The boys from the Dwarf are back once again. Slightly older, slightly rounder, slightly less hair and slightly less funny, but back nonetheless.

Red Dwarf has been missing from TV screens for far too long and despite the constant rumours of a big screen outing it hasn’t really looked like returning. Despite the absence of a new series, movie or even a cartoon adaptation (hey, they’ve done that for everything else) Red Dwarf has been on cable almost every day on the TV channel Dave.

Dave is the channel that everyone loves to watch because it always shows the classic TV programs that entertain us, such as Top Gear, Mock the Week, QI and of course, Red Dwarf. Dave was called Dave because everyone (and this is a fact) has a friend called Dave… go on, think about it.

Now, while Red Dwarf became one of Dave’s most popular shows, and since the BBC showed no interest in bringing it back, Dave itself decided to commission a new three part episode of the classic Sci-Fi show.

The fans were in raptures.

Red Dwarf was originally a low budget, two man show about Dave Lister (Craig Charles) being stranded in space as the last man in existence. In order to keep him sane, the computer (Holly) brought his best friend/enemy Arnold J Rimmer (Chris Barrie) back to life as a hologram. The two men would spend their days arguing and getting on each other’s nerves as much as possible.

Then the Cat (Danny John-Jules) was introduced as a human/cat hybrid, followed by Kryten (later played by Robert Llewellyn) as the helpful android. As the show progressed the budget became bigger and the scope of the show increased. The series peaked around series 3 or 4 before starting to go downhill and become too self referential, pandering to the demands of the fans who wanted to see recurring characters such as the Cat’s alter ego Dwayne Dibley, and Rimmer’s more heroic counterpart, Ace Rimmer.

Eventually Chris Barrie left altogether, being replaced with Chloë Annett who, while being better to look at than Barrie, wasn’t as much fun on screen. The final series, series 8, reunited all of the cast in what was widely regarded as a great disappointment.

So what about Red Dwarf: Back to Earth? As expected, the magic of the earlier series of the show was never quite recaptured, but it was more enjoyable than the dire series 8. As Craig Charles now plies his trade on Coronation Street, having the Dwarfers shift into our reality and meet actors from Coronation Street was a stroke of genius. There were elements of Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero as Dave Lister came face to face with Craig Charles in the Rovers Return.

However, moments like these were few and far between, especially with the rather thick imagery of Blade Runner being ever present throughout the three parter before delving into movie parody at the conclusion.

As the special features showed, the effects were of great importance to the production, which is sad as the script writing is what always kept Red Dwarf apart from other shows at the time. The biting dialogue between two men who really despised each other is what fans of the show came to love, and this was sadly missing.

Back to Earth also suffered from being shot like a movie, rather than a TV series. This gave the feeling that you weren’t watching an episode of Red Dwarf at all, it was more like a high budget drama or piece of cinema. With too many cinematic shots, close ups and grand camera movements, the chance for the characters to play off each other was lost.

This was a great idea from Dave, and worth it for the scenes on Coronation Street, but next time give the fans what they need, not what they want.

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Damiel (Ganz) is an angel who listens in on the random thoughts of the citizens of Berlin. He is privy to their most trivial ruminations about life and themselves. He and his kind are able to move among humanity undetected except for small children who have yet to be jaded by life and can still see the world through innocent eyes. Damiel shares his daily observations with a fellow angel named Cassiel (Sander). At one point, Damiel tells his friend, “It’s wonderful to live as spirit and testify for all eternity to only what is spiritual in people’s minds.”

However, he yearns to experience the feelings and sensations that humans face on a regular basis – the every day things that most of us take for granted. Cassiel reminds Damiel that their job is to “do no more than look, gather, testify, verify, preserve … Keep the distance. Keep the word.” However, Damiel begins to seriously consider crossing over and become human when he falls in love with Marion (Dommartin), a lonely trapeze artist who longs for someone to “say a loving word to me.” He wants to be that person and is willing to sacrifice immortality for simple earthly pleasures and profound human feelings.

Bruno Ganz delivers an absolutely soulful performance with his very expressive face and, in particular, his eyes which convey so much empathy. You find yourself getting caught up in his desire to become human, all for the love of a woman.

Director of photography Henri Alekan photographs all of the scenes from the angels’ perspective in black and white while all of the scenes from the human perspective are in colour. This is a clever way of visually differentiating from what the angels experience and what we do. In addition, Wenders’ camera seemingly floats along like when it gracefully glides around a library where several angels observe humanity. It also flies over the city, providing a god’s eye view of Berlin as the angels watch over us.

