virtualurth DVDs, Music and Poetry

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Twelve Monkeys DVD

by Robert Carter

THE RATINGS
Movie: *** DVD: ***1/2

THE FILM
“THE AGONY OF FOREKNOWLEDGE COMBINED WITH THE IMPOTENCE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT...” That’s the “Cassandra Complex,” a story from Greek myth… And it’s what Bruce Willis’ character James Cole has in “Twelve Monkeys”--IN SPADES. He knows that in the year 1997 a virus is going to be purposely unleashed on the Earth--a virus that will kill 5 billion people and send Mankind literally underground. By 2035 the animals will live on the surface, while Cole and people like him endure a dark, nightmarish existence below. Cole’s life is particularly unpleasant, as he’s chosen to “volunteer” for a trip backward through time. His mission is to find the source of the virus so scientists in the future can find a cure and prevent the disaster from happening in the first place.

Cole is, basically, the flipside of Willis’ character in “The Fifth Element.” In that film a down-and-out cabbie looking for love finds it, and Saves The World. In this film, a man who just wants to “see the sky and the ocean, and breathe the air” is also given the chance to find love and to Save The World. But he’s not getting much help from his superiors, who prove that time travel is definitely an inexact science. For instance, (in scenes highly reminiscent of similar moments in the movie “Trancers,”) they dispatch Cole to 1996. Instead, he ends up right in the middle of World War One, and naked, no less. That nakedness is a metaphor, a literal illustration that he has nothing to help him but his own intelligence, ingenuity and perseverance.

The makers of “Twelve Monkeys” put a lot of effort into the visual and emotional design of the world Cole inhabits, using anything they could find to reinforce director Terry Gilliam’s vision. (The accompanying documentary covers at length how the “look” was produced and why an abandoned power plant came to represent a lot of this world of the near-future) Anyone who’s seen “Brazil” will immediately recognize Gilliam’s touch from the look of the set alone.

At one point Cole, addressing his superiors says, “I don’t think the human mind is meant to exist in two different...dimensions. It’s very confusing; you don’t know what’s real and what’s not.” After watching “Twelve Monkeys” you’ll probably agree. But it’s a mystery worth unraveling...even if you have to watch it twice to understand it all.

HIGHLIGHTS

Godzilla: Special Edition DVD

THE RATINGS
Movie: ** DVD: ****

Birth Of A King
Godzilla, the father of all Japanese monster movies, stomps onto the scene refreshed, reborn and badder than ever. Tomoyuki Tanaka, the father of Godzilla, would turn over in his grave if he saw Godzilla 1998. Oh Tanaka, how we have dishonored your post nuclear hero! In the early 1950’s, Tanaka, a cameraman-turned-producer working for Toho Studios in Japan, was desperate for an idea…

“I was up against a deadline when I first thought of Godzilla, and I made it up all at the last minute. At that time, Toho was collaborating with Indonesia to make a blockbuster film called ‘Beyond the Glory.’ This film was supposed to be Toho’s ‘eyeball’ (premiere release) for the year. Because soon-to-be stars Ryo Ikebe and Toshiko Yamaguchi couldn’t get a visa from the Indonesian government, the film was canceled. It was easy to say that the film was just canceled, but now I had to come up with something big enough to replace it. On the plane ride back to Tokyo, I was so desperate and I was sweating the whole time.”

The title of the film was “Gojira,” a name reportedly adopted from a tough looking crewmember at Toho studios. “Gojira” is a combination of “gorilla” and “kujira” (Japanese for whale). The film was released in the United States two years later with the title “GODZILLA, King of the Monsters.” Godzilla mania hit immediately, and Tanaka and Toho Studios went on to produce 21 more Godzilla films. Tanaka passed away as a result of a stroke on April 2, 1997 at the age of 86.

THE FILM
Unfortunately (for some of us, anyway), “plot doesn’t matter” in this new adaptation of Godzilla from director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin. The duo that brought you Stargate (1994) and Independence Day (1996) decided to make special effects the star of the new Godzilla. Emphasizing science-fiction spectacle over story, Godzilla was the collective effort of the high concept duo in collaboration with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the writing team credited with Aladdin (1992), The Puppet Masters (1994), and Small Soldiers (1998).

The Devlin/Emmerich interpretation features a complete redesign of Godzilla, who is now portrayed as a large “Jurassic Park"-like lizard mutated after fallout from French nuclear tests in French Polynesia. A great deal of care and detail went into Godzilla’s new persona and character. The film immerses you into a kaleidoscope of studio and film footage of actual nuclear blasts, seamlessly visualizing the birth of the Devlin/Emmerich Godzilla. A blinding flash of white light fills the Eastern skies and thousands of miles away, the Pacific Ocean churns, engulfing a freighter then in another part of the globe, giant footsteps plow a path through miles of Panamanian forests, Tahitian villages, and Jamaican beaches.

Matthew Broderick portrays Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (also the name of the movie’s special effects design company, Patrick Tatopoulos Designs). Biologist Dr. Tatopoulos, a.k.a. “The Worm Guy,” is on assignment in the Ukraine for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission examining the impact of radiation on Chernobyl earthworms. As Tatopoulos grabs a handful of worms he is interrupted and immediately reassigned by Colonel Hicks (Kevin Dunn) of the U.S. military. Escorted by Colonel Hick’s military team, Nick is assigned to check out giant claw marks on the beached freighter, and is joined by paleontologists Elsie Chapman (Vicki Lewis) and Mendel Craven (Malcolm Danare). With a freighter covered in blood and giant-size footprints everywhere, Nick decides there’s “some sort of enormous reptile” wandering around. Well, read on to find out “the rest of the story.” Errrr, I mean, the DVD.

