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"Dreamgirls" sparkles on DVD |
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Written by Terry Lawson, McClatchy-Tribune
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Tuesday, 01 May 2007 |
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The first hour of "Dreamgirls" is about as exhilarating as musicals — or movies of any description — ever get. Director Bill Condon was respectful to the great Broadway show on which his film was based, but at least as respectful in depicting the only-in-Detroit backdrop (even though it was filmed in Los Angeles) against which three teenage girls (a perfectly cast Beyonce Knowles, Anika Noni Rose and Oscar-winner-to-be Jennifer Hudson) from the projects could rise to international superstardom in the go-go 1960s.
The film's second half, however, was a comedown. This was in no small part because Condon tried to make Michael Bennett's play, quite obviously based on the Supremes and their svengali, Berry Gordy Jr., more specifically about Motown's dream factory than it was onstage. This led to one of the more ridiculous incidents in contemporary public relations, when Smokey Robinson, defending his old mentor and boss, demanded an apology for the misrepresentation. Condon and the other filmmakers complied, saying "Dreamgirls" was not really about Motown, which is like saying "Platoon" is not really about Vietnam.
Fortunately, there is little to distance "Dreamgirls" from Motown in the extras on the double-DVD "Dreamgirls: Showstopper Edition" (3 stars, DreamWorks, $34.99), which includes an extensive series of featurettes on all aspects of the film, from conception to casting to post production. It's a very good making-of documentary that was chopped into bite-sized pieces, but its two hours will be best appreciated when watched in one sitting. Not only does Beyonce acknowledge her research into, and appreciation of, the career of Diana Ross, Condon speaks to his wish that he could have made the film in Detroit.
Fans of the film will be happy to know the "Showstopper" set contains more than a half-hour of deleted and alternate scenes, nearly all excised from the musical numbers. Included too is a new Jennifer Hudson video and the Beyonce video for "Listen." And while the movie looks and sounds terrific on this and the single-disc widescreen version ($29.99), it's truly show stopping in BluRay ($39.99).
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ALSO NEW THIS WEEK:
While "Dreamgirls" took home only one of the eight Oscars for which it was nominated, the most overlooked contender was surely "Little Children" (4 stars, New Line, $27.98). Kate Winslet is amazing and surprisingly sympathetic as the suburban mother who falls into an affair with a stay-at-home dad (Patrick Wilson).
She had the misfortune to be nominated in the same year and category as best actress winner Helen Mirren ("The Queen") and Judi Dench ("Notes On a Scandal"). Everything about this darkly satirical drama is first-rate.
Also released from the vaults this week:
A tricked-out, extras-packed "Jane Doe Edition" of the 1985 crime comedy "Fletch" (3 stars, Universal, $19.98), with Chevy Chase as Gregory McDonald's disguise-happy detective.
"Special Collector's Edition" of 1982's "An Officer and a Gentleman" (3 stars, Paramount, $14.99), the Taylor Hackford drama that made movie stars of Richard Gere and Debra Winger. It won an Oscar for Lou Gossett Jr. as the drill instructor from hell.
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TV ON DVD:
The current touring revival of "Camelot" should draw attention to the DVD release (3 stars, Acorn, $29.99) of the last Broadway revival of the Lerner and Lowe musical in the early 1980s. The production starred the late Richard Harris and was filmed for a then-young HBO.
The second seasons of "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place" are now packaged on 8-disc sets (Paramount, $61.99).
20 episodes of the pioneering sitcom classic "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," aired between 1953 and 1966 and previously available only on bootlegged, public domain versions, have finally gotten an official release, in best-source versions from the Nelson estate via lost-TV specialists Shout! Factory under the title "The Best of the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" ($34.98), with the shows from the later seasons featuring Ricky's musical performances at the end.
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FAMILY FILM OF THE WEEK:
"Happily N'Ever After"
(3 stars, Lions Gate, $28.98) may have been a victim of the CGI-animated glut earlier this year, or maybe the plot about a takeover effort by an evil stepmother (the voice of Sigourney Weaver) and assorted cohorts of Fairy Tale Land sounded like it had wandered a little too far into the "Shrek" domain to budget-pinched families. But this turnabout on the stories and characters all kids know and love — including Cinderella, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty — is clever and funny. Hiring George Carlin to voice the laconic Wizard was somebody's great idea. The only drawback for parents, who should enjoy this as much as the kids, is an absence of extras. | Only registered users can write comments.
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