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'07 Oscar-Nominated DVDs

By: Kevin Filipski

Thursday February 22, 2007

Nominated and available
Several of this year's Oscar-nominated films are already available on DVD or will be by the time you read this. Here they are, in this writer's preference:

The Departed (WHV) - Everybody's saying that this is Martin Scorsese's best shot at the Best Director Oscar: it may well be, but it's such a fantastically entertaining crime drama that it doesn't really matter if he finally wins. A remake of the Hong Kong cop thriller Infernal Affairs, this version is transplanted to Boston to explore the turf wars between organized crime and the police.

Scorsese is in his element throughout, developing many subplots and themes among the fiercely loyal, Catholic criminals and cops; his amazing eye and sense of timing are also evident, with not one second of this 2-1/2 hour film that's nothing less than spellbinding. The actors (with the exception of Vera Farmiga, wasted as the lone female) are excellent: Leonardo DiCaprio, Supporting Actor nominee Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson lead the way. Plentiful extras on the two-disc set include several deleted scenes with Scorsese introductions; an hour-long documentary on the director's career; and a making-of featurette.

Jesus Camp (Magnolia) - Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady uncover the Christian Fundamentalist movement in this eye-opening Best Documentary nominee that explores-with an unjaundiced eye-how these believers treat their children and live happily in George W. Bush's America. It's scary to see a woman screaming to her juvenile charges that Harry Potter (a fictional character!) should die; seeing that supremely arrogant preacher Tom Haggard-prior to his disgrace in a homosexual liaison scandal-act cute before the cameras is enough to make your head explode. But Ewing and Grady don't demonize these people: instead they allow them to expose their prejudicial ideas to public scrutiny. Extras: directors' commentary, deleted scenes.

The Illusionist (Fox) - The glistening cinematography of Dick Pope was the lone Oscar nomination for The Illusionist, and his camerawork is the best thing about this diverting mystery-romance about a magician wooing a princess as no mere mortals can. Edward Norton gives a restrained performance in the title role; his paramour is played by Jessica Biel, who might not be a great actress but whose beauty is enough; and Paul Giamatti credibly plays his nemesis. Prague and the surrounding Czech countryside stands in most adequately for Vienna; and Pope's dazzling photography loses nothing in the DVD transfer. Extras: brief Biel interview, equally brief "making-of," audio commentary from writer-director Neil Berger.

Blood Diamond (WHV) - As usual with Ed Zwick movies (Glory, The Last Samurai), the message overwhelms the medium: this plea for Westerners to stop buying diamonds where people are being killed to mine them is certainly a noble cause, yet not enough to make Blood Diamond anything more than a noble failure. Fast-paced, even exciting at times, Zwick's movie would be more effective without the weight of its seriousness. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Honshou make the most of their cardboard characters-although I don't know if their Oscar nominations are deserved; DiCaprio was far more persuasive in The Departed-while poor Jennifer Connolly is saddled with a beyond-the-pale part (the slutty journalist). Extras: Zwick's commentary; on the two-disc edition: full-length documentary about the sad and bloody realities of the illegal diamond trade, featurettes with DiCaprio and Connolly.

The Prestige (Buena Vista) - Another magician story set in the early 20th century, The Prestige is, like The Illusionist, distinguished by its luscious physical production (Oscar nominations for its Art Direction and Wally Pfister's cinematography). However, the story-typically for a Christopher Nolan movie-revels in twists and turns that twist and turn once too often; the result is a maddeningly frustrating drama that may appeal to those who thought that Memento was deep. A colorful cast led by Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Hugh Jackman (but not the wooden Scarlett Johanssen or a miscast David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, of all people) makes the most of Nolan's conceit, and The Prestige is a painless way to kill two-plus hours. Just don't expect a masterpiece. Extras include a Nolan interview and several behind-the-scenes featurettes.

The Black Dahlia (Universal) - The murder case that's hypnotized Hollywood for a half-century becomes a mere backdrop for a remote and unappealing romantic triangle, directed by Brian de Palma in the sledgehammer mode of Scarface and The Fury. He at least had the good sense to hire Vilmos Zsigmond, whose fantastic cinematography garnered the film's lone nomination. With Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett as L.A. detectives and Scarlett Johansson as the woman who comes between them, The Black Dahlia only hits home when Mia Kirshner appears as the struggling actress who becomes the title legend after her death, although Hilary Swank also scores in a strange role as a trampy rich girl. Extras include featurettes on James Ellroy's novel and how it was brought to the screen after a long journey.

The Devil Wears Prada (Fox) - Meryl Streep continues to amaze, this time grabbing her 14th Oscar nomination as the dragon lady who runs the fashion magazine "Runway" in an otherwise routine adaptation of the flimsy "insider" novel; Anne Hathaway makes a likeable heroine, and Stanley Tucci steals a few scenes as Streep's right-hand fag, but the movie is flashy fun rather than penetrating satire. Extras include several featurettes on the fashion industry and shooting in Manhattan, along with the usual deleted scenes and blooper reel.

Little Miss Sunshine (Fox) - One of the biggest Sundance Film Festival success stories- Fox picked up a movie that became a sleeper hit, making $60 million and snaring Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin) and Best Supporting Actress (Abigail Breslin)-Little Miss Sunshine is nevertheless an only fitfully funny look at an ordinary dysfunctional family. Terrific performances-as good as Breslin, Arkin, Steve Carell and Toni Colette are, Greg Kinnear's subtly steals the show-but too bad the scattershot script eventually turns desperate, first killing off one of the main characters early on, then climaxing with a cop-out "happy" ending. Extras include directors' and writers' commentaries, along with four (count 'em) alternate endings, all of them preferable to the one chosen.

Flags of Our Fathers (Paramount/Dreamworks) - The first part of Clint Eastwood's diptych about Iwo Jima looks at the turning point in the WWII Pacific Theater from the American side through a disjointed series of stories. Each of the men celebrated for planting the American flag after the victory-who became true American icons thanks to the famous photograph-are glimpsed before, during and after that long and bloody battle. Eastwood does well showing the grit, grime and gore of battle (there's no glory here), but is less in his element showing the men being turned into reluctant celebrities. None of the actors registers, unfortunately, rendering their characters remote and emotionless. Still, the corny ending leaves a lump in your throat. No extras; perhaps a two-pack of both films will include the extra features to supply needed context.

Babel (Paramount) - Babel (not pronounced Babble) may be pretentious, empty nonsense, but it's A Serious Film, and hence fooled the Academy into seven nominations, including Best Picture and Director. As usual, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu moves among several interrelated stories, each interesting in themselves but less so in relation to the whole. The hackneyed notion that miscommunication leads to tragedy isn't the problem; it's that these plot strands are so unbelievable, especially after they are all given flimsy dramatic closure. The actors do their best, especially Supporting Actress nominee Rinko Kikuchi in the Japanese segment, but they are ultimately defeated by Inarritu and his equally obnoxious screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga (who will probably win for his faux-complex script). No extras, which most likely means a Special Edition somewhere down the line (which is what happened with Inarritu's 21 Grams).

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