The glamorous, troubled girl group of “Dreamgirls” may not be the Supremes (some of its makers insist). But they reigned supreme in the movie musical genre last year, at one point holding (and losing) the favorite slot for the 2006 best picture Oscar. Jennifer Hudson’s show-stopping, knockout turn as ex-lead singer-turned-backup Effie White is worth the price of admission. Her numbers have that old Judy Garland full-throated sock.
I’m glad that movie musicals are back, and though director-writer Bill Condon’s film of the Michael Bennett Broadway hit doesn’t scale the recent heights of “Moulin Rouge!” or “Chicago” — for me, it’s not glamorous enough, visually (despite its stars) — it’s an entertaining evening and a really loaded, heavily extra-laden DVD. The cast makes the movie: the gorgeous Beyonce Knowles as diva Deena Jones, the reawakened Eddie Murphy as fading rhythm and blues star James “Thunder” Early, and even the largely wasted Jamie Foxx as the opportunist/manager. Though it didn’t deserve the top Oscar, many actual winners didn’t deserve it either.
‘Dreamgirls’ *** (U.S.; Bill Condon, 2006). Extras for the two-disc Showstopper Edition: DVD exclusive Jennifer Hudson performance, extended and alternate scenes, feature-length documentary “Building the Dream,” featurettes, auditions and image gallery. (DreamWorks)
*indicates material from past Wilmington reviews.
‘Planet Earth’ — The Complete BBC Series
Overall package rating: Excellent.
This is the best DVD of the year so far, an absolutely extraordinary achievement. It’s the superb BBC TV documentary series on nature and the planet — spanning the globe, capturing incredible views of animals and nature close up and from the heights — in the original U.K. broadcast version, as written and narrated by David Attenborough. In this five-disc set, scene after scene, from the depths of the oceans to deserts, tropical forests and snowy mountain peaks, make you all but blink in astonishment, while Attenborough’s narration (on Discovery Channel, it was Sigourney Weaver) is properly urbane and exquisitely informed. The direction is by Alastair Fothergill; the photography, by Andrew Shillabeer and Mike Madden, among others, seems as good as it can possibly get. Extras: added footage not shown on the Discovery Channel, production diaries, behind-the scenes footage and the complete companion series “Planet Earth: the Future.” (BBC Warner)
Jean Renoir Collector’s Edition
Overall package rating: Excellent.
Jean Renoir, France’s greatest filmmaker and son of one of its great painters (Pierre Auguste Renoir) is too often recalled for just a handful of movies, especially “Grand Illusion” (1937) and “The Rules of the Game” (1939). But he was prolific and consistently brilliant, warm and intensely creative from his debut in 1926 with “La Fille de l’eau” (in this three-disc box set), to his swan song in 1971 with “Le Petit Theatre de Jean Renoir.” His career, Andrew Sarris rightly said, was “a river of personal expression.” This set gathers four of Renoir’s independent or arty ’20s productions, all starring his then-wife Catherine Hessling, plus one each from his heyday in the ’30s and from the years of his alleged decline in the ’50s and ’60s. There are only two inarguable masterpieces here, the poignant and fantastic 1928 short “The Little Match Girl” and the splendid 1938 historical epic “La Marseillaise.” (For me 1962’s “The Elusive Corporal” is almost on their level). But every one of these films is clearly the work of a master, and the new digital restorations, especially of “La Fille de l’eau” and “Nana,” are of major film-historical importance. All films are in French, with English subtitles.
“La Fille de l’eau (“Whirlpool of Fate”) *** 1/2 (1925). Renoir and Hessling in the country: His first film is a little-known gem. “Nana” *** 1/2 (1926). From Emile Zola’s novel of a trollop’s rise and fall, with Hessling as Nana. “Charleston Parade” *** 1/2 (1927). Jazzy fantasy. “The Little Match Girl” **** (1928). From Hans Christian Andersen. Beautiful, bravo!
“La Marseillaise” **** (1938). Renoir’s genial but brilliant saga of the French revolution; his brother Pierre plays Louis XVI. “Le Testament de Dr. Cordelier” (“The Doctor’s Horrible Experiment”) *** 1/2 (1959). Renoir’s “Psycho”: a free adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” with nonpareil actor Jean-Louis Barrault as a Chaplinesque Hyde (renamed Opale). “The Elusive Corporal” **** (1962). Like “Grand Illusion,” this is a deeply human story of POWs escaping, in World War II rather than WW I. Starring Jean-Pierre Cassel. Extras: “Jean Renoir: An Auteur to Remember,” featurette with Martin Scorsese, Alain Renoir (son), others. (Lionsgate)
Other recent releases
‘Little Children’ *** 1/2 (U.S.; Todd Field, 2006). A dark portrayal of American suburbia, based by director Todd Field on screenwriter Tom Perrotta’s novel of sex, secrets and lies. The ending slips a little, but the actors, as fallible contemporary types, are wonderful, topped by Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly and Jackie Earle Haley. No extras. (New Line Home Video)
‘La Haine’ (‘Hate’) *** 1/2 (France; Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995). Still Kassovitz’s best film: a scorching black-and-white look at a Jewish-African-Arab trio (Vincent Cassell, Hubert Kounde and Said Taghmaoui), caught up in violence and riot in Paris’ lower-class banlieue districts. Extras for the two-disc edition: commentary by Kassovitz, introduction by Jodie Foster, new documentary “10 Years of ‘La Haine,'” featurettes, behind-the-scenes footage, deleted and extended scenes, stills gallery, essays. (Criterion Collection)
*’An Officer and a Gentleman’ *** (U.S.; Taylor Hackford, 1982). One of the ’80s hottest date movies was this steamy romance about a rebellious misfit (Richard Gere) in Naval Officer Candidate School who, between bouts with his drill instructor (Louis Gossett Jr.), has a torrid affair with a very willing miss (Debra Winger). Extras for the special collector’s editions: commentary by Hackford, featurettes, photo gallery. (Paramount)
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Michael Wilmington has written essays for the Criterion Collection.
