The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio, Rich Heldenfels Column: Cleveland Actors in 2 New DVD Releases
By Rich Heldenfels, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio
Mar. 2–New DVDs on Tuesday include several notable movies and a time capsule of a TV show.
One movie of note is Into the Wild, the big-screen adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s book, with a screenplay and directing by Sean Penn. Emile Hirsch stars as Christopher McCandless, a young man who abandons his comfortable life in search of a simpler way of living; his efforts ended with his starving to death in the Alaskan wilderness.
It’s an effective movie in many ways, and Cleveland’s Hal Holbrook — as one of the people McCandless encountered in his short life — received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. (Javier Bardem won, for No Country for Old Men.) But it’s also a very difficult film to watch because McCandless’ actions seem so foolish and incomprehensible, especially to the people who cared deeply about him and tried to protect him.
Paramount is releasing Into the Wild in several DVD forms — a single disc retailing for $29.99, a two-disc special edition for $39.99 and a two-disc version in high-definition HD DVD, also for $39.99. The single disc includes no extras. The two-disc versions add two pieces about the making of the movie, one on the story and characters, the other on the actual production.
The making-of pieces are revealing, especially as Penn acknowledges that he is not the easiest director to work for. But since they total only about 40 minutes, there was plenty of room on that second disc for other material.
Just as I have thought a great deal about Into the Wild, I haven’t been able to break free of Things We Lost in the Fire (Dreamworks, $29.98 in standard DVD, $39.99 in HD DVD). The haunting tale of loss and friendship starred Cleveland’s Halle Berry as a newly widowed woman dealing with her husband’s best friend (Benicio Del Toro), someone she has not had much to do with before.
The DVD extras include seven deleted scenes and a making-of segment that the DVD calls “a discussion.” Actually, it is a blending together of separate interviews with the main filmmakers and actors, Berry among them, along with a lot of clips from the film itself.
Going into the movie vault, we find 101 Dalmatians — Platinum Edition (Disney, $29.99), the original 1961 animated film in a spruced-up, two-disc package.
I have mixed feelings about Dalmatians. Loved it when I was a kid, and Cruella De Vil is one of the most memorable villains in movie history. But the art work, while impressive in some ways, looks Spartan in others, reflecting Walt Disney’s increasing cost-consciousness about animation. The movie also began heavy use of an image-copying process that was more efficient but may also have taken something away from the richness of the film.
In any case, this is a nice-looking rendition of the movie and the extras are lavish. Besides extensive pieces on the making of 101 Dalmatians, they include a separate piece about Cruella’s development, deleted songs and pop-up trivia in two different versions, one for the family and one for movie buffs.
Also hitting DVD in a new package is 12 Angry Men — Collector’s Edition (MGM, $19.98), the acclaimed movie starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden and others as jurors debating a case that appears open-and-shut until Fonda insists they talk about it more.
The movie has been on DVD before, but the new package — marking the movie’s 50th anniversary — has a making-of piece including interviews with director Sidney Lumet and cast member Klugman. There’s also an intriguing second extra in which famous real-life lawyers discuss juries and jury selection in the context of 12 Angry Men.
And the movie holds up very well.
From the TV vault comes that time capsule — The Love Boat — Season One, Volume One (Paramount, 12 episodes, three discs, $36.98). These episodes from late 1977 are a reminder of who were TV names at the time. The first show, for example, includes Meredith Baxter Birney, Bonnie Franklin, Suzanne Somers and Jimmie Walker.
There are no extras other than promotional spots leading into episodes. Nor does this include a couple of pilots for the series that aired in the 1976-77 season.
Down the DVD road — The excellent new production of A Raisin in the Sun, with Phylicia Rashad and Sean “Diddy” Combs, will be released on DVD on May 6. In addition to the film, it is expected to include an audio commentary by director Kenny Leon and a feature on “the journey of A Raisin in the Sun.” Retail price will be about $25.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in a blog at http://www.ohio.com. Contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
—–
To see more of the Akron Beacon Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ohio.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
NYSE:DIS,