BODY DOUBLE (1984). Is Body Double Brian De Palma’s most underrated film or merely a guilty pleasure on my part? Naturally, I make the case for the former. Savaged by most critics upon its original release (Roger Ebert was one of its sole defenders), the film blew me away back in ’84 and, 22 years later, continues to deliver with its orgy of vicarious thrills, visceral pleasures and comic riffs (amazing that most critics mistook this for a serious movie). Just as De Palma’s excellent Dressed to Kill was an homage-or-rip-off-take-your-pick of Hitchcock’s Psycho, Body Double uses both The Master’s Vertigo and Rear Window as its twin starting points and then wanders off in its own delirious direction. Craig Wasson plays a struggling actor whose nocturnal stint as a Peeping Tom allows him to see that a beautiful neighbor (Deborah Shelton) might be in mortal danger; caught in the middle, he tricks porn starlet Holly Body (Melanie Griffith) into helping him get to the bottom of things. Woe be to the viewer who tries to accept this film at face value; instead, the movie gets its charge from De Palma’s careful manipulation of cinematic artifice and audience expectations. Basically an extended middle finger to those who trashed Dressed to Kill, the movie — stunningly shot (by Stephen H. Burum) and beautifully scored (by Pino Donaggio) — is loaded with sexual imagery (how can you miss the positioning of that power tool right before it strikes?), sly stabs at Hollywood-business-as-usual, and now-kitschy 1980s injections (including a music video sequence set to Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax”). In her career-making performance, Griffith steals the show as Holly Body — her work earned her a Golden Globe nomination as well as the Best Supporting Actress prize from the National Society of Film Critics (but no love from the Academy snobs, of course). DVD extras include four making-of featurettes.
Movie: ***1/2
Extras: **
HARD CANDY (2006). Viewers will exhaust themselves trying to determine whether this controversial offering is an exploitation flick, a feminist empowerment drama or a particularly feisty coming-of-age yarn with a diabolical twist. It immediately puts the audience at unease by exploring the burgeoning relationship between 32-year-old Jeff (Patrick Wilson) and 14-year-old Hayley (Ellen Page). But just as we fear that Hayley will become another victim of an Internet predator, the tables are turned in dramatic fashion, with Jeff’s luscious Lolita morphing into an avenging angel. Wilson is excellent, yet the real discovery is Page, who never shies away from the implication that Hayley might be deeply disturbed by her own set of demons. Eventually, we realize that Hard Candy isn’t necessarily a movie about lost innocence. In a modern world ruled by technology that allows 14-year-old girls and 32-year-old men to easily hook up, it’s possible that this innocence never had a chance to flourish in the first place. DVD extras include audio commentary by director David Slade and writer Brian Nelson, separate commentary by Wilson and Page, deleted and extended scenes, and a making-of feature.
Movie: ***
Extras: ***
HUMPHREY BOGART: THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION, VOLUME II (1941-1944). The box may state “Volume II,” but this is actually the fifth collection of Bogie titles released by Warner’s home entertainment arm. But unlike past sets which tended to overlap titles, this one features four new-to-DVD flicks and a new three-disc Special Edition of one of the screen legend’s greatest motion pictures.
The Maltese Falcon (1941), written and directed by John Huston (adapting Dashiell Hammett’s novel), ranks among the all-time Hollywood greats, with hard-boiled private eye Sam Spade (Bogie) mixing it up with all manner of criminal vermin (unforgettably played by Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook Jr.). “The stuff that dreams are made of,” comments Spade about the elusive black bird of the title, a sentiment easily applied to this indisputable masterpiece.
The collection’s other four entries are entertaining yarns all dealing with the raging world war then in progress. The lighthearted All Through the Night (1942) casts Bogart as a gangster whose outfit ends up tangling with Nazi spies in New York City. Across the Pacific (1943) finds our man going undercover to thwart Axis sympathizer Greenstreet’s plans. Action In the North Atlantic (1943) opens and closes with superb battle scenes as it relates the exploits of a Merchant Marine crew. And Passage to Marseille (1944) uses flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks (whew!) to detail how a group of convicts (Bogart and Lorre among them) try to escape Devil’s Island so they may join the battle against the Germans.
Extras include the usual gems found on Warner’s classic-title DVDs: audio commentaries by film scholars, making-of features, vintage newsreels, live-action and animated shorts, and more. The Maltese Falcon Special Edition also includes the two earlier screen versions of Hammett’s novel: 1931’s The Maltese Falcon and 1936’s Satan Met a Lady (starring Bette Davis).
The Maltese Falcon: ****
Other Four Titles: ***
Extras: ***1/2
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006). Robert Altman’s best film since the one-two punch of The Player and Short Cuts might at first glance seem like a minor work, an ambling, congenial picture constructed as little more than an opportunity to corral several major talents (Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin, etc.) and give them a chance to sing songs and tell jokes in a relaxed setting. That the film is inspired by Garrison Keillor’s long-running radio show adds to that impression, since the on-air Keillor is the epitome of laid-back, down-home hospitality. Yet for all its levity, the central theme focuses on the specter of Death — how it hovers around us, how it haunts us, and how it can inform our every move. But the mood isn’t depressing; it’s bittersweet. And that’s only part of the time: When the radio performers are front and center, this is nothing less than a joyous celebration of both Americana and the arts. The final sequence — a masterpiece of ambiguity — is simply exquisite, a somber, rueful moment inexorably illustrating that, in death as in life, the show must go on. DVD extras include audio commentary by Altman and Kline, a behind-the-scenes documentary, and extended versions of select songs featured in the movie.
Movie: ****
Extras: **1/2
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2006.
