Todd Garbarini
Entries from December 2011
By Todd Garbarini
The
quintessential and politically incorrect New York movie The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) has arrived on
Blu-ray from MGM. Adapted from John Godey’s novel
of the same name and brilliantly directed by Joseph Sargent with loads of
smile-inducing and laugh-out-loud humor, The
Taking of Pelham One Two Three concerns four heavily armed men, all sporting
moustaches and machine guns, and named after colors to mask their identities
(this idea was lifted by Quentin Tarantino and used to great effect in his 1992
film Reservoir Dogs), who commandeer
a train from the New York City subway system and hold eighteen passengers
hostage. They demand one million dollars
in cash for their release – a mere pittance in today’s money. Robert Shaw shines as the lead baddy and heads
the superb cast which also features Martin Balsam as a confederate, Walter
Matthau as the police lieutenant who negotiates with Shaw, Hector Elizondo who is
virtually unrecognizable as the monkey-in-the-wrench who causes problems for Shaw
with his own sense of bravado; and Kenneth MacMillian as the Borough Commander. Among the film’s highlights are Matthau’s off-handed
and embarrassing treatment of the representatives of the Tokyo Metropolitan
Subway System who are visiting; Tom Pedi’s role as Caz Dalowicz whose no-B.S.
approach to the hijackers results in a shootout in the tunnel; Lieutenant Rico
Patrone (Jerry Stiller) who reads the newspaper and is bothered that he is
being “interrupted†by the Japanese reps touring the facility; Lee Wallace’s
turn as the Mayor (he’s a near dead ringer for Mayor Ed Koch who became the New
York Mayor four years after the film’s release) and his inefficacy in dealing
with the situation at hand, including his deputy mayor, played well played by
Tony Roberts; Robert Weil as a transit worker (he’s a character actor who
appeared in dozens of great New York films) and the film’s priceless ending. Film composer David Shire, who wrote
excellent music for Francis Ford Coppola’s The
Conversation (1974) and Martin Ritt’s Norma
Rae (1979), provides a spectacular score that one cannot help humming long after the film is over.
The Taking of
Pelham One Two Three is
a terrific balancing act of high suspense and tension and outright hilarity,
something that few films are ever able to achieve. (One notable exception is
Bob Clark’s 1974 thriller Black Christmas,
which manages the same feat). What the
film captures perfectly is the sense the people working in New York City have
about themselves and their jobs, a veritable “another day at the office†mentality
as they go about their routines no matter how outrageous the circumstances. The film couldn't have come to Blu-ray at a
better time. With politicians using the
safety and well-being of Americans as a bargaining chip for political gain
(i.e. health care), the sentiments of the film are timeless and ring true in a
city where corruption and racism run behind-the-scenes and are perfectly sized-up
by Doris Roberts’s turn as the mayor’s wife when she tells him what he’ll get
in return for paying out the ransom: eighteen sure votes.
There
is no mention on the Blu-ray packaging of a remastered image and sound, so the
transfer appears to be derived from the same master that was used on the
standard definition DVD released in February 2000. The image is sharper this time with just a
few instances of dirt and some scratches that are barely noticeable. The Blu-ray also adds subtitles in English, Spanish
and French and retains the film's original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The disc also includes the film's theatrical trailer. I originally hoped that with the release of Tony
Scott's 2009 remake, itself a well-made version with less emphasis on humor and
more on action, there would be a reissue of the original with commentaries and
a documentary on the making of the film, but no such luck. Still, despite the lack of the usual bells
and whistles that generally accompany far less entertaining films, the upgrade
to Blu-ray is worth it as this is one of the best films made during the
American cinema's most riveting decade. Lensed
also in 1998 for television by Felix Enriquez Alcala (how can you make this
film without profanity?), this 1974 original is the most entertaining version of this
story.
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By Todd Garbarini
Like most children of the 1970s,
television viewing was a big part of my week. Beginning at 7:30 PM and ending two and-a-half hours later, my family’s Thursday
nights consisted of That’s Hollywood,
Mork and Mindy, Angie, Barney Miller, and
Carter Country. Not having seen Barney Miller until well into its sixth season, I just assumed that
the entire show took place in the police station. Now that the show’s entire series is available
in a DVD box set, courtesy of the fine folks at Shout! Factory, my initial
impressions of the show were proven wrong. The pilot episode features Barney Miller’s family, specifically his
wife, played with charm by Barbara Barrie. Abe Vigoda, Maxwell Gail, and Ron Glass appear
from the get-go, and guest star Chu Chu Malave, who played Maria’s boyfriend
who tackles Al Pacino in Dog Day
Afternoon (1975), and (of all things) the delivery boy who seduces Bobbie
Bresee in Mausoleum (1983), plays an
out-of-control prisoner who commandeers Fish’s gun and holds the precinct
hostage.
