we simply choose to be good, kind people. It is ironic that a film that celebrates what Christians would call 'traditional values' should come out of Bollywood.

I cannot give away the plot, but I want to say that SRK really brought his best to this film. If you can watch this film without tears, you have no soul.

There is one minor problem with the DVD itself. The subtitles are about 3-5 seconds late. Otherwise, this is a perfect movie.

BUY IT NOW.

I bawled like a baby! And that takes some doing. Great movie. Granted it contained it's own fair share of Bollywood Cheese, but thats to be expected. The story was good, the cinematography (did I spell that right?) was good, the songs were great, and it had real emotion. This was one of those movies that after I watched it I had to have it. And now I do. I was so excited. It's a good introduction to Bollywood. Not too much all at once. Anyway, if you like Bollywood watch this movie. Loved it and Shah Rukh Khan is one of my favorite Indian actors.

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This film has English subtitles for those of us who do not speak Hindi. Our friend who is Punjabi told us about the film and so we went and shared a delightful experience. The music is fantastic, the costumes are as colorful as you can imagine them to be, there was humor, drama and romance. If you get the chance be sure to see this film. I hope is comes out on video or DVD.

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Spoilers ahead!!!

The plot is fairly simple. We have a love triangle with a twist. Boy loves girl, girl loves another boy, other boy loves girl. The twist comes when everyone finds out that Aman (Shah Ruhk Kahn) is dying. He has a bad heart. He knows this and pushes Naina away from him and towards her long time friend who has fallen in love with her.

There are several subplots: Naina's family is in financial trouble. Jennifer, (Naina's mom) and her mother in law always fight. There is a family secret that no one knows. There are acutually many subplots so you have to pay attention. American viewers who haven't seen any Hindi films may find it difficult to get used to some things. They use buckets of those glycerin tears which look terrible. This movie is a musical as most Bollywood films are. Some of the artists tend to overact and movements are sometimes over-eggerated and jerky. Hindi films tend to be much longer than american films so be cautioned. By the way, there are about 200 dancers in the film. The musical numbers usually tend to be dance numbers as well. Beware of the subtitles. They move pretty quickly.

There are 6 songs in the film, not a lot for a Bollywood movie. The title song, Kal Ho Naa Ho is the hit song and it's a lovely tune. My other favorite is Maahi Ve. It's the time for Disco, another of the films tunes, is just silly.

As for the film's star, Shah Ruhk Kahn, I don't think he is a particularly great actor but he's got a good screen presence. His looks don't hurt him either. He's very cute. He's also a very capable dancer.

Kal Ho Naa Ho is constructed to be a tear jerker (A Bollywood staple. Most of their films have the same formula). It is and oh so obvious. It's colorful and energetic and funny in places. It's also meant to be a comedy. It is funny, even in some places it's not supposed to be.

This makes a good first film because it was filmed in Manhattan. It's nice to see places you know even when the film is a foreign one. The more I see this movie the more I like it. I can overlook it's flaws and concentrate on it's main point. Kal Ho Naa Ho (tomorrow may never come). How true. If you'd like to see something different please buy this. I won't give away the end. See it for yourself.

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I love Indian movies. This is the best one I've seen. It's funny,sad, and romantic. I never tired to watch it again and again ;-)

Death at a Funeral (2007)

Director Frank Oz [aka Oznowicz] was actually born in England, and he was raised in America. A very talented actor, with 104 film appearances on his resume -he also specialized in "voice work". He and Jim Henson created the whole MUPPETS phenomenon. He created multiple characters, the most famous of which were Kermit and Miss Piggy. He is equally well known for being the voice of Yoda for the George Lucas STAR WARS series. As a director he has made 14 films, varying from THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982), through the classic fun of WHAT ABOUT BOB? (1991). All the way across the spectrum to the crime thriller, THE SCORE (2001), with Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Marlon Brando. DEATH AT A FUNERAL (2007) represents his triumphant return to comedy; and what a dark and delicious foray it is.

A farce of the first order, this film is about a normally dysfunctional family who are forced to confront each other at a patriarch's funeral. The amazing script was written by Dean Craig. He is a young writer/director with only four films to his credit. In 2003 he gave us DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. His script for FUNERAL was filled with wafts, even wads of wit, had terrific internal timing, a solid structure and plot, with a delectable and irreverent sense of humor. It is a film so completely farcical that I believe it could be produced on stage, in live theatre. All those slamming doors, crossed-over plotlines, and zany characters would lend themselves to some outrageous theatrical moments.

Attending the film I was happy to give in to the instant giddiness that most of the audience immediately lapsed into -beginning to titter and then guffaw while the opening credits were still rolling. If laughter is the "best medicine", and we all know that it is, then this film should be mandatory viewing, and the tickets should look like a medical prescription pad. Viewing this film is definitely good for "what ails you."

Lost love, mistaken identities, bumbling morticians, caskets that come alive, those terrible and dark secrets regarding the patriarch's "special needs", hallucinogenic bursts of inhibition, nudity, toilet hi-jinks, suppressed sex, unrepressed sex, deviant sex, pregnancy, predispositions and misunderstandings, jealousy, an ice queen for a wife and mother, a Spartacus toga party, a centurion's costume, an unpublished novel, harping, cajoling, bondage, wrestling, roof-romping, with enough turnabouts, fop haws, reversals, and surprises to flesh out three other comedic films, plus a really excellent cast -makes this darkest of drawing room comedies land on its dancing feet somewhere lodged half way between Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward, or say George Bernard Shaw and Harold Pinter, who is emulating Carl Reiner, who collaborated with Mel Brooks, after consulting with Woody Allen. This solid little film my not be tinged with "greatness", but it is absolutely the funniest evening I have spend in the theater this year.

