FAMILY GUY VOLUME FOUR SEASON FIVE
Fox Home Entertainment

Is Family Guy worth it? I find the show often funny, but just as often degrading- settling to make the obvious points that it makes by dragging my mind through the muck. The Simpsons and King of the Hill are twice as smart and usually more entertaining in my opinion. Unlike Futurama, which started out as simply coarse and grew into a character driven ensemble, Family Guy has never quite risen up to its promise. And its humor has never risen above the level of the locker room. C.S. Lewis said that some people joke about sex so they can talk about sex. I’m all for talking about sex but if you’re going to carelessly joke about it ad nauseum don’t expect me to hang around long especially since I long ago figured out that all that the locker room is where people disguise their prejudices and selfishness, sexual or otherwise. Guilty pleasure? How about just guilty?

I’m sure there’s another take on this but I’m not the one to give it. Fans will appreciate Deleted Scenes, an Optional Uncensored Audio Track and three featurettes, “A Director's Life: Debunking the Myth" "Peter Shin Draws Stewie" and "A Tour of the Family Guy Offices" featurette.

JOYEUX NOEL
Sony Pictures Classics

This will definitely be watched around Christimas time at my house. But really Joyeux Noel is fine film for any season. Its lovely premise is built around a “true story.” Of course we all know better don’t we? But this is a film that takes such saccharin charms and melds them to visually dramatic in a way that makes them utterly convincing. In the trenches of World War I all sides simultaneously and spontaneously declare a truce on Christmas Eve. I don’t know much about the historical particulars but I found Joyeux Noel that rarest among the rare- a very big little film with as much heart and humanity as sweep and spectacle. Special features here include Audio Commentary with writer/director Christian Carion and an interview with same.

CLEAN SHAVEN
The Criterion Collection

Less is more especially in the hands of Lodge Kerrigan. I had avoided Clean Shaven for a while as I’d often heard it compared to films like Gaspar Noes, I Stand Alone but I think a more apt comparison is with the also disturbing original version of The Vanishing. Both Shaven and Vanishing contain their force through understated narrative sneaking up on the viewer, holding their secrets until almost the very end. And yet they offer not so much twist endings as endings designed to send us on an even deeper journey within the twisted souls of their main characters- men lost in the mazes of their own minds.

Clean Shaven offers the underused Peter Greene, known mostly because of jhis role as the villain in The Mask and for a small part in The Usual Suspects, as a recently released mental patient who is desperate to recover a daughter removed from his custody years ago. Throughout his journey we are made keenly aware of his painful reaction to the lights and noises that overwhelm him and that most of us take for granted as part of our day to day lives.

The extras on this release are outstanding; commentary featuring Steven Soderbergh interviewing director Lodge Kerrigan, an excellent video essay "A Subjective Assault: Lodge Kerrigan's Clean, Shaven" - written and narrated by critic Michael Atkinson and the film's soundtrack and selections from the film's final sound design (MP3 downloads). You also get the trailer and a booklet with a new essay by Dennis Lim which examines Kerrigan’s fascination with the inner life of his characters.

HANDS OVER THE CITY
The Criterion Collection

I always happy to see Criterion put out an edition of a known quantity. But I love finding new gems through them even more. Hands Over The City by director Francesco Rosi, but stars Rod Steiger- a favorite actor who’s force of personality and versatility truly rank him as one of the greats. If you don’t believe me then check out his performance in diverse movies like The Loved One and American Gothic and compare them with his roles in On The Waterfront or this film. Living in an inner city community I was already interested in this story about a scheming land developer’s lethal manipulation of power and politics. Over the years one such person after another has attempted to our Northside Chicago neighborhood from a vibrant diverse community full of small business into yet another bland conglomeration of condos and strip malls. Homelessness? Building safety? How much money ya got? Who owes poli-favors to who? This story tells of a series similar sad events that devastate a neighborhood in Naples.

This is a new favorite and it comes packed with extras Neapolitan Diary (1992), Rosi’s feature-length sequel to Hands Over the City, New video interviews with director Francesco Rosi, film critic Tullio Kezich, and filmmaker Jean-Pierre Gorin. Video discussion with Rosi, co-writer Raffaele La Capria, and film critic Michel Ciment
Booklet with a new essay by film critic Stuart Klawans and a 2003 interview with Rosi.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Paramount Home Entertainment

If this film wasn’t so darned disquieting it would be easy to dismiss it as the modern day equivalent of The Late Great Planet Earth but it smacks more of a visual (less literate) version of Rachel Carson styled cautionary tale ala The Silent Spring. But such comparisons would miss the point anyway and the point is that while opinions are divided among us rank and file as to the politics of the issue of Global Warming there is very little debate among the scientists most responsible for keeping us informed of the effects. This should be required viewing in schools but most importantly in boardrooms.

Besides the meh music video from Melissa Etheridge you get commentary by director Davis Guggenheim, Commentary by producers Laurie David, Lawrence Bender, Scott Z. Burns, and Lesley Chilcott, a featurette titled "The Making of An Inconvenient Truth" And best of all "An Update with Former Vice-President Al Gore" which shows the impact of Global Warming on the environment since the film was released.

ANDY WARHOL
Paramount Home Entertainment

I’m in the middle of reading Midnight Movies by J. Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum. Great book, especially the section covering Warhol’s entrance and dominion of the underground cinema of the seventies. It’s really whetted my appetite for more info on the man that once filmed the Empire State Building dead on for about 24 hours. Popcorn anybody? This doc about Warhol is clocking in at four hours! Even my appetite is likely to be sated. There are no extras offered here which is a shame. A gallery should have seemed de riguer. But oh well. This doc is really, really interesting whether you know a lot about the man and his times or are just coming on the scene for the first time. I highly recommend it.

STAR TREK THE ANIMATED SERIES
Paramount Home Entertainment

Man was I glad to get this. Quibble all you want over whether the information in these episodes is truly part of the Trekverse I think a bigger issue is knowing whre to put it on the shelf. The handsome packaging demands to be set next to your original series episodes. Yet the cheese factor demands it be set next to the Superfriends. Oh well it’s a nice problem to have. So is finding the time to watch 3 ½ hours of special features on top of the original series 22 episodes. Text and audio commentaries and a variety of featurettes made me a very happy space camper indeed.

THE FALLEN IDOL
The Criterion Collection

The Fallen Idol is simply one of the most eloquent films I've ever seen about how children enter into the nasty business of learning to be "adult" about such matters as honesty and empathy. Showcasing director Carol Reed and actor Ralph Richardson at the height of their powers The Fallen Idol tells the story of a small boy whose unwavering faith in the family butler is shattered when the man is accused of murder. Belittled for telling the truth and for lying to protect his friend he tries vainly to understand the shadowy world of adult dishonesties and white lies.

You get a good number of extras here including a new transfer of the film. But by far the best is "A Sense of Carol Reed," a 2006 documentary, featuring interviews with director Carol Reed's friends and collaborators that delves deeply into one of the 20th Century's most important film careers. Also an Illustrated Reed filmography
Original press book and a booklet including new essays by Geoffrey O'Brien, David Lodge, and Nicholas Wapshott, as well as "The Basement Room," the Graham Greene short story on which the film is based