Yeah, well that's how Sony describes this attempt to recreate the magic of the old Blake Edwards/Peter Sellers classic.

The movie tries hard, and it does have a certain amount of laughs, but the overall effect we got was an urge to view the original once again. It's too bad. While they should never have tried to recreate that magic, the names behind this production are credible and they try very hard.

Martin has the thankless job - and the nearly impossible one - of making us forget about Peter Sellers and he does pretty well, though we never forget Sellers. But Martin's a good actor and he does yeoman's service here.

The movie kicks off by introducing Clouseau through the eyes of Chief Inspector Dreyfus, outlining why the clumsy and clueless oaf was promoted and given the task of tracking down a murderer and finding the missing Pink Panther diamond.

It turns out that Dreyfus is nominated for the French Medal of Honor, and needs someone he can use as a fall guy so he can end up solving the case, taking the credit, and looking good in the process. And this is why Clouseau is brought in. He assigns Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno) as Clouseau's chauffeur, but he's really there to keep Dreyfus informed as to what Clouseau is doing and where he's going.

There's plenty of slapstick and some decent running gags, and the entire crew do their best. In the end, the film works, and we even laughed a few times, but this is not the definitive version of The Pink Panther by any means. But it is worth a view.

The Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition at an aspect ratio of 1:85:1. Video quality is very good; crisp, colorful and rich it has a lucious look that, while not offering the "depth" of some discs, is still very pleasing to the eye.

The audio features Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and it's fine. This is primarily a dialog-driven film, but the audio is very listenable and clear.

Extras include:

• Exclusive to Blu-ray - Code Pink: Animated Graphics-in-Picture Track
• Audio Commentary with Director Shawn Levy
• Optional Commentary – Deleted Scenes Commentary with Director Shawn Levy 
• Documentary: Cracking the Case
• Five Featurettes
• 11 Deleted Scenes
• Three Music Videos

The Pink Panther, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
93 min. 1080p widescreen (1.85:1), Dolby TrueHD
Starring Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles, Jean Reno
written by Len Blum and Steve Martin, directed by Shawn Levy

Revolver on Blu-ray

If you plan to watch Revolver (and you know who you are), know now that you musn’t waste valuable energy on deciphering the plot.

It’s completely convoluted (as is common in Guy Ritchie’s world) and absolutely nothing will make sense until the end. Even then it’s not a completely satisfying conclusion, but by that point you’re just happy to know something…anything.

Jake Green (Jason Statham) has just spent time in jail due to his connection to mob boss Dorothy Macha (a gloriously over-the-top Ray Liotta). Naturally, he wants revenge. But it’s how he achieves said vengeance that will be the interesting part – and the completely bizarre part.

You can’t really summarize everything to a friendly length; nevertheless, the film is definitely Ritchie’s most ambitious. It tries to get deep and philosophical (at least metaphorically) and in some ways it succeeds. Sadly, the task of writing a movie about such an idea, and adapting it to your particular style with a properly cohesive narrative seems to have been too much to tackle. Not that we don’t respect him for trying. And not that it isn’t a mostly enjoyable flick anyway.

The performances are entertaining enough, with Statham showing a little more range than most of us have seen before (albeit only towards the end). The aforementioned Liotta is especially fun to watch as he goes increasingly mad. Vincent Pastore and Andre Benjamin lend some credibility, and Mark Strong plays one of the coolest characters in recent memory.

The movie’s a bit of a mishmash overall, with even some random animated bits thrown in for no reason whatsoever.

Rumor has it the original UK version was longer and more comprehensible. We have a hard time understanding why a studio would want to take away necessary material for a different market, but we’re sure they know what they’re doing… </sarcasm>

Anyway, it’s a bit of a different film from a director who gets nitpicked for stepping outside his comfort zone. Go in without expectations, don’t try to follow too closely and you’ll probably enjoy it well enough.

The video quality flip-flops between being really good and average. Some scenes are excellent, with spot-on detail and very little grain or pixilation. Others seem completely missed. There’s never really much color and when there is it looks a little oversaturated. Pound for pound not a bad little transfer, but needs some work. The audio is quite powerful, with narration that comes from all sides and excellent depth.

