June 2006
	by Max (with Walt Oleksy)	view previous issues here

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THE BEST OF YOUTH

This came and went in theaters with hardly a notice, but it is one of the best movies I’ve seen in years. If you only have time for one movie this month or year, see this one! Originally a miniseries on Italian television, it is now on DVD as a 6-hour movie on two discs. In Italian with English subtitles. Too long? When it ended, I wished it could go on for more hours. But I suggest you watch it on two successive nights, one disc each night. The engrossing story tells of the lives and loves of two brothers who couldn’t be more opposite, and the people in their lives from 1963 to 2000, following them from Rome to Norway to Turin to Florence to Palermo and back to Rome again. Their adventures are told against the background of the volatile politics and history of Italy during the period: hippies, the devastating flood in Florence, the revolutionary Red Brigades, economic downturns, joblessness, and social change. Luigi Lo Cascio plays Nicola who becomes a psychiatrist, and Alessio Boni plays his brother Matteo who becomes a policeman. Both give memorable performances, as do many others in the big cast. This synopsis intentionally does not give you much detail as to the plot, because to tell more would spoil it for you. Be assured the 6 hours will fly by, the plots are so involving and full of twists. This movie has heart, humanity, intelligence, wit, strong drama, beautiful sets and scenery and you are not likely to ever forget it. Other critics rank it among the great Italian movies such as THE LEOPARD, ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS, OPEN CITY, and so do I. From Miramax.Max’s rating: The highest: two paws up and lots of “woo woo’s!”

Family Movie Pick of the Month

DUMA
12-year-old South African boy who raised a cheetah from a cub reluctantly decides his beloved animal friend should be returned to the wild rather than let pursuers place it in captivity. On their ensuing escape adventure in harsh landscapes they encounter stalking lions, crocodiles, river rapids, and a mysterious drifter. It’s a beautiful story of growing up and letting go, for the whole family. Directed by Carroll Ballard who gave us two other great family films:THE BLACK STALLION and FLY AWAY HOME.  From Warner Bros.                                Max’s rating: Two paws up and lots of tail wags.

Other recommendations this month:

THE PINK PANTHER

Steve Martin steps into the gumshoes of Peter Sellers who created the bumbling Detective Inspector Jacques Clouseau in 1964, and the fit is pretty good. In this new adventure, Clouseau must solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and discover who stole the great Pink Panther diamond. Kevin Kline plays all-suffering Chief Inspector Dreyfus. The update comedy holds up well against the original series. From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

THE LOST BOYS

Ian Holm gives one of his finest performances as J.M. Barrie in this true telling of the story behind the Scottish journalist and playwright’s creation of the beloved Peter Pan. That evolved out of his chance meeting with two young brothers that developed into a friendship that changed all their lives. “Sensitive and beautifully crafted” and “Superlative… superb and haunting” said two critics and I agree. The 3-part biographical drama is on two DVDs from BBC and Koch Vision.

ORDE WINGATE

Barry Foster plays the title character in this BBC drama based on the controversial World War II British commander’s military career. Born into a religious Christian family, as a young soldier in Palestine he becomes a passionate Zionist. The revolutionary guerrilla tactics he developed there helped to prepare the future leaders of the Israeli Defense Force. The 2-DVD set is from and BBC and Koch Vision.

ALL PASSION SPENT

Legendary British actress Dame Wendy Hiller gives one of her final great performances in this portrait of a complex aging woman reflecting on choices made, lost, and regained during post-Victorian England. From the novel by Vita Sackville-West, a BBC Masterpiece Theatre production from Acorn Media.

MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS

British nature writer Gerald Durrell tells about growing up as the youngest member of a very eccentric family. Forsaking rainy, dreary English weather in 1935, mother and siblings escape to the rustic, sun-drenched Greek island of Corfu where they and we wonder what will happen next. Imelda Staunton, who played VERA DRAKE, plays the often bewildered mother in the comedy which one critic called “absurdly funny” and another said is “a particularly sweet and charming outing.” It is rather like a two-hour summer vacation. First seen on BBC’s Masterpiece Theatre, it is on DVD from WGBH Boston Video.

CARRIE’S WAR

A young teenage sister and brother are evacuated from war-torn London at the start of World War II and sent to a rural village in Wales. There they live with a decidedly odd couple: a puritanical widower shopkeeper and his estranged spinster sister. The siblings become involved in various adventures in the dramatization of Nina Bawden’s beloved novel. It’s a heartfelt, magical movie first seen on BBC’s Masterpiece Theatre, on DVD from WGBH Boston Video.

RISING DAMP, SERIES 2

Further adventures of Rupert Rigsby, the landlord from hell, as played by Leonard Rossiter in this very popular British television series. As operator of a rundown boarding house in a northern university town, Rigsby feels he has a strong calling to pry into the lives of his tenants, who give him back as good as they get. You’ll get lots of laughs out of this one. From Granada and Acorn Media.

