by Michael Dequina
December 25, 2002
Yes, I'm Alive...
...so let's get to it...
Sweet Indulgence
Thanks a lot, Charlie Kaufman. Thanks to you and your superlative script for ADAPTATION., I and millions of others can no longer use writer's block as a valid excuse for the shittiness of our writing.
Leave it to Kaufman to turn what was intended to be a screenplay based on Susan Orlean's nonfiction book THE ORCHID THIEF into a story about his own difficulties in adapting the book. Furthermore, leave it to him, director Spike Jonze and Kaufman's own imaginary twin brother Donald--more on that later--to twist such a shameless indulgence into an incredibly clever and wildly entertaining ride that is perhaps a better film than any straight-ahead movie take of THE ORCHID THIEF ever could be.
ADAPTATION. (the period is part of the title) is at once more unusual and more conventional than Kaufman and Jonze's previous mindbender of a collaboration, the literal head trip that was BEING JOHN MALKOVICH. That this film focuses not on inexplicable portals into actors' brains but the down-to-earth difficulty of the writing task makes it a more accessible one by default; that said, this film is even more of an insular look into someone's head, with Kaufman going so far as to invent a polar opposite twin brother to illustrate his struggles on the screen. While the self-loathing artiste Charlie (Nicolas Cage) struggles to capture the essence of Orlean's poetic but decidedly uncinematic prose about orchid enthusiast John Laroche, brother Donald (also played by Cage) is having a far easier time with his own creative (in name only) writing endeavors, slavishly adhering to the structure guidelines set forth by screenwriting guru Robert McKee (played onscreen by Brian Cox) to come up with a thoroughly formulaic Tinseltown-ready thriller.
From this description, the film sounds like it's way too inside, but the inherently indulgent nature of the story is offset by Kaufman's smart, self-lascerating sense of humor and Jonze's inventive direction, not to mention the efforts of the cast. Cage pulls off the dual role without a hitch, and while Chris Cooper has been winning the most critical accolades and awards out of the cast as Laroche, doing just as well in a perhaps more difficult role is Meryl Streep, who plays Orlean. She (and, for that matter, Cooper) is mostly seen in vignettes taken from the book (yes, there is indeed some adaptation going on here), but the film's twists afford Streep an opportunity to display her dramatic and equally formidable comedic chops all at once.
The directions taken by those twists make ADAPTATION. even more divisive than it already is to begin with; it's all too easy to say that Kaufman and Jonze lose their way, and everything falls to pieces in the end. Far from it, I say. The pair know exactly where they are going, and the sheer bravado alone makes the film more alive and exciting than most films that have seen release this year. That they pull off the joke with such savvy hilarity (and, wisely, without so much as an obvious wink-wink, nudge-nudge to the audience) is just gravy.
TOWERS Above the Rest
Walking out of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING last December, my first thought was one of grudging admiration and muted anticipation for the next two films. Walking out of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, however, I was incapable of thought as I was blown away by this absolutely spectacular entertainment. With all of the necessary exposition given in the first film, director Peter Jackson wastes no time diving right into the action as the former fellowship is splintered into three units: the swashbuckling trio of Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies); ring-bearing hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood) and best friend Sam (Sean Astin); and captured hobbit buddies Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan). While the action ante is considerably upped in this installment, Jackson also digs deeper into the meat of the characters--most notably the all-digital yet fully-fleshed-out creature Gollum, superbly voiced by Andy Serkis. A funny, creepy and rather tragic figure, Gollum is a triumph of the impossible; not only is he a rare all-CGI character not to be an annoying caricature (Dobby the house elf, anyone? Or a certain nameless STAR WARS creature?), but even in a cast full of charismatic stars whose mere appearance is enough to make a capacity crowd break into applause (as was the case of the entrance of wizard Gandalf, once again played by Ian McKellen), he manages to steal the show.
And what a show it is. Not to discount the dramatic weight of the story and its characters, but THE TWO TOWERS is, above all else, a grand, epic spectacle. The climactic hour-long battle sequence may be a deviation from J.R.R. Tolkien's original text, but it satisfies as an integral part of the whole of the story and as a sheer kick-ass action extravaganza. A stunning technical achievement as well as a deeply rewarding drama, THE TWO TOWERS cements Jackson's in-progress LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy as a stunning cinematic achievement for the ages. Let the countdown for the third film, THE RETURN OF THE KING, begin.
