{"id":5641,"date":"2009-05-18T16:09:40","date_gmt":"2009-05-18T15:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=5641"},"modified":"2009-05-18T16:10:33","modified_gmt":"2009-05-18T15:10:33","slug":"uk-dvd-releases-monday-18th-may-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2009\/05\/18\/uk-dvd-releases-monday-18th-may-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"UK DVD Releases: Monday 18th May 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"UK<\/a><\/p>\n

DVD PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Frost\/Nixon<\/a><\/strong> (Universal):\u00a0When I first saw\u00a0Peter Morgan\u2019s stage play<\/a>about\u00a0David Frost\u2019s famous interviews with Richard Nixon in 1977<\/a>, I remember wondering what a film adaptation might look like.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although the hiring of\u00a0Ron Howard<\/a>\u00a0to direct might have raised some eyebrows, to his credit he not only kept the two lead actors from the production (Michael Sheen<\/a>\u00a0as Frost and\u00a0Frank Langella<\/a>\u00a0as Nixon) but also managed preserve the essential drama at the heart of the story and keep as faithful to it as possible.<\/p>\n

For those of you unfamiliar with the background, Peter Morgan (who has become an expert in dramatising modern history scripting\u00a0The Queen<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Last King of Scotland<\/a>) created a play which explored the tensions behind Frost pursuing and then conducting Nixon\u2019s first TV interviews since resigning in disgrace over the Watergate scandal.<\/p>\n

What makes it so absorbing is the clash of two very different characters who for different reasons had a lot at stake: Frost was desperate to re-establish himself in America, whilst Nixon was keen to rebuild his shattered political reputation.\u00a0Technically, both lead performances are superb and after two years on stage together the chemistry between Sheen and Langella is magnetic.<\/p>\n

The supporting cast is very solid with\u00a0Rebecca Hall,\u00a0Toby Jones,\u00a0Matthew Macfadyen,\u00a0Kevin Bacon,\u00a0Oliver Platt\u00a0and\u00a0Sam Rockwell all making fine contributions in key roles.\u00a0Perhaps the most striking aspect of the film is how it manages to be both a fascinating slice of history garnished with some fine period design yet also finds a way of commenting on the current concerns about US politics.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It also poses a fascinating question: will President Bush ever come out with the same anguished\u00a0mea culpa<\/em>\u00a0that Nixon delivered in these interviews?<\/p>\n

Given that it didn’t perform as well as it might have done at the box office, it is definitely worth checking out on DVD if you missed it earlier in the year.<\/p>\n

Extras on the regular DVD<\/a><\/strong> include:<\/p>\n