Wings of Desire is Wenders’ masterpiece, a thoughtful meditation on what it is to be human. His film draws attention to the little things in life that we tend to forget about by presenting us with a character that cannot experience them. Wenders does this through a screenplay immersed in fascinating philosophical musings and complements them with absolutely stunning visuals that stay with you days after.

Special Features:

The first disc features an audio commentary that actually consists of excerpts of interviews with director Wim Wenders and actor Peter Falk over several years. Wenders talks about the origins of Wings of Desire – it was a return to his hometown of Berlin after spending eight years in the United States. He had planned to make another film but it was too complex and expensive. He had to come up with another idea and quick or the production company he had assembled would break up. This fascinating anecdote is only one of many engaging stories as the two men tell all kinds of filming tales. They do a good job of taking us through the making of this film.

Also included are the German theatrical trailer and an amusing “Wen Wunderts” promo trailer.

The second disc features the bulk of the extra material, starting off with “The Angels Among Us,” a 2003 documentary where key cast and crew members are interviewed. Wenders wanted to make a film about Berlin, the way he remembered it when he was young. Peter Handke talks about his unconventional approach to the script. For the two main angels, Wenders cast Bruno Ganz and Otto Sander based on their 20-year friendship and working relationship. Everyone speaks quite eloquently about their experiences making Wings of Desire.

“Cinema Cinemas” features an interview with Wenders from the February 17, 1987 episode of this French television program. We see Wenders at work on the set of Wings of Desire with his cast and crew shooting scenes from the film.

Also included are nine deleted scenes with commentary by Wenders and outtakes but only with music. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of footage of the angels observing humanity. The outtakes feature all sorts of beautiful shots of Berlin.

There is also a gallery of production design photographs that also highlight the film’s gorgeous art direction. Included are captions that comment on some of these stills.

Also included is an interview excerpt from an interview with director of photography Henri Alekan done in November 1985. He talks about the challenge of achieving the right tone and atmosphere in a film.

“Alekan la Lumiere” features excerpts from a 1985 documentary where Alekan talks to Wenders about his cinematic techniques. There is also footage of him at work.

Finally, there is an excerpt from Remembrance, a 1982 film directed by Ganz and Sander about actor Curt Bois who went on to appear in Wings of Desire.

The Sniper (1952) features Edward Miller (Franz), a lonely troubled man – a ticking time bomb ready to explode. He served time in the psycho ward of a prison for hitting a woman. Miller tries desperately to get help but no one will give him the time of day. He has trouble relating to women and takes out his frustration by shooting and killing them with his sniper rifle. Arthur Franz does an excellent job of playing a conflicted serial killer. You can see the inner turmoil all over his face and in some ways he’s kind of a tragic figure – a cinematic prototype for Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976).

In The Big Heat (1953), police detective David Bannion (Ford) investigates the suicide of a fellow officer who was ill. However, an ex-lover of the deceased tells Bannion that it wasn’t suicide. She soon winds up brutally murdered and despite pressure from his superiors, Bannion continues his investigation. He soon finds himself butting heads with a powerful gangster and his vicious henchman played by a young Lee Marvin. Glenn Ford is quite good as a loving family man and dedicated cop. Bannion is willing to pursue a case with single-minded determination despite all the obstacles thrown in his path. He’s also tough and more than capable of taking care of himself in a fight.

Based on a short story by Jack Finney (who wrote the book that Invasion of the Body Snatchers was based on), 5 Against the House (1955) features a quartet of Korean War veterans enjoying themselves on a gambling trip to Reno, Nevada. They goof around and have fun trying to pick up women. One of them, Al (Madison), has a girlfriend named Kay (Novak) who is a sultry nightclub singer and the film’s femme fatale. Another one of the group, Brick (Keith), becomes extremely violent when provoked – a byproduct of his experiences in the war – so you know he’s going to be trouble later on in the film. The quartet returns to college and the humdrum routine of the daily grind. The brainy one of their group devises a plan to rob one of the casinos in Reno for one million dollars. Of course, this being a film noir, it isn’t going to be that easy and the “perfect” plan begins to unravel.

