NewDVDs
TOP
What Washington is watching
5
“Avatar”
1
(with Zoe Saldana, above)
“The Spy Next Door”
“Extraordinary Measures”
2 3
“Daybreakers” “Sherlock Holmes”
4 5
SOURCE: Redbox, for the week ended May 23.
‘Stagecoach’ still delivers the goods
by Jen Chaney
“Stagecoach” is one of those movies that most
film students feel obligated to watch. It was di- rector John Ford’s first western to feature sound, his first collaboration with John Wayne and the first appearance onscreen of the rocky, soon-to-be-iconic landscapes of Utah’s Monu- ment Valley. On top of all that, it’s considered one of the best westerns in cin- ematic history. But here’s the best rea- son to visit (or revisit) the 1939 horse-and-buggy ad- venture, out this week on
DVD and Blu-ray (both $39.95) from the Criteri- on Collection: More than 70 years since its re- lease, it is still a rollicking, flat-out great motion picture.
Although undeniably a western, “Stagecoach”
transcends the genre, as both a character study of the relationships among a socially mis- matched crew of stagecoach passengers and an action movie about their attempts to avoid the dangerous Geronimo and his Apache tribe. And that action, by the way, is impressive, even by to- day’s standards. Some moments may even look familiar: If you experience deja vu while watch- ing an Apache (played by legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt) slide on the ground between gal- loping horse hooves and the coach’s wildly spin- ning wheels, that may be because decades later Indiana Jones replicated the move in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” This latest version of “Stagecoach” looks de- cent enough on DVD but perhaps not as sharp as one might hope given the high-definition digital transfer touted on the DVD case. (Presumably the Wayne close-ups and gunfights look sharper on the Blu-ray version.) The extras are sub-
CRITERION COLLECTION
George Bancroft, left, John Wayne and Claire Trevor in “Stagecoach,” a combination action movie and character study of the relationships among a socially mismatched crew of passengers.
stantial enough, though some are more worthy than others. Ford fans will get a kick out of his often can-
tankerous behavior in an hour-long 1968 inter- view with British journalist Philip Jenkinson. All jowly in his mid-70s, with a cigar perpetually in hand, the director of such classics as “The Searchers” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Val- ance” barks at Jenkinson to repeat his questions. A similarly candid glimpse of Ford can be found in a brief collection of home-movie clips narrated by the filmmaker’s grandson Dan Ford. A featurette about stuntman Canutt, hosted by veteran stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, also
merits a look, as does Ford’s rarely seen “Buck- ing Broadway,” a 1917 silent film starring Harry Carey.
Other special features, including a 14-minute
interview with director Peter Bogdanovich, who seems to have made a career out of popping up on DVD extras, can probably be skipped. Ditto for the commentary track from western expert Jim Kitses. Kitses clearly knows what he’s talk- ing about, but he sounds as if he’s reading straight from a script. It doesn’t quite do justice to “Stagecoach,” which remains exciting no mat- ter how old it gets.
jen.chaney@
wpost.com
37
ALSO OF NOTE
DEAR JOHN
PG-13, 2010, $28.95; Blu-ray, $34.95
DUE TUESDAY
Alice in Wonderland
charms; the BBC
documentary Life
enthralls; but The Wolfman falls flat.
The basics: Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, this love story centers on the long-distance romance and love letters between a young soldier in the Middle East (Channing Tatum) and the girl he has known for all of two weeks (Amanda Seyfried). The lowdown: If you’ve never read one of Sparks’s novels or seen one of the movie adaptations, be warned: Expect a good cry, and have the tissues handy. Sure, “Dear John” is sentimental and pre- dictable, but Tatum and Seyfried make a charming couple. The extras: What the movie lacks in depth, the special features make up for in spades. Aside from the typical deleted scenes and outtakes, there are several engrossing featurettes, especially the one about transforming Charleston into a war zone, and the piece about Braeden Reed, the adorable autistic boy (not an actor) who plays an autistic character.
THE ROAD
R. 2009, $27.96; Blu-ray, $34.95
SCOTT GARFIELD/SONY SCREEN GEMS VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried face a long-distance relationship in “Dear John.”
6
ON WASHINGTONPOST.COM
More DVD reviews and information.
The basics: We’re never told what happened, pre- cisely, but in “The Road,” a cataclysm has turned the world into a post-apocalyptic hellscape where cannibalistic gangs roam the ash- and snow-cov- ered terrain while a Father (Viggo Mortensen) and his Son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) trek toward the poten- tial salvation of the Atlantic Coast. The lowdown: On screen, Cormac McCarthy’s nov- el offers little in the way of viewing pleasure. The ashen hues of gray and grayer create an over- whelming sense of despair that makes watching the journey more of a living room ordeal than any- thing you’d want to microwave popcorn for. Yet the suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. The extras: Commentary by director John Hillcoat provides needed levity, but deleted scenes provide little more than a glimpse of the cutting-room floor.
— Alex Baldinger, Amy Hitt
THE WASHINGTON POST • FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010
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