Author: Robert Greenberger

Baz Luhrman is a visual director. Couple him with fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman; one would expect a strong story with terrific scenery and fine performances.

Instead, we got a faded postcard called Australia.  The overly long film, now out on DVD, is actually two predictable stories melded into one feature.  The first half is a remake of [[[The African Queen]]] repurposed as an American western set in the outback. The second half is a World War II adventure that sort of pits Jackman against the Japanese. Given its highly obvious story points, it’s hard to believe this is a product from the man who gave us [[[Moulin Rouge]]] and a fresh take on [[[Romeo and Juliet]]].

About the only thing unique about the story is the plight of the half-Caucasian/half-Aborigines children taken away by missionaries during this era to have the “savage” beaten out of them.  As a result, the most interesting characters in the film are the “creamy” Nullah and his silent grandfather King George (played by the veteran David Gulpilil).

Jackman may never win an Oscar for his work, but he’s a versatile, entertaining actor who handles action and romance with equal aplomb.  His Droper smolders throughout the movie and his understanding of the aboriginal people is sympathetic in contrast to just about every other Caucasian in the movie.

Kidman’s Lady Sarah goes from spoiled Englishwoman to gun-toting, hard drinking native without any in-between steps and feels unnatural.  Instead of a nuanced performance, which she’s capable of, she feels like she did this to work from home and not that she had any real affinity for the role or story.

Luhrman also seems more interested in the landscape of his native land than the performances which are more two-dimension than we’re used to. The pacing is languid, even for the action sequences, and overall the movie just lays there. It did not perform well at the box office and 20th Century-Fox apparently lost faith in the film which resulted in a DVD that comes with barely any extras.  There are trailers (and not one for [[[Wolverine]]]) and two deleted scenes, neither of which substantively changes the movie.

Walt Disney learned much from the work performed in [[[Snow White]]], his first animated feature.  The story was fairly basic and almost too short and to the point. For his second outing, he intended for something to further demonstrate his mastery of the animated form. As a result, his work in translating Carlo Collodi’s [[[Pinocchio]]] from book to cartoon kept changing through the production and as a result, the finished product was a giant leap forward.

The lush color palette and ease of motion employed by the characters is confident, evoking a storybook feeling while telling an entertaining tale.  You’re reminded of all this when re-watching the film on the new 70th Anniversary DVD, on sale Tuesday.

Disney took the popular 1883 novel, which focused largely on social themes and reshaped it into an American kid-friendly story with heavy lessons to be imparted. Interestingly, the movie, released February 7, 1940, didn’t fare well at first thanks to the global concerns over war, but grew over time to be an enduring classic.

How the book was adapted complete with an alternate ending is just part of the anniversary extras included on the Blu-ray and two-disc standard DVD editions. The Blu-ray also includes the single disc DVD which has just the movie, some trailers, and some music videos. The rest of the goodies, of which there are many, were not available for review since just the Blu-ray was provided to journalists.

So, let’s talk about the movie.  The story of the kindly toy maker, Geppetto, who constructed a boy puppet as a substitute son, is a lovely beginning. The turquoise fairy (renamed the simpler blue fairy in the movie) arrives and bestows life on the toy and promises to turn him into a real boy if he learns to behave and accept the responsibility that comes with life. Being entirely naïve about what that means, and presuming Geppetto too old to teach him, the fairy taps Jiminy Cricket to play the role of conscience. The boy begins a series of exploits that shows the audience the need to listen to the little voice in the back of your mind.

Pinocchio is easily lured away from the tried and true path, such as attending school, for the easier vices.  He’s constantly taken advantage of by adults, both human and anthropomorphic.  By film’s end, none of them are made to pay for their perfidy. In fact, they remain at large; tempting others to stray while Pinocchio, having learned his lesson, returns to Geppetto’s loving arms. As they manage to survive the whale Monstro’s hunger, Pinocchio earns his human flesh.

The animation is lush, the backgrounds colorful.  A lot of time and attention is given to showing off, especially early on in the toy shop as the various creations perform.  Later, there’s tremendous activity in the background, notably when Pinocchio and Lampwick find the other boys who are a busy bunch.

We all know the songs from the film and the signature moments such as the wooden boy’s nose grow long enough to house a bird’s nest when he lies.  There is a gentle humor to Jiminy’s commentary and affection runs strongly through the good characters.  It’s not a terribly scary movie, compared with the chilling Queen-turned-witch in the previous feature.  There are thrills, such as the escape from the whale, and the 88 minutes pass with nary a lull.

The film transfer is crisp, the colors as rich as ever.  The sound is sharp. If this is not in your family’s video library, it probably should be and you have three versions to pick from so it all depends upon how many extra bells and whistles you want.