Like so many others this viewer avoided the theatrical release and deferred to the DVD release of DEATH AT A FUNERAL, thinking that a comic take on a potentially morbid subject might not be very entertaining. Couldn't have been more wrong! This is the kind of humor the Brits do so well intelligent, expertly delivered dialog and action that can make even the most unlikely situations hilarious. Writer Dean Craig and Director Frank Oz have created a farce and have put this tongue in cheek situation in the hands of some the best of the British actors. The result is a spinning top that only gradually allows the viewer to breathe from laughing during the clever final credits.

The father of a very dysfunctional family has died and son Daniel (Matthew MacFadyen) and his wife Jane (Keeley Hawes) have agreed to host the funeral. After the mortuary first delivers the wrong corpse the tone is set for all the wrong things to happen. The arriving family is a bizarre clan of characters a novelist living beyond his means in New York (Rupert Graves), a man who unwittingly mistakes an hallucinogen for Valium and ends up on a trip that entertains all, a 'drug distributor', a crotchety old man with toilet problems, and the usual stuffy and goofy associates that so often populate the British comedies. And when it seems as though little else could support sanity, up pops a figure form the US (Peter Dinklage) with a secret about the deceased and proceeds to cause a situation that becomes the focal point of this zany funeral.

Saying too much about each of the characters diminishes the surprises that abound. Were it not for the fact that each of the actors in the film is 'top drawer' this little movie could have become mawkish or tasteless, but this cast and director have produced one of the most refreshingly funny films of the past year. Grady Harp, February 08

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The great thing about DEATH AT A FUNERAL is that there really is something for everyone. From brief bathroom humor to dark jokes, it's all there, laid out by UK-born director Frank Oz.

The title itself is a bit misleading, in that you would think it to be more horror-ish or dramatic. The words "Death" and "Funeral" don't normally make you skip to the theater thinking "Oh boy! Let's go watch this funny movie!" For that, I would fault only the production person who stamped the name on it. But that would be my only one; one which has nothing to do with the rest of this riotously funny film.

Like a snake creeping upon its prey, Death at a Funeral also slowly makes its way along, never lurching or jumping ahead of itself, building the comedic moments one upon the other. Starting out (as all the trailers have shown) with Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) standing in his livingroom, watching his father's coffin being delivered in preparation for a British homestyle service. But once the coffin is open, Daniel states, "That's not my father." The funeral home quickly whisks away the casket and returns with the right one. This gradual sinking in of dark comedy holds the film together exceptionally well.

We're then introduced to the rest of the cast...

Jane (Keeley Hawes, Tristram Shandy A Cock and Bull Story), Daniel's wife who's pressuring him to buy a flat in the city and leave his now widowed mother with his successful brother in New York.

Simon (Alan Tudyk, Serenity), who is arriving at the funeral with his soon-to-be wife and is stressed about meeting (again) his future father-in-law, so is accidentally given a pill thought to be valium but, in reality, turns out to be a powerful hallucinogenic. This sends Simon on a running joke throughout the film, including periods of catatonia, color fascinations, and rooftop nudity.

Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughan, KISS KISS BANG BANG), a crotchety old fart who's brought to the funeral in a wheelchair only to find himself with explosively needy bowels and the witness to a possible murder.

Peter (Peter Dinklage), a midget-of-a-man with big life aspirations who comes to the funeral not only to mourn the death of a close "friend," but to also get what "he deserves" from the family.

There are other perpetrators in the film, too, but these are the main ones who's paths cross just about everyone else's.

The film's short 90 minute run time is excellent in that none of the funnies are overdone. They have their moment and are either tossed aside or folded over into the film's grand finale. The number one folding in of jokes has to be the faux-valium pill bottle that gets lost and re-lost only to spring up at the most hilarious moments.

This is a laugh-a-minute film that has perfect comedic timing and crucial usage of British pompous humor, along with dark moments that will make watchers cringe and giggle at the same time.

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My husband brought this DVD home from the video store this weekend. He sometimes brings home odd things and certainly the title and cover of this DVD were no exception. I took one look at it, turned up my nose and said "Uggh, I have no interest in seeing this. What in the world caused you to pick it out?" He said, "Oh, it's some British movie and it's supposed to be funny." I gave him a good eyeroll.

I actually missed the first 15 minutes of the movie because I wasn't interested in watching it at all, much less being there from the beginning. Within a minute of sitting down with him though I was laughing hysterically. So hysterically in fact, that our daughter came in from the next room where she was sitting with headphones on, music blaring in her ears, because she could hear us screaming with laughter. When she came in to the room, my husband and I were balled up in fits of tearful laughter and couldn't even talk to her.

When the movie was over, all I could say was "Oh my gosh! That was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe and thought I was going to throw up. Then I couldn't sleep because I kept laughing.

Of course, it's not a movie you can talk about at the water cooler because people just won't understand why playing with toilet paper, talking to a deceased man's dwarf lover, or walking on a roof naked are funny. You just have to see it to understand.

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"Death at a Funeral", the new film from director Frank Oz ("In and Out", Dirty Rotten Scoundrels") is a pretty good tribute to the British comedies we used to see with more consistency. A droll, black sense of humor, characters who are as wacky as others are steadfast and the use of a setting we are all familiar with used in an unfamiliar way all help to give this film a whacked out sensibility. But it isn't above moments of crass, bathroom humor and these bring it down.

