On DVD: June 9, 2009

Reviews of Woodstock, The International and Crossing Over

Woodstock
Warner Home Video
$24.98
Ultimate Collector’s Edition Box Set: $60
UCE Blu-ray Box Set: $70

Plot: A filmed record of the famous 1969 concert that promised and delivered 3 days of peace, love and music.

Opinion: Forty years after an army of long-haired hippies and drug-fueled rock stars descended on a farm just outside the town of Bethel, New York, Woodstock remains the most famous and romanticized pop culture event in history.  What’s fascinating about Michael Wadleigh’s documentary about the three-day long concert/love-in is that way it both enhances and contradicts the Woodstock legend.  The film confirms how extraordinary it must have been to witness all of these musical icons sharing one stage.  From The Who rocking out to “Summertime Blues” to Joe Cocker’s spastic, soulful performance of “With a Little Help From My Friends” to Jimi Hendrix’s immortal rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” the Woodstock set list is truly one for the ages.  The vibe of the audience is also groovy; no drug-fueled fistfights or drunken catcalls ever disrupt the general atmosphere of peace and love.  At the same time, Wadleigh’s cameras record numerous moments where the cracks appear in this rosy vision of a hippie nation.  For example, Woodstock’s organizers are regularly heard bemoaning the fact that they won’t be making any money off the event.  And when the weather turns foul, more than a few concertgoers are glimpsed walking around looking severely bummed out.  Perhaps most damning are the final shots, which reveal the wrecked, trash-strewn field that these so-called flower children left behind.

Bonus Features: Woodstock is a great film on its own terms, but this edition’s stellar bonus features make it a must-own.  One could devote an entire afternoon to the three hours of additional concert footage featuring several never-before-seen performances from artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Grateful Dead.  The set also includes an additional hour of new behind-the-scenes featurettes and comes in a limited-edition giftbox that houses a reprint of a famous Woodstock-themed issue of Life magazine, concert photos and other memorabilia.  The ’60s may be over, but a DVD package like this ensures that Woodstock will endure for decades to come.

Verdict: Buy It

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The International
Sony
$29
Blu-ray: $40

Plot: A dogged Interpol agent (Clive Owen) attempts to bring the villainous heads of a powerful European bank to justice.

Opinion: The International has positioned itself as a globe-trotting thriller for moviegoers who gave up on the James Bond franchise or get motion sickness just thinking about those shaky Jason Bourne adventures.  Unfortunately, it’s a painfully flat affair, springing to life only in an extended action sequence set in New York’s Guggenheim museum.  There are a number of reasons why this thriller fails to thrill, beginning with the script, which is filled with pronounced gaps in logic and banal dialogue.  Then there’s the issue of the film’s central mystery or, to be more accurate, the lack of any central mystery.  The bank’s agenda is clear cut from the beginning, which means Owen’s investigation doesn’t yield any surprises or unexpected plot developments.  Instead, the movie quickly falls into a repetitive series of scenes featuring a grim-faced Owen sitting down with other grim-faced men as they grimly talk about grim things.  No wonder the Guggenheim sequence is the high point of the movie—it’s the only scene where the actors get any exercise.

Bonus Features: A commentary track with the director and screenwriter; a batch of deleted scenes and four making-of featurettes.

Verdict: Skip It

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Crossing Over
The Weinstein Company
$20

Plot: A sprawling look at America’s immigration problems as experienced by a diverse group of Los Angeles residents.

Opinion: With its all-star ensemble cast and overlapping storylines that all revolve around an Important Social Issue—in this case, immigration—Wayne Kramer’s Crossing Over is begging to be described as the next Crash or Babel.  Speaking as someone who disliked Babel and detested Crash, I can’t say that I’m thrilled by the idea of a filmmaker making a pale imitation of two films that aren’t very good in the place.
To be fair, the first half-hour or so of Crossing Over isn’t that bad.  Where Crash and Babel piled on the melodrama from the first frame, Kramer initially keeps the drama grounded in a recognizable reality.  But once the plot mechanics kick into gear, it becomes increasingly difficult to take the movie seriously.  Crossing Over believes wholeheartedly in what its saying–it’s just a shame that the film doesn’t express itself in a more convincing way.

Bonus Features: None.

Verdict: Rent It

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Also on DVD

A pair of testosterone-addled football players discovers their inner cheerleaders in Fired Up! (Sony, $29), a half-amusing, half-annoying attempt to duplicate the success of Bring It On, still the Holy Grail of cheerleading comedies. Despite being the oldest high-schoolers this side of Beverly Hills 90210, stars Nicholas D’Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen generate some decent laughs in the film and on the DVD extras, which include a gag reel and a making-of documentary. Too bad the cheer routines lack pizzazz and the formulaic finale is a major d-r-a-g, drag!  Clint Eastwood enjoyed one of his biggest box-office hits with Gran Torino (Warner Home Video, $29), in which he plays a geriatric vigilante type who stands up to a gang of Asian thugs.  Populated by broad stereotypes and lots of clunky dialogue, Gran Torino is about as “gritty” and “real” as an episode of The Hills, yet the movie somehow won significant critical acclaim in addition to its commercial success.  The documentary Thrilla in Manila (Time Life, $15) recounts the famous 1975 Ali/Frazier title bout from the perspective of Joe Frazier, who shares his memories about the match and his relationship with the People’s Champ.  Let Freedom Sing (Time Life, $20) explores the role music played in the Civil Rights movement, when songs like “We Shall Overcome” and “Blowin’ in the Wind” became anthems for social change.  Finally, The Shield: Season Seven (Fox, $60) collects the blistering final season of one of television’s best cop shows.  Always a gripping series, the last ten episodes of The Shield are exceptional, building to a series finale that’s breathtakingly intense and deeply tragic.