Formula Done Well
One of the most ridiculous on-screen sights of 2002 is the "A Cruise/Wagner Production" credit that appears at the opening of NARC. Despite the spin coming out of Paramount Pictures, the only involvement superstar Tom had in Joe Carnahan's gritty cop thriller was convincing his home studio to buy the distribution rights from the film's true production company, Lions Gate. But if having the name of Hollywood's golden boy attached draws just one person who otherwise wouldn't watch a Jason Patric/Ray Liotta starrer, then it's all good. Not that Carnahan hasn't exactly bent, let alone rewritten, the rules of the traditional police procedural here. Patric plays an undercover officer who is called on to help a hard-ass veteran (Liotta) in his investigation of his ex-partner's murder. Corruption within the force is exposed; other things are not what they seem; Patric's wife wishes he would leave the dangerous lifestyle; yada yada yada. But the stylish conviction of Carnahan and his never-better leads--the electrifying Liotta especially--make this familiar yarn worth caring about, even if its messy issues and violence are a bit too tidily cleaned up in the end.
Not Without My Daughter
Tidy resolution and familiar story notwithstanding, at least there's some measure of suspense in NARC, unlike EVELYN, which is even more nakedly, transparently formulaic. The real-life story of Desmond Doyle, a single father of three who dared to fight the Irish government to regain custody of his daughter, is indeed one worth telling. But did director Bruce Beresford have to ratchet up the saccharine of an innately sentimental story? Apparently Desmond's (Pierce Brosnan) tear-jerking plight wasn't enough, as we have an older character who dispenses wisdom before croaking at a most inopportune moment, thus setting up what would be a most unfortunate--okay, downright ghastly--running bit where streaks of sunlight are called "angel rays." Lest the Emerald Isle setting be a bit too foreign to us Yanks, Paul Pender throws in some oh-so-comforting clichés, such as numerous scenes of Desmond and his buddies, in stereotypically Irish fashion, getting soused in sauce; not to mention of the little moppet that is Evelyn (Sophie Vavasseur) charming everyone she encounters with her spunk and precociousness. Brosnan breaks away from the Bond persona with minimal strain (though Julianna Margulies actually sports a more convincing brogue than her native Irish leading man as the token love interest), but as the film's producer he should have paid just as much attention whipping the material into shape.
Unfriendly Multiplex SPIDER Man
If there's one thing that can be said without any doubt regarding SPIDER, it's that it most certainly is not formulaic. Beyond that, David Cronenberg's psychodrama is simply confounding, which is both a good and a bad thing. As the title character, a mentally-ill man newly arrived at a halfway house, Ralph Fiennes delivers a performance so bizarre it's difficult to determine if he's absolutely brilliant or absolutely terrible; he never speaks a coherent word of English in the entire running time, instead muttering gibberish virtually nonstop. The story, as it is, is more or less a long string of flashbacks to Dennis "Spider" Cleg's troubled childhood, documenting how his seemingly happy home life with his father (Gabriel Byrne) and mother (Miranda Richardson) gradually, mysteriously unraveled. All of this unfolds at a sub-snail's pace that will test the patience of even the most openminded of moviegoers--especially considering that the film's final twist becomes clear long before it arrives. However, despite all of the frustrations that come with the journey, SPIDER's unsettling spell lingers after its conclusion, a tribute to Cronenberg's exceptional command of atmospherics, from the dank production design to the indelible performances of Fiennes (whatever it is he's doing, it's impossible to forget) and Richardson, who delivers a truly virtuoso turn.
Recipe-MAID Romance
The ads call MAID IN MANHATTAN "PRETTY WOMAN meets WORKING GIRL," and that description is accurate, but not entirely. The film is indeed a cross between those two films--but with all of the appeal drained out of it. This light, Cinderella-esque love story movie is so routine that just about everyone involved looks bored, including star Jennifer Lopez, whose usual magnetism is curiously low-wattage here as Marisa Ventura, a domestic at a posh Big Apple hotel. Naturally, Marisa's dreams are bigger than her Bronx upbringing as she one day hopes to the management suite, but in the meantime she's cleaning suites, including that of a rising politico (Ralph Fiennes, a long way from SPIDER) who falls for her. One small hitch: he thinks she's a guest at the hotel, for he first meets her while decked out in the designer duds of another guest (Natasha Richardson), a rich floozy on the prowl.
