Laserdiscs
scripts were usually treated to an uncredited polish by producer Nat Perrin, formerly a screenwriter for the Marx Brothers, which may explain how that Groucho-like, cigar-loving bon uivance crept into Astin’s performance. The running time listed above
does not include Side Two’s CAV supplement, which took us over two hours to read. Included is a large portion of Cox’s THE ADDAMS CHRONICLES (includ­ ing a magnificent foreword by Astin), containing well-written profiles of cartoonist Charles Addams and each of the cast members, including Blossom Rock (“Grandmama” was Jean­ ette MacDonald’s sister!). A par­ ticularly nice chapter is devoted to composer Vic Mizzy, who is given overdue tribute for creating not only the themes of THE ADDAMS FAMILY and GREEN ACRES, but the films of William Castle (THE NIGHT WALKER, THE SPIRIT IS WILLING) and Don Knotts (THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN). (While chuckling over an inside reference to the latter film—“and they even used Bon Ami!”—I felt in the presence of a real kindred spirit.) A com­ plete guide to all 64 episodes is
offered, as well as a list of Charles Addams’ published works, hun­ dreds of publicity photos (many in color), looks at various mer­ chandising tie-ins, a clip from Hanna-Barbera’s animated ver­ sion, and trailers for Paramount’s THE ADDAMS FAMILY (a Thanks­ giving teaser) andADDAMS FAM­ ILY VALUES— both of which attest to Christina Ricci’s in­ spired performance as Wednes­ day. (A frame appears to be missing between 32936 and 32937.) There is also a clip from a 1977 TV-movie reunion of the original cast members, HALLOW­ EEN WITH THE NEW ADDAMS FAMILY (filmed on color video­ tape); Cox prefaces the segment with effusive disdain, but the clip is apparently well-chosen, show­ ing off Astin, Jones and Cassidy at their best, and doesn’t seem worthy of the knocks that Cox bestows. Voyager has taken no steps to
translate Cox’s text to the disc medium, so the notes often refer to themselves as being read in a book. The structure of Cox’s book is replicated here in its entirety, from Astin’s foreword to the author’s final Acknowledge­ ments, which makes one wonder
exactly how much ofTHE ADDAMS CHRONICLES is contained in this self-sufficient “excerpt.” In other words, “Do I still need to buy the book, or do I already have it on disc?” Or, for that matter, “ If I already have the book, do I really need the disc?” It’s your call, but true ooky-
ologists won’t be able to live with­ out the commentaries exclusive to this volume.
ALADDIN
1992, Walt Disney #1662CS (CAV) D/S/SS/LB/CC/THX, $49.98, 91m 5s
This new CAV laserdisc of
ALADDIN—Disney’s first THX disc—is a remarkable achieve­ ment. When the film first opened in Christmas 1992, a friend whose opinion I value told me that see­ ing it was like having his senses cleansed and made new again. Catching up with the film last year on Disney’s fuzzy, mass-pro­ duced, rebate-laden, sell-through videocassette, it seemed to me an indistinct mass of derivative ingredients—a villain brazenly based on Conrad Veidt in THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940), a hero admittedly patterned on
his box of fireworks on one of the heads of a two-headed tortoise—the same one that would soon become a fixture on THE ADDAMS FAMILY TV series! Also, the trailer for John Woo’s THE YOUNG DRAGONS, found in
H
Voyager’s THE KILLER laserdisc supplementary section, uses music from Ennio Morricone’s score for Sergio Sollima’s excellent Spaghetti Western, THE BIG GUNDOWN [La resa de conti, 1966] starring Lee Van Cleef! “Nothing coarse about this flim!’’
—Pete Fitzgerald, Brookfield, CT 59
ERE ARE A COUPLE BITS OF TRIVIA, in case you haven’t spotted them already: On Side 1, Chapter 8/33:30-33 of . MGM/CIA’s THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO laserdisc, Dr. Lao places
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