Reviews
E3, 2/ CHEECH AND
CHONG COLLECTION (18) 415mm 1;”1‘). ' ,1”, I)(/,"._
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w.) 7r.‘.‘,',. there have lm-rr norrrr: rrrerrroralrle (,rrl srrokrrrr; scenes throughout the _,'r,-ars. trorrr [)arrrr,'s rrtrrrrrrrtorrs 'ILarrtIrrnpzrell (Larrot' to Ihelrrra and [nurses cheek. trunk to” of slxrrrrk'.
(Iheerth and (lhong's III/'1", counter culture classrc U," /n Smoke rs lllItilHlltiffiIi‘, up there too. hrrt rs unfortunater orrrrtted lrrril‘, thrs lr\.'e DVD set that chooses to start rts chronrcle from therr second foray. (,‘neec/r and (Thongs Next Nor/t Shame really. as rt's the lynch prn tlr<:l\ that estahlrshes our loafrng huddres and sets the hax'y tone for consequent drsrornted adxentures.
But what rs contarned alongsrde the atorerrrentroned follow up rs Nrce Dreams. the llt()\l(? that concludes the own cannabis theme when our boys get rrr\o|\. ed 'vendrng' (as rceeream rrrenl a rather I)r.r‘arre str'arn of weed that proudes reptrlran srde effects.
Strll rrrarntarnrng that to fr ethrc rn the presentatron. N'ce Dreams C(BIIarrtlt' hears a resemblance to Sam Rarmr's C'rrrrer'rare rn rts at\rr.t\ to mrx realrh wrth absurd fantasy. although rn the consequent Tirrr‘gs Are Tough All Or er. there rs a more classrt‘ approach that drops the weed theme rn tamur of a dOuble edged comem caper wrth Cheech and Chong plat rng oppcsrte each other. Coal but thrs sor'eh mrsses the or‘rgrnal rnstalment. Mrnrmal extras. rSrmon Dehantr
ciué cheap -
UNCUT VERSION (15) 114mm ".ze' ‘ef' Cor“. . ,. Fax
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\‘Jherr Arrrerrr:a retlrt the (,‘onfessrons of a Carry On torch the; polrshed that srrrgularl; crass Irttle turd .‘rrth pretty people. In thrs schlocker Brll Paxton plays Coconut Pete. a n'rashed up rrrrrsrcran turned 18—30 resort owner v-relcomrng the last tug—load of sex— cr'a/ed holidaymakers to hrs prrxate island before the stor'n“, season gets underway. But no sooner have they shored than the heautrful staff are herng prcked off by a rrrachet >—\.rvreldrng lurratrc — and everyone rs under susprcron. Director and actor commentarres pad Out the extras alongsrde scenes that were deleted more for therr superquOus nature than for therr promrsed depravrty. rlvlark Edmundson)
BOX SET JOHN WAYNE: THE
COLLECTION (PG) 3647min lUnrversal DVD retarl) OOO
John Wayne remarns such an rconrc frgure that its hard to untangle the carrcature from the man and hrs actrng. In a 50-year career he made well ox er 200 frlms. and whrle a lot of that was formularc stuff rn the Western and war mox re genres. there were plenty of gualrty effOrts rn there too.
