Video Reviews, September 15, 2010
Sep 15, 2010
fiction
Raffles: The Complete Collection. 4 discs. color. 726+ min. Christopher Hodson & Others, ITV Studios, dist. by Acorn Media, 888-870-8047; www.acornonline.com. 2010. DVD ISBN 9781598233891. $59.99. SDH subtitles. F
This 14-part series, originally broadcast in England in 1977, follows the adventures of novelist E.W. Hornung's A.J. Raffles, a Victorian gentleman of leisure. Raffles (Anthony Valentine) is known for his cricket skills and his charm at dinner parties, but his real talents lie in his expertise at relieving the wealthy of jewels and other prized possessions. Aided by his old school chum "Bunny" Manders (Christopher Strauli), an innocent with always good intentions, Raffles flits in and out of country homes, banquets, and balls, targeting the rich and pompous to "pay the bills" and occasionally because he just likes the challenge. Viewers will find themselves rooting for these two likable "bad guys." Extras include production notes. Contains partial nudity. The age of the series hasn't diminished the entertainment value; very suitable for public libraries where British drama of the Masterpiece variety is popular.—Joan Greenberg, Warminster, PA
Trial & Retribution. Set 4. 3 discs. color. 408+ min. Alex Pillai & others, La Plante Prods., dist. by Acorn Media, 888-870-8047; www.acornonline.com. 2010. DVD ISBN 9781598283907. $49.99. SDH subtitles. F
This hard-hitting series from producer Lynda La Plante, creator of Prime Suspect, is a complex take on the Law & Order format, where we follow a single crime from commission through trial. Split screens and supersaturated colors, along with black-and-white flashbacks, convey immediacy and the effects of the crime, the investigation, and the trial on all participants. Jaded DCS Mike Walker (David Hayman, in compelling performances) and DCI Roison Connor (Victoria Smurfit, who shines as the appealingly imperfect detective) head a strong ensemble cast in this never–aired–in–the–United States DVD set, working through three gripping cases: a racially charged rape and murder, the heart-wrenching death of an 18-month-old, and the double murder of a wealthy couple. Extras include photo galleries and cast filmographies. Considerably more graphic than U.S. TV fare, Trial & Retribution doesn't shy away from bloody crime scenes or salty language. Viewers with strong stomachs who go for intense police procedurals with layered plots will love this.—Charli Osborne, Oxford P.L., MI
arts & humanities
Craft in America. Season 2. color. 2 hrs. Nigel Noble & Daniel Seeger, Craft in America, dist. by PBS Home Video, shoppbs.org/education. 2009. DVD ISBN 9781608831166. $54.95. Closed-captioned.
Crafted Over Time. color. 88 min. Patrick Rosenkranz, Hand Crafted Prods., 503-241-8317; www.patrickrosenkranz.com. 2009. DVD UPC 885444284311. $19.95 + $5 s/h. crafts
In the outstanding Craft in America, viewers meet craftspeople from around the country and learn how they work. The DVD is divided into two programs. "Origins" introduces us to a North Carolina potter, a Santa Fe bead worker, and others, who employ local traditions and techniques to produce their stunning works. Part 2, "Process," takes us to various schools nationwide where young and old develop their skills, e.g., New York's 92nd Street Y. The PBS website has suggestions for classroom use. Inspirational.
