DVD Reviews
Starring Alexandre Rodrigues and Leandro Firmino
Written by Brulio Mantovani
Directed by Fernando Meirelles
City of God Miramax Home Entertainment
Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Cinematography, Editing, and Adaptation.
Theatrical Release: 2003
Rated: R
Reviewed by Aaron Licht
What do you want to be? Fishmonger, policeman, or hood? I certainly know who most of us like to watch, and City of God provides a sensational spectacle. City of God is an epic, following a generation of kids growing up in a nearby Rio de Janeiro slum during the 1960s and 1970s. In the dead-poor neighbourhood, lacking even electricity, career options are unsurprisingly limited. Over half of the workforce is involved in the drug trade and gang life is commonplace. Ostensibly within the gangster genre, the story revolves around hold-ups, drug deal take-overs, and revenge plots all overwhelmed with a sense of depressing fatalism. Our protagonist, Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), has chosen to be right in the middle. He is the only to admit that his fear of getting shot prevents his career as a hood. Naturally, he’s more interested in losing his virginity.
The story develops at an excellent pace. Screenwriter Brulio Mantovani has playfully divided the conflict into a handful of vignettes. “The Suckers Life” is soon followed by “Flirting with Crime.” The main plot line explores the escalating mob war and as soon as the viewer’s interest may falter, our passive protagonist acquires a camera and gets himself involved. I could recommend the film to fans of photography alone. The artist’s eye seeking the decisive moment and all those delightful theories are quite relevant in City of God.
The cinematography is breathtaking and highly inventive. Every modern technique is on display: 360 ° spins, frenetic bullet cam, sudden freeze frames and time dissolves. Styles change as needed: a moving “documentary realism” camera is used during emotionally charged moments and the childhood sequence is pervaded by a nostalgic feel from its warm saturated colours.
Be warned. The violence is brutally realistic. Of course, it’s nothing most cinephiles aren’t used to (and would come to expect). If tortured children upset you, then look away. The number of guns on fetishized display rivals even The Matrix. I’ve personally been tired of excessive gunfighting, but here the violence is integral to narrative development. Lil’l Zé (Leandro Firmino) is one of those really evil villains you love to hate.
As the credits roll, we learn that the horrible events were based on a true story. The real Brazilians are shown next to their fictional counterparts. The viewer is led to compare the city’s violent situation to contemporary situations around the world, and the movie has not proposed a single solution. City of God is less a thoughtful contemplation on the issues, and more a celebration of their entertainment value. The DVD supplements are sparse, but an hour long documentary, “News From a Personal War”, investigates the back story. I would have enjoyed more about the making of the film, but I’ll take an insightful doc over a handful of trailers and publicity photos anytime.
When I got the DVD from the video store, the clerk warned me that the movie is in Portuguese. On further inquiry, it turns out the company needs employees to inform us of the subtitles. Apparently, over 90% of customers return those troublesome movies after realizing their mistake. Fuckers. God forbid they might broaden their world view.
So what do you want to be? Fishmonger, policeman or hood? Or maybe a photographer? It certainly is best to watch.
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Nero Wolfe – The Complete First Season A&E Home Video
Starring Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton
Reviewed by Adam M. Anklewicz
Nero Wolfe (played by Maury Chaykin) is a fat man who rarely leaves his home, is easily enraged, loves his orchids and only enjoys the finest foods. Fortunately, Archie Goodwin (Timothy Hutton) knows how to get what he wants. Goodwin is the narrator for the story and the man who provides the audience with the insight. Through the eyes of Wolfe’s right hand man, the audience gets a front seat in the action.
The series is based on a collection of novels and novellas written by Rex Stout, who began publishing his stories just after World War II. The television series is set during this time period. The art direction in this series is absolutely wonderful and it leaves no doubt in your mind that what you are watching is happening during the late ‘40s and early ‘50s.
The best part of this series is the relationship between Wolfe and Goodwin. The constant bickering and mutual respect that the two have for each other is just great and gets the viewer hooked onto the series. With a solid and very enjoyable supporting cast, Colin Fox plays the often hilarious chef Fritz while Bill Smitrovich’s Inspector Cramer tries to solve the mysteries before Wolfe can.
Timothy Hutton not only stars in this series as Archie Goodwin, but he also takes on the role of executive producer for the series. Hutton also does an excellent job at pointing the series in the direction it will take by directing the first few episodes. The style of the drama’s narrative is superb, and is a direct translation from the books.
The stories unfold exactly as the books do. Having read the story “Door To Death” before seeing the episode, I was disappointed to see that little changed through the adaptation. This is perhaps one of the most upsetting aspects of the show, because the creative staff didn’t try to provide an interpretation of the book, like film versions of Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings did so well.
The three-disc DVD set of the complete first season of Nero Wolfe is an amazing set of mysteries with great characters and an excellent cast. However, the DVDs contain absolutely no extras. No commentaries, not even promo spots. Nothing to entice people to buy it, other than the great stories, and the fact that the episodes are no longer aired on A&E. I would have given the series four stars, but with the lack of any special features, it must be knocked down to three. Still, it’s well worth the money.