Extras include a commentary with Guy Ritchie and editor James Herbert, some deleted & alternate scenes, and a few featurettes.

Revolver, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
104 minutes, 2.35:1 1080p High Definition, Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Starring Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Vincent Pastore and Andre Benjamin
Written and directed by Guy Ritchie



Quo Vadis on Blu-ray

It was one of the first color "cast of thousands" biblical epics, but Quo Vadis is surely no Ben-Hur. It's epic, indeed, with huge sets, terrific production values and all those extras, but despite its strengths it definitely comes off as an "epic wannabe" rather than a true big screen event.

Part of the reason is its full frame aspect ratio, which isn't really the filmmakers' fault since the movie came out before the days of widescreen. But full frame certainly limits the film's "scope", its "vista", making it seem smaller than it would have only a couple of years later.

Another big reason is Robert Taylor, who stars as Marcus Vinicius, commander of Rome's 14th Legion. The man simply couldn't act, at least in this film. He's surrounded by excellent thespians such as Peter Ustinov (whose performance as Emperor Nero is quite simply outstanding), Deborah Kerr, Finlay Currie  and Leo Glenn, but he can't keep up with them.

On his return from a campaign, Marcus Vinicius falls in love with Lygia (Kerr), who is also a member of a pesky group of Christians who are a convenient scapegoat for Nero to point at to deflect public anger from his own shortcomings (one of which is his famous burning of Rome merely, according to the film, so he can have it rebuilt to his own specifications). Nero favors Marcus with a gift of Lygia (much to her freedom-loving chagrin), and through their relationship he begins to learn and understand what Christianity is all about, until eventually he becomes saved – spiritually at least.

The "lion's share" of the movie is the final section, when the Christians are rounded up and fed to the big cats in front of cheering crowds…

It really is a good movie, and an excellent Blu-ray, but it left us panting in impatient anticipation of an eventual BD release of the ultimate biblical epic that was Ben-Hur.

The 1080p picture is stunning. Depth is excellent, as is color and contrast. This really works for the huge sets and detailed costumes, all of which look rich and finely textured.

Audio is merely Dolby Digital and it's merely okay. This is not only a shame for the dialogue and sound design, but for deemphasizing Miklos Rosza's wonderful score.

The extras are pretty good, though. We get a commentary by Filmmaker/Writer F. X. Feeney, an interesting documentary on the genesis of the film (with, ironically, music scooped from Rosza's even better score for Ben-Hur) – and Warner Brothers has restored the original overture and exit music that haven't been available for 56 years.

You also get a teaser trailer and the theatrical trailer.

Quo Vadis, from Warner Home Entertainment
174 min. 1080p full frame (1.33:1), Dolby Digital mono
Starring Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Glenn and Peter Ustinov
produced by Sam Zimbalist
written by John Lee Mahin and S. N. Behrman, directed by Mervyn LeRoy



Enemy at the Gates on Blu-ray

There've been World War II films that focused on Americans, British, Canadians, Germans, Japanese and others, but other than threats in Hogan's Heroes about Germans soldiers who screwed up being banished to the Russian front, we can't think of another Hollywood reference to that major scene of WWII conflict before Enemy at the Gates.

Jean-Jacques Annaud's movie features an all-star and is set in 1942, when the Nazis are invading Russia. Under the leadership of Nikita Kruschev (Bob Hoskins), the good people of Stalingrad are doing their best to turn back the invaders, but things aren't going well. And they're depressed and in much need of some heroes to lift their spirits and help give them the strength to fight on.

Then along comes Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), an expert sharpshooter who appears able to pick off an enemy with astonishing ease. Vassili's heroic deeds on behalf of mother Russia become legendary - thanks to his best friend, political officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), whose life was saved by Vassili's skill. And Vassili appears unstoppable – a shadowy figure who strikes fear into the hearts of German soldiers who never know when – or from where – his next bullet will come.

Clearly, the Nazis need to stop Vassili, so they bring to the task their best sniper: Major Konig (Ed Harris). This sets up a climactic "battle" between the two sharpshooters in the burning and bombed out buildings of Stalingrad.