Crafted Over Time also captures the work of a few artists who are still preserving fine craftsmanship, handing down their techniques, conventions, and tools from person to person, family member to family member. Profiles here include a harpsichord maker, a stone carver, a bookbinder who uses old-fashioned processes ("Gutenberg ruined everything"), a creator of handmade books, and a paper- and printmaker, among others. While we don't see the craft through to completion, we understand the painstaking detail, care, and love that go into each work. Both films are suitable for high school, college, and public library audiences, even for folks who don't consider themselves "crafty."—Joan Greenberg, Warminster, PA
Start Spinning: The Video. 2 discs. color. 144 min. Interweave, interweavestore.com. 2009. DVD ISBN 9781596682078. $34.99. crafts
This well-presented instructional DVD demonstrates how to spin fleece into yarn. While it is interesting for the viewer wanting to learn more about spinning, it is meant for the serious beginning student. Via a conversation between spinner Maggie Casey and Eunny Jang, editor of Interweave Knits magazine, the viewer learns about working with a wheel, carding or combing the wool (preparing it for spinning), and specific techniques such as spinning with worsted and from the fold. Most of the presentation features wool fiber, but there is a brief overview of fibers like bison, silk, cotton, and ramie as well. The production includes many close-ups of the parts of the process and moves slowly, making it easy to follow along. Casey is patient in answering and anticipating questions or problems. For public libraries with patrons interested in fiber arts.—Michele Lauer-Bader, Half Hollow Hills Community Lib., Dix Hills, NY
Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary. 2 discs. color. 328+ min. Pepita Ferrari, Natl. Film Bd. of Canada, www2.nfb.ca. 2009. DVD UPC 698193222561. $295. Public performance; home use Amazon.com $39.98. film
Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, Albert Maysles, and 35 other documentarians from around the world share their views on crafting nonfiction films in this satisfying addition to cinematic scholarship. Topics include choosing a career in documentary filmmaking, finding suitable and compelling topics and willing subjects, addressing ethical issues, overcoming technical challenges, using or avoiding music, and much more. The filmmakers explore the artistic dimensions of documentaries, but they also touch on the science of the genre, giving viewers a well-rounded impression of what it takes to translate true stories into convincing cinema. But this film features much more than mere interviews. Director Ferrari effectively employs brief but illuminating clips from the filmmakers' work to connect theory with practice, while demonstrating the range and quality of these contemporary chronicles. A generous second disc features additional interview footage as well as biographies and filmographies. Insightful and informative, this set is highly recommended for film school students, cinephiles, and budding documentarians.—Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia
Dobe and a Company of Heroes! color & b/w. 51 min. DVD ISBN 9780802611024; acad. libs. DVD ISBN 9780802611011.
Travel the Movie Trail. 30 min. DVD ISBN 9780802611000; acad. libs. DVD ISBN 9780802611017.
ea. vol: color & b/w. Tony Schweikle, dist. by National Film Network, 877-888-4395; www.nationalfilmnetwork.com. 2009. $21.95; acad. libs. $249.95. Public performance. film
These two productions share much in common, including clips, interviews, and photographs. In Dobe, Schweikle focuses on actor Harry Carey Jr. (b. 1921), aka Dobe, son of legendary silent Western star Harry Carey Sr. Lengthy interviews with Carey and his family offer some fun insights into the making of specific films, many of which starred John Wayne, e.g., 3 Godfathers and The Searchers. The first half of the film focuses mostly on Carey's personal traits as a good father, loving husband, and honorable friend. Regrettably, this section is not as compelling as the concluding section's stories about movies, actors, and directors. The film would have been better served by reversing the order of the content. Many well-known actors are interviewed, including Richard Widmark, Tom Selleck, and Hugh O'Brian. Production-wise, the film is a bit overlit, with some murky sound recording. Nonetheless, it offers an interesting glimpse into the making of Hollywood Westerns.