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Six Feet Under – The Complete Second Season HBO Home Video
Starring Peter Krause, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Michael C. Hall, Richard Jenkins, etc.
Reviewed by Cari Crosby
I have been obsessed with the Alan Ball (American Beauty) produced HBO series Six Feet Under for about two months now. Unfortunately, I am a little behind. A late convert to the series (I didn’t have access to HBO before recently), I rented disc one of The Complete First Season upon recommendation from a friend. I was immediately hooked and within a few weeks, I had finished all of Season One, and took the plunge by purchasing The Complete Second Season. Fortunately, I was not let down, as Season Two provided just as many plot twists and turns as the first season, and each character continued to develop throughout.
The Fisher family consists of the recently widowed Ruth (Frances Conroy) along with her three children. Ruth’s character development is brilliant in Season Two, as we find her in unique un-Ruthish relationships, while she is doing her utmost to better herself. Finally getting over the death of her husband and beginning to come to terms with the guilt of having an extramarital affair, Ruth comes into her own as a powerful matriarch. Her eldest son, Nate (Peter Krause), who returned just in time for his father’s death in the first episode of Season One, has taken his new role as funeral director quite seriously. He has also found himself in a serious relationship with Brenda (Rachel Griffiths), and their tumultuous relationship becomes a focus of Season Two. David (Michael C. Hall) goes through a great deal of instability in this season, dealing with his conflicting conservative religious beliefs and his homosexual lifestyle, leaving him confused and self-deprecating throughout. The somewhat angsty teenager, Claire (Lauren Ambrose), deals with having been raised in a funeral home in her own way. She comes of age in a very subtle way, finding herself confused and kind, sometimes too much so on both ends. Six Feet Under doesn’t limit itself to simply focusing on the Fisher family, but also other characters important in their lives. The Complete Second Season also continues to teach us a lot about Frederico (Freddy Rodriguez), an employee at Fisher & Sons funeral home; David’s love interest Keith (Matthew St. Patrick); and Brenda’s entire family, including her psychologically unstable brother, Billy (Jeremy Sisto).
This is the first television series I have found myself truly caring about for quite some time. I like each character and worry about what will happen with each curveball fate tosses them and even find myself feeling disappointed in some of their decisions. No one in this show is perfect, and they all have very natural flaws. At the same time, none of the characters seem to fit in with any predictable stereotypes, leaving us surprised by their development.
The Complete Second Season is an excellent DVD collection, compiling all 13 episodes from the second season. The extras are pretty standard, with audio commentaries on a handful of episodes along with “Anatomy of a Working Stiff,” a twenty-minute special on the process of creating realistic corpses for the series. The commentaries are interesting and insightful, and the featurette is informative, but perhaps a bit long for what it is. Still, the episodes stand up on their own as well directed, written, and acted. You will find yourself, as I did, watching episode after episode, wondering what will happen to these strange and fascinating characters next.
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Triplets Of Belleville Columbia Tristar Home Video
Written & Directed by Sylvain Chomet
Rated: PG-13
Reviewed by Shel Desormeaux
Champion sweats his way through the dark cobblestone streets, the spokes of his bicycle’s wheels bending under his labor. Behind him, on his first tricycle, rides his tiny grandmother, Madame Souza, chirping steady encouragement through a whistle. He’s been obsessed with bicycles since he was a small child, and now she is training Champion for the Tour de France.
But his training is brought to an astounding halt when he’s whisked away during a race by an unknown man in black, and his grandmother, along with the faithful family dog Bruno, gives chase. It is during this seemingly hopeless quest that they meet the marvelous Triplets of Belleville.
Nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Animated Feature Film and Best Song), The Triplets Of Belleville was written and directed by Sylvain Chomet. The animation style is a bit of a throwback to old Disney movies, with the opening sequence reminiscent of the ‘Steamboat Willy’ cartoon, and washed-out, neutral colors are used throughout most of the film. The result is a dreary, sad undertone despite the outstanding music and the uplifting, eccentric characters that are the Triplets.
Most unusual is the almost complete absence of dialogue. Aside from the lyrics accompanying the music and the odd bystander’s completely random observation, the characters communicate largely in grunts, cackles and whines. But for this strange and wonderful little movie, it works very well and places the onus on the animators to convey the characters’ emotions, as pendulous as they may be, entirely through their actions.
On DVD, the movie is accompanied by a featurette narrated by the director, who explains more about what went into each scene, rather than the making of the movie in its entirety. As well, Chomet explains the animation process he uses from start to finish, from blue pencil drawings to the unique 2D and 3D combination scene in the film. At the very end is the music video for ‘Belleville Rendezvous’, the Oscar nominated song, and the video is nothing if not, let’s say, abstract. A live action character is inserted into various scenes from the movie, as well as an animated depiction of the singer. The video starts with a therapy session and moves into a creepy little dance number, with the singer’s head superimposed onto animated bodies. That video, and a sweet, concise tale of love, devotion and loyalty, make this DVD a worthwhile purchase indeed.
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