It's a compelling story, well acted and filmed, and with very good special effects. We enjoyed it very much. Naturally, there's a love interest, in this case it's Tania Chernova, a fellow Russian solder played by Rachel Weisz, whose charms cause both Vassili and Danilov to fall in love with her – and which also causes a falling out between the two friends.

The Blu-ray of Enemy at the Gates is also very good. The 1080p picture is sharp and clean, with good color and nice depth. The audio is offered in Dolby TrueHD and it's very dynamic – just what you want in a war movie. All the channels are used well, enveloping you in the wartime action, and you get good concussion from the low frequency effects channel.

Extras include the theatrical trailer (in HD), deleted scenes and the fairly interesting featurettes "Through the Crosshairs" and "Inside Enemy at the Gates."

Enemy at the Gates, from Paramount Home Entertainment
131 min. 1080p widescreen, Dolby TrueHD
Starring Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Ed Harris, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins
written by Alain Godard and Jean-Jacques Annaud, Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud




Year One on Blu-ray disc

Harold Ramis has made some pretty good movies during his career, from Ghostbusters to Groundhog Day.

Year One doesn't come close, unfortunately. Kind of a comic "Quest for Fire," Year One starts Jack Black and Michael Cera as a pair of early men, an unlikely duo which, after being exiled from their tribe because Black's character ate of the forbidden fruit, set out on journey through the ancient world. Along the way they meet various Old Testament characters, including Abraham, Cain and Abel, and practically everyone seems to converge on Sodom for the last section of the movie, a city about to be smitten by the hand of God for its evil ways – though in this flick it seems more like Las Vegas than the pure den of evil portrayed in bible stories.

The Blu-ray contains both the theatrical and an unrated version on the one disc, though we didn't find too much titillation on the unrated version. But the 1080p picture quality is good, nice and sharp and colorful, with pretty good depth. Audio is dts HD Master Audio – which makes us think Sony may be moving away from its typical Dolby TrueHD tracks – is also good, dynamic and with good surround.>

Blu-ray exclusives include “Year One Cutting Room,” which lets you create your own video using clips and music from the film, and then inflict it on others via BD-Live. This assumes you can stand to go through the movie more than once, of course.

The disc also includes the newest BD-Live feature from Sony Pictures: movieIQ, which lets you access real-time trivia information about the cast, crew, music and production, all without – unfortunately – having to leave the movie. The Blu-ray disc also features cinechat, with which you can send on-screen instant messages to unsuspecting friends.

More conventional extras include an audio commentary with director Harold Ramis, Jack Black and Micheal Cera, deleted scenes, extended and alternate scenes, an alternate ending, "Line-o-Rama", a gag reel, making-of featurettes and more! 

It isn't enough to save the movie, however.

Year One, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
97/100 minutes, 1080p widescreen (1.85:1), dts HD Master Audio
Starring Jack Black, Michael Sera, Oliver Platt, David Cross,
Produced by Harold Ramis, Judd Apatow and Clayton Townsend
Written by Harold Ramis & Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg, directed by Harold Ramis



Hamlet on Blu-ray

Doctor Who meets Captain Jean-Luc Picard in this Royal Shakespeare Company production of the tale of the melancholy Dane.

David Tennant plays said Dane, and plays him very well in this updated production that dresses the cast in modern duds and brings ol' Elsinore into the 21st century.

Patrick Stewart also turns in an excellent performance as Cladius, Hamlet's nasty uncle who offed Hamlet's dad (the ghost of whom is also played by Stewart) and married Hamlet's mum (Penny Downie) almost while Dad's corpse was still warm.

The story is well known, so we aren't going to rehash it, let alone hash it again, here - but this 2009 production, directed by Gregory Doran, treats the story not only as Shakespeare's epic tragedy but also as more of a thriller - quite a feat since everyone who'll watch it undoubtedly knows exactly what's going to happen.

Ah, yes, it's murder most foul at its fairest.

Well, kind of. We found the updating intriguing, but ultimately unsatisfying. The idea of a closed circuit camera system monitoring the castle was kind of neat, for example, but would perhaps it not also make it unnecessary for Polonius (Oliver Ford Davies) and Claudius to hide their asses behind an arras to eavesdrop?

Also interesting was the director's decision to have Tennant's Hamlet address the audience - by looking into the camera - during soliloquys.