Travel the Movie Trail precedes Dobe and is also smoother and less amateurish than the latter film. Its structure holds up better, divided as it is into pieces on individual movies and the areas of the Midwest in which they were filmed. The clips are predominantly funny, though the many unidentified snippets will frustrate viewers. Still, because the focus here primarily is on locations, Travel the Movie Trail is less interesting than Dobe. While far from perfect, Dobe takes a historical look at the American Western via the remembrances and friends of an actor who was very much an integral part of the genre.—B. Allison Gray, Santa Barbara Lib. Syst., Goleta, CA
Between Resistance and Community: A Documentary About Long Island DIY Punk. color. 2+ hrs. Joe Carroll & Ben Holtzman, Cantankerous Titles, dist. by Microcosm Pub., www.microcosmpublishing.com. 2009. DVD UPC 656605742526. $12.99. music
Three young filmmakers make their auspicious debut with this intelligent document of the Long Island, NY, DIY ("do it yourself") punk scene circa the summer of 2001. What begins as a predictable tribute to earnest punk kids playing rowdy concerts in middle-class suburban basements and railing against commercialism and conformity becomes vitally interesting when the band On the Might of Princes gets courted by a large independent label. The young musicians must decide between pursuing a professional music career or remaining penniless and unknown outside their close-knit local community. Generous extras include poignant "where are they now?" interviews with a band that outgrew the basement scene and learned the realities of the music business and several female scenesters who explain how they felt ostracized and objectified at the male-dominated concerts. Gender dynamics could have been delved into more deeply, but otherwise this is an exhaustive exploration of contemporary punk culture and an inspiring celebration of boisterous music and youthful idealism. Highly recommended to anyone with a casual or academic interest in punk.—Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia
Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense. color. 96+ min. Michael Rivoira & others, Paradigm Studio, dist. by IndiePix, www.indiepixfilms.com; www.allaboutjazz.com. 2010. DVD UPC 845637000807. $24.95. MUSIC
In the pantheon of American cultural contributions, surely ranked near the top is jazz, an art form that continues to evolve as a reflection of the social and political environment, while keeping one foot firmly rooted in its rich tradition. Icons Among Us addresses the conflict among musical tradition, evolution, and revolution via interviews with players and critics across a wide spectrum, including musicians Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, and Esperanza Spalding. Jazz is a very big tent, and there seem to be as many definitions of the genre as there are performers. This film is an effective balance of old school and new school, jazz band and jam band, domestic and international, and it includes some terrific performances; Bill Frisell, in particular, shines. Extras include performances by the Donald Harrison Jr. Quartet, Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band, and the Roy Hargrove Quintet. Recommended for libraries where jazz fans congregate.—Bill Baars, Lake Oswego P.L., OR
The Golden Age of Television. 3 discs. b/w. 485 min. Sonny Fox Prods., dist. by Criterion Collection c/o Image Entertainment, www.criterion.com. 2009. DVD ISBN 9781604651782. $49.95. TV
The digital age changed everything—didn't it? This reviewer thought her new millennium senses would balk at these black-and-white teleplays from the 1950s; instead, these productions are simultaneously preserved in a time capsule precious and happily contemporary. Instead of a surfeit of stagey direction and death-crawl editing, these shows are lively and sparkling with excitement for the new medium of television, magically reflecting back our current enthusiasm for the latest in entertainment technology. Wireless 3-D Blu-ray is great, but it's nothing without artful performances and thoughtful scripts, and this set is chock-full of those. The video is very good viewed on a wide screen; interviews with the original actors, writers, and directors comprise the extras. Veteran TV watchers will enjoy seeing their old favorites when they were fresh and young. Other users will discover that a great story will always grab you.—Ellen Druda, Half Hollow Hills Community Lib., Dix Hills, NY
social scienceS
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill. 2 discs. color. 361+ min. James Cellan Jones, Thames Television, dist. by Acorn Media, 888-870-8047; www.acornonline.com. 2010. DVD ISBN 9781598284140. $49.99. biog
