Elastic Pop

DVD Review: My Three Sons -The First Season, Volume One

2008-10-07T05:11:47Z

Created in 1960, by Don Fedderson and Leave it to Beaver alumnus George Tibbles, My Three Sons was one of television's longest running comedies. The series was conceived as a starring vehicle for Fred MacMurray, who had been one of Hollywood's biggest stars. MacMurray starred in a string of classic films including: Alice Adams with Katharine Hepburn in 1935 and Hands Across the Table with Carole Lombard in the same year. By 1943, MacMurray was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood when his salary reached $420,000, MacMurray would have further film success with his portrayal of Walter Neff in Billy Wilder's Double indemnity and a slew of other films including: The Egg and I (1947), The Caine Mutiny (1954) and The Shaggy Dog (1959).]]>
The Season One cast of My Three Sons However, by 1960 MacMurray wanted an easier work schedule. MacMurray owned 50% of the series and his contract stipulated that he work only 65 days per year. His scenes for each season were produced in two blocks of filming. He would report to the Desilu-Gower lot in late May and work thirty-five days (five days per week, weekends off), then take off for 10 weeks. He would then return to complete his remaining 30 days of shooting and was finished altogether around Thanksgiving. MacMurray's ten-week hiatus in the middle of each season's production schedule freed up the actor to follow other interests, while the filming of scenes with the other cast members continued. In short, all episodes were filmed out of sequence. The first episode of My Three Sons aired September 29th1960 on ABC. Fred MacMurray played Steve Douglas, a widowed aeronautical engineer trying to raise his three sons; Mike 18 (Tim Considine) Robbie 14 (Don Grady) and Chip 8 (Stanley Livingston). For the past six years, Steve has taken on the responsibilities of the household with the help of his father-in-law, Bub O'Casey (William Frawley), who acts as a cook and confidant for everyone in the family. The first season of My Three Sons was both directed and produced by Father Knows Best veteran Peter Tewksbury. While My Three Sons can never be considered a drama, the series' first season is by far its bleakest. Episodes take on the issue of how a family movies on in the face of maternal loss. While these aren't considered significant issues in the 2008 television landscape, the concept of a widowed parent was fairly unique in 1960. Among the reasons My Three Sons remains a fan favorite is that fact that the series shows how different suburban lives were in the sixties. Somehow, with three boys in the house, nobody got into any real trouble! Even though a lot of things have changed, some things still stay the same. In this fast paced, ever-changing world we live in. sometimes it's nice to go back fifty years and visit what seems like a simpler time. As a bonus, My Three Sons has plenty of off-set footage, too, so you can see neighborhoods, PTO meetings and schools, even freeways during that era. As is the case with many Paramount/CBS DVD sets, eighteen of the first season's 36 episodes are included here. 1) "Chip off the Old Block." The opener introduces the family and, like the best episodes, found a topic that allowed all the family members to weigh in or interact in some way. In this one, Chip and Steve share a common problem: the attentions of a female that they're not exactly crazy about. 2) "The Little Ragpicker." In one of the weaker episodes, a spinster neighbor thinks the kids' grandpa is an alcoholic and the family destitute when young Chip takes his wagon from door-to-door collecting rags. It's for the school rag drive, but the neighbors don't know that. 3) "Bub in the Ointment" finds Bub at the center of things. When he steps on the toes of each grandson in turn, Steve is about to rebuke him when the household returns to normal once again. Being chief cook, dishwasher and housekeeper to three boys is not fun for a grandfather as Bub soon finds out. 4) "Countdown" chronicles the Douglas family's attempts to wake up, prepare for the day, have breakfast and get out of the house by a common, agreed-upon time, all carefully synchronized to a televised rocket launch countdown. While the premise itself may sound a bit boring, Peter Tewksbury's concept was rather innovative for its time. 5) "Brotherly Love" has Mike and Robbie nearly coming to blows over a girl. While dad is trying to teach the boys a peaceful way to solve their argument, Bub, the former boxer, has other ideas. 6) "Adjust or Bust." Steve meets with a top general to discuss one of his designs, and has to borrow Mike's car to get there. Naturally, it breaks down and he has to take the bus. 7) "Lady Engineer." Steve falls for a business associate who has no plans to reciprocate. 8) "Chip's Harvest." This one's been done hundreds of times on family sitcoms and dramas: Chip brings home a destitute "friend" for dinner. 9) "Raft on the River." Feeling left out when Mike and Robbie decide to go camping at Gunman's Gulch, a lonely Chip uses a raft his brothers helped make in the backyard, on which he and Steve spend a night, pretending to float down the Mississippi. They are accidentally locked out when it begins to rain. Steve begins to worry when he wakes up from a nap and thinks it is way past 4am in the morning and thinks that Bub has not yet returned from his pinochle game. One of the best episodes on this set. 10) "Lonesome George." Bub invites comedian George Gobel to dinner and he ends up in Steve's bed. 11) "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year." Girl troubles for Robbie are the focus here, in an interesting episode about male-female relationships in a less complicated time. 12) "My Three Strikers." The boys go on strike, demanding more allowance. 13) "The Elopement." Mike and the girl next door arouse the suspicions of Steve and Bub when secrets are exchanged and the two are seen leaving with suitcases. 14) "Mike's Brother." Constant comparison to his brother, Mike, leaves Robbie feeling inferior and angry. 15) "Domestic Trouble." When Bub is suddenly called out of town, Steve seeks an agency to get temporary help--unaware that he may be recruiting a wife. With his older brothers passing the buck, Chip accidentally rings Domestic Bliss, Inc. - a marriage seeking department who send out a woman inspector right away. 16) "Bub Leaves Home." This time Bub feels like the odd-man-out and decides to return to managing a movie theater. 17) "Mike in a Rush." Mike tries to decide whether to pledge a fraternity. 18) "The Bully" finds Chip having to deal with a schoolyard bully. Digitally remastered, My Three Sons -The First Season, Volume One looks surprisingly good for a program almost fifty years old. The picture is very good and the graininess is minimal. There are no flickers of dirt or imperfections that distract from the viewing process. The show is presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio. With a Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono soundtrack that, as with the video, is mostly clear and free of imperfections. There are no extras included.

DVD Review: Ugly Betty - The Complete Second Season

2008-10-06T19:22:02Z

Ugly Betty is an adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea (I am Betty, the ugly), written by Fernando Gaitán. It was adapted into a New York City setting by creator/developer Silvio Horta and co-producers Salma Hayek and Ben Silverman, whose production companies Silent H, Ventanarosa and Reveille respectively, partnered with ABC Studios to create the hour-long program for a U.S. audience. Hayek has appeared on the show as Sofia Reyes, in addition to playing a cameo role as an actress on a fictional telenovela watched by the main character's family in the pilot episode.]]> Mode, a fashion magazine headquartered in Manhattan. The magazine is part of the publishing empire of Bradford Meade (Alan Dale) and his family. Despite her inexperience, Meade hires Betty to look after his son, the new Mode editor-in-chief, Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius). In time, the two develop a fairly strong, trusting friendship.

