Aisle Seat World Cup Edition
A Potpourri of Reviews, News, and Other Assorted Comments
by Andy Dursin
Seeing that this weekend's viewing choices consisted of a pair of films
I thought looked better as viable choices for video viewing (SIX DAYS SEVEN
NIGHTS and CAN'T HARDLY WAIT), I decided to skip the theaters this weekend
and enjoy some of the World Cup soccer action from France. Well, not exactly--I
also moved down to the beach for the summer, only to run into a deluge
of rain here in southern New England and plenty of fog to spare. At least
we're getting this out of the way now before summer officially begins,
right? El Nino...you have to love it! (By the way, if the USA doesn't get
there, I'm personally hoping for a Jamaica-Iran match-up in the World Cup
final. And I know I have a better chance of seeing hell freeze over than
seeing it, but I can dream, can't I?)
This week's column is a Larry King-styled mishmash of tidbits and opinions,
and I also threw in a group of CD reviews that I have to cover (promo copy
obligation, of course), so read on and please send all comments and conspiracy
theories to me at dursina@worldnet.att.net!
*TV TWILIGHT ZONE: ELMER BERNSTEIN'S "A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT"?
Strange, strange occurrences usually manifest themselves in TV prints
of theatrical films. How else to explain cut footage, different music cues,
and other bizarre items popping up on tube versions of your favorite movies?
This past month, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT aired both on Superstation TBS
and the Encore network (both premium services on most cable/satellite systems).
While I believe that this marked the first time that the movie had begun
airing on TBS, it was definitely the first time that anyone had seen Elmer
Bernstein's name on the front credits of the film! To refresh your memory,
Bernstein originally scored the film before Robert Redford dropped his
score in favor of a new one by Mark Isham (Isham later received an Oscar
nomination for his work). For some inexplicable reason, Bernstein was credited,
apparently, with the music on these TV prints--at least according to a
good friend of mine (whose mother had watched the film on Encore) and someone
who wrote into FSM last Friday and had seen it on TBS. Unfortunately, neither
had ever seen the movie previously and couldn't recognize if it was Elmer
or Isham's music in the picture! Just as frustrating is that the film isn't
scheduled to air again on cable this month. So, what's the deal? My best
guess is that someone at Columbia TriStar made a new syndicated print for
"premium"/free-TV services and produced new credits for the picture,
and therein mistakenly listed Elmer as the composer. If anyone has seen
this version or knows anything about it, email me at dursina@worldnet.att.net!
*WEEKEND BOX-OFFICE ANALYSIS
I thought it was amusing that my column on GODZILLA last week got a
flurry of responses, not to mention became the source for an internet "flame-fest"
on the FSM Message Board (the origin of which came from a poster who obviously
didn't even read the column, just read the headline!). No such "controversy"
to be found this week, though it is interesting that the financial results
of this weekend's films seem to point out that Jim Carrey's THE TRUMAN
SHOW isn't going to be the "breakthrough hit" that industry analysts
were hoping it would be. A week after its opening (it dropped off somewhat
this weekend), It seems as if the film opened strong thanks to Carrey's
typical audience base, who were--in turn--confused and/or not too receptive
of the film on the whole. Along the same lines, a lot of viewers who would
be the most amused by the picture--the mainstream, non-Jim Carrey audience--either
didn't go or haven't seen it because, quite simply, Jim Carrey is in it.
I don't know how many people I've run into in the last week who said, "I'm
not going to see it because I can't stand Jim Carrey." Unfortunately,
this thinking has to be one of the main reasons why the film fell off at
the box-office this weekend, and with Carrey's comedy crowd being the folks
who really turned out for the film's opening, THE TRUMAN SHOW may not be
the picture that does for Carrey what BIG did for Tom Hanks after all--at
least in financial terms. That central mainstream audience Paramount was
hoping to lure into the theaters didn't turn out in gigantic numbers, while
the Carrey crowd was, again, somewhat disappointed with seeing their star
in a non-comedy vehicle (how else to explain the movie's drop-off this
past weekend?).
Clearly, getting the right audience to see THE TRUMAN SHOW had to be
the reason why Paramount continuously delayed the film and tinkered with
its ad campaign. The results, though, were clearly worth it, even if the
picture doesn't become the highest-grossing film of the summer (which some
folks were ridiculously predicting when it opened over a week ago).
*"THE EXORCIST" VIDEO RE-RELEASE & OTHER NEWS
One of the most exciting announcements this week, as previously announced
in the print FSM, came from Warner Home Video, which will be re-releasing
a 25th Anniversary edition of THE EXORCIST ($24.95) on September 29th.
