DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS
The Interrupters (Dogwoof): One of the best documentaries of recent years explores the work of CeaseFire, a program in Chicago which uses people with experience of violent crime in order to prevent it. Directed by Steve James, who made the landmark Hoop Dreams (1994), it was filmed over the course of a year in Chicago and focuses on three interrupters: Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra, who all have lives shaped by past violence on the streets. James skilfully weaves their stories with considerable insight and the film is filled with kind of human drama you don’t often see in features of TV documentaries. [Buy it on DVD] [Read our longer review here]
Come and See (Artificial Eye): One of the greatest war films ever made is this searing look at the Nazi occupation of Belarus during World War II. Directed by Elem Klimov in 1985, it tells the story of a young boy (Aleksey Kravchenko) trying to make sense of the unbelievable carnage around him, which is depicted with stunning technical skill and a raw power that few have since matched in the war genre. Perhaps the most lasting depiction of Nazi depravity ever committed to a feature film, it lingers long in the mind and was sadly the last film Klimov ever made before his death in 2003. [Buy it on DVD]
Brazil (20th Century Fox Home Ent.): Director Terry Gilliam’s finest film was this brilliant dystopian satire about a governmental worker (Jonathan Pryce) whose life gradually becomes a surreal bureaucratic nightmare after a mistake leads him to be associated with a terrorist (Robert De Niro). Filled with dark humour and some truly dazzling production design, life imitated art when the film itself became a victim of major studio bureaucracy when Universal wanted to shelve it. This is not the 142-minute Director’s Cut of previous DVD versions, but instead the 132-minute theatrical version of the film. [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD]
Salt of Life (Artificial Eye): Director Gianni De Gregorio returns after his charming Mid-August Lunch (2008) with a story about a house husband (played by himself) whose life is slipping by in a dull routine doing chores for his family and neighbours. But when an old friend persuades him to inject some pleasure into his life. Another charming film from a director with an astute eye for the comedy of everyday life. [Buy it on DVD]
ALSO OUT
Captain America – The First Avenger (Paramount Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Triple Play / Normal]
Dark Star (Fabulous Films) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Glee: The Concert Movie (20th Century Fox Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition + 2D Edition + DVD + Digital Copy]
How to Train Your Dragon (DreamWorks Animation) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition + 2D Edition + DVD – Triple Play]
Medea (BFI) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Megamind (DreamWorks Animation) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition + 2D Edition + DVD – Triple Play]
Monsters Vs Aliens (DreamWorks Animation) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition + 2D Edition + DVD – Triple Play]
One Eyed Jacks (Intergroove) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Scarface (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / + DVD and Digital Copy – Triple Play]
Shrek (DreamWorks Animation) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition + 2D Edition + DVD – Triple Play]
Shrek 2 (DreamWorks Animation) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition + 2D Edition + DVD – Triple Play]
Shrek the Third (DreamWorks Animation) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition + 2D Edition + DVD – Triple Play]
Shrek: Forever After – The Final Chapter (DreamWorks Animation) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition + 2D Edition + DVD – Triple Play]
The Borgias: Season 1 (Paramount Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal]
The Hangover: Part 2 (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal / Triple Play]
The Smurfs (Sony Pictures Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal / Triple Play / 3D Edition]
>ย Recent UK cinema releases
>ย The Best DVD & Blu-ray releases of 2010