Here's how the package describes this production:

"No recent stage production in Britain has attracted the excitement and nearly unanimous critical praise as this Hamlet. Tennant's interpretation was recognized as defining the role for a generation, and Stewart’s complex Claudius won the Olivier award, Britain’s highest stage honor. In this specially-shot screen version, filmed on location rather than in the theater, Tennant and Stewart reprise their roles. Dynamic, exciting and contemporary, it breathes new life into Shakespeare's greatest play."

So there. And we agree with this blurb for the most part. But our biggest problem was with the updating - the setting and the costumes were updated but Shakespeare's words weren't. This is completely understandable, of course, but it made for a real disconnect as these modern people go around spouting the flowery, 400 year old language of the Bard.

At the risk of being accused of sacrilege, we wonder what it would have been like if the dialogue had been updated as well, so the people spoke the way people today do. 'Twould be interesting to see.

Anyway, that aside, this is a fine version of the famous play and it's very enjoyable. Perhaps the updating will make it more palatable for modern audiences who might find older versions such as Laurence Olivier's a tad forbidding.

The Blu-ray itself looks great. It's only presented in 1080i, but the picture quality is very good indeed. Blacks are nice and deep, colors are vivid and the image is very detailed.

Audio is PCM stereo, so forget about any surround effects unless you access them youself through your home audio system assuming it has such capability.

The Blu-ray also includes an audio commentary track with Gregory Doran, Sebastien Grant and Chris Seagar and a very interesting "making of" documentary.

Clint Eastwood Doubles the WWII Action on Blu-ray

Clint Eastwood was busy cementing his acting credentials in the late 1960's, having come off his career-making "Man with No Name" spaghetti westerns and he was tackling a wider variety of roles as this double feature from Warners showcases.

These outings weren't always successful – as Paint Your Wagon shows – but that wasn't necessarily Eastwood's fault.

Part of this expanding of his action chops was undoubtedly to branch out from the westerns in which he'd made his name in TV and earlier films, move into other genres. Perhaps this is why we find him in two very different World War II films here, one of which is kind of an action comedy and one of which is a classic type of thriller.

Kelly's Heroes is the kind of action comedy - kind of a "Not-so-dirty Dozen" with its tongue in its cinematic cheek. It follows a bunch of U.S. army fellows on an unauthorized mission to steal a fortune in Nazi gold. Co-starring Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor and with Donald Sutherland as a real "Oddball", it tries too hard to be funny and, in the end, doesn't really work very well.

It comes across now as kind of a 1960's generation - the anti-Vietnam war type - look at the "good war".

Where Eagles Dare, however, works very well in the context of a 1960's action thriller. Oh, sure, it's a bit hard to swallow the heroes never running out of ammo and their plan always going strictly to plan – even when it doesn't – but it's still a smart Alistair MacLean adventure that gives us some gripping excitement – especially when they're fighting atop a large mountain tram's gondola car.

Eastwood stars as an American army Ranger, an assassin recruited by British Commando and spy Richard Burton to infiltrate an isolated German mountaintop castle and rescue a captured American officer before he can be tortured into spilling the beans about upcoming Allied operations.

In typical MacLean tradition, you're never really sure who's a good guy and who isn't – though the final unmasking is pretty anticlimactic.

Both movies were directed Brian G. Hutton which, beyond the presence of Eastwood, may be the hook for putting these two discs into one package. Hutton apparently left the industry in the 1980's and became a plumber, though neither of these films is so bad as to cause one to think he couldn't get work – or that he may have gotten run out of Hollywood.

Each movie is presented on a separate disc, both in 1080p (2.35:1) and with dts HD Master Audio, and both couldn't be more different. And, wouldn't you know, the better movie has the worse HD treatment!

Kelly's Heroes looks great, overall, with a nice and sharp picture that shows fine detail  and even good depth in places. Colors are rich and clean. Likewise, the audio is clean and clear, quite dynamic and very listenable.

The only extra on this disc is the theatrical trailer, however.

