Category: DVD review

Like many cinephiles, I’ve been slowly making my way through Criterion’s DVD set of Orson Welles’ Mr. Arkadin the last couple weeks. Welles was never allowed to finish editing his 1955 picture and it has appeared in various forms throughout the years, so Criterion includes the producer-finished Confidential Report version, the so-called “Corinth” version that corresponds most closely to Welles’ vision, and a newly reconstructed “comprehensive” version created by the Munich Film Archive that combines five different versions; plus various essays, interviews, radio shows, and a novel attributed to Welles but likely adapted from the screenplay by somebody else. For …

Just when we thought reality had lost its capacity to shock us in dramatic films, the threadbare DV production Cavite (2005) has popped out of the indie festival circuit. If you get the chance to see it at all, you’ll probably learn it was made by two film school graduates with a few dubious films under their belt and a website that reads like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Production. But it’s a film that is emotionally streamlined, elliptical in its construction, and morally complex in its suspense, and it offers a visceral look at contemporary life in the Philippines.

Adam, …

A few months ago, Facets released Rakhshan Bani-Etemad’s Our Times (2002) on DVD. It’s a fascinating and revealing documentary–reportedly the first ever released in Iranian cinemas–about the 2001 Iranian presidential election that politicized record numbers of women and young people (70% of the country is under 30), who campaigned in the streets for the re-election of reformist president Mohammad Khatami.

The Iranian electoral process begins with open registration before many candidates are vetted and disqualified; campaigns run about a month. Bani-Etemad focuses on a group of teenagers (including her own daughter) who established a campaign headquarters for Khatami, and also …

Mutual Appreciation gets its Los Angeles debut next week as part of AFI FEST, but writer/director Andrew Bujalski’s previous feature, Funny Ha Ha, was so good I decided to go ahead and order Mutual Appreciation‘s DVD from the film’s official website. ($15 Paypal, flat rate.) The DVD is a no-frills affair, but Bujalski’s handheld, black-and-white, 16mm veritÈ style doesn’t require a fancy digital transfer, either, and the disc is perfectly watchable. (It even came with a scrawled note: “Mr. Cummings, Thanks for your support–Hope you enjoy this–Andrew.”)

And enjoy it I did; Bujalski has a rare talent …

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

Okay, summer break is over and the blogging shall resume.

My friend John Torvi from Canada is visiting this week while he attends SIGGRAPH, the international conference for “researchers, artists, developers, filmmakers, scientists, and other professionals who share an interest in computer graphics and interactive techniques.” During the day, John immerses himself in conferences and screenings. At night, he recommends his latest finds, like La DerniËre Minute (2004), which won the Palme d’Or for short films at Cannes last year and which also has a premise that reminds me of Harlan Ellison’s wonderful …