Daniel (Matthew McFadyen, TV's "MI:5", "Pride & Prejudice") and his wife, Jane (Keely Hawes, TV's "MI:5") are living at home with his father and mother when his father dies. They await the arrival of the rest of the family for the funeral. Soon, the house is filled and they have to deal with all of the craziness in everyone's life. Daniel's brother, John (Rupert Graves), a published writer, flies in from New York, first class, and claims he doesn't have any money to help out with the funeral costs. Martha (Daisy Donovan), Daniel's cousin, and her fiancée, Simon (Alan Tudyk) stop by to pick up her brother, Troy (Kris Marshall, "Love Actually"). Simon is a wreck, because Martha's father has never liked him, so Martha decides to give him a Valium she finds in Troy's apartment. The only problem is that Troy is a minor drug dealer and the Valium is in fact a hallucinogen. Then, Peter (Peter Dinklage, "The Station Agent") shows up for the service. Daniel doesn't recognize him and is surprised when he asks if they can speak alone. Peter reveals some information to the son of the deceased, which causes everything to spiral out of control.

Directed by Frank Oz, an American director and former Muppeteer, "Death at a Funeral" has all the markings on a dark British comedy. It is strange that an American film director would make such a film, but Oz seems to be a good choice; "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" has many similar elements. Despite the broad moments in his comedies, they do share a certain sensibility with the early work or Peter Sellers or Alec Guiness. In "Death", Oz dials down the comedy significantly, making it darker, more subtle, more tongue in cheek, more British.

The mood of the film is set early on. The undertakers arrive with Daniel's father and set the coffin in the viewing room. They open the casket and Daniel looks inside. "Who's that? That's not my father." They have brought the wrong body. They take the casket away and return later with the right body.

The real comedic standout in the film is Alan Tudyk who plays Simon, Martha's nervous fiancée. Just as they arrive at the country estate, the drugs he has unwittingly ingested begin to take hold and he starts to stare at leaves and flowers. Martha doesn't really know what to make of her boyfriend. During the ceremony, he causes a delay and Martha's father, Victor, dislikes him even more. Through the course of the film, Simon becomes more distraught and more unhinged as the full effects of the drug take place.

Simon is the broadest character, but even this is minor when compared to some comedic roles in American films. The major laughs of this character come from his actions in the environment of this country house funeral. Everyone else is trying to remain very proper and respectful as Simon climbs naked on roofs.

Matthew McFadyen and Keely Hawes are both good, but they are basically the straight men for the rest of the cast. Daniel and Jane are trying to maintain an air of respectability, and Daniel's known as the `respectable' (boring) son. When Peter makes himself known to Daniel, Daniel begins to act a bit wacky, but the role is still relatively low key.

As the story progresses and the characters begin to spiral out of control, the action becomes even more funny because people are acting completely at odds to the setting. When you see a large country house in the English countryside, you think everyone will be acting very proper. When they don't, it creates funny situations and a lot of laugher. This is really the key with most great British comedies. They make fun of themselves, planting tongue firmly in cheek and casting their eye on themselves.

"Death at a Funeral" is not a great film. It can't seem to distance itself from scatological humor; an elderly wheelchair bound Uncle (Peter Vaughn) needs help to get to the bathroom and a family friend Howard (Andy Nyman) seems designated to help him. The situation leads to Howard getting feces on his hand and face. Oz seems to think this is funny, but it is just gross and seems completely at odds with the rest of the film.

"Death at a Funeral" is not a laugh a minute, but is a very humorous and enjoyable diversion. It is a film perfectly suited for DVD rental.

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Sugar (2009)

PREFACE: This 1-star review is not of the film Sugar (as I have yet to even see it) but of the decision that was made to cut this film down from an R to a PG-13 for its DVD release.

Sugar was released theatrically with an R, and is on Blu-Ray with an R, but the DVD version has been sanitized into a PG-13 order to reach a 'wider market.' This so-called 'wider market' neglects grown-ups and teens who are allowed to see R-rated movies but don't own a Blu-Ray player, which in actuality, is the WIDEST demographic!

Blu-Ray is not the standard yet. One day it will be, but it is not yet what the majority of people own. This was an atrocious marketing decision, as was the studio's decision to castrate one of the BEST-REVIEWED movies of the year.

There have been sanitized versions of films released on DVD in the past, but always alongside a separate unrated or theatrical version. However, this is the FIRST time, in my memory, that a sanitized version has been released on a format ONLY. Think about it like this-this is the equivalent of Huckleberry Finn being only available abridged in print form, and only available unabridged on Amazon Kindle. It's insane, it's anti-art, it's anti-artist.

The word needs to be spread. Standing idly by will only mean more films receiving this same unfair treatment in the future. If you disagree with such practice, vote that this review was helpful, and post a review of your own.

Sugar was beautiful, heart-felt, and realistic. I loved the flow of the movie, showing Miguel "Sugar" Santos' journey, from his days in Dominican Republic to the US. It felt I was watching an actual documentary. You'll see him struggling with the language barrier, finding his own identity as a person while traveling in the U.S., being a "product" for the Minor Baseball League. Compelling and it'll make you wonder how the Major/Minor Baseball Leagues recruit these players, understanding the process of choosing certain players AND the politics behind it.

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are fantastic once again with the story-telling, dialogue and the care with research (back stories of real life ballplayers) to tell this story so perfectly. And the lead actor, Algenis Perez Soto was impressive, considering this was his 1st acting role. I highly recommended this movie!!

Buy Sugar (2009) Now

The original theatrical release of Sugar was rated R, as is the Blu-ray version. Sadly, the standard DVD version has been censored in order to get a PG-13 rating. It is not obvious in the Amazon listing that the standard version has been modified, so beware. Buy the Blu-ray version if you want to see the film as originally released.

