MUSICALS GALORE:















Not only was it Julie Andrews day recently in Chicago but it’s Julie Andrews Special Edition time for many of her
movies.  Up first, of course, is
The Sound of Music (1965) in a two-disc edition of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic
that celebrates the 40th year of the film.  Can it really be that long since Julie, Christopher Plummer and all those
kids dressed in clothes she made out of the curtains harmonized so sweetly?  Aside from a gorgeous re-master of the
film (it’s never looked better) there’s tons of Julie (she introduces the film, reunites with Plummer, participates in a
new documentary and offers commentary, etc.) and a cute featurette on the Sing-a-Long sensation that’s oh so gay
(rightly so).  To cap things off, this version adds subtitles to the musical numbers so you can have your own sing-a-
long at home.

Paramount has also released a special edition of
Darling Lili (1970), the big flop Mata Hari type spy musical that
paired Julie with Rock Hudson Rock (it was also the inspiration for  the film
S.O.B. in which (gasp!) Julie appeared
topless).  The film’s harsh reputation is undeserved – it’s got some beautiful songs by Henry Mancini (“Whistling in
the Dark” was Oscar nominated), gorgeous Rock in manly mode and though a mite long (okay – much too long), has
an offbeat charm.  This disc contains a whopping 1 hour of deleted scenes.

Rodgers & Hammerstein have two more classics in special anniversary releases in two-disc versions:
Oklahoma
(1955) and
State Fair (1945 AND 1962).  Both these are must haves for any serious fan of the musical genre.  I
can't say enough about the sublime casting of
Oklahoma – from R&H discovery Shirley Jones as Laurie, Gordon
MacRae perhaps the perfect Curly, Charlotte Greenwood as Aunt Eller and Gloria Grahame sweetly sexy as the minx
Ado Annie, the girl who just “kent say no.”  Simultaneous versions were shot in Cinemascope (which I prefer) and
Todd-AO and both are included (along with the sing-a-long subtitles) in this 50th anniversary edition.  I wish a new
“making of documentary” had been added, however – though that’s a minor complaint.  I still think this is the
greatest of the R&H shows (and best movie) – with every song and dance (by the glorious Agnes DeMille) proof of
that.  I like the film’s deliberate, easy going pace.  

The 60th anniversary edition of
State Fair gives us both the Jeanne Crain-Dana Andrews (with that beautiful 1940s
era Technicolor) and it’s 1962 remake (with the unbelievably sexy Pat Boone – yes, Pat Boone and hellcat hussy
deluxe Ann Margret and Bobby Darin).  Both films have their charms (Crain’s dubbed version of “It Might As Well Be
Spring” is very sweet in the earlier while Margret rips the roof off in her solo numbers in the latter) and this one has
a great making of documentary that covers both films (and an earlier, non-musical version).
GAY AND GAY RELATED CINEMA:
















I think über queer filmmaker Greg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, recently released by TLA, has the most heartbreaking
final scene of the year.  The beautifully shot and dreamily scored movie that precedes it is tough going in its horrific
look at child abuse and its long term affects on its victims are made all the more painful by a great cast headed by
Joseph Gordon Leavitt.  For those looking for something intense and serious this is the thought provoking film for
you.  A nice assortment of extras on the disc as well.

The multitude of characters that are featured, Robert Altman style, in
Happy Endings find anything but that.  This
trippy little black comedy-drama from out writer-director Don Roos follows a loosely interconnected group (including
both a gay and lesbian couple) and has a cast headed by Lisa Kudrow (who turns in an excellent performance), Jesse
Bradford, Maggie Gyllenhaal and in a surprise twist, Tom Arnold.  Fans of Roos’ film
The Opposite of Sex (I’m a big
one) will appreciate this complex character study.  Deleted scenes, director’s commentary, etc. are added to the
disc., out now from Lions Gate.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from Warners Home video isn’t exactly gay, suggestions that Johnny Depp’s
performance in the leading role was Michael Jackson inspired, aside.  But though Depp’s work here gives one a bit of
a toothache otherwise this sugar rush of a movie is Tim Burton’s most satisfying work since
Edward Scissorhands.  I
recommend the two-disc version as it includes interesting behind the scenes docs on the eye-popping scenic design
of the movie and a nice feature on the book’s writer, the mad literary genius Roald Dahl.  And collectors will love
those one of a kind trading cards.  Read my original review
HERE.
FOR THE CLASSIC MOVIE QUEENS:
















As the Fox Studio Classics series continues on DVD (there are now 30-some titles) the studio is digging ever deeper
into their vaults and bringing out lesser known films along with their name recognition releases.  Such is the case
with the three new titles to the series.  Stanley Donen's masterpiece of a marriage in the midst of trouble,
Two For
The Road (1967) is a must have for Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney fans and is the showy release.  Indeed, with
its brittle script with its sharp observations of a bourgeois couple examined through a series of European vacations
over the course of their relationship, there is much to admire in the film.  The segment with the brat child and her
indulgent parents, Eleanor Bron and William Daniels resonates and there is the jaw dropping beauty of Jacqueline
Bisset who plays an understandable distraction for Finney as the husband.  Henry Mancini also contributes one of his
signature themes and a lush backing score.  The transfer looks beautiful (and a restoration comparison to prove that
is included) and Donen's commentary is full of fun detail (Hepburn was terrified of water and had to be coaxed into
being tossed into the pool -- twice, no less).  Hepburn is never less than charming and Finney is at the height of his
physical appeal here.  Though it's a touch chilly, for romantic sophisticates this is a clear choice.

