THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST (1988). Quite simply one of the most emotionally satisfying movies I’ve ever had the pleasure to sit through, this adaptation of Anne Tyler’s bestseller is perfect in every way; like Lost In Translation, The Piano and a few others, it’s the sort of intimate movie that irrevocably touches certain viewers while leaving the rest shrugging their shoulders. Winding down his run as the premiere leading man of the 80s, William Hurt (in arguably his finest performance) plays Macon Leary, a travel guide writer who withdraws from the world after his son is fatally shot through the head during a robbery. Separated from his wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner), Macon ends up meeting quirky dog trainer Muriel Pritchett (Geena Davis), leading to a tentative relationship that forces him to reassess his carefully orchestrated existence. Sensitively co-written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, the movie is full of moments of great sorrow as well as exquisite humor (Edward the dog is a bona fide scene stealer), and the final sequence, charged by John Williams’ excellent (and atypical) score, ranks as one of my all-time favorite fadeouts. Nominated for four Oscars (including Best Picture), this earned Davis a well-deserved Supporting Actress statue. DVD extras include 38 minutes of deleted scenes (most of them strong enough to have been included in the final cut), scene-specific commentary by Davis, and a making-of featurette.
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ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951 & 1966). Let’s face it: Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland isn’t exactly the cuddliest story around, which probably explains why the best screen adaptation remains Jan Svankmajer’s 1988 Alice, a creep-out that mixes live action with disturbing stop-motion puppetry. The most famous version, however, is Disney’s 1951 animated effort, a schizophrenic bust that’s neither cuddly nor creepy. Instead, it’s merely annoying, full of mediocre songs, tiresome depictions of famous characters, and a visual theme that’s disappointingly tame. The new two-disc DVD set compensates for the movie’s shortcomings by offering a wide range of extra features, including a deleted Cheshire Cat song, a Mickey Mouse short titled Thru the Mirror, a Wonderland Card Game packed inside the case, and plenty of interactive activities for very small children. Much more inventive than Disney’s version is a 1966 live-action production created specifically for the BBC. Filmed in a minimalist style (i.e., no animal costumes for the actors), this difficult, defiant version works for those who catch it in a properly skewed frame of mind. Featuring evocative black-and-white camerawork by Dick Bush, an effective sitar score by Ravi Shankar, and an all-star cast of British luminaries — among them John Gielgud, Peter Sellers, Michael Redgrave and Peter Cook (a perfect Mad Hatter) — this oddball Alice touches upon issues of British propriety and burgeoning femininity that Walt himself wouldn’t even have considered while producing his version. The most priceless extra feature on the DVD is an 8-minute Alice film from 1903; other bonuses include audio commentary by director Jonathan Miller and a stills gallery.
Alice In Wonderland (1951):
Extras: 1/2
Alice In Wonderland (1966):
Extras: 1/2
ALIEN QUADRILOGY (1979-97) Back in December, Fox released the Alien Quadrilogy, a gargantuan boxed set of all four titles in the long-running sci-fi series. (They also got flak for making up the word “quadrilogy” when “tetralogy” would have worked just fine.) But folks who didn’t want to shell out big bucks for the entire saga had to wait until this month to purchase the titles individually. Either way, it’s the consumer who makes out like a bandit. Collectively, the Alien Quadrilogy is one of the finest sets yet produced for DVD, ranking up there in scope and accomplishment with the award-winning Lord of the Rings sets — even viewers who don’t care for all four films in the series might want to purchase this nine-disc collection, simply for the astonishing array of material it includes (50 hours worth, according to the p.r.). Yet the individual movie packs, each presented as two-disc DVDs, will be enough to satisfy the more discerning fans, with each title presented in both original and special edition cuts and backed by countless extras along the lines of audio commentaries and making-of specials detailing every step of the production.
Alien (1979): 1/2
Aliens (1986):
Alien 3 (1992): 1/2
Alien Resurrection (1997):
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (2003). A crushing disappointment, this final chapter in Robert Rodriguez’s “Mariachi” trilogy (after 1992’s El Mariachi and 1995’s Desperado) finds our guitar-swinging, gun-slinging hero (Antonio Banderas) seeking revenge against a fascistic general (Gerardo Vigil) while also getting involved with a duplicitous CIA agent (Johnny Depp), a vicious drug lord (Willem Dafoe) and other shady characters. So many storylines, so little time to effectively get involved with any of them; the biggest casualty, not surprisingly, is Banderas, who too often seems like an extra in his own movie (meanwhile, second-billed Salma Hayek barely appears at all). Based on the title, it’s obvious that Rodriguez’s intent was to make a south-of-the-border companion piece to Sergio Leone’s epic Once Upon a Time In the West, which was so much an ensemble flick that its four stars found themselves with comparable screen space. But Leone’s 1968 classic ran 165 minutes, allowing everyone time to stretch their personas, while Mexico clocks in at 100 minutes, which in this instance isn’t enough time to create anything but a random series of Mexican jumping scenes. DVD extras include audio commentary by Rodriguez, deleted scenes, and several behind-the-scenes featurettes.
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THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS (2003). Perhaps the best movie of 2003 that nobody saw, this adaptation of Jane Smiley’s novella The Age of Grief isn’t a documentary by any stretch of the imagination, yet try telling that to the married couples who’ll see this film and feel that they’re experiencing cinema verite in its rawest form. Working from Craig Lucas’ knowing screenplay, director Alan Rudolph has produced one of the finest works of his alarmingly erratic career, shucking aside the pretense and pomposity of his recent output to offer an honest study of a marriage on the rocks. Campbell Scott and Hope Davis play David and Dana Hurst, partners both in matrimony and at the office where they share a practice as dentists. Catching Dana in another man’s embrace, David immediately suspects she’s having an affair, refusing to confront her about it but instead allowing fantasy scenarios to run unchecked through his mind. All the while, both adults must also continue to deal with the daily demands of their three young daughters, a situation that becomes especially taxing once everyone in the household starts coming down with the flu. Davis (About Schmidt) projects a palpable sense of conflicted emotion as a woman who feels she needs to step away from her comfortable niche to obtain an accurate sense of herself, yet it’s the beautifully nuanced performance by Scott (Roger Dodger), as a husband and father who fully believes in the sanctity of marriage and will do whatever he can to hold onto that ideal, that anchors this touching, trenchant film. DVD extras include audio commentary by Rudolph and Scott, deleted scenes and a gag reel.
Movie: 1/2
Extras: 1/2
This article appears in Jan 28 – Feb 3, 2004.