Included in the package will be a slew of theatrical trailers & TV
spots, plus "The Fear of God: The Making of 'The Exorcist," a
74-minute documentary by Mark Kermode (who wrote a great article on the
movie for an early issue of Video Watchdog years back). The documentary
features the much-discussed "spider walk" sequence plus other
scenes that author-screenwriter-producer William Peter Blatty has long
lamented were dropped from the finished print. (By the way, Blatty's EXORCIST
III has always been a favorite of mine, despite its re-edited final act.
Perhaps we could get a Special Edition of this as well someday?) Apparently,
the documentary aired over the weekend on BBC2 in a shortened version,
and most viewers said it was excellent. Curiously, the Warner DVD was NOT
announced to contain the expanded soundtrack CD with a suite from Lalo
Schrifrin's rejected score--however, we'll see what happens as we get closer
to the video's release date (when its contents become firmer). Even more
interesting was a story that ran on Ain't It Cool News in the last week,
claiming that Warner is planning on re-releasing the film--with the excised
scenes cut back INTO the movie--sometime this fall to theaters! That would
seem to be unlikely, at least judging from this video's release date, but
if anything becomes official we'll let you know.....
In other related news, don't be looking for the already-twice delayed
laserdisc of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND to hit stores anytime soon.
The THX certified edition contains the full 140 minute documentary by Laurent
Bouzereau, who produced the excellent lasers of JAWS, E.T., and 1941, but
Columbia TriStar delayed the release and failed to include a new date with
their latest postponement. Let's hope this release actually does happen,
and that this isn't a bad sign of a possible cancellation (frequently laserdiscs
that are continuously delayed point to a lack of dealer pre-orders, which
can lead to a title being canned if not enough folks signed on to purchase
it)....
Re-released on DVD this past month was Douglas Trumbull's BRAINSTORM
($24.95), which boasts a new, corrected widescreen transfer from MGM. The
movie's aspect ratio now alternates between the full widescreen (2.35:1)
and spherical aspect ratio (1.85:1 for the non-"brainstorm" sequences),
an improvement on the original laserdisc transfer (which placed the square-framed
"normal" sequences in the middle of the picture, with black on
all sides, and looked really, really tiny on most viewers' monitors!)...
MGM also announced a deluxe DVD of THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK ($24.95) with
commentary and deleted scenes for an August 11th release. 2001 and 2010
($24.95 each) were also announced for a late August bow, both with trailers
and the latter with a "production featurette".... LASERDISC OWNERS
should be aware that Image Entertainment's mail-order-only sale is still
going on until June 30th. While Image is out of the reduced-price Pioneer
players (I was too late in ordering one, regrettably), they still have
a fair amount of good titles at massively low prices ($9.95-$14.95). Visit
their Website at www.image-entertainment.com
and click on the Spring Sale text to download ordering instructions and
the remaining inventory catalog. Definitely a must for any laserphile.
*ON VIDEO--RECENT RELEASES
ALIEN-RESURRECTION (*1/2): Maybe even worse than ALIEN3, Jean-Pierre
Jeunet's lame-brained sequel is a badly plotted, garishly-designed nightmare
that's more gross than frightening, more silly than scary. Stripped of
everything that made the original Ripley character so compelling, Sigourney
Weaver is left vamping around with bad nail polish and an even more unlikeable
personality as a "Ripley clone" resurrected to fight off more
aliens on a cargo ship. Winona Ryder, meanwhile, is positively miscast
as an android while a few of filmmaker Jeunet's cast regulars (Ron Perlman,
Dominique Pinon) pop up to battle the slimy-looking creatures in a series
of poorly executed set-pieces that, more often than not, come across as
pale imitations of Cameron's ALIENS. Hard to believe that Joss Whedon,
whose clever and hilarious BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is one of the best
shows on TV, wrote this mess, but alas, he did. Utterly boring at times
and featuring an appropriately obnoxious score by John Frizzell, this RESURRECTION
most likely put the kibosh on a franchise that, over a decade and two movies
ago, looked like it was actually going somewhere. (R; laserdisc and VHS,
no DVD)
STARSHIP TROOPERS (****): If you can get past Denise Richards's stilted
performance and accept that this rollercoaster ride is essentially a big
tongue-in-cheek spoof, STARSHIP TROOPERS is a riot. Paul Verhoeven, whose
violence quotient went beyond my tolerance level in many of his previous
films (ROBOCOP, TOTAL RECALL, and the vile FLESH+BLOOD), has directed a
rollicking sci-fi epic, filled with good-looking actors and impressive
special effects. The laserdisc and DVD both offer deleted scenes (tellingly,
all of which involve Richards's icy, unlikeable heroine), special effects
footage, and a laughable commentary by Verhoeven that spouts out so much
political criticism that you'd swear he was attempting to make a movie
like PLATOON. Fortunately, Verhoeven's ideas seemed to have been tempered
by Ed Neumier's screenplay (the two seem to disagree on several issues--that
is, whenever Verhoeven lets Neumier get a word in!), so all you can read
into it is that Verhoeven seems to have more than a few screws loose (pardon
the expression). Most viewers aren't going to care, anyway, unless they're
"in" on the joke. Lighten up and you may find STARSHIP TROOPERS
to be one of last year's more entertaining films. (R, 130 mins.)