The Season Two cast of Ugly Betty.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

During the first season Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams), the high-powered creative director who was passed over, conspires with other employees to discredit and undermine the new rookie editor's efforts and ultimately take over the magazine. By season Two Wilhelmina cooks up a plan to try and marry Bradford and Daniel becomes angry at Betty for not keeping him updated on things. Later, Wilhelmina gets so desperate she ends up stealing sperm to try to keep her hold on the empire (yeah, this gets good, but I don't want to give too much away), and then there's the little matter of Kiss's Gene Simmons turning up as the biological father (or not) of Amanda (Becki Newton), who buddy's with Marc (Michael Urie) who's been Wilhelmina's toadie. Betty? She ends up trying to decide between two guys: the nerdy (and annoying) Henry (Christopher Gorham) and a new guy in town, Gioivanni "Gio" Rossi (Freddy Rodriguez). Betty's gay nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato) starts as an intern at Mode and quickly shows an ability to navigate the murky waters of high profile magazine. Meanwhile, Betty struggles to get back into Daniel's good graces. Ugly Betty is one of the funniest shows on television today. The show successfully mixes elements of comedy, soap opera, and mystery-drama, while spoofing the world of fashion magazines. With two complete seasons under their belt, the creative team behind Ugly Betty has yet to reveal a weakness in the series. The performances are strong, the humor is biting and the writing is top notch. America Ferrera was born to play the role of Betty. I can't imagine anyone else being able to capture the characters sweetness, vulnerability and drive, as well as Ms. Ferrera does, week after week. All 18 of the second season's episodes are included in this DVD set: How Betty Got Her Grieve Back Family/Affair Betty's Wait Problem Grin and Bear It A League of Their Own Something Wicked This Way Comes A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding I See Me, I.C.U. Giving Up the Ghost Bananas for Betty Zero Worship Odor in the Court A Thousand Words by Friday Twenty-Four Candles Burning Questions Betty's Baby Bump The Kids are Alright Jump The picture is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 televisions so that it fills the whole screen. The colors are Mode bright, and for a TV show there's surprisingly little grain. The audio is excellent for a television show, with an English or Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 filling the room with full sound and a surprising amount of ambient sounds distributed across the front and rear speakers. Ugly Betty - The Complete Second Season has a few special features: • On Set with the Besties (6:38) - Michael Urie and Becki Newton take the audience on a tour of the set that includes pop-ups that describe the set in more details and gives factual tidbits. • The Suarez Tour (3:37) - Actor Tony Plana shows the Suarez home set to viewers in this short featurette. • Wilhemina Slater: Love to Hate Her (6:57) - The cast members share their thoughts and favorite scenes about the show's villainess. The creator describes his inspiration for the character and Vanessa Williams discusses how she plays the role. • Las Pasiones de Telenovelas - Two episodes of the Suarez family's favorite Spanish language soap opera. • I Heart Betty (6:10) - America Ferrara and other cast members discuss Betty's love life through a series of clips from the show. • Betty Bloops (4:47) - Outtakes from the show's second season. • Deleted Scenes - Sixteen scenes from various episodes from Season Two.

Blu-ray Review: Grey's Anatomy - Season Four (Expanded)

2008-10-03T20:28:15Z

Season four of Grey's Anatomy saw a few changes both on and off the screen as season four of the series got underway in the follow of 2007. Due to her producing responsibilities on both Grey's and its spinoff Private Practice, series creator Shonda Rhimes assigned the day-to-day showrunning duties to writer and executive producer Krista Vernoff. Season four would also prove to be a real test for the series popularity, as several cast members were not returning for the fourth season. Kate Walsh and her character doctor Addison Montgomery were leaving for Private Practice and it was announced that Isaiah Washington, who played Dr. Preston Burke would not be returning to the show after his contract wasn't renewed.]]>
The season four cast of Grey's Anatomy.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved. Amid all of those changes, Grey's Anatomy soldiered on. For those of you not familiar with the show, Grey's Anatomy is set in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, in Seattle Washington. The show revolves around Dr. Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, who began the show as a surgical intern. The remaining characters are a group of surgical interns and the various physicians who serve as mentors to the interns in their professional and personal lives. In an effort to create a sense of diversity, the show's producers used a "blind-casting" technique, resulting in a racially diverse cast. All roles for Grey's Anatomy are cast without the characters' race being pre-determined. As season four opens, each character is dealing with his or her own personal drama. After being left at the altar Christina (Sandra Oh) is working overtime to prove she's a great surgeon and George (T.R. Night) is dealing with the consequences of cheating on his wife, Callie (Sara Ramirez) with long time best friend Izzie (Katherine Heigl) - not to mention his own difficulties in facing another year as an intern after failing his intern test. Callie is adjusting to her new job as chief resident and the ending of her marriage. Chyler Leigh joined the cast as Meredith's half-sister Lexie, a new surgical intern, who seems more confident and possesses a bubblier personality than her half-sibling. Meredith's relationship with Lexie can be described as strained at best. Meredith's father abandoned her and her mother when she was a child; to later have Lexie with another woman. Perhaps understandably, Meredith has some unresolved resentment towards Lexie around those issues.

Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

While Grey's Anatomy is described as a series that revolves around Dr. Meredith Grey, the shows true strength, its ability to handle so many characters, is also its biggest flaw. While we get to see Derek (Patrick Dempsey) develop a close friendship with Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), other characters like Izzie, Christina, and George sometimes feel like they get lost in the fray. Attempting to write solid material for so many characters in a weekly basis is a nearly impossible feat. As a result, some characters seem to go for weeks at a time without any really focused storyline. I've never been among the group of people that thought Grey's Anatomy was a great show. However, I've always thought it was a good solidly written, well acted drama. I know some Grey's fans felt like the fourth season was the series weakest yet; while that may have been true, the show was still better than many of the dramas on television last year. Disney has instituted a new feature called, "SeasonPlay." This feature keeps track of where you are in your season timeline, regardless of whether you change discs or skip around. It is an interesting feature, but I found little use for it as I watched the season one disc at a time. However, I applaud Disney for attempting to institute new features. This Blu-ray release is a true video transfer. However, the original video is nothing to write home about. The colors are rather dull. Despite that, the image is fairly clean, except for occasional moments of graininess. The black levels are a little crushed, which usually is the case with digital television programs. Still, the quality is far better than the original HD broadcast version. There are no compression or motion artifacts, as should be expected on Blu-ray. The audio is presented in Uncompressed PCM 5.1, which is similar to what you've already heard if you watched the season in HD television. The dialogue is crisp and clearly audible. The stereo imaging is not great, but suitable for a television program. It won't blow your home theater away, but I don't think anyone would expect that from Grey's Anatomy. With the exception of episode specific audio commentaries, all of the Grey's Anatomy - Season Four special features shown in 1080p : • New Docs on the Block (8:07) - A look behind the scenes at the new cast members for season four. • On Set with Patrick and Eric (5:37) - Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane are interviewed about their characters. • Good Medicine: Favorite Scenes (13:49) - Cast members discuss their favorite scenes from the season. • Dissecting Grey's Anatomy: Unaired Scenes (11:52) - twenty three different unaired scenes can be viewed individually as well as through a "Play All" feature. • In Stitches: Season Four Outtakes (4:31) - Consists of some flubbed line readings and practical jokes by the actors. • One Quick Cut (4:19) - Consists of footage with narration summarizing all of the major plot developments in four seasons of the show in a little over four minutes. Warning: This does contain spoilers!

