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Max’s Best Blu-ray and DVD Picks, September 2012

Hi, I’m Max. best friend of Walt Oleksy (waltmax@comcast.net), and I review new DVD and Blu-ray releases each month. We don’t care for most of the new stuff out of Hollywood. We’ve seen more than enough thrillers, car chases, men and women in their birthday suits, and comedies the critics say are “hilarious” but which just aren’t funny unless you’re two years old (I’m nine and my master admits to being “over thirty-nine.” We don’t watch anything with vampires in it, except the original “Dracula.” We like movies that tell a good story and maybe we learn something from it. We figure you can read about the new so-called blockbuster films everywhere else, so we look for flicks that are worth seeing but get little publicity and are not seen in most mall theaters.
 
Everyone’s so busy these days, I keep my recommendations brief.  Here goes for what I think you’ll like on DVD this month.

Best Picks of the Month

Two award-winning foreign films from the Middle East that have a lot of meat on their bones to chew on.

A SEPARATION

Winner of the Academy Award last spring for the best foreign language film, from Iran, it is a compelling drama about the break-up of a marriage. A frightened wife wants to leave war-torn Iran with her husband and their daughter for a safer, better life in America.  She sues for divorce when he refuses to leave his father, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Her efforts fail so she goes to live with her parents, but the daughter decides to stay with her father. The husband hires a young woman to help with his father, but she betrays him.  The Wall Street Journal called it “A world class masterpiece” and Roger Ebert said it was “the best picture of the year.”  A powerful, intelligent film, rated PG-13 for mature material, on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics in Persian with English subtitles.

FOOTNOTE

This drama from Israel was nominated for best foreign language film last spring. It is the story about a very competitive relationship between a father and son, both of whom have dedicated their lives to being Talmudic scholars. The father is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. His son is an up-and-coming star in the field who feeds on praise, endlessly seeking recognition.  One day the tables turn and the father learns he is to be awarded the Israel Prize the highest honor for scholarship, and his need for validation comes out. The son is thrilled for his father, but must choose between advancement in his own career and his relationship with his father. Their needs become a classic tale of love and respect between father and son. Rated PG for some strong language, nudity, mature subject. The DVD from Sony Pictures Classics is in Hebrew with English subtitles.

Also recommended:

SILENCED

From farther East in Korea, a highly praised true story of one man’s courageous battle for social justice.  Based on the book Dogani which created outrage across South Korea, it is a story of child abuse that continue to plague activists today.  A widower begins teaching at a school for deaf children and learns of horrific child abuse there.  With the aid of an activist he puts his job on the line by challenging the establishment covering up the crimes.  Their efforts led to a widespread public outcry which gave only minor sentences to the guilty but national laws were put into effect to protect children from abusers. The DVD is from CJ Entertainment America, in Korean with English subtitles.  For those 18 and older.

COUNTRY DIARY OF AN EDWARDIAN LADY

A 12-part dramatization of Edith Holdern’s acclaimed book, a series of episodes following twelve months in the year 1906 in England in which she writes about life and nature, with water colors from the Nature Notes in her book.  It’s a wonderful step back to a kinder, gentler age.  A 4 DVD boxed set from BFS Entertainment.

For excitement lovers

INAPPROPRIATE ADULT

Based on true events, the story of British serial killer Fred West and a woman who becomes his “appropriate adult,” a person assigned to assist vulnerable adults facing serious charges.  He hides facts from the police but she threatens to turn her back on him unless he tells her the truth.  That leads to more than she thought she would learn.  Dominic West and Emily Watson star in the tense drama on DVD from Inception Media Group.  It’s British, so the emphasis is more on character and motive than visualizing the mayhem.

VILE

How about that title for a thriller?  A group of strangers finds themselves imprisoned in a house.  Not knowing why they’re there or who is keeping them there, they watch a videotape advising them there is a way out.  How far will they follow the harrowing rules so they can exit alive?  A strong Agatha Christie-type drama from Inception Media Group.

Documentaries/Specials

AT HOME WITH THE GEORGIANS

A look back to the 17th century in England with prize-winning author Amanda Vickery, from private diaries, intimate letters, and artifacts of the age.  Her writings provided some background for the novels of Jane Austen, so the 3-DVD set from BFS entertainment is of special interest to the legions of Austen fans.

1950s TV CLASSICS

Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Dinah Shore, Ed Sullivan, Red Skelton and others of “the golden age of television” return to provide laughs in this three-DVD collection. More than 8 hours of laughs that show great television comedy used to be. From Film Chest.

THE MUSICAL BRAIN

Does music make us smarter? Why are certain songs so important to us? Daniel Levitin’s book, This Is Your Brain on Music, is now on DVD. Singing superstar Sting put his own musical brain to test to find out how various types of music affect him on an emotional and physical level. He and other famous musicians tell about the power if music in heir lives. As see on PBS Television, the hour-long DVD is from PBS Distribution.

JOHN LEGUIZAMO: Tales from a Ghetto Klown

The popular Colombian-born actor and playwright examines his struggle to mount his latest one-man Broadway show, “Ghetto Klown,” and then take it on the road, even performing it in Spanish in his native country. The hour-long DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.

MARIACHI  HIGH

A documentary about a year in the life of “Mariachi Halcon,” champion high school mariachis band from Zapata, Texas. Mariachi music is showcased at its most glorious by these talented 24 young Mexican-American teenagers.  Roger Ebert gave it a rave review. The hour-long DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.

FRONTLINE: Endgame – AIDS in Black America.

A terrific exploration of one of the nation’s most urgent, preventable health crises. Personal stories from those afflicted as well as basketball great Magic Johnson and civil rights pioneer Julian Bond and others bring to light this tragedy. The two-hour documentary tells how, from the earliest day, prejudice, silence, and stigma allowed the virus to spread deep into the black community. The two-hour-long DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Death and the Civil War

This Rick Burns documentary tells of the horrific death toll in the American Civil War when some 750,000 people died, nearly 2.5 percent of the population, in four years fro, 1861-1865.  Effects of the death toll continue to ripple to this day. In today’s numbers, the toll would be seven million. Not a pleasant subject, but  necessary in reflecting on the war that divided he nation, then united it. The 90-minute DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.

THE FRENCH CHEF: Julia Child’s French Classics

The beloved Julia in six episodes from her groundbreaking 1960s television cooking series, to celebrate what would have been her 100^th birthday last month. The stand-up culinary comic shows how to make everything from French onion soup, Coq au vin, to French crepes.  The 3-hour DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.  “Bon Appetit.”

AMERICAN MASTERS: The Day Carl Sandburg Died

The life and legacy of one of America’s most loved poets and writers a “spokesman for the people.”  The documentary provides a new in-depth portrait of the man who also was an American folk song collector and singer, children’s storyteller, novelist, historian, political organizer-activist, and author of the monumental six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln who was a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his poetry. The 84-minute DVD biography, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution. 

“I’M CAROLYN PARKER: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful”

A documentary about the woman who was a leader in he rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The black Catholic church activist focused her attention on rebuilding the city’s devastated black community, documented  over five years by Jonathan Demme, director of “The Silence of the Lambs.” The 90-minute DVD biography, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution. 

STORY OF WALES

Thirty thousand years of Welsh history and heroes are covered in this documentary, from prehistoric times to the modern nation.

Dramatic reconstructions and narration by BBC newscaster Huw Edwards being it all to life in a 3-DVD boxed set from BFS Entertainment.

See you at the same fire hydrant next month.