Read Best Reviews of Sugar (2009) Here

(THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS)

On one level, this movie follows a well-trodden path -the quest of a young hotshot kid for fame and fortune in the big leagues. But it is a notch above that in its exploration of the exploitative world in which U.S. baseball franchises milk a small Caribbean nation for talent, hoping to find the next Sammy Sosa. For every major league slugger or golden arm unearthed, scores of lives lay shattered -the lives of the wannabes who for one reason or another don't quite make it.

Sugar is an aspiring pitcher with a 97 mph fastball and a bamboozling curve ball. In the Dominican Republic, we join him at a training camp where teenagers eat, drink and sleep baseball, all hoping and dreaming for a shot at the big time. Their regular education forgotten, they are drilled in the basic English vocabulary of the game -"home run, double play, I got it, etc etc."

Sugar gets his shot at training camp and is sent to a minor league team in the cornfields of Iowa where he boards with an elderly couple who provide a home for a different young player every year. Hardly knowing a word of English, he's fish out of water. But everything goes well at first as he wins his first few games. Then, all of a sudden, he loses his form, loses his cool and eventually walks out on the team and makes his way to New York, just another illegal immigrant trying to build his life. At that point, the movie also loses its focus.

It's an interesting take on the seamier side of the baseball industry but the characters are not sharply enough drawn for the movie to be truly involving. Sugar seems like a pleasant young man but we hardly know what, if anything, is really going on inside his head. The movie is pleasant -but one feels it hardly scratches the surface. It takes no risks and never tries to go deep.

Want Sugar (2009) Discount?

Why is it that the majority of baseball movies of the past 20-25 years are comedies? Think about it: Bull Durham, Major League, Little Big League, Angels in the Outfield, etcetera, have all been played for laughs. Frankly, most of the baseball movies that HAVE gone the serious route just haven't cut it, but "Sugar" works...and it works well.

"Sugar" is about Miguel "Sugar" (or "Azucar") Santos, a teenaged pitcher from an impoverished background in the Dominican Republic. You get to watch how Sugar progresses from a baseball academy in the DR to his signing with the fictitious Kansas City Knights, who then send him to the equally fictitious Bridgeport Swing of the very real Class A Midwest League. In this movie, "Bridgeport" is actually Davenport, Iowa, home of a real Midwest League team that plays its home games in John O'Donnell Stadium (one of the little jewels of minor league ballparks).

The movie then shows the culture shock Sugar experiences in Bridgeport: His English is weak, he doesn't understand midwestern social norms, and is very homesick. He hurts his arm while pitching, but keeps quiet because he is afraid he'll be sent back home if the team knows about it (they eventually figure it out). Ultimately, Sugar's optimism gives way to disillusion, and the flick makes its way to the finish on that note. I won't give away the ending.

This is perhaps the most realistic baseball movie I've ever seen, and I have spoken with a Yankees scout from Mexico who agrees that what happens in "Sugar" is very typical in Latin America. It's a real meat market down there when it comes to baseball, and this movie nails that aspect of the game as well as the very real culture shock young Latino players experience when they come to the USA.

There is humor in this movie, but it's incidental. The baseball as played in the movie is quite good, and Algenis Perez Soto, who plays Sugar, is actually pretty good as a pitcher...he is not some actor who tries to look like a ballplyer. He's pretty charismatic, too. There are subtitles, too. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a REAL baseball movie, and only wish I could give it more than five stars. "Sugar" is a winner.

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Marvel Knights: Astonishing X-Men BluRay Box

Joss Whedon is well-known for creating TV series such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", "Firefly" and "Dollhouse" and the screenwriter, executive producer is also known for his writing work on comic book series. A big comic book fan, Whedon was a cowriter for "X-Men", "Thor", "Captain America: The First Avenger" and wrote and directed the upcoming film "The Avengers".

In 2006, Whedon caught the attention of fans with his series "Astonishing X-Men" which he stayed onboard for 24 issues. It has become a major best-seller for Mavel comics and was nominated for several Eisner Awards and winning "Best Continuing Series" in 2006.

The first six issues of "Astonishing X-Men: Gifted" was then released on DVD in Sept. 2010 courtesy of Shout! Factory as part of Marvel Knights Animation. These animated stories (also known as motion comic books) are more like comic books with slight movements but with voice acting and special effects. And two more DVD's were released with "Dangerous" and "Torn". But for the first time, all three series plus the fourth, new "Astonishing X-Men" collection "Unstoppable" release will be included on two Blu-ray discs and will be released in November 2012 courtesy of Shout! Factory.

VIDEO:

"Astonishing X-Men" is presented in 1080p High Definition. Presented in 1:78:1, the motion comics of today differs greatly from the motion comics of the '90s. There is more use of CG animation for special effects and blurring as opposed to the comic book pages with standard lighting effects.

The biggest difference I noticed from watching the DVD versions to now watching it on Blu-ray is how vibrant the images are in HD. Colors absolutely pop! And if anything, the comic animation is much better looking than on DVD!

It's important to also emphasize that "Astonishing X-Men: Torn" is not an animated cartoon. It's a motion comic book, so the characters are provided in their comic book version but you will see hair movement, lights blinking or leaves flying around the pages and also some slight animated movements of the character themselves. While a character talks, you will see their mouths move.

AUDIO:

"Astonishing X-Men" is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. There is good use of the surround channels as I was hearing special effects coming from the rear surround and surround channels. But the big positive when it comes to audio is "Astonishing X-Men" and its use of voice acting. The voice acting is fantastic! Also, the music sounds much crisper via lossles.

SPECIAL FEATURES

"Astonishing X-Men" comes with the following special features:

A Conversation with Joe Quesada and Neal Adams (17:11) Joe Quesada and Neal Adams talk about using today's technology to make original comic animation with wonderful voice acting, sound effects and sound.