Online Mini-Series: Meet the Beckers

2008-10-02T23:24:08Z

Are you meeting friend's/someone's family for the first time this Thanksgiving? Do you really know what you are in for? To get a preview of what this whole experience may be like, I invite you to join us and watch an original online series titled: Meet the Beckers, the story of a dysfunctional family and their annual Thanksgiving tradition, which just happens to be a tradition that gets worse every year.]]> Meet the Beckers below.

"Meet the Family"

Additional episodes will be released throughout the fall. Be sure to subscribe to The Beckers YouTube Channel or bookmark their website, to follow their dysfunctional turkey day adventures!

DVD Review: Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete First Season

2008-10-02T21:37:48Z

It's shallow I know, but just the title of this series made me believe that this show had the potential to become one of my guilty pleasures. Created by Craig Wright--a writer for such shows as HBO's Six Feet Under, ABC's Lost and Brothers & Sisters--Dirty Sexy Money tells the story of the Darling family of New York. billionaires, considered the closest thing America has to royalty, Nick George (Peter Krause) has spent his whole life living in their shadow. Nick's father was the Darling family lawyer, which caused a lot of resentment for Nick. As an adult, George is leading a quiet life as an idealistic lawyer, until his father unexpectedly dies.]]>
Blair Underwood (left) and Peter Krause.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved. To Nick's surprise, Darling patriarch Tripp (Donald Sutherland) offers him his father's job. When Nick protests, he offers him $10 million dollars for a charity foundation on top of a healthy salary; making the offer to good to pass up. Of course with salary and the charity money comes the tremendous demands of being on call for the Darlings 24/7. These people are constantly dodging trouble or needing legal advice about a marriage. Dirty Sexy Money will likely appeal to fans who enjoyed Dynasty, Dallas and Falcon Crest back in the 1980's Craig Wright has taken those ideas and put a 21st century spin on them. Even the Darlings themselves fit the kind of stereotypes you'd expect to find on a series about a rich family: Tripp is the controlling, demanding patriarch, Letitia (Jill Clayburgh) is the professional but unfaithful wife, Patrick (William Baldwin) is the "good" son, hiding a lot of secrets (predictably, he's also the politician), the I-need-love sister (Natalie Zea) who has more divorces than most people have dates, Jeremy (Seth Gabel) the drug addled black sheep of the family and his twin sister Juliet, the no-brains, no talent wannabe actress. Lastly, there's Glenn Fitzgerald as the Reverend Brian Darling, who comes to symbolize the entire family's duplicitous lives. The pilot for Dirty Sexy Money was one of the best shows offered up during the 2007-08 season. Directed by Peter Horton, the episode introduced the characters and their world wonderfully. The Darling's are really crazy in a lot of ways, and that's part of the point. As much as many of us wish we were filthy rich, it's not always as glamorous or cut and dry as it appears. In some ways, the pilot introduces us to a family not unlike the Bluth's of Arrested Development. However, the Darling's take themselves much more seriously and the series doesn't play itself for much camp value. While the quality of Dirty Sexy Money dropped off some after the pilot--sometimes the line between drama and comedy became dangerously blurred--the show remained fun to watch. Much of the drama on Dirty Sexy Money is derived from the relationships on the show and some of those storylines were more interesting than others. Due in large part to a solid cast--Peter Krause provides the solid if slightly confused rock the family needs and Sutherland and Clayburgh are as strong as you'd expect these veteran actors to be. William Baldwin does some of the best work of his career as the son trying to do right by his family, but struggling with his feelings for a transsexual. Blair Underwood also joined the cast a few episodes into season one as Simon Elder, a billionaire who had some interesting ties to Nick's father.

Donald Sutherland (left) and Jill Clayburgh.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Given the time and place we live in, no show could ever hope to compete with Dynasty or Dallas again. Frankly, that's a good thing; been there, done that. Dirty Sexy Money doesn't try to play it straight or safe. Knowing the show is a soap opera, the writers and producers seem to be having fun with it. That said, Kudos to the series for casting transsexual actress Candis Cayne as Patrick's lover Carmelita. That was one of the most intriguing storylines of the first season and I hope producers continue the storyline into the future. Dirty Sexy Money is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions. As with the other ABC series this show has strong production values, with a good amount of detail reinforcing the slick look and feel of the show. Colors are fairly well saturated, too. There is only a slight amount of graininess. The soundtrack is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround with French and Spanish subtitles. Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete First Season has some notable special features: • Audio Commentaries - Here is a list of the episodes with commentaries and the individuals present: o "Pilot" - Creator Craig Wright, executive producers Greg Berlanti & Matthew Gross, director Peter Horton, and actors Peter Krause and Natalie Zea. o "The Bridge" - Wright and Krause again, this time joined by actors Seth Gabel & Zoe McLellan and writers Jess Brickman and Peter Elkoff. o "The Watch" - Craig Wright, actors William Baldwin, Glenn Fitzgerald, Candis Cayne, & Will Shadley, director Andrew Bernstein, and writer Yahlin Chang. • Deleted Scenes (14 minutes) • The Road to Excess: Making Dirty Sexy Money (20 minutes) - a making-of featurette, Peter Krause describes the show as, "a nice mix of substance and brain candy." • Enter the Penthouse: A VIP Set Tour (7 minutes) - A look at the shows set design. • Haute Couture: Dressing the Darlings (7 minutes) - A look at the shows costume design. • The Other Woman: Candis Cayne (5 minutes) - A discussion of the much-talked-about decision to include a real-life transsexual as a significant character/love interest in the show. • Tripp Ups: Dirty Sexy Bloopers (3 minutes) - Blown lines. • A mock gossip rag with all sorts of articles about the Darling family.