During the initial episodes, Barney Miller feels like it is trying to
find its way, and it gets much funnier as it progresses into later seasons. If it were made today it more than likely
would have been axed after a few lackluster-performing episodes. To think that it lasted eight seasons
illustrates just how different the television landscape was back in the 1970s. What is most surprising is the level of
diversity among the ethnic groups that were represented early on in the
show. Although this is so commonplace
now, it was sort of a watershed back then: Gregory Sierra as the Puerto Rican
detective Chano; Max Gail as Polish Detective Stan "Wojo"
Wojciehowicz; African-American Ron Glass as Harris (my personal favorite); Jack
Soo as the deadpan Japanese-American Yemana; and Abe Vigoda as Fish - I cannot
think of him in anything except The
Godfather (1972).
Where the show always shined for me even
at a young age was in the characterizations of both the detectives and the
silly perps who made their way through the 12th Precinct in Greenwich Village. Ron Carey as Levitt and James Gregory as
Inspector Luger always made me laugh when they showed up. This was not a show of one-liners, but rather
one that dealt with a multitude of topics and situations and made them truly
laugh-out-loud funny. The term “sitcomâ€
really fits this show as the humanity and hilarity that ensues comes from the
characters, not punch lines.
The first three seasons of Barney Miller had been released on DVD by
Sony, but due to lackluster sales the remaining five seasons were
neglected. Shout! Factory, on the other hand,
has put together a beautiful DVD box set which belongs in the collection of all
fans of the show. The entire series of
168 episodes is provided on 25 DVD’s and comes with a beautiful booklet that
details the names of each and every episode and the original airdate. There is a half-hour
look back at the show with Hal Linden, Max Gail, and Abe Vigoda; a half-hour description
about the character’s creations; a featurette about the show’s writing; the
show’s original, unaired pilot with Charles Haid(!); and all 13 episodes of Abe
Vigoda’s short-lived spin-off series Fish
from 1977.
Shout! Factory has done an
extraordinary job of putting together this collection which was obviously done
with a great deal of care and foresight. Highly recommended.
I would love to see the same treatment bestowed
upon on T.J. Hooker, a favorite of
mine from my teen-age years. This was another
show that Sony released and abandoned after only the first two seasons made
their way to DVD. Fingers crossed!
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By Todd Garbarini
Beauty
and the Beast was
a very successful film for Walt Disney upon its was released on Wednesday,
November 13, 1991. The follow-up to the
studio’s highly praised The Little
Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast
proved that a new generation of audiences had a desire for animated film
fare. As a result of this success,
Disney decided to create another adventure with Belle and the Beast. The result was Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, which originally was
intended as a theatrical continuation of the story, but ended up being produced
for home video in 1997. The film may
appear to be a sequel, but it is not. The action actually takes place within the timeline that occurs in the
original film: after the fight with the wolves, but before the fight with
Gaston.
Since the Beast was transformed from a
Prince on Christmas, he is understandably Ebenezer Scrooge-ish when it comes to
the yearly holiday, and forbids the mere utterance in his presence of any
mention of the word. Belle must adhere
to his wishes or face violent outburst, which are frequent, from the
Beast. With the help of the castle’s anthropomorphized
clock (Cogsworth), candle (Lumiere), tea pot (Mrs. Potts) and tea cup (Chip), Belle
has to prove to the Beast that Christmas is a wonderful holiday.
The film was released on VHS cassette in
1997 and is now available on a double-disc set of a standard DVD and the high
definition Blu-ray. As you can well
imagine, the difference in picture quality between VHS and DVD is dramatic, and
comparing the VHS to Blu-ray is even more startling. If you are a fan of this film, the upgrade is
most definitely worth it.
