New On Video: 'Lost in Translation,' 'Tuscan Sun'
Also New: 'Only The Strong Survive'
POSTED: 1:14 p.m. EST February 3, 2004
UPDATED: 1:24 p.m. EST February 3, 2004
'Lost in Translation' (R) A critics darling and Oscar nominee in four major categories this year (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay), "Lost in Translation" was somehow lost on moviegoers in theaters with lukewarm box office returns last fall, but will surely avoid the same fate with its perfectly timed debut on home video.
Set in Tokyo, "Lost in Translation" tells the bittersweet story of Bob Harris (Murray), a 50-something over-the-hill movie star from the 1970s who finds wealth in Japan as an ad pitchman and Charlotte, a young Yale college graduate with a degree in philosophy. Brought together by their loneliness as two Americans lost within the Japanese culture, the duo forms a unique bond that neither one of their spouses could ever fulfill.
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, "Lost in Translation" mercifully forgoes for the predictable route that fuels most romantic dramedies. Smartly set amongst a foreign culture (which instantly takes us out of any familiarity territory), what makes the movie even more unique is its oddly compelling tale of friendship that constantly teeters on being something more. It presents an interesting quandary rarely seen in movies.
Murray turns in a masterful performance as Bob, although his deadpan demeanor feels too close at times to the veteran actor's previous works. Johansson, on the other hand, comes scorching in out of nowhere to deliver in what is surely a star-making role for the 19-year-old actress. Ultimately, both are winners because they don't try to upstage each other with their talents. They have a perfect screen balance.
While I admittedly fell for the hype and was disappointed by the theatrical screening of "Lost in Translation," the film played much better for me on video the second time without any monstrous expectations. Sure, the film still suffers from a laborious plot set up; but like before, it also has the power -- if not even stronger -- to keep me longing for more throughout its conclusion and beyond. In the end, any movie that leaves you with as many questions as there are answers is worth a second look.
DVD Features: Interview with Coppola and Murray; "Lost on Location" behind-the-scenes featurette; deleted scenes and more. (Universal Studios Home Video)
Under the Tuscan Sun' (PG-13) "Chick flick" lovers will bask in the glow of "Under the Tuscan Sun," a delightful, yet sometimes sappy romance starring the ever-dependable Diane Lane.
Lane is instantly lovable as Frances Mayes, a San Francisco book reviewer and writer whose own life story takes a sad turn when she discovers that her husband's been cheating on her. Left with few options after being cajoled into a less-than-amicable divorce, Frances takes up on her friend Patti's (a wryly funny Sandra Oh) offer to take an Italian vacation in Tuscany.
Quickly swept up by the country's beauty and charm, Frances impulsively buys a remote home in dier need of repair. But while she's mending the house that's been in an Italian family for many generations, can she mend her own broken heart?
Based on the real Frances Mayes' best-selling book, "Under the Sun" is hardly an earth-shattering movie -- but it's a charming romantic adventure nonetheless. Silly, slightly pretentious and hopelessly predictable at times, what saves "Tuscan Sun" from being a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy is its breathtaking real-life setting -- which provides maybe one of the most beautiful backdrops in films this year. Simply put, "Tuscan Sun" would be "Tuscan None" without its beautifully silent background character.
Lane slips into the role of Frances comfortably, and proves that the leading actress notices she received last year with the romantic thriller "Unfaithful" was no fluke. She puts on some nicely subtle moves as dowdy, depressed divorcee who's reborn into a blossoming, sexy woman on the comeback trail.
Completing the film's likable acting ensemble are Raoul Bova as Frances' love interest, Vincent Riotta as her caring, protective realtor/mentor and Lindsay Duncan as a strikingly beautiful, but quirky British socialite.
DVD Features: Audio commentary with director Audrey Wells; making-of featurette; deleted scenes and more. (Touchstone Home Entertainment)
Also New: Like Lane, Kate Hudson finds romance abroad in "Le Divorce" (PG-13 -- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), but the results are hardly quite the same. Hudson plays a film school dropout who jets to Paris to come to the aid of her very-pregnant sister (Naomi Watts) -- but instead is quickly swept up by the lover's culture and falls into a legitimate romance and scandalous affair at the same time.