DVD Review: Sports Night - The Complete Series 10th Anniversary Edition

2008-10-02T02:56:00Z

Sports Night aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000. Created by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) Sports Night is a series about a fictional sports news program, much like ESPN's Sports Center, the show broadcasts from the fictional Continental Sports Channel (CSC) a subsidiary of Continental Corp, owned and run by Luther Sachs. The series focuses on the friendships, pitfalls, and ethical issues the crew faces as they struggle to put together a quality show each night.]]>
The cast of Sports Night.
Sports Night: (c) ABC Archive Though a scant forty five episodes of Sports Night were filmed over its two year run, the show enjoys a passionate cult following. After watching Sports Night - The Complete Series 10th Anniversary Edition, it is easy to see why; Sorkin created a funny, intelligent series, using the sitcom format. On the surface, Sports Night was a simple show about a group of people putting together a sports show. However, within those parameters Sorkin managed to make some serious statements about racism, divorce, sexism and the desire to fit in, among other things. Further, the series' use of a single camera format makes the show feel more like the Sorkin drama, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, than a typical sitcom of the day like Home Improvement or Friends. The smart, rapid fire dialogue (that Sorkin would later use so effectively on The West Wing,) brings a freshness and vitality to what otherwise might be considered boring office chatter. The result is a wonderful mix of humor, romance and drama that grows more appealing with each successive episode. The ample talents of Aaron Sorkin aside, the ensemble cast of Sports Night is nothing short of amazing. It starts with the two anchors--Casey McCall (Peter Krause) and Dan Rydell (Josh Charles). Modeled after popular Sportscenter personalities from the mid-'90s, both actors exude charisma while remaining down-to-earth personalities. Krause's recently divorced Casey is often awkward and unsure of himself off camera, while his more confident partner Dan struggles with his own feelings of self-worth. Their discussions behind the scenes and during commercial breaks go well beyond sports and effectively depict the long-time friendship of two co-workers. As with most series, much of the first season is spent introducing us to the characters and their personal and professional lives. In the pilot episode, Sports Night decides to hire a young man named Jeremy Goodwin (Joshua Malina) as an associate producer. Smart and eager, yet socially unsure of himself, Jeremy finds it hard to fit in at first. He develops a romance with fellow employee Natalie Hurley (Sabrina Lloyd) that becomes a major story arc in the series and provides some of the shows more tender moments. Sports Night executive producer Dana Whittaker (Felicity Huffman) is under constant pressure to produce a good show and do better in the ratings than West Coast Update (another show on the same network as Sports Night) and produced by her rival, Sally Sasser (Brenda Strong). Despite the pressure, Dana does her best to maintain a calm atmosphere around Sports Night and is consistently supportive of her on-air talent. From the start, it seems like Dana and Casey would make a good couple, and it's clear they have feelings for each other. However, both are romantically self-destructive and jettison other relationships while remaining apart. Their inability to come together might be frustrating at times, but it also leads to plenty of classic moments. In "The Hungry and the Hunted," Casey tumbles over after seeing Dana in a revealing dress, and this type of silliness occurs consistently. If you're still not convinced that adding Sports Night - The Complete Series 10th Anniversary Edition to your DVD collection is worthwhile, than do it for the pleasure of watching the great Robert Guillaume. As managing editor Isaac Jaffee, Guillaume brings an almost stately presence to the show few actors could muster. When the actor suffered a life threatening stroke during the middle of the series first season, it was written into the storyline. Guillaume's subsequent return for the first season finale is as moving as any scene in a dramatic series. The emotional stakes are heightened during the second season, which reveals cracks in each person and enhances the conflicts. There's also the growing threat of the network being sold, which would almost certainly end the show. Jeremy and Natalie's relationship takes a sour turn and leads him to begin a possible romance with an adult film star (Paula Marshall). Dan struggles with his past and sees a psychiatrist, which appears to only increase his uneasiness. This season is tougher on nearly every character, but it makes for fascinating viewing. William H. Macy shines in a recurring guest role, particularly in "Cliff Gardner," which brings the gang directly into conflict with the network. Macy plays Sam Donovan, a free-wheeling ratings consultant hired to improve the show. His appearance plays everyone on edge, and the veteran actor perfectly embodies Sam's often-frustrating persona. Another classic is the two-part Draft Day story, which places several relationships in severe jeopardy, including Dan and Casey's. Thankfully, the series concludes with a refreshingly positive episode that couldn't have been executed better. "Quo Vadimas" finishes the buyout storyline and gives hope to nearly everyone--exceeding all expectations for a closing episode. Sports Night is truly a wonderful sitcom that was canceled to soon. After watching the complete series, I can't help but think that Aaron Sorkin and the cast and crew had just begun to scratch the surface of what Sports Night could have been. On the other hand, I'm glad we have these forty five episodes to watch on DVD whenever the mood strikes. The video is presented in 1.33:1 - full frame. The transfer contains some grain, but it retains the bright colors of the studio and background rooms. It's not a fabulous transfer, but it effectively presents the series with few defects. The 2.0-channel Dolby Surround track has good power, particularly with the upbeat series theme. The fast-paced dialogue springs well from the front speakers and delivers fine entertainment. This 10th anniversary edition is the second complete series release, but this version includes some great extras. • Audio Commentaries - Most of the main and supporting cast appear at least once, with the exception of Felicity Huffman, which is disappointing. Here is a complete list of the commentaries: "Pilot": Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme "The Six Southern Gentleman of Tennessee": Josh Charles, Peter Krause, Sabrina Lloyd and Director Robert Berlinger "Small Town": Editor Janet Ashikaga "Sally": Greg Baker, Kayla Blake, Timothy Reed-Davis and Ron Ostrow "Eli's Coming": Peter Krause and Robert Berlinger Kafelnikov: Greg Baker, Kayla Blake, Josh Charles, Timothy Davis-Reed, Joshua Malina and Ron Ostrow "The Local Weather": Josh Charles and Joshua Malina "Quo Vadimus": Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme • The Show - chronicles the series' origins through interviews with Sorkin, Schlamme and the main cast members (including Felicity Huffman!). They discuss its divergence from the typical half-hour format, which inspired everyone's creativity. • Faceoff: ESPN's Sportscenter vs. CSC's Sports Nightt - Talks with ESPN personalities about their experiences versus those of the characters on Sports Night. • Gag Reel - Cut ups, jokes, etc. • Original Promos - There are four of these that were created early on. Check out the one that's a shout out to Benson. • Looking Back - Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme recount their experiences working on the series. • Inside the Locker Room - The focus is the technical aspects and the tricks needed to make the multi-camera set-up work. The information's a bit dry, but it does include some notable details. • A Second Gag Reel

Ragged Road's Online Premiere

2008-10-01T21:06:57Z

More than 750 people auditioned for the premiere season of the Ragged Road web series, but only five were chosen to take the ride of a lifetime. The group will travel over 5,000 miles around the country meeting music industry innovators as they make their own path towards achieving their goals.]]> With music interests ranging from performing to producing, the cast members--Janelle, Rian, Derek, Jessica and Laura--have traveled to nine cities to visit famous locales and historic venues, including: Warner Bros. Records and Universal Music Publishing in L.A., Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and New Orleans' Musicians Village. From spending time with well-known musicians Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte and Of A Revolution (aka O. A. R.) to production group Blackout Movement, the group had the opportunity to meet with significant industry players and discuss their achievements, challenges and successes, and learn more about what it takes to make it in the business. The web series began September 29th and will run through October 29th. This documentary web series will chronicle the cast's journey during 10 episodes that will air online twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays. Check out the first episode below, and make sure to visit http://www.youtube.com/raggedroad for more information and future episodes. In the first episode, we meet the five cast members as they converge in New York for a Teen Vogue shoot and then head to Seattle to kick off the musical journey. About the Cast Janelle Kroll / 20 / Northbrook, IL This young singer recorded a 3-track demo just before hitting the road. She hopes to develop her career on her own terms, like the artists she emulates: Lauryn Hill and Corinne Bailey Rae. Janelle celebrated her 21st birthday on the road, during the cast's stop in Nashville. Rian Beriones / 21 / Houston, TX Inspired by industry leaders Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, beatmaker Beriones is fueled by a passion for various aspects of music composition--vocals, production, and instrumentation. Like his heroes, Rian dreams of "doing it all" including production, film, and clothing design. Laura Nicely / 22 / Bowling Green, OH This singer-songwriter is a novice at performing. She looks forward to sharing her passion for country music with her fellow "Ragged Road" riders. Laura, who most looks forward to the cast's stop in the country music capital of Nashville, hopes the trip will bring clarity to her music aspirations. Derek Scott / 21 /Waxahachie, TX Derek found his way to Ragged Road after his stepdad saw a poster for the open call at their local Macy's. Some day he'd like to be a touring musician, so Derek can't wait to get on the open road. He is also an accomplished visual artist, and seeks to build a career marrying his two passions: art and music. Jessica Martinez / 23 / Sacramento, CA This Cali girl wants to infiltrate the business side of the industry, eventually developing artists and exposing their energy and talent to the world. At last year's SXSW Music Festival, Jessica missed Ben Harper's performance to audition for the open casting call. She had just been asking herself, "What am I going to do with my life?"