On the way up to the screening, a friend of mine and I randomly--and somewhat jokingly--speculated on the most clichéd plot developments that could possibly arise. And, sure enough, the film hit every hypothetical contrivance like clockwork, and supremely slumming director Wayne Wang sleepwalks through the paces. There are some isolated sparks here and there, mostly courtesy of a couple of stars turning in work that lends them adjectives one normally wouldn't associate with them: Fiennes is quite charming, and Richardson is often hilarious. Too bad it's in Lopez and her fairly tepid relationship with Fiennes that we're supposed to have the most interest and investment.
A Good Beat, and You Can Dance to It
The college marching band comedy/drama DRUMLINE is every bit the formulaic slice of shameless, youth-targeted manipulation that it appears to be--but if it works this well, who cares? Director Charles Stone III, whose last film was the urban drama PAID IN FULL, once again takes on overly familiar material and gives it an enthusiastic spin; I eagerly await the moment he's able to work on a real movie. The same applies to co-star Zoë Saldana, a reliable young actress too charming and charismatic to continue to be wasted in secondary roles such as her token love interest part here. The same can't be said for incessantly mugging lead Nick Cannon, who shows the limitations of Nickelodeon training as a talented but rebellious drummer. But it's not as if the audience buys a ticket for the acting or the predictable story, which more or less amounts to a prolonged countdown to the big band competition. What viewers come to see are those famously energetic displays of musicality, choreography, and creativity, and Stone delivers the goods in rousing, crowdpleasing style.
Lost Balance
How fitting that the long-shelved EQUILIBRIUM would be released the very same weekend as ADAPTATION., for it often appears that writer-director Kurt Wimmer's sci-fi yarn is hijacked by his phantom twin brother. This peculiar film is like two films in one, and before overzealous studio marketers use that as a pull quote, let me clarify that it's not a compliment. The movie's opening moments clearly illustrate the wild pendulum swings between polar opposite tones. A "utopian" future world where all feeling and its products (namely, art) is outlawed--as well as suppressed by a government-required drug--is introduced by an ominous narrator, with key phrases appearing as on-screen text. Mere minutes later, we see one of the law enforcers, one John Preston (Christian Bale) take out an entire room of baddies with his machine gun... while in complete darkness. Such a wide disconnect continues for the rest of the running time, with gravely serious dramatic scenes full of platitudes about feeling and freedom scored to a self-important organ-and-choir score followed immediately by Preston's superhumanly acrobatic, MATRIX-lifted derring-do accordingly set to the thumping electro-beats of rave-ready techno music. It's hard to care about the plight of Preston, who grows to see the evils of his society after he stops taking his daily drug dosages, when his newfound humanity and vulnerability is constantly contradicted by his superhuman way of killing rooms full people--without ever once getting a spot of blood on his clothes, let alone wounded. Who knew that a reunion of METROLAND stars Bale and Emily Watson (who plays a civilian "sense offender") could yield something so downright nutty?
Take THAT and Shove It
For a brief while, the ANALYZE THIS follow-up ANALYZE THAT seems like it's going to break that Hollywood scourge known as Sequelitis. The odd couple comic chemistry between Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal as, respectively, mobster Paul Vitti and his put-upon shrink Ben Sobel is very much intact, and that rapport promises to be taken in new directions when Paul is released from prison--under the condition that he remains in Ben's custody. Having Paul live under the same roof as Ben and his wife Laura (Lisa Kudrow) opens up a number of new comic opportunities, not to mention the possibility of a more substantial role for Kudrow, whose gifts were incredibly squandered in the original film. But those promises and possibilities prove to be just that as returning director Harold Ramis abandons the halfway-interesting directions after Paul becomes a consultant on a SOPRANOS-like television series. The plot then regresses to standard, tired mobster antics, and the only new wrinkles kept are the clunkers, such as the not-so-hilarious sight and sound of Paul belting out WEST SIDE STORY tunes. As is too often the case, the end credit outtake reel feels like a desperate bid to rescue the dud ending and make the moviegoers leave with a smile. Don't take the bait.