Originally produced in 1975 and aired on PBS, Jennie is the story of Winston Churchill's American mother, played by an effervescent Lee Remick, with Winston performed by a very well-cast Warren Clarke. The rebellious and ambitious Jennie led quite a life: she had many affairs, ran a hospital, wrote a book and a play, and was an avid supporter of first her husband's political career, then her son's. She lived life to the fullest and was cheerful and upbeat, despite being in a state of perpetual debt. The production appears a bit like a filmed theater piece, with the sound diminished when the actors turn their backs to the camera. Nonetheless, this award-winning program (for the film and for Remick's performance) presents a remarkable story. It was shot on location in many historic homes, including Blenheim Palace, and the costumes are terrific. Extras include a history of Blenheim. Recommended for most public libraries.—Julie Stump, Voorheesville P.L., NY
As Seen Through These Eyes. color. 70 min. Hilary Helstein, Menemsha Films and Parkchester Pictures, dist. by Passion River, 732-321-0711; www.passionriver.com. 2009. DVD UPC 705105545257. $29.95. hist
This striking documentary examines art produced by Jewish and Romani victims of the Holocaust. Maya Angelou provides the narration in a sometimes plodding but ultimately thoughtful and winning manner. The film includes interviews with surviving artists and a display of the art, often expressionist in nature, that survived or that has been produced since. At times, the program appears jumpy as it carries such a heavy load, and the interviews do not always segue or build upon one another in an intuitive fashion. But the stories are incredible, among them of artist Samuel Bak, a child prodigy of the Vilna ghetto, who somehow produced countless works, and Karl Stojka, a Romani who survived by being a messenger boy for the notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. This powerful film is recommended for libraries with strong Holocaust collections.—Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL
The Christians: The History of Christianity and Its Global Impact. 5 vols. color. 674+ min. Carlos Pasini & others, Athena, www.acornonline.com. 2009. DVD ISBN 9781598283051. $99.99. SDH subtitles. hist
Author and British quiz show host Bamber Gascoigne wrote and presents this 13-episode series, which his wife filmed. Together, they traveled to over 30 countries to demonstrate how a fringe group started by less-than-noble Jesus of Nazareth evolved into a world faith, a faith responsible for wars and atrocities as well as much of the globe's art and music and, despite advances in science, one that continues to flourish after 2000 years. Gascoigne's vast undertaking took several decades to complete. The program, which debuted on PBS in the 1980s, occasionally dates itself by Gascoigne's clothing and hair styles as well as with references to countries that have since changed names; however, age does not erode its outstanding quality. Packed with content, The Christians,with a bonus viewer's guide and an updated introduction, displays top-notch photography and technical quality. Highly recommended for most libraries.—Diane Kazlauskas, Univ. of North Florida, Jacksonville
Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times. color & b/w. 117 min. Peter Jones, Peter Jones Prods., dist. by PBS Home Video, shoppbs.org/education. 2009. DVD ISBN 9781608831043. $24.99. Closed-captioned. hist
Beginning in 1884, with Harrison Gray Otis, four generations of Chandlers did not so much shape Los Angeles as "invent" it. Their newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, was at the center of L.A.'s economic, industrial, transportation, political, social, and cultural development. Commentary by historians, cultural critics, and a host of others, including Chandler family members, reveal how the L.A. Times evolved from journalistic jingoism, anti-unionism, business boosterism, and staunch conservatism to a profitable, politically left-of-center, Pulitzer Prize–winning newspaper under the tutelage of Harrison's great-grandson Otis Chandler (1927–2006). During the nearly century-long dominance of the male Chandlers, Otis's mother, Dorothy (1901–97), emerged as a cultural arbiter, saving the Hollywood Bowl and establishing the Music Center. A long-simmering family feud eventually brought down the Times Mirror Company; in 2002, the L.A. Times was bought by the Chicago-based Tribune Company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008. This Emmy Award–winning documentary weaves expert commentary, still photos, and film footage into a fascinating narrative of the rise and fall of a publishing dynasty and with it the emergence of a great American city. General audiences will enjoy it alone, or in conjunction with the companion print volume by Bill Boyarsky (Angel City Pr., 2009).—Susan E. Annett, Santa Monica P.L., CA