PORTRAIT OF A MARRIAGE

The decidedly uncommon marriage of British author and aristocrat Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband which allowed for each of them to engage in same-sex liaisons in post-World War I Europe. The drama, frank and daring in its depiction of lesbian love, was first seen on Masterpiece Theater, now on DVD from BBC and Acorn Media.

A MOST MYSTERIOUS MURDER
In this new British series combining period mystery and true crime, Julian Fellowes serves as guide and historical detective in exploring some real unsolved British murder cases. The five mysteries, set from 1876 to 1941, include a poisoned new husband, a stabbed pregnant serving girl, and an aristocrat shot to death in Nairobi, Kenya. Jolly good mysteries from BBC and Acorn Media.

THE DIRTY DOZEN DOUBLE FEATURE

The U.S. Army’s rag-tag crew of miscreants returns in two high-action World War II missions based on the hit movie. Telly Savalas and Ernest Borgnine star in these television movies spun off from the theatrical film. In one feature, `the Dozen must destroy a remote French monastery being used by the Nazis as a nerve gas plant, and in another, they must thwart a Nazi scheme to establish a Fourth Reich by heading off a group of Nazi soldiers aboard the Orient Express to Istanbul. Lively war action from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

We’re so glad the studios continue to release restored editions of some of the great movies of the 1930s-1940s. Among them this month is the CECIL B. DE MILLE COLLECTION of 1930s epics including CLEOPATRA with Claudette Colbert taking her famous milk bath, Fredric March in THE SIGN OF THE CROSS, and Loretta Young in THE CRUSADES. While the master director with the puttees and megaphone seldom got history and religion completely right, his big-staged productions were always hugely entertaining. They look great on DVD from Universal Pictures. And more Bette Davis classics on DVD are out this month including the very funny THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER and the romantic drama OLD ACQUAINTANCE.

THE LIFE OF LEONARDO DA VINCI

I’m going to skip Tom Hanks’s over-hyped THE DA VINCI CODE (I’ve read so much about it, I feel like I’ve already seen it), and instead recommend this Golden Globe award-winning television miniseries on the life of the enigmatic Renaissance creator of the Mona Lisa and other works of art and invention. Filmed on actual locations in Italy, it cost more than $25 million to produce. The English-dubbed docudrama runs over 4 hours on two DVDs from Questar Entertainment.

GREAT BATTLES OF THE PACIFIC
Actual color footage of the Battle of Iwo Jima, inspiration of Clint Eastwood’s new docudrama, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, based on the best-selling book by James Bradley, is among the highlights of this extraordinary 2-DVD set documenting 14 pivotal battles of the World War II campaign in the Pacific. The discs contain four hours of authentic combat footage of Pacific campaigns shot by U.S. military cameramen who risked their lives to record the battles on film. Besides films of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the discs contain coverage of the Battle of Midway, the Solomons, Tarawa, Saipan, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Return to the Philippines, and Okinawa. From Reader’s Digest and Questar Entertainment.

ROBOTS, HOOVER DAM, SHARKS, SEAHORSES, and FIREWORKS

WGBH Boston Video offers five outstanding documentaries this month: THE GREAT ROBOT RACE, a NOVA documentary covering the DARPA Grand Challenge race of 23 robotic vehicles over a grueling 130-mile stretch of Nevada’s desert; HOOVER DAM, about the creation of one of the world’s greatest engineering feats, built above the Colorado River during the Great Depression; SHARK ATTACK in which undersea researchers study killer sharks off the coast of Hawaii; KINGDOM OF THE SEAHORSE, taking us on a tour of the complex and beautiful world of this amazing sea creature in Australian waters; and last but not least FIREWORKS!, in time for the 4th of July, NOVA takes us to Italy, England, and Pennsylvania to learn about how the great fireworks displays are created.

LAFFIT: ALL ABOUT WINNING
Race horse fans will like this documentary on Hall-of-Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., the world’s most successful jockey whom many considered to have been the most dominant athlete of our time. Kevin Costner narrates the story of the jockey’s humble beginnings in Panama to his 9,530 career wins including three Belmont Stakes and a Kentucky Derby. The DVD is from Genius Products.
Race horse fans will like this documentary on Hall-of-Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., the world’s most successful jockey whom many considered to have been the most dominant athlete of our time. Kevin Costner narrates the story of the jockey’s humble beginnings in Panama to his 9,530 career wins including three Belmont Stakes and a Kentucky Derby. The DVD is from Genius Products.

THE ART OF EROTIC DANCING
Beautiful performers from the world-famous Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Clubs show how to pole, floor, and lap dance. Need I say more? From American Home Treasures and BFS Entertainment and Multimedia Ltd.

See you next month at the same fire hydrant.