DVD Quick Picks for Sept: Death Proof, Saturday Night Fever & Wall St.
Death Proof: It’s frustrating to recommend anything when you know how much greater it could have been. For the time being, however, we might as well give up on the notion of seeing Grindhouse reach DVD properly, with both features and all the trailers intact – after all, Tarantino’s been promising us ‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’ for ages now, so he’d better deliver that first. Instead, we get Tarantino’s neo-slasher opus this week and Rodriguez’s zombie splatterfest Planet Terror in a month or so. Of course, this version of Death Proof is QT’s longer unrated cut, with the “missing reel” reinstated (but that was such a good joke!) and other additional material.
Yep, some of the dialogue is waaaay too indulgently yak-yak, but the visceral final act makes for such a nut-stompingly feminist subversion of a typically chick-hating genre that makes it worth the lulls and then some. And of course, decent bonus treats, among them numerous featurettes including those on stars Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell and longtime QT editor Sally Menke.
Saturday Night Fever: Collector’s Edition: Admit it: No matter how many times you rewatch it, the general reaction is always “Damn, I forgot Saturday Night Fever is so depressing!” There’s a date rape and a dude jumps off a bridge halfway through, for heaven’s sake… of course, if you saw the kid-friendly PG edit (horror!) as a young’un, you missed out on the date rape entirely. Yet no matter how bad it gets the white polyester badness of Sir John of Travolta just keeps on struttin’; must be some kind of amnesiac properties in all those funkalicious Bee Gees songs. (And Yvonne Elliman’s one and only hit, unless you count “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar…which I don’t.) John Badham’s disco era coming of age mainstay is re-released and frankly, the previous edition’s extras are far better… thumbs up for the film, thumbs down for Travolta punking out of the documentary.
Wall Street: 20th Anniversary Edition: Is it any wonder that in the waning days of the Bush II administration, rumors are circulating that Michael Douglas and Oliver Stone have been considering a follow-up to their 1986 indictment of American greed, with Douglas reprising his Oscar-winning role as the ultimate capitalist pig, Gordon Gecko? Actually, I don’t think it would quite work; the dirty dealings of this Republican presidency has long since eclipsed corporate gain and entered a sociopolitical shitstorm that far outstrips the Reagan-era rich boys for out and out douchebaggery. Still, now’s a great time to revisit one of Stone’s best films and Douglas’s finest hour, as well as a near-nostalgic look back at a time where the worst that could happen is Junior won’t go to college because trickle-down is a myth and Gordo needs a new Maserati. Features include director commentary, two featurettes and deleted scenes with optional commentary.
Also recommended this week: Cruising: Deluxe Edition; Deliverance: Deluxe Edition; Family Guy, Volume 5; Flashdance: Collector’s Edition
— Nicole Campos
