Violent pot heads, self-mutilation, extreme surfing, assassination attempts on Hitler, and Sissy Spacek and Shelly Duval in a rare Robert Altman movie: as hard as we tried, we couldn't find a common theme for this week's new DVD releases. Except for this: they're all worth your time.
1. 3 Women
At last Criterion has restored this little known Robert Altman gem. Unlike his usual mad-cap ensemble films, "3 Woman" is a small and surreal work. Sissy Spacek will charm and disturb you as Pinky Rose, an impressionable young woman who emulates her odd-duck would-be-swinger roomate Shelly Duvall. Janice Rule, the third women, hovers enigmatically at the edge of the film. The restored DVD includes commentary by legendary director Robert Altman.
2. Step Into Liquid
With "Step into Liquid," Dana Brown created a genial documentary on surf culture around the world with cinematography so stunning it needs a "no computer graphics" disclaimer. The 2-disc set features 2 versions of the film (the second in Windows Media High-Definition Video for PC), an introduction and commentary by director Dana Brown, extensive deleted scenes and outtakes, the making-of featurette Capturing the Wave, bonus behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, and more.
3. Bonhoeffer
A revealing documentary about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Protestant theologian and pacifist, and the restistance movement in Nazi Germany.4. In My Skin
When French filmmaker Marina de Van (a frequent collaborator of Francois Ozon) gets hungry, she leans over and chews on her skin. In her directorial debut, she turns self-mutilation into an auto-erotic act of self-discovery. Not for the faint of heart. The DVD contains commentary by writer/director/star Marina de Van, and her early short films "Alias" and "Psy-show."5. Reefer Madness
Now here's a cult classic, released on an auspicious date. Produced by the FBI in 1938, this was supposed to be the ultimate in "just say no" drug scare cinema, but decades later, college kids would light up and laugh through the outrageous displays of marijuana-fueled madness.