TMCnet News
New DVDs celebrate madcaps and more(Chicago Tribune (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 7--When people find out what it is that I do for a living, their first reaction is usually to tell me how much they'd kill to have a job like mine. Then I remind them that for every DVD such as "Capote" that I get to see well ahead of the masses, there are thousands of discs I must endure that aren't fit to serve as drink coasters in a dingy strip club. Such as "Tommy Lee Goes to College." Or "Spring Break Shark Attack." That's why I'm happy to report that this week's column spotlights five new collections that definitely deserve the ink -- embracing the worlds of a silent-turned-sound film legend, a maverick director and the best of British entertainment from the '60, '70s and '80s. "Billy Bragg Volume 1" (Yep Roc Records, $81.98) Here's to those enterprising souls who combine the worlds of CD and DVD when amassing career retrospectives. This collection not only includes four of Bragg's seminal leftist folk-punk albums, but three bonus CDs and two DVDs. The Spike Lee Joint Collection (Universal, $26.98) At a price lower than some studios charge for a single film, Universal delivers five movies by Lee. The collection assembles what are, for me, three essential films from the Lee canon: "Do the Right Thing" (1989), "Mo' Better Blues" (1990) and "Jungle Fever" (1991). That's not to slag "Crooklyn" (Lee's 1994 tribute to the American family) or "Clockers" (his 1995 drug-dealer film produced by Martin Scorsese). But a collection becomes a definite must-have if it substitutes "Malcolm X" (1992) and 1986's "She's Gotta Have It" -- the film that put Lee on the map. The Avengers Emma Peel Collector's Edition DVD Megaset (A&E Home Video, $179.95) The title is almost as large as the boxed set itself, which contains a whopping 17 discs. (Aren't you glad they come in ultraslim cases?) With a total running time in excess of 48 hours, there's more than enough fodder for fans of the ultramod British action-adventure series. The Monty Python "Personal Best" videos (A&E Home Video, four separate discs, $19.95 each) With the Michael Palin and Eric Idle discs already out, these four DVDs collect the favorite and fractured moments of Python cast members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and the late Graham Chapman. Buster Keaton Collection (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $24.96) To those who still recall his name, Keaton was a legend of the silent-film era. But he also did some remarkable work during the sound era right up until 1966, when he played Erronius in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." This set marks the 65th anniversary of a partnership between "the Great Stone Face" and Columbia Pictures, one that saw Keaton produce the shorts in this 10-film collection. Anticipation for "Brokeback" mounting With this year's Oscars but a memory, here's a list of upcoming March release dates for Oscar-nominated films. Note the conspicuous absence of "Brokeback Mountain," which a Universal spokesman told me had no confirmed release date as of Friday. Could it be the Universal brass were banking on a big-time Oscar showing and more box office? Regardless, it's a mystery why the studio is acting so coy about the "Brokeback" DVD when other top-shelf nominees such as "Walk the Line," "Crash" and "Capote" are out, or soon will be. March 14: "Good Night, and Good Luck." (Warner Home Video, $28.98), "A History of Violence" (New Line Home Video, $28.98) March 21: "Capote" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $28.95), "The Squid and the Whale" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $26.96) March 28: "Memoirs of a Geisha" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $28.96) Got a DVD question or quandary? Write to Louis R. Carlozo at [email protected]. Include your name and hometown and your question could wind up in a future On the Small Screen column. |