Bookmark http://www.youtube.com/raggedroad and keep watching!

DVD Review: Private Practice - The Complete First Season (Expanded Edition)

2008-10-01T18:58:12Z

Given the massive success of Grey's Anatomy, it came as no surprise that someone from that series would be chosen to star in their own spinoff. Created by Shonda Rhimes, the series chronicles the life of Dr, Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) after she decides to leave Seattle Grace Hospital and head to Los Angeles to work in a private practice. After Addison was turned down for the Chief of Surgery position at Seattle Grace and her ex-husband continued to chase after Meredith Gray, she decided to make a change in her life; deciding to exchange her high pressure surgical job at the hospital for a more one-on-one with the patients job at the clinic.]]>
The cast of Private Practice.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved. After watching the entire first season of Private Practice, it's easy to see why Kate Walsh's agent insisted that the pilot for the show be a backdoor episode of Grey's Anatomy. The two shows are similar in one respect but very different in another. While Grey's Anatomy balances medical drama with a healthy dose of personal conflict, Private Practice takes things much further. Private Practice is infused with a big dose of soapy melodrama that often tends to dwarf the medical crisis of the week. Somehow, this type of levity works at the Oceanside Wellness Center, where the midwife is a surfer dude and one doctor practices herbal arts and acupuncture. I wrote in an earlier review of Grey's Anatomy that I thought it was a good show, but I've never been a big fan. Surprisingly, I found myself glued to Private Practice. I found that the characters and the actors who portrayed them, just pulled me into each episode. Kate Walsh is extremely likable as a top neo-natal surgeon who tries to ratchet down a bit to fit a more relaxed California lifestyle, as is Audra McDonald as Dr. Naomi Bennett, the center's fertility specialist/endocrinologist and the one who brought her to the center. Taye Diggs is well cast as Naomi's ex-husband, Sam, the resident internist who's written a bestseller called Body Language: The Mind Body Connection. Then there's Dr. Cooper Freedman (Paul Adelstein), a pediatrician with one of the best bedside manners you'll ever see, but a scary fascination with kinky internet sex. Dr. Pete Wilder (Tim Daly), who, despite a medical degree, has opted for alternative medicine and is the center's expert on acupuncture and holistic treatment. He's also an egotistical jerk, convinced that Addison came to California because they once shared a kiss. Not to be left out, is the Wellness Center's psychiatrist, Dr. Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman) who has her own set of relationship issues. Those are the partners in the Center. Rounding out the characters are: Dell (Chris Lowell), a surfer who's learning to be a midwife and Dr. Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland), who's Chief of Staff at nearby St. Ambrose Hospital, where, the Center's cases-gone-wrong usually end up.

Addison and Pete,
heating things up.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

This ensemble works remarkably well together and gives us characters that are easy to care about. We watch them go through everything from a traumatic water birth to s babies switched at birth scenario. Despite the series medical angle, much time is spent on the doctor's personal lives. They talk in front of patients about personal matters, have sex in the office and sit around eating a lot of cake. If you're expecting deep medical drama, you'll probably want to skip Private Practice. If you're a fan of Grey's Anatomy or would like to watch something with a dramatic sensibility a step or two above Scrubs, than Private Practice is for you. Nine episodes are included in Private Practice - The Complete First Season. 1) "In Which We Meet Addison, A Nice Girl from Somewhere Else" 2) "In Which Sam Receives an Unexpected Visitor" 3) "In Which Addison Finds the Magic" 4) "In Which Addison Has a Very Casual Get-Together 5) "In Which Addison Finds a Showerhead" 6) "In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole" 7) "In Which Sam Gets Taken for a Ride" 8) "In Which Cooper Finds a Port in His Storm" 9) "In Which Dell Finds His Fight" Private Practice is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen and "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions. Colors are bright and the level of detail is pretty good for a DVD. Good transfer for standard definition. The audio is also decent, with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround delivering a nice balanced soundtrack that deftly modulates the dialogue, effects, and background music. Rear speakers don't get as much play as on most big screen releases, but there's a nice wide spread along the front mains. Subtitles are in French and Spanish. Private Practice - The Complete First Season has some fairly substantial bonus features: • Kate Walsh: Practice Makes Perfect - Takes a fairly extensive look at the actress's early career struggles. The piece includes interviews with her parents, brother, and other who knew her during those early years. • Alternative Ensemble - Details how each of the actors was recruited and offers the same expansive blend of talking heads and testimonials. • Deleted Scenes • Bloopers • Audio Commentaries - On Disc 1, Walsh, creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes and executive producer Betsy Beers team up for a commentary on "In Which We Meet Addison, a Nice Girl from Somewhere Else." Disc 2 actors Brenneman and Adelstein team up on "In Which Sam Gets Taken for a Ride," and on Disc 3 there's a commentary from actors Diggs and Lowell on "In Which Dell Finds His Fight." • Full-color fold-out map of the Santa Monica hangouts and brief bios of the cast.