Lioness. color. 81+ min. Meg McLagan & Daria Sommers, Room 11 Prods., dist. by Docurama c/o New Video, 800-314-8822; www.newvideo.com. 2009. DVD ISBN 9781422935927. $26.95. military studies
In 2003, American female support soldiers began doing body searches in Iraq with all-male units because of cultural prohibitions against men touching women. As a result, these women, called lionesses, were brought into combat situations although U.S. law forbids the use of women in combat. Five lionesses are featured here, along with commentary from members of their families, military commanders, and an expert on women in the military. The lionesses and commanders discuss the need for women to do the job as well as their lack of sufficient combat training. The women and their families address the effects of combat and how they are coping with the resulting psychological issues. There is an undertone of resentment in comments by the lionesses that their combat experiences have been relegated to the shadows. Still photos and video show the women in Iraq in April 2004, but most of the footage is of them at home with family or together at a 2006 reunion. Essential for anyone concerned about the role and consequences of American female soldiers in combat.—Lawrence R. Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA
science & teChnology
Asperger Syndrome at Work: Success Strategies for Employees and Employers. color. 103 min. Dan & Julie Coulter, Coulter Video, 336-794-0298; www.coultervideo.com. 2009. DVD UPC 884501224352. $39.99. health
Coulter Video has been very active in producing DVDs to support families and individuals with autism and Asperger syndrome (AS). The Coulters have a son with Asperger's, and Dan was recently diagnosed. Coulter introduces us to six adults with AS who are working in diverse occupations, including a veterinarian's assistant and a library page. Both the employees with AS and their supervisors comment on workplace skills, living accommodations, interpersonal relations, and the job search interview. Most interesting are the candid discussions about coping mechanisms people with AS use in order to be successful in the workplace. This excellent film would make a valuable reference tool with its well-designed menu that allows viewers to jump to specific sections. Strongly recommended for all public and business libraries; may be used successfully by both employees and employers.—Corey Seeman, Kresge Business Administration Lib., Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Dive into Yoga with Christine Martitz. color. 60+ min. Today Video, dist. by Victory Multimedia, 310-590-1388; sales@victorymultimedia.com. 2009. DVD ISBN 9781427632562. $29.95.
VariYoga™. Vol. 1: Warm Ups and Strengthening Sequences. color. 42½ min. Andrea Fournet & Bryan Fowler, VariYoga, www.variyoga.com. 2009. DVD UPC 884501121576. $24.95. health
Yoga DVD collection development is not an easy task, since many discs will not be appropriate for every audience. Yoga instructor Christine Martitz isn't exaggerating when she labels Dive into Yoga as "intermediate/advanced." Many of the poses demonstrated, such as headstand and shoulder stand, should only be attempted by those with significant yoga experience. Additionally, Martitz offers few, if any, safety tips, and the graphics and visuals are very distracting. Overall, this is not a well-produced class.
On the other hand, VariYoga is a perfect disc for any collection. It is brief yet demonstrates well simple and accessible Hatha yoga poses. The production quality is a bit rough, but a practitioner at any level will enjoy the class. VariYoga is recommended for all libraries, especially in communities that have a strong interest in therapeutic exercise; Dive into Yoga is recommended only for comprehensive yoga collections.—Manya Shorr, Sacramento P.L., CA
Locavore: Local Diet, Healthy Planet. color. 103 min. Living Farm, 870-527-6221; www.locavoremovie.com. 2009. DVD UPC 884501192576. $20; public performance $25 + $4.50 s/h. HEALTH
This excellent documentary has a convincing message: eating locally is healthier both for people and the environment. Featuring interviews with farmers, scientists, and dedicated local eaters, the film also educates viewers on shopping for local foods, establishing a garden, and the economy of supporting local farms. There is a plethora of scenes from large and small farms in which baby animals abound. Visually, the program is incredibly beautiful. The uplifting content focuses on the positives of local eating rather than the negatives of a more global grocery store diet. Recommended for YAs and older audiences interested in personal and global health.—Claire A. Moitra, Providence