Director Don Siegel wastes no time as The Lineup (1958) starts off with an exciting chase as a taxi cab driver tries to drive away with a stolen suitcase, runs over a cop and is shot and killed. Inside the case is a statuette containing $100,000 worth of heroin. The cops return the case to its owner in the hopes that he’ll lead them to a possible narcotics ring. Siegel does a good job showing us the process of a police investigation: inspecting the crime scene, questioning witnesses, the forensics lab and organizing line-ups of potential suspects. Eli Wallach plays Dancer, a sociopathic hitman who figures into the drug deal. He’s a consummate professional judging from the way he questions the driver of his car for the job at hand. The Lineup’s most memorable sequence is an exciting car chase that takes place on the then-unfinished Embarcadero Freeway in San Francisco and anticipates other intense chases in The French Connection (1974) and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985).

The last film in this set is Murder by Contract (1958). Claude (Edwards) moonlights as a hitman who doesn’t make mistakes. He’s pretty sure of himself and smart. He does a few jobs, saving up the money he makes to buy a house. Claude’s latest job takes him Los Angeles where he’s contracted to kill a woman who is set to testify against the mob. It’s the first time he’s had to kill a woman and his cool confidence is visibly shaken. She’s heavily guarded by the cops and Claude has to bide his time and pick his moment. Murder by Contract takes it time to show Claude’s methodical nature and how it is put to the test with this latest assignment.

Special Features:

The Sniper features an audio commentary by author Eddie Muller. He starts off talking about the origins of the film – a husband and wife writing team. He mentions that it was a very controversial film at the time because of its subject matter. Muller provides all kinds of fascinating production details, like how much of the film was shot on location in San Francisco. He explains that The Sniper is a landmark film because it was one of the first to prominently feature a serial killer.

“Martin Scorsese Presents The Sniper” features the legendary filmmaker talking about the documentary feel of the film thanks to the use of authentic locations.

Also included is an original theatrical trailer.

The Big Heat starts off with “Michael Mann on The Big Heat.” He speaks admiringly about the prominent female characters in the film. The director talks about the ethnic aspect of the film as well as the uncompromising nature of Glenn Ford’s character.

“Martin Scorsese on The Big Heat” features the director talking about how Ford’s character becomes what he’s fighting against. Scorsese draws particular attention to the flat look of the film and how director Fritz Lang directs us to the behaviour of the characters.

Also included is the original theatrical trailer.

The only extra for 5 Against the House is the original theatrical trailer.

The Lineup includes an audio commentary by author Eddie Muller and James Ellroy. Muller says that this film started off as a television show cut from the same cloth as Dragnet. He plays the straight man on this track, rattling off facts, while Ellroy is his usual colourful and profane self offering his bizarro opinions on this film. He sings the praises of Don Siegel’s more than capable direction. Fans of Ellroy will love this track as he gets to cut loose have some fun commenting on The Lineup.

“The Influence of Noir with Christopher Nolan” sees this respected director citing noir as an influence on his own work, most notably the psychological states of the characters, the atmosphere and the style in relation to the substance and how they all interact with one another.

Also included is the original theatrical trailer.

Murder by Contract features “Martin Scorsese on Murder by Contract.” He reminisces about when he first saw the film as a teenager and how it would later influence aspects of Taxi Driver. The director speaks admiringly of the “economy of means” – how Irving Lerner depicted the passing of time. Scorsese gives us a brief background to Lerner and talks about how he got to know and even work with him.

Finally, there is the original theatrical trailer.

A leftist politician (Montand) tries to organize a rally in a predominantly conservative country. He and his people have a hard time finding a venue because nobody wants the trouble that will inevitably follow them. Sure enough, on the night of the meeting, the police arrive in force along with all kinds of angry protesters. Things get ugly outside the venue and the politician is hit over the head by a protester en route to the rally. After giving a speech, he exits and is struck again. The police are quick to rule it an “accident” but the magistrate (Trintignant) is not convinced until he sees all the evidence and interviews all the witnesses.

The government delays telling him that they have a key witness in custody. Meanwhile, the politician is diagnosed as being clinically dead – his brain is no longer functioning even though his heart continues to work. An autopsy reveals that he was killed by a blow to the head from a weapon. The murder is subsequently retold from several different points-of-views as we get the backstory of many of the key participants.

Director Costa-Gavras employs a radical editing technique reminiscent of the French New Wave as he utilizes jump cuts, repetitive use of certain images, jarring inserts and indiscriminately cuts back and forth in time to create a fractured narrative much like Oliver Stone did later with JFK (1991). The retelling of the assassination from several different characters allows Gavras to present a much bigger picture that includes a government cover-up of a conspiracy to kill a politician that spoke out against the current regime’s policies.