Blu-ray Review: The Love Guru

2008-10-01T03:31:10Z

I freely admit I'm a movie freak. I regularly admit that I'll sit through any film once in the hopes of finding some morsel of merit in each piece of celluloid I subject myself to. Even though I had read absolutely terrible reviews about Mike Myers' The Love Guru, I went into it with an open mind. Admittedly, I decided after seeing the trailer several months ago, that I wasn't going to spend money to see this movie in theatrical release but I was more than willing to give it a shot on blu-ray. All my friends said it was a stinker and most of the reviews I read seemed to concur. Still, as a longtime fan of Mike Myers, I remained hopeful.]]> Twenty minutes in and my hopes were dashed; The Love Guru will likely rank in my top ten list of worst films of 2008. To put it simply, The Love Guru is eighty-five minutes of terribly unfunny, potentially offensive schlock. Guru Pitka (Myers) is poised to be the next Deepak Chopra, taking over five or six shelves at Books-A-Million with a plethora of self-help books brimming with Eastern wisdom and lots and lots of helpful acronyms. He's rich, he's pampered, he's adored the world over...but even though his fame is anchored around teaching others to love themselves, Pitka still has a couple of things standing in the way of his own happiness. One...? A slot on Oprah so he can dethrone Deepak Chopra as America's favorite elliptical Eastern mysticism self-help factory. Two...? A chastity belt he's stuck wearing until he finds true love. As it turns out, the answers to all of Pitka's problems are in Toronto! Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba) inherited the Toronto Maple Leafs from her father and for the first time in decades the team is on the brink of winning the Stanley Cup. There's only one problem: star player Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) is unable to focus on the game, after his wife (Meagan Good), got cozy with his rival, Jacques "Le Coq" Grande (Justin Timberlake). In a panic, Jane calls on Pitka to try to save her star players marriage and her teams shot at a Stanley Cup. I'm sure this is where Mike Myers and crew thought things would get really funny. Instead, the whole story just gets ridiculous. The sophomoric humor us at an all-time high here; Booger jokes, fart jokes, genitalia gags and short jokes at the expense of Verne Troyer make up ninety percent of the dialogue. The other ten percent of the script is Mike Myers facial expressions--the guy spends so much time mugging for the camera, I couldn't decide if I felt sorry for him for trying to make something out of such a bad movie, or if I just wanted to slap him. Mike Myers has shown himself to be a pretty talented guy. I mean he brought us Wayne's World and one of the best spoof characterizations in recent memory, with the Austin Powers series. Because of that, I can't for the life of me understand the utter listlessness of The Love Guru. Instead of creating something inventive, Myers, co-writer Graham Gordy and director Marco Schnabel keep hitting the audience ovew and over again with the same toilet humor jokes, in hopes of eliciting a laugh. The only reason to watch The Love Guru is to revel in the eye popping brilliant sheen that this 1080p, 2.39:1 transfer offers. Almost every shot throughout the movie offers pure high definition eye candy with bright, vibrant colors, excellent depth, and fabulous textures. As a new movie, the print is absolutely pristine Facial detail is excellent in close-up shots, and the scrutiny of the 1080p transfer makes the Guru's beard look even more fake. Flesh tones appear spot-on, and black levels are true. Softness around the edges of the frame on some shots is noticeable, and there is a lack of sharpness on some medium and long distance objects as well, proving to be the one downside to the transfer. While The Love Guru is a truly awful movie, it looks very nice on Blu-ray. The Love Guru packs on a lossless Dolby TrueHD track, not that it really matters for a flick sporting sound design this bland. The dialogue is clear but it fails to have any pop. Perhaps that's fitting for a bad movie like this one. The Love Guru has some special features as short an uninteresting as the film. • Mike Myers and the Love Guru - An Inside Look (1080p, 9:35) - The cast and crew discuss the film. • One Hellava Elephant (1080p, 5:44) - A look at the special effects work that went into some of the film's elephant scenes. • Hockey Training for Actors (1080p, 8:03) - Delves into shooting on the ice, the attempt to bring authenticity to the film's hockey sequences, and Romany Malco's training to learn how to look like an excellent hockey player. • Ten deleted and extended scenes and an alternate ending (1080p, 13:46) • Bloopers (1080p, 3:48) • Back in the Booth With Trent and Jay (1080p, 5:08) - a series of additional scenes featuring the sports commentators featured in the film. • Outtakes (1080p, 10:14) • Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:31) • Disc two of this set contains a digital copy of the film for playback on personal computers and select portable video devices.

DVD Review: Grey's Anatomy - Season Four (Expanded)

2008-09-29T03:30:32Z

Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

While Grey's Anatomy is described as a series that revolves around Dr. Meredith Grey, the shows true strength, its ability to handle so many characters, is also its biggest flaw. While we get to see Derek (Patrick Dempsey) develop a close friendship with Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), other characters like Izzie, Christina, and George sometimes feel like they get lost in the fray. Attempting to write solid material for so many characters in a weekly basis is a nearly impossible feat. As a result, some characters seem to go for weeks at a time without any really focused storyline. I've never been among the group of people that thought Grey's Anatomy was a great show. However, I've always thought it was a good solidly written, well acted drama. I know some Grey's fans felt like the fourth season was the series weakest yet; while that may have been true, the show was still better than many of the dramas on television last year. The DVD is presented in an anamorphic wide-screen 1:78:1 transfer, enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions. Overall, the video quality for the episodes is excellent throughout. The colors are as bright and rich, as the muted color palette allows. All in all, it's a solid transfer. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, except for the special features. The music on Grey's Anatomy plays a significant role in setting the dramatic mood. The producers typically end an episode with music by up-and-coming artists playing over the narration by Ellen Pompeo. There have been three CD compilations of music from the show released to date, with more are on the way. The producers of the show have been forward-thinking enough to obtain licensing rights to include the same music on the DVD sets as appeared on the original network broadcasts. To my knowledge, there are no music substitutions made on the Season Four set, and the packaging does not indicate any changes of this kind. The music on the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack is blended appropriately with the dialogue so that the music neither overwhelms nor is drowned out by the dialogue. With the exception of episode specific audio commentaries, all of the Grey's Anatomy - Season Four special features are housed on disc five as follows: • New Docs on the Block (8:07) - A look behind the scenes at the new cast members for season four. • On Set with Patrick and Eric (5:37) - Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane are interviewed about their characters. • Good Medicine: Favorite Scenes (13:49) - Cast members discuss their favorite scenes from the season. • Dissecting Grey's Anatomy: Unaired Scenes (11:52) - twenty three different unaired scenes can be viewed individually as well as through a "Play All" feature. • In Stitches: Season Four Outtakes (4:31) - Consists of some flubbed line readings and practical jokes by the actors. • One Quick Cut (4:19) - Consists of footage with narration summarizing all of the major plot developments in four seasons of the show in a little over four minutes. Warning: This does contain spoilers!

Television Preview: Oppurtunity Knocks

2008-09-27T22:04:41Z

Check out the fun new show on ABC from executive producer Ashton Kutcher, Opportunity Knocks. Imagine a game show in your own yard. ABC is going across the country and setting up shop on different family's yards. The family is quizzed on how well they know each other as the audience (friends and neighbors) cheer them on. Each family must work together to complete both mental and physical tasks in order to win exciting prizes! ]]>

The show premieres next Tuesday at 8/7c on ABC.

DVD Review: Sundown - The Vampire in Retreat (Special Edition)

2008-09-26T03:18:03Z

Generally, I'm not a big horror fan. However, I have always appreciated the work of David Carradine. Recently, I reviewed both Kill Bill films in which Carradine does a masterful job in the role of Bill. I had heard several months ago that Lionsgate was releasing a special edition DVD of a 1990 film, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat but I couldn't recall ever seeing it. However, since the film starred David Carradine and Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness), I knew I had to give it a look. What a strange, fun move it was! David Harrison (Jim Metzler) and engineer, is told to go Purgatory, Utah, where an artificial blood manufacturing plant he designed has been constructed. The town's economy is dependent on the plant working, so David's arrival is considered vital. Harrison brings along his wife Sarah (Morgan Brittany) and his two young daughters. As soon as the Harrison's arrive in town, it's pretty clear something strange is going on. All the townspeople wear a lot of sun block and they look at the Harrison's very strangely. After a few choice events, it becomes clear that these people are all vampires.]]>
David Carradine as Count Mardulak. Count Mardulak (David Carradine) and his followers want to create a world where humans and vampires can co-exist peacefully. He figures if the blood manufacturing plant is fixed, they will no longer have to take human lives to survive. Vampires Shane (Maxwell Caulfield) and Jefferson (John Ireland) prefer the old ways, and their followers plan to slaughter all the peaceful vampires, whom they view as traitors. Also, young Van Helsing (Bruce Campbell), descendent of the Van Helsing who defeated Dracula, has come to town with some bloodsucking murder on his mind. However, that goes awry when he meets a sexy, blonde vampire. Sound a bit silly? Well, it is. Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat mixes the horror, comedy and western genres to create a strange but fun piece of entertainment. Of the three, horror is ironically the least used of the three genres despite the town's vampire population. There are a few bloody moments here, but this is mostly an exercise in physical comedy, silly parody, and shoot-em-up theatrics. If I had one complaint about Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, it would be the length. At 104 minutes, the film is probably about twenty minutes longer than it needs to be. There are some minor characters, repetitive action sequences and a final fight scene that could have been edited to make the story tighter. However, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat was an unexpected treat to watch and horror and/or Carradine fans should give the film a look. The video is presented in 16x9 Widescreen 2.35:1format. The anamorphic image is bright and clear with good colors and details. There is some minor graininess but nothing dramatic. Two English language audio tracks are provided here: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. The 5.1 track appears to be the default and it sounds great. English and Spanish subtitles are also provided. Sundown - The Vampire in Retreat (Special Edition) delivers a nice selection of special features: • A Feature Length Commentary - Director Anthony Hickox and director of photography Levie Isaacks comment on different aspects of the film. • Memories of Moab: Interview with Bruce Campbell (12:53) - The actor discusses his experiences making the film. • A Vampire Reformed: Interview with David Carradine (13:45) - The actor discusses his experiences making the film. • A True Character: Interview with M. Emmet Walsh (10:59) - The actor discusses his experiences making the film. • A Slideshow of Images from the Film (6:43) - Accompanied by the films score.