Needless to say, the film hardly promotes responsibility and is immediately falls into the "who cares?" realm of movie going. The film's a rare misstep for the film's artful duo, director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, who've made such modern classics as "A Room With a View" and "Remains of the Day."
Lovers of classic rhythm and blues music will rejoice in "Only the Strong Survive" (PG-13 -- Miramax Home Entertainment), where a crew of documentary filmmakers track down several legend including Sam Moore ("Soul Man"), "Shaft" Oscar-winner Issac Hayes, Mary Wilson of The Supremes and an ageless Wilson Pickett (who's still belting out such classics as "Land of a 1,000 Dances" and "In the Midnight Hour" in the same key) to find out what they are up to now.
Unafraid to share their true feelings about the business, the legends delightfully share the stories of their past glories, hardships and challenges that they encounter today to stay viable as performers in the oldies circuit. It's a refreshing look at a revolutionary brand of music that still stands a head and shoulders above today's polished plastic pop. Bonus performances are included in the special features of the DVD.
The sci-fi classic "Planet of the Apes" (20th Century Fox Home Video) is in the video rotation again, this time as a 2-disc 35th anniversary DVD. The set is chock-full of bonus features and commentary tracks, including the late star Roddy McDowall. Also featured is a wondrous two-hour documentary on the groundbreaking film and some of McDowall's home movies.
New Cool Movie Stuff: 
Fans of the classic Universal Monster genre can finally complete their collection of the "big five" movie monsters with the release of the 12-inch rendition of the Gillman from "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" (Sideshow Collectibles). Produced in full color, the Gillman comes with a fossilized hand that is featured at the beginning of the 1954 black and white monster movie classic.
Apart from Sideshow's own eight-inch version of this iconic movie character, the 12-inch Creature -- which is housed in a rubber suit not unlike the one actors Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning wore in the movie - is easily the best toy reproduction of the Gillman ever produced. The Creature figure has been produced in limited quantities, so dive after him when you see him. Otherwise, another limited edition "Silver Screen" black and white version of the doll is available on the Sideshow Web site.
Set in Tokyo, "Lost in Translation" tells the bittersweet story of Bob Harris (Murray), a 50-something over-the-hill movie star from the 1970s who finds wealth in Japan as an ad pitchman and Charlotte, a young Yale college graduate with a degree in philosophy. Brought together by their loneliness as two Americans lost within the Japanese culture, the duo forms a unique bond that neither one of their spouses could ever fulfill.
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, "Lost in Translation" mercifully forgoes for the predictable route that fuels most romantic dramedies. Smartly set amongst a foreign culture (which instantly takes us out of any familiarity territory), what makes the movie even more unique is its oddly compelling tale of friendship that constantly teeters on being something more. It presents an interesting quandary rarely seen in movies.
Murray turns in a masterful performance as Bob, although his deadpan demeanor feels too close at times to the veteran actor's previous works. Johansson, on the other hand, comes scorching in out of nowhere to deliver in what is surely a star-making role for the 19-year-old actress. Ultimately, both are winners because they don't try to upstage each other with their talents. They have a perfect screen balance.
While I admittedly fell for the hype and was disappointed by the theatrical screening of "Lost in Translation," the film played much better for me on video the second time without any monstrous expectations. Sure, the film still suffers from a laborious plot set up; but like before, it also has the power -- if not even stronger -- to keep me longing for more throughout its conclusion and beyond. In the end, any movie that leaves you with as many questions as there are answers is worth a second look.
DVD Features: Interview with Coppola and Murray; "Lost on Location" behind-the-scenes featurette; deleted scenes and more. (Universal Studios Home Video)
Under the Tuscan Sun' (PG-13) "Chick flick" lovers will bask in the glow of "Under the Tuscan Sun," a delightful, yet sometimes sappy romance starring the ever-dependable Diane Lane.