"Rise Up" Music Video (2:36)

"Astonishing X-Men: Gifted" Trailer (1:55)

Behind-the Scenes: Marvel Knights Animation (5:12) Behind-the-scenes on the making of the "Astonishing X-Men" (and also Spider-Woman: Agent of Sword).

Trailers Featuring comic book animation trailers for "Spider-Woman: Agent of Sword", "Black Panther", "Iron Man Extremis", "Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers".

As a long time collector of the X-Men comic books and having read so many of the comics even to this day, I have to admit that Joss Whedon has managed to make X-Men a serious and entertaining comic book series. There was a lull of storyline content unfortunately created by Marvel due to its plethora of X-related comic books and every character having their own series or mini-series and truthfully, it was one of the biggest reasons I quit reading the series. Too many titles, increase in price for comic books and the quality of the series was dwindling.

Whedon's storyline manage to continue its action-packed battles but he emphasized story, especially character development and his presence with "Astonishing X-Men" was felt and while he was involved, it was an amazing run!

And now his contribution to "Astonishing X-Men" is being carried out via motion comic books on DVD.

Having been one of the earlier adopters of motion comic books on CD, suffice to say, they have come along way especially with these Marvel Knights DVD releases. Back then it was just a page with voice acting (which was not all that great) and lighting effects. It worked during the mid-90′s but in 2012, you expect a bit more and sure enough, you do get animated movements, special effects, mouth movement. And of course, much better voice acting. And as mentioned, they were CD's and can only be played on computers.

While each DVD release contains six episode, the Blu-ray release of "Astonishing X-Men" comes with four arcs, so a total of 24 mini-episodes. The Blu-ray is much better than its DVD counterpart when it comes to overall look and sound quality and the fact that you get more episodes and also special features which the DVD's don't have.

As for the storyline, from kicking off the series with a fight against a new character named Ord and also to see the return of Colossus was quite significant. Immediately, people get to see the X-Men in action but also the children at Xavier's institute. And this leads into the second arc "Dangerous". The storyline was fantastic as it took a storyline of what would happen if the danger room could be sentient and learn over time. And the answer is "chaos" as the X-Men are suddenly faced with a rival that was designed to know and counter their fighting style. And to make things worse, the Danger Room has become sentient to the point that it wants nothing but to kill the X-Men.

As for the storyline, "Torn" features the new Hellfire Club as the antagonists. The Hellfire Club led by Sebastian Shaw have always been a thorn in the X-Men's side but this time around, the primary antagonist is Cassandra Nova. And what is interesting about Nova is that she was born the same time as Charles Xavier. She was conceived without a body but copied Professor Xavier's body and became his twin sister. Despite being stillborn, the creature survived and has managed to mimic human traits and now is hellbent of destroy Charles Xavier and the X-Men.

So, it was interesting to see this character back again to twist Emma Frost and the Hellfire Club to attack the X-Men. Or is it Cassandra Nova? Suffice to say, the conclusion of this arc has an intriguing twist.

The addition of the Agent Brand storyline is to help build up to the next arc known as "Unstoppable", which would be the final arc for Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. The final arc definitely ends with a bang as Whedon brings more X-Men characters plus other popular Marvel Superheroes into the battle against the Breakworld.

For fans of the older Uncanny X-Men series, the storyline of the X-Men is much different and the storyline itself didn't mesh with Marvel's current run of X-related storylines or Marvel crossovers. If you were familiar with the characters, that was all that was needed to understand the series. The X-Men are still funded and led by Professor X, the team is led by Cyclops and there is no Ice Man, nor is there a Jean Grey, who has since been replaced by Emma Frost (which is a big part of the storyline from 2000) who is romantically linked to Scott Summers (Cyclops). But similar to the original series, Beast and Wolverine are still part of the team and the romantic angst between Kitty Pryde and Piotr Rasputin (Colossus) is still ongoing.

But there is also a deeper and darker element to this series and showcases a different Scott Summers, especially during its ending minutes as we learn more about the creation of the Danger Room. But the storyline is entertaining and loved how Whedon concentrates a lot on the characters. Prior to Whedon and with past X-Men related issues, too much was focused on convoluted storylines, including regurgitated non-interesting banal storylines that went nowhere and eventually some other writer would have to clean up the mess. Whedon stayed with keeping things simple, but yet focusing on character development, team dynamic and intriguing adversaries.

I know many people have invested in the previous three DVD's already and are having to decide if they should upgrade to the Blu-ray version. My answer is that "Astonishing X-Men" on Blu-ray is a much better product. All 24-episodes are in HD and the colors are much sharper and vibrant, while the lossless track utilizes the sound effects through the surround channels rather nicely. Also, the Blu-ray release has special features which the DVD version did not.

But if you have the previous three "Astonishing X-Men" DVD releases, you don't have to upgrade unless you need to watch these episodes in HD. It sure does help to have all four Joss Whedon "Astonishing X-Men" arcs in one package but it is definitely worth the upgrade if you have the ability to play HD and listening to lossless soundtrack via home theater.

Overall, "Astonishing X-Men" is a fantastic comic animation collection that is a major leap forward for comic book animation. The voice acting is fantastic and the Blu-ray really emphasizes how much better "Astonishing X-Men" can look via Blu-ray compared to the previous DVD releases.

If you are an "X-Men" fan, "Astonishing X-Men" for Blu-ray is definitely recommended!

Joss Whedon's time at the helm of the Astonishing X-Men will forever be recorded as one of the best story arcs in Marvel history (see Astonishing X-Men Omnibus). The motion comic adaptation takes the comic book story that made Marvel history and creates an entertaining sort-of-cartoon version that will appeal to readers of of the comic as well as to a new audience.