Fancast to Have Exclusive Preview of Unedited Season 2 Premiere of Californication

2008-09-25T21:17:57Z

Fancast will have an exclusive preview of the unedited second premiere of Californication for 48 hours prior to its Showtime airdate on Sunday September 28th. The premiere will be available on Fancast.com from 9/26 - 9/28. Today, I had the opportunity to watch the season premiere of Chuck, that I missed last night.]]> Fancast, you get access to more than 4,500 hours of streaming free full length content, and more than 5,600 episodes from more than 100 video providers including top networks and movie studios. Here's just an example of some of the shows you can watch for free:

Not only do you get access to hours of free television programing and films, but Fancast's blog runs exclusive interviews with stars on some of the most popular shows and gives users the chance to explore multiple dimensions of their favorite entertainment. Fancast also has a new "notify me" tool that allows users to set email preferences, including reminders for when a new episode of their favorite show is on Fancast or on broadcast TV. Fans can manage those selections though the site's notification and features section. Fancast is a film and television lover's dream. As regular readers of ElasticPop.com know, I'm a big fan of classic television, I love Cloris Leachman and have been really enjoying her on this year's Dancing With the Stars. I found this episode of The Mary Tyler More Show titled, "Assistant Wanted, Female" that always cracks me up. Mary Richards hires her friend Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) as her newsroom assistant with disastrous results.

DVD Review: Gigi - 2 Disc Special Edition

2008-09-25T19:39:25Z

Along with An American in Paris, Warner Brothers has recently released Gigi, in a two disc special edition. Released in 1958, the film reunited director Vincent Minnelli with producer Arthur Freed, Alan Jay Lerner and actress Leslie Caron. After the success of An American in Paris, Freed and Minnelli were more than happy to put a new twist on what had proven to be a very successful formula. Once again set in Paris, the screenplay was written by Alan Jay Lerner, who also wrote the music (lyrics) along with his partner Frederick Loewe (music). The film is based on the bestselling novella of the same name by French author Colette, which was first adapted for the screen with Danièle Delorme in 1949.]]>
Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan. Gigi gives us the Frenchman Maurice Chevalier, who had his own brand of special talents, instead of Gene Kelly. Similar to An American in Paris, Gigi is about an older man falling for a gorgeous French ingénue, once again played by Leslie Caron. Gigi doesn't quite have the spark or the tremendous dance routines of An American in Paris but any fan of musicals will find the film a very enjoyable experience. Leslie Caron plays Gilberte aka 'Gigi', a nineteen year old girl being trained by her grandmother, Madame Alvarez (Hermoine Geingold) and Aunt Alicia (Isabel Jeans) to be an escort for rich, sophisticated men. Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jourdan), the heir to a sugar empire is only moderately successful in his own business endeavors. However, he keeps his name in the society pages with his long list of romantic liaisons. Gaston finds himself becoming bored with the playboy lifestyle. After a particularly disastrous affair with the dramatic Liane d'Exelmans (Eva Gabor), Gaston finds himself a scandalous figure in gossip circles. And though his dedicated playboy uncle Honoré Lachaille (Maurice Chevalier), tries to help him through the tricky art of seduction, the women around Gigi have a different idea; One look at Gaston and Gigi and they see the perfect couple. The first thing any viewer is bound to notice about Gigi is the visual presentation. Vincente Minnelli shot much of Gigi in Paris; at a time when on location shooting was nearly as common as it is today. The legendary Cecil Beaton designed all the costumes and decorated the scenery to give Gigi a turn-of-the-century glamour that both captures the feeling of the Parisian spirit but also gives it that "Cecil Beaton" look, much like he did for London in My Fair Lady a few years later. Preston Ames, the art director for An American in Paris, joined Beaton to make the screen a virtual explosion of color. Much like An American in Paris, director Vincent Minnelli and producer Arthur Freed seemed to understand that the story wasn't the real driving force behind the film. Instead, it was the visuals and top-notch music by Lerner and Lowe. Lerner and Loewe came up with an impressive batch of songs, including such enduring standards such as, "Thank Heaven for Little Girls", "I Remember it Well", "The Night they Invented Champagne", "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore", and the recycled My Fair Lady outtake "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight". Chevalier has one of the best numbers when he gets to sing "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore," addressing the audience directly as he compares the perils of youth and romance to the comfort of old age. Chevalier's character establishes one of the central conflicts in Gigi: the rift between the people who will not marry and the people who do not. Chevalier's character will not marry, whereas Gigi's Grandmother and Aunt have not. As Aunt Alicia says, some marry at once, some marry at last. Can Gigi handle commitment? Will Gaston leave behind the life of a bachelor and fully commit to marriage? Honestly, the ending of Gigi leaves things muddled. Gaston acts impulsively, which leaves the viewer feeling like he's trying to avoid a major confrontation rather than making a heartfelt commitment. Despite the flaws, Gigi manages to be a very entertaining musical. Just sit back, enjoy the music and don't worry about the plot. Shot in Cinemascope, Gigi's original aspect ratio was 2.35:1, and this DVD preserves the very wide picture in a gorgeous looking anamorphic transfer; great looking. The film's audio is presented via a Dolby Digital 5.1 track encoded at a 384 kbps bitrate. Overall, this was a very satisfying mix/track. The orchestral score is presented in wide stereo. There is directional dialog, but it is "pulled in" somewhat, not using the full width of the front channels. The surrounds are used primarily for support of the music track. In terms of fidelity, the dialog and vocals are not recorded quite as well as the orchestra. A dubbed French Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track is also available. Subtitles include English Closed Captioning, French, and Japanese. Disc Two only has basic mono audio options, French on the movie and English on the documentary, with English Closed Captioning and Japanese subtitles on both. The 1949 movie has English subtitles burned into the image, as well. See more in the extras section. The Gigi - 2 Disc Special Edition has quite a few special features: Disc One • Live Action Short and a Cartoon Short (13:02) - The live-action selection is The Million Dollar Nickel. This 10-minute propaganda piece features immigrant actors, including Leslie Caron, the other Gabor (Zsa Zsa), Ricardo Montalban, and Pier Angeli writing postcards to their families overseas to let them know how good life is in the U.S., and using $0.05 stamps to send them. The cartoon is The Vanishing Duck, also made in Cinemascope and featuring Tom and Jerry directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. • Full Length Audio Commentary - By film historian, professor, author Jeanine Basinger. She gives detailed explanations of what we are seeing on screen and how the filmmakers made it happen. Basinger also uses clips from an interview with Leslie Caron to get her thoughts on things. • Theatrical Trailer Disc Two • Thank Heaven! The Making of Gigi (35:40) - featuring a new interview with Leslie Caron (She looks wonderful.) On camera interview participants include Author/Historian Drew Caspar, Author/Colette Expert Diane LeBow, Caron, Author/Historian Hugh Fordin, and Lerner and Loewe Biographer Gene Lees. Audio and video footage from archival interviews with Vincente Minnelli and Alan Freed secretary Mildred Kaufman is also incorporated into the featurette along with a mix of film clips and behind the scenes images. Japanese subtitles are available on this featurette. • A French Language Version of Gigi from 1949 - As it says in the insert, "It reflects the ravages of time in picture and sound quality but nonetheless we share it with you to enhance your enjoyment of the charming chronicles of Colette's indelible character." While the quality is fairly poor, fans should enjoy the chance to this non-musical version of Gigi and the changes that were made for the 1958 film.

