The Royal Tenenbaums on DVD
Gene Hackman leads an all star cast in an unusual "tragicomedy" that
has been given a terrific Criterion Collection treatment for its DVD release.
Hackman is Royal Tenenbaum, the estranged patriarch of the clan - a once
high powered lawyer fallen onto hard times - hard enough for him in desperation
to try coming home to reconcile with his long-estranged family.
He's in trouble, and without a place to live, so he uses the trumped
up excuse of a life-ending illness to try wriggling his way back into
the lives of his dysfunctional family of mostly failing geniuses. They
include playwright Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), financier and widower Chas
(Ben Stiller), and washed up tennis pro Richie (Luke Wilson). All of these
kids were raised mostly single-handedly for the past several years by
mother Etheline (Anjelica Huston), and the whole brood carries enough
baggage to fill the holds of the Titanic. They also yearn for a familial
togetherness they never really had.
By the end of the movie, each of the Tenenbaums has had his own crisis
and appears to be on the road to a less screwed up future. And the family
reconciles somehow, but not in a manner you might expect.
The Royal Tenenbaums is funny, but in a more gentle and subtle way than
we're used to from "beat 'em over the head with it" Hollywood. The humor
is played extremely straight by a cast of very good actors, in a manner
quite similar to that of Director Wes Anderson's previous outing Rushmore.
The performances are first rate, as one might expect from an ensemble
cast that includes more than its share of Oscar winners. Besides those
mentioned above, The Royal Tenenbaums also features Bill Murray, Danny
Glover, and Owen Wilson (who co-wrote the script with director Anderson)
and they all contribute to the strangely looney whole.
Not surprisingly, Wes Anderson's style fits the film perfectly, as do
the casting choices, production design etc.
And what can you say about a Criterion Collection DVD? The Criterion
Collection has been making its name for great movie packages since the
early days of laserdisc and is making the transition to DVD with aplomb.
So The Royal Tenenbaums features a great anamorphic widescreen picture
(16x9 TV compatible) with rich colors (and the film's overall yellowish
tinge comes through beautifully) and sharp images. There's also terrific
sound that offers you the choice of DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
- and the expected plethora of interesting extras.
The movie is presented in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio, which makes
it a tad wider than the usual 2.35:1 shape. and while the sound quality
is first rate, there isn't a lot of surround in evidence. This isn't a
big deal, however; it isn't as if there are swooping planes or space ships
in The Royal Tenenbaums.
Sisc one only features one extra, but it's an entertaining commentary
by director Wes Anderson. Disc two is where the real "extra meat" is,
and it includes a 26-minute documentary ("With the Filmmaker: Portraits
by Albert Maysles") that features some great behind-the-scenes footage.
You also get a selection of pretty interesting, though fairly short, interviews
with the main cast members, "The Peter Bradley Show" (which includes interviews
with other cast members), "The Art of the Movie," trailers, two collectible
booklets, and a couple of Easter Eggs.
In all, a terrific package and we encourage Buena Vista Home Entertainment
to embrace Criterion with some of its other titles. Mary Poppins springs
to mind imediately, and there are many more titles in the Disney library
that cry out for such a DVD treatment.
Then again, the "Vault Disney
Collection" also does a darn fine job.
The Royal Tenenbaums, from Buena Vista Home Entertainment/The Criterion
Collection
110 min, anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1), 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital
5.1 surround and DTS
Starring Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow,
Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Danny Glover and Bill Murray
Produced by Wes Anderson, Barry Mendel, Scott Rudin
Written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
Directed by Wes Anderson
Tell us at TechnoFile what YOU think