Home Media Magazine - June 1-7, 2008 - (Page 19)

www.homemediamagazine.com REVIEWS I TIME BOMB Prebook 6/3; Street 7/1 PeaceArch, Drama, $29.99 DVD, NR. Stars Jake Busey, David Haydn-Jones, Daniel Cook. E I DIRTY HARRY: ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION Street 6/3 Warner, Action, $74.92 seven-DVD set, $129.95 five-disc Blu-ray, ‘R.’ Stars Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Reni Santoni, Felton Perry, Tyne Daly, Sondra Locke, Hal Holbrook. T he original Dirty Harry caused quite a stir upon its debut in 1971. Director Don Siegel’s story of a rogue cop who took the law into his own hands was somewhat of a reaction to a sentiment that the legal system was coddling criminals to the detriment of victims. The success of the original spawned four sequels: Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) and The Dead Pool (1988). As Inspector Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood perfectly portrayed the character’s obsessive need to impose order in a random universe. Harry Callahan would become the archetype for the action heroes of the 1970s and 1980s, from Charles Bronson in Death Wish to Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon and Bruce Willis in Die Hard. Critics accused the films of catering to fascist instincts. Famed film critic Pauline Kael even called Dirty Harry a “Gestapo movie,” though producers would get back at her in The Dead Pool when they killed off a film critic character based on her. This new boxed set offers an extensive look at one of the most-influential action-film franchises of all time, and has pretty much everything a fan of the series could want. In an introductory note, Eastwood discusses how a nagging hand injury prevented Frank Sinatra from wielding the character’s trademark .44 Magnum revolver, opening the door for Eastwood to take the role of the no-nonsense detective. For behind-the-scenes buffs, featurettes chronicle everything from the history of the production to its context within the police-drama genre, as well as the career of its star. Most interesting is an examination of the political implications of the franchise. The set is loaded with memorabilia such as a map of Harry’s exploits from the first film, a replica of Harry’s badge, miniature reproductions of the poster of each film, and reproductions of memos from the production, when it was still known by the working title of Dead Right. Unfortunately, in a boxed set that includes a booklet of pictures from each film, and fold-out cases for the films with large empty spaces designed in the artwork, it’s a shame there’s no guide to inform viewers about which extras can be found on each disc. The films also are available individually, with Dirty Harry in a two-disc set at $34.99, and the other four at $14.97 each. – John Latchem voking the very best of the wonderful post-Watergate/Vietnam War-era paranoid thrillers of the early-to-mid 1970s and then updating the milieu, Time Bomb is a welcome surprise that should really please, provoke and captivate fans of psychologically intense political/military conspiracy stories. Busey gives a terrific performance as complicated, difficult and deeply troubled Iraq war veteran Jason Philby, haunted by memories of his tenure on the battlefield and tormented by guilt over the death of his young son. Horrifying images of both experiences constantly invade his dreams and begin to meld and creep into his waking hours, creating a combustible existence where the question of what is real, imaginary or something even more sinister becomes increasingly pervasive. Director Erin Berry has fashioned an impressive mix of Jacob’s Ladder and The Manchurian Candidate. Additionally, he invokes elements of Martin Scorsese’s quintessential Taxi Driver — overtly by having Busey’s character driving a cab and obsessively stalking his ex-wife, as well as subtly employing a very minor supporting character, Senator Palantine, much like the presidential candidate targeted by Travis Bickle. Tying together narrative strands that include post-traumatic stress disorder, chemical weapons, human guinea pigs, suicide bombers, religious convictions, spontaneous combustion and 9/11, the film has a rich, nightmarish style that utilizes distinctive visual techniques to differentiate between the Iraq sequences (recalling the best Gulf War films such as Three Kings and Jarhead) and the scenes of stateside life. As impressive, sophisticated and engaging as the narrative and sub-textual elements of the plot are, the production itself is something of a marvel. Berry takes what, to the trained eye, is probably a fairly modest budget and cleverly stages action scenes, creepy interrogation sequences and operating-room settings that completely succeed within — maybe even because of — the financial constraints and suffers absolutely no loss of cinematic quality. – David Greenberg I HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD Street 6/10 Arts Alliance America, Documentary, $19.95 DVD, NR. hat might at first sound like a metaphor for war or even the punchline to a joke, Heavy Metal in Baghdad is neither an allusion to something else nor even remotely funny. The name of this film is actually a very straightforward description of what it’s about. However, for detractors of this genre of music to dismiss this extremely compelling and eye-opening documentary simply because they do not like the sound W of screeching guitars and pounding drums would be close-minded and unfortunate. Directors Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi of the underground, counter-culture magazine VICE chronicle both their own epic journey to meet with the members of the Baghdad-based rockers Acrassicauda (the Latin name for the deadly black scorpion native to Iraq and Kuwait). They also depict the struggles of the individual musicians in the country’s only heavy face to face in 2006 when they were metal band. The filmmakers had been corre- finally able to get to Iraq and track sponding with the musicians spo- them down. Moretti and Alvi employ archival radically since 2003 but only met through the eyes of these passionate young musicians. Struggle, hope and perseverance are the ultimate themes of the film, and the documentary is a truly revelatory look into the everyday realities of life for a particular group of average Iraqi civilians that is unlike anything depicted in the mainstream media. It is hard enough to start a rock group anywhere and become successful but to do it in war torn Baghdad, literally under fire, and to be footage (the band has only been told what the group can and cannot able to do four shows in five years) do by the pro-Saddam regime takes to compliment their own material drive, spirit and energy. as they depict life during wartime – David Greenberg June 1–7, 2008 Home Media Magazine 19 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - June 1-7, 2008

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