The Dukes somewhat One-drmensronal actrng Sty Ie COuld draw comparrsons to today's
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Of the {-1 trrrr 3. container rn f'w: gargantua" : ox set there rs a tar' 3rr‘atterrrtr of the rrccrl. tr»; pad and tho: rrrrr. ‘rr rr‘ \.fl\.'/£t\l,ll(:t> ’itillrrrl. Twr‘ oh'xrous on‘rssrorrs; are The Searchers hrs test ‘.‘.’esternr and True Grrf. the frlm from late rn hrs career whrch an Oscar. But amongst some of the workadai. genre stuff there are strll a few crackers here. notath .John Ford frlms lrke Stagecoach and Fort Apache. and the excellent war fIrck Sands of Mo Jrrna. Thrs collectron doesn't represent Wayne at hrs best. but rs a decent o\.rer\.rre\.v of an extraor'drnary career. (Doug .Johnstonel
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ART HOUSE CLASSIC STROSZEK
(15) 103mm
rAnchor Bay UK DVD Retarl) COO”
Before Chaplrnesque multi-rnstrumentalrst tramp Bruno (Bruno 8) rs released from rarl, he has to endure a lecture on the evrls of alcohol. Hrs offences are all alcohol-fuelled. but hrs frrst destination upon Ieavrng the odd fraternrty of hrs cellmates rs to head for a local bar. There he falls rn wrth prostrtute Eva (Eva Mattes) and sets up home wrth her next to hrs soence obsessed nergthur. Mr Schertz (Clemens Schertzl. Supportrng them by sellrng frurt and playrng as a one man trn-pan alley orchestra. ere the drscordant strrngs of hrs black grand prano. whrch rn
EPIC FAMILY DRAMA I-IEIMA‘I' - SERIES ONE (15) 924 min (Tartan Vrdeo DVD retarlr com
Heimaf, Edgar Reitz’s monumental chronicle of life in a German village from 1918 to 1982, is frequently hailed as one of TV’s greatest landmarks. Yet Reitz himself stubbornly insists that the 1984 series is a feature film, a description he extends to Heimat’s two equally colossal sequels (the third premiered at this year’s Venice film festival). Given that Heimaf is over 15 hours long, and is divided on TV and now on DVD into 11 episodes, it’s tempting to view it as an upmarket soap. It's certainly a family saga, revolving as it does around the fortunes of the
Simon clan.
Residents of the tiny village of Schabbach in the Rhineland, the Simons live through the humiliating aftermath of World War I, the rise of Hitler and World War II, and the subsequent economic miracle. The century's great and terrible events, though, largely take place off screen: Schabbach is
very much a backwater.
Reitz’s focus on the family hearth has led some to accuse him of attempting a revisionist history, of applying a soothing balm to post-war German guilt over its Nazi past. There are, however, enough details to give an idea of the bigger picture: in one scene, a boy on a bicycle encounters a cheery soldier who is watching over the construction of what is clearly a concentration camp. In another, an SS officer alludes guardedly to the Final
Solution.
Reitz doesn't feel the need to amplify these notes. It’s significant that his impulse to create Heimat came from his despondency over the 1978 US mini-series Holocaust's melodramatic approach to tragic events. In response, Reitz, who was born in 1932, drew upon his own family history
and youthful memories.
His personal approach extends to the way Heimat looks: in its rhythms and visual style there's nothing resembling the conventions of a mini-series or TV soap. Shot on 35mm film stock, Heimat largely unfolds in back and white. Now and again, there are sequences in colour. And very occasionally, in a touch later borrowed by Spielberg, a splash of colour provides startling emotional intensity to the pervading monochrome.
(Jason Best)
realrty Bruno bought wrth hrs earnrngs from Werner Herzog's prevrous frlm wrth hrm The Enrgma of Kaspar Hal/sen thrs rs a study Of dysfunctron. but a detached. non- rudgmental look at those left behrnd b1. socrety. whether rt be German or Amerrcan.
Pregnant Wrth metaphor and tenderly obsemed. the dull palette and Blues themes of Sonny Terry and Chet Atkrns may not be cheerful, but then that's hardly the pOrnt of thrs look at a mo of rnnocents abroad.
All thrs. and one of the
rrrost farrrous frnal lrrres rn the hrstory Of Crrrema: 'I got here a truck on frre. There's a man on the lrft. we're unable to frnd the swrtch to turn the lrft off. Can't step the dancmg chrckc-n.‘ It's trme to re-drscover t‘nrs semrnal prece of 70s frlrnmakrng. Extras mrnrrnal. (Dare l/lartrn,
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