Video: Top Foreign & Indie Picks, September 15, 2010

Ajami. color. 2+ hrs. In Arabic & Hebrew w/English subtitles. Kino Intl. 2010. DVD UPC 738329067229. $29.95; Blu-ray UPC 738329070427. $34.95.
Four men living in an ethically divisive Israeli neighborhood find their fates intertwined after the killing of a teenage boy in wrongful retribution for the defensive shooting of a local extortionist. The laudable ambition of first-time directors Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani at times exceeds their talent for telling a coherent story in this multiple point-of-view, timeline-shifted picture, which was recently Oscar-nominated in the foreign-language race. For viewers undeterred by grim subject matter treated with diehard realism. Watch the Trailer

Black Narcissus. color. 101+ min. Criterion Collection, dist. by Image Entertainment. 1947. DVD ISBN 9781604653076; Blu-ray ISBN 9781604653083. $39.95.
Independent British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Stairway to Heaven) lavishly adapt Rumer Godden’s novel about a group of Anglican nuns who open a mission in the Himalayas. Deborah Kerr heads up a marvelous cast (Jean Simmons, Sabu, et al.) as the Mother Superior desperately coping with an inhospitable climate, cultural misunderstandings, and repressed desire. A deliriously atmospheric film with appeal for fans of cutting-edge classics. Watch the Trailer

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. color. 152 min. In Swedish w/English subtitles. Music Box Films. 2010. DVD UPC 705105743950. $29.95; Blu-ray UPC 705105742359. $34.95.
The first book in Stieg Larsson’s best-selling “Millennium” trilogy gets a kick-ass film adaptation, thanks in no small part to the casting of Noomi Rapace as punkish computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. Director Niels Arden Oplev makes the most of Larsson’s compelling character and her journalist-partner (Michael Nyqvist) in their tortuous pursuit of a long-missing woman who’s presumed murdered. With its share of squirm-inducing violence, this Girl is not for the squeamish. Essential for fans of the book as well as the uninitiated. Watch the Trailer

The Greatest. color. 100 min. National Entertainment Media. 2010. DVD ISBN 9781417212620; Blu-ray ISBN 9781417212637. $26.98.
After the death of their beloved son in a car accident, the distraught parents (Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan), as well as a younger brother, mourn in their own conflicting ways until his surviving girlfriend (Carey Mulligan) further complicates matters by turning up pregnant with no place to stay. In her feature-film debut, writer-director Shana Feste has scored a coup in assembling a stellar cast who help carry an uneven picture over some rough spots while offering insight into the grieving process. For a wide audience. Watch the Trailer

The Red Shoes. 2 discs. color. 134+ min. Criterion Collection, dist. by Image Entertainment. 1948. DVD ISBN 9781604652895; 1-disc Blu-ray ISBN 9781604652888. $39.95.
On the heels of Black Narcissus (see above), Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell reached their artistic peak with this tragic backstage musical drama about a ballet dancer (real-life ballerina Moira Shearer) at odds over her promising career and the composer who has become the love of her life. Renowned for its fantasy-laced signature dance sequence, this wonderful classic underwent exhaustive restoration of its three-strip Technicolor negatives, resulting in a reference-quality disc that will leave the movie’s many fans doing pirouettes. Watch the Trailer