Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 19th, 2005
Synopsis
All three of thiese films have previous been seen release on DVD (one quite some time ago,from the look of things), and they are of varying importance to Streisand’s career.
The most notable of the bunch is The Way We Were (1973). Directed by SydneyPollack, this charts the relationship of Streisand (fiery activist) and Robert Redford (writer in theF. Scott Fitzgerald mould) from their college days in the 1930s to their inevitable breakup in1950s Hollywood. Th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Few figures in our era have managed to polarize opinion so consistently and for so long ashas Fidel Castro. This portrait of the man is a (thankfully) non-hysterical approach to the subject,and presents thoughtful views from a wide range of participants, representing all kinds ofopinions. There are plenty of fascinating clips, including some footage of Castro when he visitedthe states BEFORE that 40-plus-year squabble began.
Audio
The sound quality ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., chair of Harvard’s Afro-American Studies, takes the pulse of BlackAmerica as he travels the country, interviewing the famous (Colini Powell, Morgan Freeman,Maya Angelou, and so on and so forth) and the everyday. The results are interesting indeed,though the interviews might perhaps have been a little more rigorous and a little less chummy.Still, an engaging, personal work.
Audio
The 2.0 track is perfectly serviceable for the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2005
Synopsis
The focus of this documentary is on the last few years of Martin Luther King’s life, as hisactivism moved beyond the struggle for civil rights to encompass the other progressive battlesof his era. There’s a real richness here in terms of documentary footage of the man himself andinterviews new and old with those who were close to him.
Audio
The dialogue here is crisp and clean, with no distortion, sibilance, or other such issues (I amreferring here,...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Taking as its starting point a course offered by Harvard professor Dr. Armand M. Nicholi(and his book of the same name), this is a debate between belief and skepticism. A round tableled by Nicholi bounces of a series of recreations of events from the lives of C.S. Lewis andSigmund Freud, and the two historical figures make their cases for their respective sides of theargument. At 225 minutes, this is a pretty involved undertaking. It attacks its subject withadmirable ambiti...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 16th, 2005
Synopsis
If you have any interest in this series, then a synopsis is surely unnecessary. I can’t imaginenew fans flocking in droves to this soggy material. Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) is thespunky former street urchin who is now the ward of lovable curmudgeon Henry (GeorgeGaynes). We follow Punky to school and elsewhere, and see her learn all sorts of life lessonsthrough what passes for humour. This is total pap, and a reminder of just how depressingly badthe sitcom form can b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 15th, 2005
Synopsis
In a fit of pique when Ann Miller dumps him as both dance partner and boyfriend, FredAstaire declares that he can find a new partner out of the first girl he sees, and he happens to pickbar singer Judy Garland. She turns out, of course, to be exactly the partner he should have had allalong, as they rise to fame.
Plot, in the case of this musical, is pretty much irrelevant -- but hell, they have to squeeze 17songs into a mere 103 minutes. There are plenty of favourit...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 15th, 2005
Synopsis
Krakatoa is about to erupt in one of the most gargantuan explosions in recorded history. Thisis an event that literally shook the world. However, that’s not good enough for this movie, whichpiles in a ludicrous plot that sees Captain Maximilian Schell is unknowingly taking his ship intothe jaws of danger on a quest for a sunken treasure of pearls. Along for the ride are a diver whoselungs are wrecked, Italian balloonists, troublesome prisoners, and so on. Cute kids and awful...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 14th, 2005
Synopsis
Fred Astaire plays a song-and-dance man who has seen better days, and is past his prime asfar as Hollywood is concerned. He arrives in New York to star in a new show written by two oldfriends (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant). The project is taken on by a pretentiousproducer/director/actor (Jack Buchanan), who brings in ballet dancer Cyd Charisse. Astaire andCharisse clash initially, and Buchanan is intent on turning the sprightly musical comedy into amodern version of Faus...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 13th, 2005
Synopsis
Welcome to the Lower East Side, where the high-rise apartments of the super-rich abut thetenements on the riverside. Here Joel McCrea, a poor would-be architect, is infatuated with richgirl Wendy Barrie, while poor girl Sylvia Sidney pines for him, all the while trying to save heryounger brother from a life of crime on the streets. Into the scene strides Humphrey Bogart as awanted killer, coming home to try to reconnect with his mother and an old flame. Intersectingwith the...