Unfortunately, as far as Where Eagles Dare is concerned, you might as well watch the DVD. The HD picture is grainy and dirty and while there are some places where it looks pretty good, overall it's a real waste of the Blu-ray medium. Maybe part of this is due to the extensive special effects – there's lots of 1960's vintage blue screen work, for example (and the HD format makes it stand out) – but even the interior shots aren't up to snuff. It's a real disappointment.

Audio isn't much better. With all these explosions we'd hope for a more dynamic sound track, but this one is rather tame.

Where Eagles Dare does have some interesting supplemental material, though, including a vintage featurette "On Location: Where Eagles Dare" which is pretty interesting. You also get the trailer.

We're aren't convinced to recommend these for additions to your Blu-ray library, but they're both worth a rental at least.

Where Eagles Dare, from Warner Home Entertainment
155 min. 1080p widescreen (2.35:1), dts HD Master Audio
Starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure
Written by Alistair MacLean, Directed by Brian G. Hutton

Kelly's Heroes, from Warner Home Entertainment
143 min. 1080p widescreen (2.35:1), dts HD Master Audio
Starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor and Donald Sutherland
Written by Troy Kennedy Martin, directed by Brian G. Hutton




What's Up, Doc? On Blu-ray disc

No, it isn't "Whither health care"; rather, it's pretty well the epitome of screwball comedy homages.

Peter Bodganovich conceived the story, produced and directed this live action Looney Tunes cartoon starring Barbra Streisand as Bugs Bunny and Ryan O'Neal as Elmer Fudd. Except that Streisand is Judy Maxwell, daughter of a judge who's bounced from college to college because mayhem tends to follow her, while he's Howard Bannister, a fuddy duddy – appropriately – intellectual with about as much life experience as Sheldon Cooper from "Big Bang Theory."

He's a musicologist in San Francisco with his shrew of a fiancé Eunice Burns, played marvelously by Madeline Kahn, to possibly receive a grant to continue his research in how early man made music with rocks. Alas, the rocks he wants to use for his demo are in a plaid overnight bag, which happens to be identical to Judy's (for whom it's a suitcase), a spy's (it contains classified documents) and a rich woman's (for whom it holds her valuable jewelry).

Naturally, the bags get switched, repeatedly, turning the threads of their respective owners into a tapestry of slapstick and silliness that's rarely pulled off so successfully and memorably.

I saw this movie on its first theatrical run and it has stayed with me. I don't think it's quite as  funny now as it was in 1972, but it's very nearly a desert island disc regardless of that. I love its silliness, unpretentiousness, the terrific performances by its ensemble cast, and how it truly does come across as a live action Warner Brothers cartoon – much like "Shoot –em Up" did, though What's Up, Doc does it more wit and a lot – a LOT – less violence.

Streisand was at the height of her success then, and she's really good. She's funny, sexy and Bogdanovich uses her legendary singing voice well. And her chemistry with O'Neal is great.

It ain't subtle but it's clever and it's a lot of fun. Highly recommended.   

The Blu-ray is a decent presentation. The 1080p picture is at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and though it does display quite a bit of grain in places, overall Warners has done a decent job of bringing this yukfest to the high definition disc. Some shots are rather soft, but overall the picture is very sharp, with fine detail visible easily and very nice color.  

The audio is strictly mono. It's a dts-HD Master Audio presentation and I'd have loved to have seen, er heard, what they could do with a surround restoration, but I can live with that And the mono track is pretty good. Dialogue is nice and clean – which is handy since Streisand delivers her lines like they're coming from a machine gun – and her singing sounds very good.

Extras include a pretty lifeless commentary by director Peter Bogdanovich and there's a scene-specific commentary – though not many scenes – in which Streisand adds a few words.

"Screwball Comedies... Remember Them?"  is a non-HD featurette that gives some behind-the-scenes stuff of the cast and crew. Despite the title, it isn't a look back at the great screwball comedies of the ages.  

You also get the theatrical trailer.

What's Up, Doc? from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment
94 min. 1080p widescreen (1.85:1), dts HD Master Audio mono
Starring Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendleton, Sorrell Booke, Michael Murphy and Madeline Kahn
Written by Buck Henry and David Newman & Robert Benton, directed by Peter Bogdanovich

 


Jim Bray's columns are available from the TechnoFile Syndicate.
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