The filmmaker also presents a diverse collection of characters that include an opportunistic journalist, two thuggish career criminals cum assassins, a no-nonsense magistrate, and a distraught politician’s wife. Gavras brilliantly shows how they all contribute to this complex narrative each with their own unique motivations. Z is also an engrossing thriller as the magistrate gradually pieces everything together. This film certainly paved the way for modern political thrillers like Traffic (2002) and Syriana (2005), demonstrating how it has remained relevant after all these years.

Special Features:

There is an audio commentary by film historian Peter Cowie. He points out that while not naming names, the screenplay for Z is a scathing commentary of the then-government of Greece, Costa-Gavras home country. Cowie talks about Z’s place within the context of political cinema in the 1960s. He also talks briefly about the Greek history that informed the events depicted in Gavras’ film. Cowie does a good job of giving brief bios of key cast members and how they got involved with Z. This is a very informative track with in-depth analysis.

“It’s Intentional: Costa-Gavras on Z” is a brand new interview with filmmaker made exclusively for this DVD. He views filmmaking as a form of activism and with Z he wanted to comment on post-World War II Greece. He talks about going to Paris to study as a young man and while there discovering cinema. He also touches upon the origins of Z.

“Raoul Coutard Shoots Z” is an interview with the film’s cinematographer who talks about how he came to work on the film and his impressions of Gavras’ working methods in comparison with someone like Jean-Luc Godard. He praises the cast, especially Yves Montand’s professionalism.

Author Vassilis Vassilikos talks about his book on which the film was based on. He also speaks at length about the assassination.

Gavras and actors Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jacques Perrin, and Jean-Louis Trintignant talk about the film. The actors speak about drew them to the film.

In another interview, Gavras, Perrin and Pierre Dux talk briefly about making the film. Gavras explains the meaning of the film’s title.

Finally, there is a trailer that is dynamically edited with excerpts of the film’s pulsating soundtrack.

Trailer

Featurette: Courteseans (bonus)

Pearls (film)

Sentiment (film)

Worth (film)

The setting is pre-World War I Paris, the belle époque era, and courtesan to the rich and famous Lea de Lonval (Pfeiffer) is thinking about retiring. Fred Peloux (Friend), also known as Cheri, is the rich but neglected son of Lea’s archrival, Charlotte (Bates). Cheri has turned 19 and developed all sorts of bad habits over the years because his mother was too busy plying her trade to raise him properly. Lea invites Cheri to her house in Normandy and they begin quite a passionate affair.

Lea teaches Cheri something about women and to grow up, while he gets her to do something she swore would never happen: fall in love. After six years of being together, Charlotte informs Lea that she is marrying off Cheri to a much younger woman for money, much to Lea’s chagrin. Even more surprisingly, Lea realizes that she does have a heart despite her best efforts over the years to keep it in check.

While Michelle Pfeiffer may not have had a mainstream hit in years, she has still been turning in strong performances and picking interesting projects, most notably White Oleander (2002). The one she gives in Cheri is her best since that film as she plays a character with a rich spectrum of emotions. Lea, with her years of experience as a courtesan, exudes confidence, much like Pfeiffer, with her years of acting experience, exudes confidence in this role. What is fascinating to watch is when the cracks of vulnerability begin to appear in Lea’s armour. She’s known Cheri since he was a child and has unconsciously developed an emotional attachment to him during the years of their affair. If she’s honest with herself, Lea does not want to grow old alone like many of her contemporaries who get together and reminisce about the good ol’ days.

As is customary with period dramas, the attention to detail – particularly the costumes and sets – is excellent, transporting us instantly to pre-World War I Paris. Christopher Hampton’s screenplay, adapted from two of Colette’s novels, is very intelligently written with very clever dialogue that the cast has a lot of fun delivering. Stephen Frears, the top notch journeyman director with a diverse body of work that includes films like The Grifters (1990) and High Fidelity (2000), does an excellent job telling the story and makes sure that the style of Cheri never distracts you from what is happening to the characters. He photographs the radiant Pfeiffer beautifully and gives her the room to demonstrate her impressive acting chops.

Special Features:

“The Making of Cheri” is standard press kit material. Frears and Hampton praise Colette’s writing. Hampton talks about how he got Frears interested in the project. The cast sing each other’s praises. The film’s production designer takes us on a mini-tour of one of the sets.

Also included are two deleted scenes that see Lea requesting a change in the look of her home and another one where Cheri and Lea bicker like an old married couple with him acting immature and her mothering him.