Lane is instantly lovable as Frances Mayes, a San Francisco book reviewer and writer whose own life story takes a sad turn when she discovers that her husband's been cheating on her. Left with few options after being cajoled into a less-than-amicable divorce, Frances takes up on her friend Patti's (a wryly funny Sandra Oh) offer to take an Italian vacation in Tuscany.
Quickly swept up by the country's beauty and charm, Frances impulsively buys a remote home in dier need of repair. But while she's mending the house that's been in an Italian family for many generations, can she mend her own broken heart?
Based on the real Frances Mayes' best-selling book, "Under the Sun" is hardly an earth-shattering movie -- but it's a charming romantic adventure nonetheless. Silly, slightly pretentious and hopelessly predictable at times, what saves "Tuscan Sun" from being a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy is its breathtaking real-life setting -- which provides maybe one of the most beautiful backdrops in films this year. Simply put, "Tuscan Sun" would be "Tuscan None" without its beautifully silent background character.
Lane slips into the role of Frances comfortably, and proves that the leading actress notices she received last year with the romantic thriller "Unfaithful" was no fluke. She puts on some nicely subtle moves as dowdy, depressed divorcee who's reborn into a blossoming, sexy woman on the comeback trail.
Completing the film's likable acting ensemble are Raoul Bova as Frances' love interest, Vincent Riotta as her caring, protective realtor/mentor and Lindsay Duncan as a strikingly beautiful, but quirky British socialite.
DVD Features: Audio commentary with director Audrey Wells; making-of featurette; deleted scenes and more. (Touchstone Home Entertainment)
Also New: Like Lane, Kate Hudson finds romance abroad in "Le Divorce" (PG-13 -- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), but the results are hardly quite the same. Hudson plays a film school dropout who jets to Paris to come to the aid of her very-pregnant sister (Naomi Watts) -- but instead is quickly swept up by the lover's culture and falls into a legitimate romance and scandalous affair at the same time.
Needless to say, the film hardly promotes responsibility and is immediately falls into the "who cares?" realm of movie going. The film's a rare misstep for the film's artful duo, director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, who've made such modern classics as "A Room With a View" and "Remains of the Day."
Lovers of classic rhythm and blues music will rejoice in "Only the Strong Survive" (PG-13 -- Miramax Home Entertainment), where a crew of documentary filmmakers track down several legend including Sam Moore ("Soul Man"), "Shaft" Oscar-winner Issac Hayes, Mary Wilson of The Supremes and an ageless Wilson Pickett (who's still belting out such classics as "Land of a 1,000 Dances" and "In the Midnight Hour" in the same key) to find out what they are up to now.
Unafraid to share their true feelings about the business, the legends delightfully share the stories of their past glories, hardships and challenges that they encounter today to stay viable as performers in the oldies circuit. It's a refreshing look at a revolutionary brand of music that still stands a head and shoulders above today's polished plastic pop. Bonus performances are included in the special features of the DVD.
The sci-fi classic "Planet of the Apes" (20th Century Fox Home Video) is in the video rotation again, this time as a 2-disc 35th anniversary DVD. The set is chock-full of bonus features and commentary tracks, including the late star Roddy McDowall. Also featured is a wondrous two-hour documentary on the groundbreaking film and some of McDowall's home movies.
New Cool Movie Stuff: Fans of the classic Universal Monster genre can finally complete their collection of the "big five" movie monsters with the release of the 12-inch rendition of the Gillman from "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" (Sideshow Collectibles). Produced in full color, the Gillman comes with a fossilized hand that is featured at the beginning of the 1954 black and white monster movie classic.
Apart from Sideshow's own eight-inch version of this iconic movie character, the 12-inch Creature -- which is housed in a rubber suit not unlike the one actors Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning wore in the movie - is easily the best toy reproduction of the Gillman ever produced. The Creature figure has been produced in limited quantities, so dive after him when you see him. Otherwise, another limited edition "Silver Screen" black and white version of the doll is available on the Sideshow Web site.Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