In
addition to the Enchanted Christmas, Disney
is re-issuing their made-for-home video film Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World on standard definition
DVD. This film was released on VHS in
1998 and was comprised of three separate segments: The
Perfect Word, Fifi's Folly, and The Broken Wing. In 2003, the film was released on DVD and an
additional segment, Mrs. Potts's Party,
was added. It is this same DVD version that is being
made available once again, this time with different cover art. If you have the VHS and are on the fence
about upgrading, this new DVD is the way to go. If you already have the 2003 DVD version, there is no reason to
upgrade.
The musical numbers in both films are
quite nice, although the animation isn’t quite up to the high level of
excellence of the original theatrical film. Paige O’Hara and Robbie Benson reprise their roles as Belle and the
Beast, respectively, in both films.
The obvious audience for the films is
children, girls in particular. The filmmakers reiterate the message that love
can overcome differences between people in an entertaining way that never
threatens to become overly-preachy.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: THE ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS" BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
CLICK HERE TO ORDER "BELLE'S MAGICAL WORLD" DVD FROM AMAZON
By Todd Garbarini
Having grown up on the Rankin Bass Christmas
specials since I was a child, the Yuletide season just isn't the same without a
yearly viewing of some of their most enchanting shows. Since the 1960s and 1970s, specials such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus
is Comin’ to Town, The Little Drummer Boy and The Year Without a Santa Claus were shown on the major television
networks. In the late 1980s it became increasingly
difficult to see most of these specials unless you had cable television or
video cassette recorders as the major networks stopped airing them. With the availability of home video, the shows were inevitably made available to the masses and made great Christmas
presents.
The fine folks at Classic Media have
released some of these beloved Christmas classics on Blu-ray. In a two-disc set entitled The Original Christmas Classics, disc
one contains Santa Claus is Comin’ to
Town. Premiering on Sunday, December 14, 1970, Santa Claus is a stop-motion animated special that stars Fred
Astaire as a postal worker who uses the device of children’s letters and
inquiries about Santa as the basis for telling the story of how Santa came to
be. Santa
Claus is voiced by Mickey Rooney. The story is based upon the Christmas
song of the same name and features a wide variety of musical numbers. There is the mean-spirited character Mayor
Burgermeister Meisterburger who despises toys and arrests anyone in possession
of one. There is a scene where his
soldiers burn a group of toys in front of horrified young children. The
sequence was often cut from some broadcasts because it was deemed too upsetting
to kids. Fortunately, it has been restored for the Blu-ray, along with other
scenes that were occasionally cut to accommodate more commercials
Disc two features three specials, the
first of which is the most well-known of all, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which premiered on Sunday, December
6, 1964. Also running 51 minutes, the
copyright year is erroneously listed as MCLXIV (1164), not MCMLXIV (1964). A stop-motion animated special that premiered
on the NBC network and was sponsored by GE, Rudolph
made its way to CBS for many years and is based on the Johnny Marks song of the
same name. It features a lot of themes
that are still prevalent today, including the consequences of bullying and name-calling. However, despite
all of this, Rudolph triumphs in the face of adversity with his equally-spurned
friend Hermie who wants to be a dentist!
Next up is Frosty the Snowman, a hand-drawn animated special from Sunday,
December 7, 1969 that features Jimmy Durante and a host of enjoyable songs. The idea was to create a show that resembled a
Christmas card and for the most part the concept is successful. A young girl, Karen, makes a snowman she
christens “Frosty†and tops him off with a top hat she obtains from a
magician. Karen is voiced by June Foray,
best known for Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Cindy Lou Who, Witch Hazel, and
Granny.
The final show is Frosty Returns from Tuesday, December 1, 1992 and it cannot hold a
candle to its predecessors. It is a
curiosity to behold as the dominant theme mirrors that of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, (i.e. corporate enterprise schemes
to profit at the expense of the environment.) The show is also an exercise in
political correctness as the there are no overt references to “Christmas.â€
It is wonderful to see these specials
in high definition, although Frosty
Returns looks like it was mastered from a lower-quality video release and
there is a fair amount of dot crawl prevalent. If you look closely at Santa Claus
and Rudolph, you can see the wires
that were used to move the characters around, something that was difficult to
see on standard television viewings. The
colors are strong and vibrant, especially in the sequence about the Island of
Misfit Toys. Despite the aforementioned
quality issues on Frosty Returns, it’s
safe to say that, by and large, these gems have never looked better and make for
a perfect holiday treat.
The programs are provided with the
requisite chapter stops and have no extras.
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