The EMPIRE Strikes Out
Even if you haven't seen any of the tell-all television spots, every beat of EMPIRE will look and sound familiar. After an energetic open that introduces the boundaries between the various drug trade regions in the Bronx, writer-director Franc. Reyes zeroes in on dealer Vic (John Leguizamo) and his formulaic efforts to go straight through business dealings with a rich investment banker (Peter Sarsgaard). Take a not-so-wild guess as to what happens next. Nice performances by Leguizamo, Sarsgaard and Isabella Rossellini (as a vivacious Colombian drug kingpin) keep the proceedings watchable, but the all-too-predictable story keeps the film short of being too worthwhile.
Sights Unseen
A fed-up Sandra Bullock gives boss Hugh Grant her TWO WEEKS NOTICE, which in Hollywood rom-com land can only mean one thing: true romance is afoot.
Viacom continues to multipurpose its Nickelodeon television animation properties with THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE, in which the titular family travels to Africa.
At the Video Store
Despite the presence of Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, K-19 THE WIDOWMAKER (Paramount Home Entertainment) not only was one of the year's biggest box office disappointments, but one of the largest commercial disasters of all time. Kathryn Bigelow's submarine thriller certainly isn't awful, but one wouldn't expect this fact-based story about a crisis on a Russian sub in the '60s to be quite so ... unthrilling. The DVD includes commentary by Bigelow and cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, an assortment of behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more.
The box office returns of MINORITY REPORT (DreamWorks Home Entertainment) lived up to the expectations set by its star pairing, Tom Cruise and director Steven Spielberg. The two-disc DVD edition of the (mostly) exciting and (sometimes) thought-provoking sci-fi action/mystery thriller has reportedly been in the making since pre-production began on the film two years ago, and as such the extras are extensive and comprehensive--behind the scenes documentaries, storyboards and concept art, production stills, and interviews with Cruise and Spielberg--though perhaps not as extensive nor as comprehensive as possible, for Spielberg, as usual, does not offer a feature-length commentary.
The third time proved to not be the charm--creatively, at least--for the shagadelic spy in AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER (New Line Home Entertainment), in which Austin (Mike Myers) once again faces off against Dr. Evil (Myers again), who has allied himself with a weird Swedish discothèque owner (Myers yet again) from the '70s. Nonetheless, the film was still one of the top box office draws of the summer, ensuring healthy sales for New Line's Infinifilm DVD, which includes deleted scenes, commentary by Myers and director Jay Roach, various behind-the-scenes documentaries, trailers and more.
A far less successful summer sequel was the dig-up-the-dead-horse-and-beat-it-some-more slasher franchise installment HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION (Dimension Home Video), in which another Mike Myers--the masked killer--attacks a reality show. Among the potential victims are Tyra Banks, Busta Rhymes, and, once again, Jamie Lee Curtis, apparently hurting for cash after losing the T-Mobile gig to Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Diane Lane may be a Golden Globe nominee for her performance--and indeed she does impress--but UNFAITHFUL (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is one of the best unintentional comedies in recent memory, a pretentious and laughably inept slab of overheated erotica in which a housewife (Lane) cheats on her husband (Richard Gere) with a skeevy Frenchman (Olivier Martinez). The DVD includes deleted scenes and commentary by Lyne.
Surely the most unusual animated feature to emerge from the Mouse house, LILO & STITCH (Walt Disney Home Entertainment) tells the warm yet raucous tale of the unlikely friendship that develops between a bratty Hawaiian girl and a genetically-engineered killing machine from an alien planet. A more extensive special edition DVD is in the works; in the meantime, a single-disc edition featuring deleted scenes, music videos (including--shudder--the A*Teens' frightening cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love") and games.
Less successful in capturing the family entertainment dollar this past summer was the mega-budget sequel STUART LITTLE 2 (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment). The seamless integration live action and computer animation is still impressive, but it's hard to get excited by the kids' play story, in which the talking, human-raised mouse (voiced by Michael J. Fox) befriends a canary (voiced by Melanie Griffith) with some secrets to hide. Griffith's one-time ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE co-star, James Woods, offers some amusement as the voice of an evil falcon. The DVD includes games, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and commentary by director Rob Minkoff.