In the tradition of Robert Altman’s A Wedding (1978), Monsoon Wedding is a funny and poignant depiction of a traditional Punjabi wedding – an arranged marriage of an upper middle-class Indian family’s only daughter. Aditi (Das) has never met her future husband, is seeing a married television host on the side, and has a family life that can be best described as chaotic with all sorts of secrets threatening to surface. Her father (Shah) is freaking out over the unfinished floral decoration for the wedding. Aditi’s sister Ria (Shetty) knows about her affair and warns her sibling that she’s not ready to get married. The groom, Hemant (Dabas) looks as uncomfortable at the prospects of being married as much as Aditi does. Alice (Shome), the youngest daughter, finds herself attracted to the slightly wacky, yet smitten wedding planner (Raaz) who is always arguing with his mother on the phone.

Nair adopts a fly-on-the-wall approach to much of the film’s camerawork which creates the impression that we are eavesdropping on this family’s life, catching them during unguarded moments. It adds to the authenticity of how this family is depicted. They argue and complain with each other but at the end of the day they are united by love for one another. Sabrina Dhawan’s screenplay does a fantastic job of presenting an impressive collection of fully-realized characters with a full spectrum of emotions. It also shows the clash of cultures with the parents’ notions of a traditional, arranged marriage coming up against their children’s more modern attitudes. Nair draws naturalistic performances out of the entire cast – there’s not a false note among them and every character is given at least one moment to take center stage while never losing sight that they are part of an ensemble. It is quite a large cast but we are never trying to figure out who everyone is because each character, and the actor playing them, is so distinctive.

Monsoon Wedding provides fascinating insight into Indian culture and how a particular family functions, which is not unlike families everywhere else in the world. This gives the film a universal appeal, acting as an excellent introduction to a culture many are unfamiliar with.

Special Features:

The first disc features an audio commentary by director Mira Nair. She wanted to make a film in a short amount of time on a low budget with no movie stars, much like her debut film. She also wanted to make a film close to her heart. Nair talks about how she went about casting the ensemble with a mix of veteran actors and amateur ones. Due to time and money constraints, she adopted a guerrilla-style of filmmaking, working with what she had. Nair provides all kinds of wonderful insights into how Monsoon Wedding came together as well as Indian culture.

“The Laughing Club of India” is a 2000 documentary short film by Nair about the rise in popularity of laughing clubs in Bombay. The director gives an introduction where she talks about the origins of the film. This is a series of clubs where people meet and laugh together for 40 minutes. Nair says that the style of this doc. inspired her approach to Monsoon Wedding.

Nair interviews the film’s lead actor Naseeruddin Shah about his experiences working on the film. She had been a fan of his since she was 17 and always wanted to work with him. Shah talks about how he got into acting and really conveys a passion for it.

The film’s cinematographer Declan Quinn and production designer Stephanie Carroll are interviewed and talk about their contributions to the look of the film. They also share some filming anecdotes.

Also included is a very evocative theatrical trailer.

The second disc features seven short films by Nair that span the years 1982, with So Far From India, to 2008, with How Can It Be?, each with a video introduction by Nair.

Created by Eiji Tsuburaya, a special effects innovator who had a hand in the creation of Godzilla in 1954, Ultraman focuses on the adventures of the five-member Science Special Search Party of the International Science Police Organization. They are stationed in Japan investigating unusual phenomena while protecting Earth from alien invaders from outer space.

While investigating a UFO, deputy captain Shin Hayata’s (Kurobe) jet plane is taken out by a strange spherical object. Hayata’s unconscious body is enveloped by an alien red sphere where he is confronted by a being from the M78 nebula. The alien has been pursuing another extra-terrestrial known as Bemular, a “devilish monster who disturbs the peace of space.” The M78 nebula alien merges with Hayata so that when he is trouble he can transform into this powerful being known as Ultraman.

The show has fairly cheap production values, including shots of fighter jets that look like models right out the Thunderbirds, and stiff acting but this only adds to Ultraman’s charm. All of the episodes follow the same basic formula: a strange alien monster threatens Earth forcing Hayata to transform into Ultraman and stop it. There are also a lot of snazzy gizmos, cool weapons and neat vehicles that you couldn’t get enough of when you were a kid. The rubber-suited monsters evoke the ones made popular by the Godzilla films only on a much smaller budget. As a result, it is a lot of fun to see Ultraman slug it out with one of these things.

We’re Getting Married

Bloopers – Bonus Feature

Walk and Talk

Getting to the Boat

Take the Dog

Giving Thanks

Trailer