The Rains Came (1939) follows in the footsteps of other classic blockbuster films that set romance against the
backdrop of destructive disasters like
San Francisco and In Old Chicago that had been hugely successful.  Fox found
a follow-up to
In Old Chicago (1938) which focused on the Chicago earthquake with Louis Bromfield's novel "The
Rains Came."  They borrowed Myrna Loy from MGM (soon to be crowned the Queen of Hollywood) to play a bored
English Lady and paired her with their breathtakingly handsome (and bisexual) leading male star, Tyrone Power as a
selfless Doctor and plunked them down in exotic India.  There the two, aided by the largely forgotten (but terrific)
second tier star George Brent as a drunken rake turned nobleman and an expert supporting cast (it includes
everyone from Nigel Bruce to Maria Ouspenskaya) enacted a sort of love triangle in which the disaster (both an
earthquake and flood) arrive at the midpoint.  The special effects department worked overtime (and won the Oscar
-- no small feat in a year that numbered
Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz among the competition).  This is
a lavish, old fashioned epic that is highly entertaining.  The disc includes a competing commentary from two film
historians and the original trailer.

The final release from Fox is the delightful hokum
Orchestra Wives (1942) in which sweet, innocent Ann Rutherford
gets in over her head when she impulsively marries the mega hunk George Montgomery, a trumpet player in the
"George Morrison Big Band" (aka Glenn Miller's band) and immediately goes on tour with her new husband and the
other musician's impossibly bitchy wives and the conniving big band singer (Lynn Bari).  Other band members are
played by Ceasar Romero and Jackie Gleason (!).  Though the silly plot is merely an excuse for an endless succession
of hot big band numbers (including the Oscar nominated "I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo" and the red hot "At Last" --
both written for the film), director Archie Mayo keeps things moving and Rutherford's earnest performance helps in
the believability department.  The sequence at the outdoor dance in which "At Last" is introduced and finds
Rutherford and Montgomery falling for each other is the height of studio artifice.  Again, a commentary track and the
film's trailer are included.

Finally, Paramount's
War of the Worlds (Special Collector's Edition) (1953) is an obvious choice for sci-fi fans.  
Though I certainly admired the intensity of the remake (here's a
link to my original review) the Gene Barry-Ann
Robinson version is the one I grew up with and it holds a special place in my heart.  Hearing that horrible
machine-like sound that they created for the roving "eye" of the death rays brings back all the scary, creep show fun.
The transfer looks great and there's a nice making of documentary that features both the stars and lots of interesting
technical information.  Both editions would make a GREAT double feature gift.
Knight at the Movies ARCHIVES
Big Screen/Little Screens:
Aeon Flux, Aeon Flux: the Complete Animated Collection
and other
Holiday DVD Gift Suggestions
Expanded Edition of 11-30-05 Knight at the Movies/Windy City Times column
by Richard Knight, Jr.


























Charlize Theron makes her bid for action star in Aeon Flux, the feature version of the futuristic, cutting edge
animation series that ran for two seasons on MTV back in the mid-90s.  The film (which opens this weekend)
wasn't screened for the critics (never a good sign) and bloggers are already calling this Theron’s
Catwoman,
comparing it to the Halle Berry campfest.  But the trailer looks cool, Frances McDormand has a part in it and so
does hunk Marton Csokas (who played crazy and romanced Natasha Richardson earlier this year in
Asylum) and
I'm a sucker for these sci-fi action flicks (I have the distinction, I think, of being the only film critic that liked
Alien
vs. Predator).  It will also be nice to see Theron in full tilt glamazon drag after the drudgery of the earnest but
distinctly unglamorous
North Country.  There’s another reason to see the screen version: to compare it to the
original version that I have a mad crush on.  It’s the first of my DVD gift recommendations for the holidays, broken
down as follows.  
MORE RECOMMENDATIONS NEXT WEEK!

FOR ACTION FIGURE FANATICS:

After sampling Paramount Home Video’s new release, Aeon Flux – The Complete Animated Collection (1995) my
appetite has indeed been whetted.  I fell for Aeon, the super foxy, mostly silent secret agent when she first
appeared as part of MTV’s cutting edge animation series, “Liquid Television” back in the early 90s.  This 3-disc set
(pictured above) contains a few of those few short segments and all the episodes from the half hour series in
which Aeon’s always out to topple her nemesis, the evil ruler Trevor Goodchild.  How can you not love a heroine so
tough she traps unsuspecting flies between her eye lashes?  Lots of great extras on the set as well.

For the boys and action fans of all stripes, I recommend the
Batman Anthology and Batman Begins, discussed in
my Boxed Set Holiday gift suggestion column
HERE.
While awaiting the verdict on the feature version, check out the cool boxed set that was the
basis for the movie and host your own Sing-a-Long holiday party with Julie & Company