| Guide Picks - Top New DVDs
April 2002 |
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| Here is a very subjective round-up of the
latest world and independent film releases, carefully gleaned from the stacks
of review discs piling up by my door. These films have been subjected
to rigorous late-night repeat watching and are recommended viewing for anybody
for isn't holding their breath for their "Lord of the Rings" pre-order
to come in.
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1) In
the Mood for Love
 Wong
Kar-Wai's hypnotic, sumptuous movie looks better on this Criterion DVD
than it did at the shoe-box art house screen I saw it first on. Watching
this film is like burying your face in a trough of elegantly bitter chocolate
mousse. The set is decked out with two discs, extensive features and a thick
booklet featuring the short story that sparked the idea for the film. A
thing of beauty.
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2) Metropolis
A brightly animated story, based on Osamu Tezuka's 1945 comic which, in
turn, borrows freely from Fritz Lang's 1926 classic. At the film's North
American premiere, which highlighted the Big
Apple Anime Festival last November, I was shocked at the skyscraper-blasting
finale. On the small screen, the overly cute character design seems less
out of place and the eye-popping digital animation hasn't lost any of its
zing. With a bonus mini-DVD.
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3) Grass
Woody Harrelson narrates this by turns hilarious and appalling documentary
about American marijuana legislation and media coverage. Director Ron Mann
takes no explicit stance on the issue, but as the ridiculous permutations
of the "official story" and the spent millions pile up, the facts
start speaking loudly for themselves. Good extra features.
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4) No
Man's Land
Danis Tanovic's Oscar-winning satire set in the Bosnian war is more at home
on the smaller screen, and the pitch-black humor actually gains from the
increased intimacy.
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5) The
Fireman's Ball
Equally hilarious and smart, this satire was Milos Forman's last film in
Czechoslovakia before he left his home for the United States. A thinly veiled
attack on the ruling communist authorities, it tells the story of an incompetent
fire brigade's ball, including a doomed lottery of stolen items and a beauty
pageant that ends in a riot. The film is as fresh
as ever and still valid anywhere where uniformed men make others dance and
take their clothes off. The Criterion discs features
an interview with Forman that illuminates the story behind the film's persecution.
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6) Novocaine
"Novocaine," starring Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, and
Laura Dern, didn't get the attention it deserved because it's one of those
movies that are hard to fit snugly into a category. It is by turns a comedy
and a thriller, and succeeds joyfully at both.
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7) Resfest Shorts 1
Radioactive tongues, ninja rabbits, and bellicose noodles: sixteen short
films from the moveable digital feast that is ResFest.
Some of the shorts, like the constantly surprising "Tongues and Taxis,"
the brief "Syokyoan" and punny "Latin Alive," are worth
owning for their rewatch value. The discs also includes Bob Sabiston and
Tommy Pallotta's "Snack and Drink," which uses the same technology
used by Linklater in "Waking Life." A curious and fascinating
collection.
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8) Macross
Plus
Shoji Kawamori's feature film has the curious distinction of being the first
"mecha" animation I truly enjoyed. This story about two rival
giant robot pilots who are in love with a singer won me over with its slick
animation and intriguing characters.
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9) Giants
& Toys
A 1958 Japanese satire about candy companies at war over market supremacy
-- how could this movie not rock? To tell the truth, Yasuzo Masumura's film
was hell on my irony detectors: five decades old corporate Japanese ideas
of loyalty are difficult to gauge from this vantage. See it for the toothless
grin of the candy poster girl.
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10) Breathless
I doubt I have to introduce Jean-Luc Godard's seminal New Wave masterpiece:
this is the one that doesn't star Valerie Kaprisky. Unlike many trailblazing
films that have since lost their lustre, "Á Bout de Souffle"
is still fresh, passionate, surprisingly hip and smart and a pleasure throughout.
Too bad this DVD comes without any extras and won't let you, for those of
us who'd rather just watch, turn off the subtitles. Unless you can't live
without it, you might want to wait for a DVD release deserving of this outstanding
movie.
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