FINAL WORD
The Emmerich/Devlin Godzilla: Special Edition DVD goes a long way towards demonstrating that the DVD format has the “right stuff” to make a mediocre movie an enjoyable experience. Even with its shortcomings, Godzilla is a must-have for the DVD fan and a collector’s prize for the Godzilla lovers. It’s clearly a landmark special effects winner in my book and a worthy chapter in the Godzilla series. In particular, this film will be remembered for its valiant attempt to redefine the ubiquitous “King of the Monsters.”

HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday, December 16, 2006

The Samurai Trilogy

by Peter Suciu

THE RATINGS

Movie: *** DVD: ***

Perhaps one of the very first fully envisioned film trilogies, Samurai and its two sequels actually represent one epic tale spread across three films. Whether it was to cut costs or to make the filming more manageable, the story is broken into three parts, each telling a relevant part of the main character’s story - a legendary seventeenth-century samurai named Musashi Miyamoto.

Musashi is portrayed by Toshiro Mifune (who is known for his countless samurai roles, including several of Akira Kurosawa’s films such as Yojimbo and The Seven Samurai). Musashi is a Japanese Robin Hood-like character, an unlikely hero who makes his entrance following a brutal civil war.

THE TRILOGY
While this is the Samurai film series, these are not b-movie hack and slash tales set in mist-filled Japanese forests, nor are they the epic and sweeping battles of the kind showcased in Kurosawa’s Ran (the battle of Sekigahara is shown very briefly in Samurai I). In stead, these films have been dubbed Japan’s Gone with the Wind, and like that epic US release, the substance of the films lies in its character development and the turmoil the characters face - not the civil wars that are the background to each story.

THE MOVIES
Samurai I: Musahi Miyamoto
Following the battle of Sekigahara, Musashi Miyamoto and his friend Matahaci find themselves on the defeated side. Instead of the grand victory and glory Musashi had anticipated, he finds himself a defeated fugitive. The pair seek shelter with a widow and her daughter. Musashi is seduced by the widow, but then remembers that he loves (and is betrothed to) Otsu, a woman from his village.

Musashi (known at this point in his life as Takezo) returns to his village, while the widow and her daughter head to Kyoto. Matachachi’s family doesn’t believe Musashi’s story and he is arrested for treason. Musashi is spared but must leave the village and redeem himself.

Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
This second film, despite its action-sounding title, involves Musashi’s quest for spiritual enlightenment as the young warrior continues his training to become a true samurai. The violence that Musashi faces convinces him that violence in itself is not honorable, and he moves towards redemption as his skills improve.

Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
Lacking the sheer action of the previous two films, this final film follows the hero, Musashi, as he struggles with questions dealing with what makes a worthy warrior. As a victor in sixty duels, Musashi has become a legend in Japan, but he begins to face younger and more ambitious rivals looking to make a reputation for themselves-something that is in direct conflict with Musashi’s beliefs.

Like many roles that Clint Eastwood would later play, Musashi turns his back on his former ways and hopes to spend out his days as a farmer. But an ambitious upstart named Kojiro is determined to meet Musashi in combat. Does he succeed? You have to check it out for yourself.

THE DVDS
The films are best seen together as one epic story, and therefore it would have been nice to have them released as a box set. However, they are still able to tell self-contained stories as stand-alone films.

The presentation is in full frame (1:33:1), so nothing is lost in the transfer. All of the DVDs are somewhat grainy, but that is due more to the film stock of post-war Japan than by a failure on Criterion’s part. It’s just nice to be able to see these grand films on DVD.

The discs contain the films and their corresponding theatrical trailers. As an added bonus, each disc includes an excellent mini-booklet detailing the story and some background on the real character that Musashi is based on.

HIGHLIGHTS
Samurai I briefly shows the battle of Sekigahara, one of the most epic in the Shogun Civil Wars of seventeenth-century Japan.
Samurai II features some well-choreographed and realistic swordplay. This film also showcases the training of a samurai.
Samurai III deals with the issues of honor and what it entails. Musashi has gained honor, but at the cost of killing others forcing him to question his choices in life.

NITPICKS
The background included in the books would be better on the discs themselves, and there should have been some mention made of the late Toshiro Mifune’s long career as an actor in Japan and later in the United States. Mifune, who died in late 1997, was as established as being the leading “samurai” actor as Clint Eastwood or John Wayne for their western roles. Like his American counterparts in their period films, one can not think of a samurai without thinking of Mifune.

Final Word
The Samurai Trilogy is not Shogun Assassin (itself edited from two Sword of Vengeance films) or even a Kurosawa film. While Kurosawa is the true master of Samurai films, Hiroshi Inagaki’s films offer another and possibly darker look at the Edo era of Japan’s history.

Features

Languages: English(AC-3), French(SS)
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Sound: AC-3
Other Features: cast , prod. crew , biography , movie trailer , production notes
Sides: 1
DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

DETAILS
Criterion Collection (1954, 1955, 1956) Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki

Starring:
Toshiro Mifune, Rentario Mikuni, Kaoru Yachigusa