George Clooney is riding high: an Academy Award for his performance in Syriana, exuberant pride in being a liberal, and the well-timed DVD release of his Oscar-nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck. Also out on DVD: The History of Violence, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio and more.
1. Good Night, and Good Luck.
In George Clooney's assured hands, the real-life story of how CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow stood up to Senator McCarthy during the 1950s becomes a celebration of journalistic responsibility that speaks eloquently to our current moment. The film was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Actor (David Strathairn), Best Original Screenplay (George Clooney and Grant Heslov), Best Director (George Clooney) and Best Picture.
2. A History of Violence
David Cronenberg's drama of a small town husband and father (Viggo Mortensen) whose small town act of heroism reveals his own repressed past as a brutal criminal was one of the best American films of the 2005. Maria Bello, Ed Harris, and William Hurt co-star. The DVD release includes director commentary and Acts of Violence.
3. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
There is no better actress to star as a suffering housewife than luminous Julianne Moore. First, she was painfully sensitive to germs in Safe. Then, she was unhappilly ummarried and in love with her black gardenerer in Far From Heaven. In her latest prize-worthy incarnation, Moore stars as 1950s housewife Evelyn Ryan, who struggles to raise 10 kids while dealing with an alcoholic husband.4. Marebito
Japanese director Takashi Shimizu (Ju-on) presents another slice of atmospheric J-horror with his gory frightfest Maerebit. In an inspired bit of casting, real-life director Shinya Tsukamoto Tetsuo: The Iron Man) stars as Masuoka, a filmmaker obsessed with capturing the essence of fear via his ever-present digital-video camera.5. Three of Hearts
Susan Kaplan's (Small Wonders) documentary explores the lives of a contemporary family, two gay men and a struggling actress who join together to raise a child.