LIFEFORCE (***): Reissued on DVD with the same transfer contained on
the recent MGM videotape and laserdisc releases, Tobe Hooper's insanely
hilarious 1985 sci-fi epic is even funnier in its "Extended Special
Edition" than it was the first time around. With 15 minutes of extra
footage that flesh out characters and restore Henry Mancini's marvelous
score to its original form, Hooper's picture is one of the downright funniest
science-fiction films ever made--where else can you get good British actors
fumbling around with ridiculously "serious" dialogue and awkward
direction, a barrage of great looking John Dykstra effects, and the gorgeous
Mathilda May walking around London completely naked? Originally, the movie
was released in the U.S. by Tri-Star, who cut a good reel from the movie
and replaced numerous Mancini cues with mostly-synthesized garbage by Michael
Kamen and James Guthrie to cover those edits. Here, with scenes restored
and Kamen's cues excised, LIFEFORCE is simply more of a hoot than ever,
and MGM's DVD looks and sounds terrific. If you haven't seen this one,
by all means, definitely have a party and enjoy it with the ones you love!
(R, 116 mins)
*UPCOMING VIDEO RELEASE SCHEDULE
June 23--THE POSTMAN (*1/2), LEWIS & CLARK & GEORGE (intended
for theaters)...June 30th--AMISTAD (***1/2), THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS...July
1st--WAG THE DOG (***)....July 7--GOOD WILL HUNTING (***1/2), THE BOXER...July
14--PHANTOMS, THE WINTER GUEST, SWEPT FROM THE SEA (aka AMY FOSTER)...July
21st--GREAT EXPECTATIONS, THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE, PRINCE VALIANT
(intended for theaters), CHILDREN OF THE CORN V...July 28TH--DARK CITY
(****)...August 11th--THE BIG LEBOWSKI (***1/2), MERLIN (**, TV miniseries).
*SOUNDTRACK QUICK TAKES
Arista has outdone themselves with their three "Arista Masters"
CDs. You've read more than enough by now about CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE
THIRD KIND to know that this is one of the best restored soundtracks in
recent memory. I can only add that the original soundtrack had such a tinny,
"pinched" sound that the remixing on this CD is nothing short
of relevatory, and even more impressive than RCA's expanded STAR WARS SPECIAL
EDITION releases from last year...TAXI DRIVER, meanwhile, has never been
a favorite film of mine, so this restored CD will certainly appeal more
to Herrmann fans than anyone else. Didier Deutsch has done a great job,
however, of moving the dialogue tracks from the original album after the
new, expanded musical program concludes, so you do get the contents from
the original album--just in a new, far more cohesive sequence. More detailed
liner notes could have helped, however, particularly considering all the
rumors about how Jack Hayes, not Herrmann, wrote the lyric saxophone line
in the main theme. Still, this is an excellent presentation on the whole,
and the sound is great...Finally, FUNNY LADY is another remastered Arista
title, and it has to be a must for Streisand fans. I've neither seen the
film nor heard the original soundtrack, so I'm not qualified to pass judgment
on the CD, but it does feature equally remastered sound and liner notes
by Linda Richman (Mike Myers' mother-in-law, whom he parodied on Saturday
Night Live sketches for many years)...I can, however, pass judgment on
Ryko's THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS CD. Finally we have a restored and expanded
Bond soundtrack, and this one does not disappoint. Here, the original album
sequence has been kept intact, but a plethora of new cues are placed chronologically
after the original album has concluded. This is, in reality, one of John
Barry's top Bond scores, certainly the best of his '80s 007 outings, and
shows that Rykodisc has listened to fan complaints about dialogue snippets
and are really trying to give listeners the most bang for their buck. This
CD comes recommended without any reservations, so what are you waiting
for?...Other Ryko titles just released that are worth checking out include
LAST TANGO IN PARIS (with extra music), NEVER ON SUNDAY (same as the original
LP), and BEST OF THE WEST, a compilation of western cues that casual listeners
should enjoy (I would like the entire HALLELUJAH TRAIL on CD, same with
RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE, but I, like you, will remain patient).
As always, drop me a line at dursina@worldnet.att.net
and let me know what you think!
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