What is a motion comic? Its a bit of a hybrid genre-the video looks like someone was able to animate the spaces between the panels in a comic book. The conversation bubbles are replaced by voice actors. The voice acting is spot on. Emma Frost drips with her elite mannerism. Wolverine is gruff and quick-witted. The voice actors do a great job of dramatically portraying the x-men without going over the top into the field of campy or too corny: It is not a Saturday morning cartoon-in some ways it much better.

I loved the 1990's x-men cartoon, but as I grew up so did the X-men. Astonishing X-men are still dealing with some of the issues of discrimination and intolerance that have been a hallmark of x-men series since the comic debuted in the 1960s but in a much more sophisticated manner. In these episodes a cure for mutants is discovered, and the x-men are torn between inner conflicts as well as inter-stellar conflicts.

I wont give anything away, but the acting and animation is paced so that the suspense never slackens.

The color and artwork is truly brilliant in HD. If you ever wished you could have a comic book panel splashed across your wide screen living room TV, look no further than this 2-disc blu ray collection.

The plot and storytelling are perfect. But There are a few "cons" to the motion comics. The episodes are very short (each under 15 minutes-ish). And each episode ends with a relatively long 'credits' sequence. It is not a big deal, but it does disrupt an otherwise seamless story.

X-Fans will be able to curl up with almost 5 hours of 1080p X-Men. Excelsior!

Buy Marvel Knights: Astonishing X-Men BluRay Box Now

I love this series even if it's motion comics and even MY wife liked it! Yes do watch this NOW!...

Read Best Reviews of Marvel Knights: Astonishing X-Men BluRay Box Here

Loved this comic in motion and in HI-Def! It came today and I've already watched the whole thing no problems the whole way.

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Friday Night Lights (2004)

My Gawd, I love football.

'Tis a sport that offers the purest microcosm of life: Play as a team--succeed; play as individuals--fail. Those of us who have strapped on the pads and grunted and groaned in the trenches know this incontrovertible truth all too well. A single unit is much greater than the sum of all its individual parts, and this stellar truism is manifested magnificently in Peter Berg's sensational film FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

Again, I love football, and I particularly enjoy football movies that capture the grit and dark hubris of the sport, but this film stands alone in its overwhelming ability to portray a game, a west Texas town, its residents, its players, and its shameless addiction to the gridiron to a degree that transcends every single facet of human existence. In a community intoxicated with football, in a culture intoxicated with football, in an infrastructure that lives, eats, breaths, and sleeps football, the 1988 Odessa Permian Panthers are about to embark on a spectacular odyssey that will catapult and devour them at the same time: a magical, mystical season taking the coaches and players up and down the peaks and valleys of high school sports nirvana.

This is a film that garners attention to itself for infinite reasons. A great story, based on a bestselling book. Cinematography second to none, thanks to Tobias A. Schliessler, that gives the movie its gritty, handheld, "documentary" feel. A fast-paced, action-packed, totally believable series of scenes, augmented by an absolute killer soundtrack. And acting--oh yes, some very convincing, authentic, been-there-done-that acting.

As great as this film is, it is enhanced by the talents of the players who bring west Texas football to life before our very eyes: Lucas Black as a scowling, brooding, ultimately insecure quarterback Mike Winchell; Derek Luke as the budding NFL superstar "Boobie" Miles, whose knee injury derails his career and summons one of the most poignant scenes in the film; Jay Hernandez as steady, reliable Brian Chavez; and Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gary Gaines. Thornton is a gifted actor, but this is perhaps his best role, as he portrays a man obsessed with getting his team to the pinnacle of success--yet disgusted with the one-dimensional, win-at-all-costs mentality of his current gig. Thornton is flawless; he does exceptional work.

Three other characters moved me, and moved me considerably. Perhaps, because I can readily identify with all of them. Garrett Hedlund plays Odessa tailback Don Billingsley--a troubled soul because his father, a former jock (Tim McGraw) refuses to accept his son's perceived inattentiveness and does nothing more than relive his own glory days two decades before. I know so many men who suffer exactly from the same malady, and could readily identify with the character, despite his shortcomings. Yet, at the end of the film, when troubled father and son reconcile problematically, I was very much affected.

Finally, I identified with "Preacher," the stoic, silent, solid defensive end from Permian, played by a somber-faced Lee Jackson. He went through the hell of two-a-days, saying nothing. He went through the trials and tribulations of the regular season, saying nothing. He saw games won, games lost, players come, players go, but still his resolve was not shaken, and at last--during halftime of Permian's game against very formidable Dallas Carter for the state championship--he released his fury and anguish to his teammates to fight and scrap and persevere, the character rose above the din and ruckus to prove, very admirably, how sports is, once again, a splendid microcosm of life.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is a whirling Texas twister of entertainment. The film is priceless; the DVD extras remarkable. This product is quality entertainment, top to bottom. Highly, highly, highly recommended.

--D. Mikels, author, WALK-ON

This is a well-made movie and true to life in every way. I'm not a fan of cursing and sex in movies, but I must admit that even the party scene in this movie is (unfortunately) an accurate reflection of life in such an environment. I've lived in a small Texas town and can vouch for the fact that star athletes (or entire teams in the case of a winning tradition like Odessa Permian's) are treated as heroes in such places. These towns live and die by their football team, and ex-players who remain in the town past high school love nothing more than to relive their 'glory days.' All of this has already been stated by previous reviewers, so let me add a different twist.

