THE LAST KISS (2001) A major award winner both at Sundance and in its Italian homeland, The Last Kiss (L’ultimo Bacio) tackles the topic of relationships in such a straightforward, emotionally honest manner that by the end it’s impossible to know whether the film is, at its core, deeply pessimistic or quietly hopeful. It centers on various friends and family members as they all attempt to determine whether they’ll be more content (or, at the very least, comfortably numb) making their way through life with their present mate by their side. In the central storyline, a 30-ish man (Stefano Muccino), set to marry his pregnant girlfriend (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), finds himself infatuated with an 18-year-old high school student (Martina Stella); other plot strands involve a middle-aged mother contemplating a divorce from her inattentive husband, a bickering married couple whose frustrations are accentuated by the presence of their wailing baby, and a bachelor who’s content to bed a steady succession of women. A fine example of “life as lived” cinema, The Last Kiss challenges us not to find something in common with at least one of its protagonists, and it wraps up with a nicely ambiguous coda that drolly illustrates the dilemma of keeping any given relationship perennially fresh. The only DVD extra is an ad plugging Miramax’s long line of award-winning films.
Movie: 
Extras:
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1969) Sergio Leone’s legendary opus had to suffer its share of fools (lightly and otherwise) upon its initial stateside release (and it certainly didn’t help that the studio chopped 25 minutes out of its 165-minute length), but the picture has stood the test of time so well that it’s now regarded as one of the greatest of all screen Westerns. Eventually restored to its original length, Leone’s operatic oater remains notable for a number of achievements, including the casting of Hollywood hero Henry Fonda as a cold-blooded killer, the film’s ability to serve as an elegy for both the passing of the Old West and the passing of the Western (which would fall out of favor with audiences over the ensuing decade), and the masterful way in which the visuals match up beautifully with Ennio Morricone’s exceptional score (indeed, Morricone composed his music before Leone began filming). Claudia Cardinale, so popular at the time that she receives top billing, plays a reformed prostitute whose attempt at a new life is hampered by the machinations of hired gunman Fonda; also figuring into the action are the gabby, good-natured outlaw Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and The Man (Charles Bronson, in the role that made him a superstar in Europe), a taciturn cowboy who lets his harmonica and pistol do most of his talking. The two-disc DVD includes audio commentary by directors John Carpenter and John Milius, Leone biographer Sir Christopher Frayling and others, a trio of informative documentaries examining the making of the movie, cast biographies that apparently weren’t proofed very well (Fonda’s fails to mention his most famous movie, The Grapes of Wrath!), and production stills.
Movie:
Extras:
This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2003.