Adults in the family should have a better time with the Disneyland attraction spinoff THE COUNTRY BEARS (Walt Disney Home Entertainment)--not necessarily because it's any good. This is a truly weird film, set in an alternate universe where animatronic bears are part of normal society and Christopher Walken makes raspberry noises with his armpits. Throw in random musical numbers--which, curiously, are largely not performed by the jamboree-ing Bears--and you got a midnight movie waiting to happen.
Hopefully the publicity surrounding ADAPTATION. and the upcoming CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND will draw some much-deserved attention to the other Charlie Kaufman-scripted film of the year, the insane comedy HUMAN NATURE (New Line Home Entertainment), which details the unusual romantic quadrangle that develops between an unnaturally hirsute author (Patricia Arquette), a scientist obsessed with teaching table manners to mice (Tim Robbins), his seductive French lab assistant (Miranda Otto), and a man (Rhys Ifans) raised as an animal. It's every bit as weird--and bizarrely funny--as it sounds.
Don't let the fact that HAPPY ACCIDENTS (MGM Home Entertainment) landed on Richard Roeper's Best of 2001 top ten list deter you from taking a chance on Brad Anderson's unusual but charming romantic comedy/fantasy in which an unlucky-in-love Marisa Tomei may have finally found her Mr. Right in Vincent D'Onofrio. One hitch: he claims he's a time traveler from the year 2470.
Another indie that had a barely-there theatrical release last year is the touching Australian romance INNOCENCE (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment), in which two now-elderly ex-lovers (Julia Blake and Charles Tingwell) rekindle the romance of their youth.
Just in time for the holiday season, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is finally releasing the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy on DVD exclusively in an affordable three-disc set filled with tons of extras, including deleted scenes, documentaries (including new interviews with star Michael J. Fox), and commentary by co-writer/producer Bob Gale on all three installments of director Robert Zemeckis' funny, smart, and wildly imaginative time travel comedy series: 1985's BACK TO THE FUTURE, 1989's BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II and 1990's BACK TO THE FUTURE III.
SWEPT AWAY doesn't arrive on video until February, but in the meantime MGM Home Entertainment has been kind (evil?) enough to issue Madonna's 1993 "erotic" disaster BODY OF EVIDENCE to sate anyone's bad movie fix until then. Willem Dafoe, Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer and--yes--Julianne Moore co-star.
And last and certainly least (yes, even below BODY OF EVIDENCE; at least that flick is enjoyable for the wrong reasons) is what you get when you mix Lil' Bow Wow and a pair of basketball shoes struck by lightning: the awful kiddie sports comedy known as LIKE MIKE (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment).
Access Bollywood
(made possible with the help of Eros Entertainment)
Blame it on Baz Luhrmann. Being an admirer of his MOULIN ROUGE! last year, I became interested in what was a strong influence on his Oscar-winning musical: Bollywood cinema, or popular Hindi films from the global movie capital that is India. Bollywood films are perhaps best known for two things: (1) their epic-sized running times, and (2) the inevitable inclusion of elaborate musical numbers, regardless of story or genre. That last quality undoubtedly lends Bollywood cinema a certain exotic novelty value for Western viewers--and, indeed, that unusual "everything as a musical" idea is perhaps what intrigued me the most. But after watching a few of the films in their entirety and not just random snippets of song and dance sequences, I've come to appreciate Bollywood films for something far beyond that novelty value: as a creative approach to cinema that is completely distinct from but no less artistically valid than traditional Hollywood moviemaking. So in my ongoing efforts to better acquaint myself and fellow film lovers with world cinema, I will on occasion spotlight a film emerging from the most prolific film industry on the planet.
Bollywood made a huge step toward mainstream recognition in the Western world when the lavish historical drama LAGAAN: ONCE UPON A TIME IN INDIA was one of the five nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award this March. While it is the first film of the traditional musical Bollywood mold to make the final Oscar cut, LAGAAN is remarkably Yank-accessible, from the presence of prominent British characters to its straight-out-of-Tinseltown underdog sports movie formula (never mind that the sport in question was cricket). It makes for an ideal "Bollywood for beginners" film, which is not meant to be taken dismissively. The film is a rousing entertainment with catchy music and terrific choreography; it's just that the Bollywood touches are made all the more palatable for the Western viewer through familiar, comfortable packaging.
