ROCK ON: Director Werner Herzog (left) explores the Cave of Forgotten Dreams.
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The DVD includes all 168 episodes of the show, as well as the rarely seen 1974 pilot The Life and Times of Barney Miller (with Linden and Vigoda surrounded by co-stars who were jettisoned before the series' regular run began) and Season One of the short-lived spin-off Fish. Extras include new interviews with the stars and writer/producer interviews and commentaries. The set also comes with a 40-page booklet that contains an episode guide as well as an essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning TV critic Howard Rosenberg.
Series: ***
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (2011) / TABLOID (2011). A new documentary from either Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) or Errol Morris (The Fog of War) is always exciting news, but a new documentary from each of them, with both films making their home debuts within weeks of each other? It sounds like a Double Feature night to me.
Start with Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which finds Herzog (who has yet another nonfiction film, Into the Abyss, currently in limited release) taking viewers into France's Chauvet Cave, which houses cavern-wall art that dates back over 30,000 years. I wasn't able to see this theatrically — a shame, since the 3-D was reportedly superb and enhanced the viewing experience immeasurably. At home in 2-D, it's a worthy watch that doesn't quite reach transcendent heights: The imagery remains lovely, humbling and awe-inspiring, but the speculations by Herzog and some of the scientists are frequently ponderous and chip away at the mystery and magnitude of the subject.
After witnessing the gentle grace of Cave of Forgotten Dreams, ramp up the night with Tabloid, which finds Morris centering on another intriguing character to add to a docu-gallery that already includes former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, cosmologist Stephen Hawking and Holocaust denier Fred "Mr. Death" Leuchter Jr. The focus here is Joyce McKinney, a former Miss Wyoming who, back in the 1970s, fell in love with a young Mormon named Kirk Anderson. After he leaves her for the church, she's convinced that he's been brainwashed, journeys to his new station in London, kidnaps him, and proceeds to have nonstop sex with him. Differing versions are offered (was Anderson a willing houseguest or held against his will?), and McKinney soon becomes a cause célèbre and UK tabloid queen. The ensuing events grow ever wilder, and we're left with an unpredictable story about a woman who may be crazy but isn't stupid, and who in the end is no worse that those who preyed on her sordid saga.
The Blu-ray of Cave of Forgotten Dreams includes both the 2-D and 3-D versions of the film; extras include Ode to the Dawn of Man, a short film by Herzog; and the theatrical trailer. There are no extras on the Tabloid DVD except for the theatrical trailer.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams: ***
Tabloid: ***1/2
CITY OF GOD (2003). A South American GoodFellas, City of God is a dazzling achievement that marked Fernando Meirelles as a world-class filmmaker (he would subsequently helm 2005's best film, The Constant Gardener, before stumbling somewhat with 2008's Blindness). Based on actual events, this Brazilian import takes a hard look at a Rio de Janeiro slum and dissects the lifestyle of the youthful thugs who rule with a bloody fist. Make no mistake: As depicted here, the "City of God" (the name given to the area) is nothing less than a war zone, with blood flowing as swiftly and steadily as water over Niagara Falls. Our clean-cut protagonist in this urban epic is Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), whose desire to become a professional photographer might be just the thing to lift him out of the surrounding squalor. On the opposite end, there's Li'l Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora), a rabid gang leader prone to killing anybody at any time — in modern cinema, he's almost up there with Ralph Fiennes' Nazi in Schindler's List and Javier Bardem's psychopath in No Country for Old Men as the ultimate word in unadulterated evil. Admittedly, it's tough to withstand 130 minutes of continuous nihilism, but Meirelles and his contributors are so completely in command of this material (the storytelling moves like mercury) that it's impossible not to get caught up in their descent into Hell on Earth. Initially bypassed in 2002 by the old fogies who traditionally vote for the Academy's Best Foreign Language Film nominees, the film was championed by Miramax head Harvey Weinstein for the 2003 race (when it actually opened stateside), a campaign that paid off when the picture unexpectedly landed four major nominations: Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Film Editing.
The Blu-ray includes the 1999 hour-long documentary News from a Personal War.
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