This movie should be shown to all high school student athletes so that they can learn that, while athletics are fun and can be an important component in a person's life, academics are more important and will take you further (yes, I know, there are the ones who do make the big time, but they are few and far between). I am not talking about trying to discourage kids from participating in athletics or quashing their dreams, but I am talking about being realistic and having an education to fall back upon. Boobie Miles, the star running back in the film (and in real life), is a classic example of this. The biggest college football programs in the nation were pursuing him until he had a serious, season-ending knee injury. The most poignant scene in the film, in my opinion, occurs after Miles has cleaned out his locker and is sitting in the car with his uncle. He begins to cry and tell his uncle that he doesn't know how to do anything but play football (Miles was shown earlier in the film having difficulty reading one of the letters of interest he had received from a university). At the end of the film we find out that Miles lives with his twins in Monahans, TX (another small town in the desolate Permian Basin of Texas). Interestingly, although the end of the film tells us what other players Mike Winchell, Brian Chavez, Don Billingsley are doing now, no mention is made of what Miles does for living. I can't help but wonder if this is due to embarassment at what he does (though, personally, I believe that if a person is a contributing member of society, then his occupation as long as it's legal isn't important).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, however, there is Brian Chavez. As a student athlete he had his priorities in order: he loved football, but he made sure that he also did well academically. We find out at the end of the film that he attended Harvard and now practices criminal law in Odessa. He obviously knew that football wasn't going to carry him forever.

We have seen examples of what can happen to even those athletes who do make it to the professional leagues but don't have any plans for what to do once their careers end (whatever the reason may be for them ending: injury, substance abuse, or simply reaching the end of the line athletically). Former Washington Redskin Dexter Manley stands out as the most glaring example of such an athlete; years after substance abuse brought his career to an early end and poor business decisions left him bankrupt, Manley came forth and admitted that he was illiterate. That says a lot about how messed up our society's priorities sometimes are, and so does the film "Friday Night Lights."

Enjoy the film it's definitely a well-done movie but don't be afraid to use it as an object lesson for those who prioritize athletics over all else (and if you're one of those people, then maybe the lesson will get through to you). My wife shares my love of sports movies (a rare thing in a wife), but she didn't like this movie because she thought it was "depressing." I didn't agree with her that the entire movie is depressing, but I do agree that the fact that there are so many cases like Boobie Miles and Dexter Manley in this country is depressing.

Buy Friday Night Lights (2004) Now

Ever since Peter Bogdanovich, in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, provided a comic view of a small town's total involvement in the fortunes of a high school football team (remember the verbal abuse the locals heaped on Jeff Bridges and Timothy Bottoms when they lost the 'big game'?), Hollywood has attempted, with varying degrees of success, to make the 'definitive' small town/football film.

Director Peter Berg has finally done it, with FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!

Based on H. G. Bissinger's best-selling tale of the 1988 season of the Odessa (Texas) 'Permian Panthers', the film unflinchingly paints a vivid canvas of a school and community obsessed with winning, as football provides the only release from poverty and desperation. While the concept is reminiscent of Tom Cruise's earlier ALL THE RIGHT MOVES, Berg doesn't glamorize the hero or tie things up, neatly, at the climax; in real life, while victories are savored, they are, at best, a temporary 'high'...while defeats can drive rational people into irrational frenzies. The Panthers' fortunes are such a crutch to Odessa's emotional well-being, that each game becomes a narcotic 'fix' for the entire community...a situation potentially dangerous for the players, and their coaches.

While Billy Bob Thornton has received the bulk of media attention, as the stern but fair head coach (with glowing reviews for BAD SANTA, and THE ALAMO, Thornton is having a career-defining year!), the film is really an ensemble work, with stand-out performances by Lucas Black, Derek Luke, Garrett Hedlund, and, surprisingly, singer Tim McGraw (as Hedlund's 'reliving past glories' father). The entire cast is exceptional, avoiding the easy pitfalls of simply playing stereotypes.

At times brutal and gritty, at times nearly surrealistic, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS refuses to fall into the clichés that marred VARSITY BLUES and THE PROGRAM, eschewing the artsy but smug self-righteousness of Oliver Stone's ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, as well.

This may well be the finest football film ever made...as well as one of the most honest portrayals of life in a small town.

I will be surprised if it doesn't make most critics' 'Ten Best' lists, at year's end, and is a major Oscar contender.

Peter Berg has gotten the formula right!

Read Best Reviews of Friday Night Lights (2004) Here

I live in Minnesota, where high school hockey is the state religion and the right of passage for seniors is to go to the State Tournament, even if there school does not make it that far. Parents (not just fathers) send their sons to live in other school districts so they can get more playing time or play with a better team. Everyone who has seen "Hoosiers" know that in Indiana it is high school basketball that is the subject of such devotion, but if you needed to see "Friday Night Lights" to know that neither of those state religions holds a candle to high school football in Texas, then you are just not a true sports fan. Even before H.G. Bissinger's Pulitzer Prize winning book, "Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream," I knew the people of West Texas took their high school football seriously (I lived in New Mexico when I went to high school, so it would have been hard not to notice).

Director Peter Berg's film version of "Friday Night Lights" is based on the true story of the Odessa-Permian Panthers and their 1988 season. What "true" means in this case is that the name of the coach and the key players are accurate, as are the number of losses the Panthers had that year (although the scores are different, as is one of the opponents). Overall, the film avoids going Hollywood until the final game, which does manage to be true to the spirit of the film even if it requires a stupid play call to help things along (I am sorry, but if it is 4th down and half the length of a football to go, and your offensive line outweighs the defense by at least 50 pounds a person, you call a quarterback sneak and get a least a yard more than you need just by firing off the ball; at least, that is what my father has always told me and since he played college football for an undefeated team, Trinity in Connecticut, I tend to listen to him).