How do you exploit a finite series and wring every last licensing dollar out of it? DC Comics has come up with a plethora of nifty brand extensions from the long awaited action figures to the nice art book from Titan Books.  But, the most interesting and innovative has to be the Watchmen Complete Motion Comic which has effectively animated the dozen issues, added narration and music, and turned it into something new.  This has been available for purchase on line, chiefly through iTunes, but today the complete series is being released in a two-disc DVD set.

Those of us with long enough memories have equated it with the cheaply animated [[[Marvel Super Heroes]]], from Grantray-Lawrence Animation in 1966. Unlike that hodge podge, all the art you see is from Dave Gibbons’ illustrations. He was actively involved with the production and his attention to detail comes through.

One of the biggest advantages to this method is that each panel can now be studied on the big screen.  You can check out all the background details, all the little things that Alan Moore had Dave add to scenes to get the message subtly across.  This, in some ways, surpasses the Absolute Watchmen for that enlargement.

Characters walk, wave their arms, move their eyes, and so on.  The motion is more fluid than one would expect and the background characters and objects move nicely.  The captions and word balloons are retained to give it that “comic book comes to life” feel but director Jake S. Hughes also employs film techniques to change scenes and tosses in some CGI animation for special effects but is judicious with their use.

What you lose, though, is the tightly constructed format which was also done intentionally.  The 9-panel grid that Dave employed was as much an element in the maxiseries as was the story. In fact, the [[[Watchmen]]] may well have been one of the first comic books to have been designed from the ground up prior to work beginning on the scripts.

It’s all a tradeoff.  Much as I miss the grid, I miss more the excised dialogue which was trimmed, we’re told, in the in interest of time. As a result, this is an adaptation and not a complete retelling of the comic in animated form.  Similarly, all the backup material which rounded out each issue is gone. You’ll have to a buy Tales of the Black Freighter on DVD later this month for that pirate tale along with Under the Hood. Of course, you could wait for the mega-version when director Zack Snyder integrates everything into one master story but I digress.

One of the additions, which I found myself enjoying, was the music, scored in a James Horner style. It was moody, low key and totally appropriate to the subject matter. And in a goofy way, I loved that the word balloon tails followed the characters as they moved, always how I imagined things working after reading Who Censored Roger Rabbit?

The vocal work is entirely handled by one voice actor, rather than a complete cast. Tom Stechschulte, a television actor, does a superior job giving life to each character.  His female voices were off-putting but he nailed all of the male parts which was quite a challenge.

The extras here are trailers for related product and an extended look at the just-released Wonder Woman animated feature.  There are other, cooler, extras on the Blu-ray disc which was not reviewed.  Now, is this affordable and worth having?  Overall, this was a satisfying experience and helped me refresh myself on the story in time for the movie. You could download each chapter for $1.99 ($24 total) or buy the DVD which retails for $29.98 but obviously will be discounted just about everywhere you look. The kicker, though, is that it comes with a $7.50 coupon to use with purchasing your movie ticket so there is a cost savings to be had.

Timed to make a splash at Oakland’s WonderCon, Warner Home Video announced that Green Lantern will receive his own direct-to-DVD exploit this summer.  The long-anticipated project will have a sneak peek during the con but consumers will also be treated to a 10 minute featurette on the Wonder Woman DVD being released on Tuesday.

Here’s the formal announcement:

BURBANK, CA, (February 27, 2008) – The fabric of intergalactic justice is threatened – until Hal Jordan arrives for his initial mission – in the animated Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth entry in the popular DVD series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies. A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the illuminated hero’s first-ever full-length animated film is set for release by Warner Home Video on July 28, 2009.  Green Lantern: First Flight will be available as a special edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def for $29.98 (SRP) and $34.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP).

Acclaimed actor Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) fills the lead voice of Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern. Meloni is joined by fellow Emmy Award nominee Victor Garber (Milk, Alias) as the villainous Sinestro, Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as the voice of Boodikka, and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs) as Kilowog.

Produced by animation legend Bruce Timm, Green Lantern: First Flight is helmed by heralded director Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Superman Doomsday) and scripted by four-time Emmy Award-winning writer Alan Burnett (The Batman).

Green Lantern: First Flight finds Hal Jordan recruited to join the Green Lantern Corps and placed under the supervision of respected senior Lantern Sinestro. The earthling soon discovers his mentor is actually the central figure in a secret conspiracy that threatens the philosophies, traditions and hierarchy of the entire Green Lantern Corps. Hal must quickly hone his newfound powers and combat the treasonous Lanterns within the ranks to maintain order in the universe.

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