India's official entry for the 2003 Foreign Language Film Oscar race, DEVDAS, is a more undiluted taste of Bollywood and, perhaps not so coincidentally, a far stronger film than last year's breakthrough entry. An adaptation of a famous and oft-filmed 1917 novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhye, Sanjay Leela Bansali's masterful film is full of the broad strokes characteristic of popular Indian cinema: some of the acting isn't exactly subtle; the comedic bits are sometimes overripe; the extreme drama is strictly befitting the prefix of "melo-"--and made all the more so, of course, by the musical sequences. But such hyperreality couldn't be more appropriate for this sweeping, operatic romance. As the film begins, the title character (Shahrukh Khan) returns to India after studying law in England, intending to rekindle his romance with childhood sweetheart Paro (Aishwarya Rai). She certainly eager to reciprocate, but less than eager to see these two soulmates share a life together is Devdas' family, who'd rather see him find a match more equal in social and financial station--thus setting into motion a series of events that proves to be destructive to all parties involved.
One doesn't need to know of DEVDAS' celebrated literary origins to recognize it as being an archetypal romantic tragedy of ROMEO AND JULIET proportions, and Bhansali literally spared no expense to make his version just as larger-than-life as the novel's legacy. At a budget of $15 million, it is the most expensive Bollywood film in history, and every last cent shows in every last inch of this lavish production. Binod Pradhan's stunning cinematography makes the bold colors of the opulent sets and the gorgeous period costumes even more ravishing to behold.
Undoubtedly the eye candy and hefty price tag played a part in the film getting tapped to premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival (though out of competition), but there's more to DEVDAS than extravagance; the emotion and passion of the story is felt just as strongly in every frame as the budget. Khan and Rai's chemistry is palpable from their first scene together, instantly creating a rooting interest in Devdas and Paro's coupledom. Apart, the pair create believable, fully fleshed-out people though Khan lays on his character's self-destructive streak a bit too thick at times. Better is Rai, who makes Paro's evolution from sheltered girl to mature woman quite compelling As courtesan Chandramukhi, Madhuri Dixit turns what could've been the throwaway third point in a triangle into a character just as complex and sympathetic as the other two.
And then, of course, there are the musical numbers, which intensify the gamut of emotions that run through the film. Dixit and Rai are excellent dancers, and their joint number, superbly choreographed and captured with bravura Busby Berkeley-style camera work, is an exhilarating highlight; on the flip side one has to be made of stone not to be moved by the heartbreaking pre-intermission duet between Devdas and Paro. Bhansali does hit a wrong note by stalling the tragic momentum with a late lighthearted number, but this minor stumble doesn't blunt the emotional impact of the finale.
DEVDAS opened in theatres around the globe in July, but it is still can be found on a few screens, including ones in the States. For those that are not in a Bollywood-friendly town, Eros Entertainment has recently released a beautifully packaged two-disc DVD edition of the film; the slim keep case, as well as an informative booklet and a postcard, are housed in a sturdy, book-like cardboard case. The anamorphic widescreen transfer of the feature film on disc one isn't quite so lovely as the packaging; the print exhibits some scratches and the subtitles (which, thankfully, are on the bottom black bar, so as to get a clearer view of the picture) have a strange tendency to sport quotation marks at random, but the flaws won't ruin one's enjoyment of the film. Disc two offers a wealth of supplemental material: a making-of documentary, footage from the premieres in Cannes and India; the film's (many) trailers and showreel; and a haphazard, completely context-free and unsubtitled assemblage of scenes from other films starring Khan, Rai and Dixit. Aside from the last feature, all of the extras are in English, making a nice capper to a film that should bring further Western attention to the Indian film industry.
[DEVDAS is now available for rental and purchase at Eros Entertainment's website.]
Looking Ahead...
Later this week, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, CHICAGO and THE HOURS, plus catch-up with other awards contenders already in release. Check out my "home" site, Mr. Brown's Movie Site, for my longer takes on older releases.
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