This film affirms, for the upteenth time, that the main thing wrong with sports involving kids are the adults, either in the form of the parents, or the concerned citizens whose support of coach is based primarily on the score of the last game. The prototypical parent in this story is Charles Billingsley (Tim McGraw), who has his state championship ring and makes it clear that his son, Don (Garrett Hedlund), will be a failure if he does not do the same. Unfortunately, Don has a tendency to fumble, so Charles has no problem going down onto the field during practice to set the boy straight. Is Don playing football for his dad or despite his dad? There is no easy answer to that question, because life, family, and football are all wrapped up together in Odessa, Texas. The town might be mired in an economic depression, but that does not stop them from having a football stadium bigger than what some colleges and universities enjoy.

Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) is supposed to go undefeated and win the state championship. Perham has done this four times before, in 1965, 1976, 1980, and 1984. Apparently they have a four year crop rotation program going and everybody in town can do the math to figure out 1988 is going to be the year. When the Boobie Miles (Derek Luke) the star running back gets hurt the coach gets the blame even though it is clear, like in a classic Greek tragedy, that the Fates are punishing the sin of hubris. Boobie is all ready to spend his money for playing in the NFL and he has not even picked a college yet. Basking in his stardom, Boobie gladly admits to reporters that he gets straight A's because he is an athlete and as he leaves defenders in the wake of his sweet moves you can understand why he is the most important play for Permian. But the goddess of mischief hides the helmet of his backup Chris Comer (Lee Thompson Young), and everybody knows that when you are running the score up and keep your superstar in the game, somebody is going to go gunning for him.

There are several key factors that make "Friday Night Lights" work. The first is Thornton's performance, which is yet another reminder that he is one of the finest film actors around today. His Coach Gaines goes between moments of screaming at his players in the grand tradition of football coaches going back to Knute Rockne and beyond and measured silences as he endures another rabid fan excoriating him on talk radio or the "For Sale" signs that have sprung up in his front yard after a loss. But there are also moments when the speaks from the heart, whether it is to his quarterback, Mike Winchell (Lucas Black) in the squalid home the kid shares with his mentally disturbed mother (Connie Cooper), or the final halftime speech to his team. What distinguishes Gaines from every other man in the story is that he knows that in the end, football is just a game. He just has to be careful about who he shares this particular bit of wisdom with during the season.

Berg makes a brilliant decision to shoot this story as if it were a documentary. This works well in the extended game sequences, but suits the rest of the film as well, which is important because the most important moments in "Friday Night Lights" come at other times. Some of the best scenes take place away from the lighted field as Boobie and his uncle (Grover Coulson) deal with the disappearance of the dream during a visit to a doctor, when the garbage truck makes it rounds, and when the kid cleans out his locker. This leads to the third key factor, which is that we care about the kids that the story focuses on, including the silent "Preacher" (Lee Jackson) and the kid who is going to Harvard to become a lawyer, Brain Chavez (Jay Hernandez). We do not care about the fans or the families or the rest of the town, just the kids, and their performances match those of Thornton in providing a realism that we just do not get in most of the films in the sports genre.

I really liked this movie until the end, where the action and the emotions smack too much of Hollywood, not to mention David versus Goliath, than what had been established up to that point. Still, in the end Berg focuses exactly where he should, on the kids who have finished their high school football careers and the coach who has to immediately start planning for next year, when Odessa-Permian would again undertake the sacred quest for perfection.

Want Friday Night Lights (2004) Discount?

Ever wonder why those midwestern universities Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, etc seem to be so obsessed with football? Watching FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, based on the book of the same title by H.G. Bissinger about the 1988 season of the Odessa (Texas) Permian Panthers high school team, we learn that the fixation is acquired early in life, especially if the town has nothing else going for it but prairie grass or, in the case of Odessa, stinky oil wells.

Billy Bob Thornton, as the Panthers' head coach Gary Gaines, gives what may be the first Oscar-worthy performance of the 2004 film season. Odessa expects the Panthers to win the state championship, and no excuses for failure are acceptable. As Coach Gaines admonishes his players:

"You have the responsibility of protecting this team and this school and this town."

Yes, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is about football (and contains some of the best gridiron action you'll ever see outside of the real thing), but, in a larger arena, it's a commentary on the almost crushing pressure on teenage athletes to win the Big One for town, school, friends, and family. It could just as well be about baseball, basketball, or ice hockey.

At the outset, Gaines builds his offense around a single, star running back, Boobie Miles (Derek Luke). But after Miles is seriously injured early on and lost to the team for the season, the burden falls on senior quarterback Mike Winchell (Lucas Black) and the fumble-prone running back, Don Billingsley (Garret Hedlund). Winchell's focus is hindered by the realization that going off to college will force him to leave behind his dependent mother. On the other hand, the hapless Billingsley is constantly browbeaten by his abusive father Charles (CW singer Tim McGraw), once himself a player on a champion Panther squad, who can't understand why Don is so inept and fears that his son may squander the only chance he'll ever have for the memory of a fleeting glory in an otherwise unremarkable life. However, Derek Luke provides the film's undeniably most powerful scene worthy a Best Supporting nod by itself when he emotionally breaks down under the realization that he can no longer do the only thing he's good at, i.e. play football.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is undoubtedly a Guy Flick. While my wife wasn't exactly bored in the cinema seat, she can't understand why I'm rating the film so highly. It's partly because of Billy Bob's superb performance, but also because it's lean and hard-hitting film about boys being shoved into manhood by pressures beyond their control. In another era, the film would have been about young men forged in the hell of armed combat. Here, it's just west Texas.

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