DVD Review: An American in Paris - 2 Disc Special Edition

2008-09-25T03:28:34Z

Directed by Vincente Minnelli, the 1951 film An American in Paris was inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant, the script was written by Alan Jay Lerner, who together with Frederick Lowe, created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre. Of course, the music in An American in Paris is by George Gershwin, with lyrics by his brother Ira, with additional music by Saul Chaplin, the music director. I first saw An American in Paris when I was about seven years old and can remember being completely transfixed. I was simply amazed that Gene Kelly could sing and dance so well. It was after seeing An American in Paris that I was introduced to the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Powell and the great musicals like My Fair Lady, Meet Me in St Louis, Gigi and countless others; so An American in Paris holds a bit of a special place in my heart and the soundtrack has a permanent place in my CD collection. ]]>
Gene Kelly as Jerry Mulligan, Nina Foch
as Milo Roberts.
(c) 1951 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I heard Warner Brothers was releasing a special two disc edition of the film. For those of you not familiar with An American in Paris, Gene Kelly plays Jerry Mulligan, a veteran who stays in France after the war to pursue a career as a painter. Living in a bohemian section of Paris, he makes friends with several other ex-patriots, including jazz pianist Adam Cook (The incredibly funny and musically talented Oscar Levant). Adam gives Jerry a straight man of sorts and an accompanist for when he breaks into impromptu song and dance routines. Needing money, Jerry takes some of his canvases to the open market to try and sell them. There he meets Milo (Nina Foch), a wealthy American divorcee who takes a shine to his paintings and to their painter. She becomes Jerry's patron, though she has a little more than art on her mind. The pair initially agrees to disagree on the subject of romance. However, trouble begins when Jerry becomes infatuated with Lise (Leslie Caron), a French girl he meets at a restaurant. Not only is Milo jealous but Adam's friend, the French singer Henri Baurel (Georges Guetary), would have cause to be jealous, as well, if he knew what was going on. Lise is his girl and even though Lise loves Jerry, she feels indebted to him for having saved her family during World War II. What a soap opera! Yes, there's no denying that An American in Paris is a big sappy muddle of a romance when it comes to the story. As you can gather from my synopsis, the plot is as thin as a piece of saran wrap but it doesn't matter much here. The beauty of An American in Paris is the music and the dancing. Minnelli, undoubtedly realizing the script wasn't the star here, wisely keeps things moving, not allowing much time between musical numbers. He gives us a variety of Gershwin tunes: We get the slow and romantic "Our Love is Here to Stay" when Jerry is serenading Lise along the Seine, as well as "Tra-La-La (This Time it's Really Love)," with Jerry mugging alongside Adam while straddling his piano. Also quite funny is Oscar Levant's solo scene, playing every member of the orchestra in a daydream where he performs a Gershwin concerto to an enthusiastic crowd of people who aren't just like him, but are him. (He plays the audience, too!) The tone of the film is pure fun and it's hard as an audience member, not to join in the fun.

Gene Kelly as Jerry Mulligan, Leslie Caron
as Lise Bouvier.
(c) 1951 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Then of course there's the "An American in Paris Ballet." Believing he has lost Lise to Henri, Jerry mulls over his short time with her, envisioning Paris as a city alive with dance and romance. Kelly is simply amazing as he leaps and twirls in the streets in ode to love as Jerry. Kelly jumps into a Tolouse-Lautrec painting (Chocolat) and brings it to life; it's a summation of the dance and the beginning of a conclusion Jerry doesn't expect. For anyone who hasn't seen An American in Paris, the ballet alone is worth the price of admission. For this 4:3 color transfer, Warner Brothers has employed their Ultra-Resolution process to digitally align and combine the color records of the original three-strip Technicolor negatives. The result is a video presentation with few noticeable flaws. Color and density are solid and unwavering. Light, natural looking film grain is noticeable and fairly well rendered by the video compression. Any major graininess will likely only be slightly noticeable on smaller television sets. Audio is available in English and French Dolby mono. The original English is a solid audio track, with good balance between dialogue and music. Subtitles include English Closed Captioning, French, Japanese, and Thai. The Japanese and Thai are also included on the bonus features on the second DVD. The An American in Paris - 2 Disc Special Edition has a number of special features: Disc One • Theatrical Trailer • Two MGM Shorts - (8:58) the live-action "FitzPatrick Traveltalks: Paris on Parade," a travelogue that revisits a 1937 exhibition in the city, and a Tex Avery-directed cartoon, "Symphony in Slang." Neither of these has had any clean-up done on their prints and do show their age. • A Full Length Audio Commentary, which is a collage of vintage interviews put together by Patricia Ward Kelly, Gene Kelly's widow. The participants include: Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli, producer Arthur Freed, screenwriter Arthur Jay Lerner, musical directors Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin, costume designer Irene Sharaff, art director Preston Ames, and performer/Gershwin expert Michael Feinstein. There are also excerpts from new interviews with actresses Leslie Caron and Nina Foch. Put together, all of these talented people provide a detailed overview of the film any fan will want to hear. Disc Two • Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (85 min.) - This was part of the PBS American Masters series and biographies don't get much better than what they produce. A must see. • 'S Wonderful: Creating "An American in Paris - (42:23) A newly produced "making of" documentary. using archival news footage, production materials (including behind-the-scenes photos and plans for set designs), and new interviews with Ward Kelly, Caron, Foch, two of the kids from the "I Got Rhythm" sequence, a trumpet player from the orchestra, a dancer in the ballet, and a variety of scholars and biographers, etc. • Love Walked In Outtake - (2:43) Is an outtake musical number featuring Georges Guétary and Oscar Levant. The audio/video quality on this extra is comparable to that of the restored film. • A collection of Audio Outtakes (14:33 w/"Play All") includes: 1. Alternate Main Title 2. But Not for Me (Guétary) 3. But not for Me (Levant, Piano Solo) 4. Gershwin Prelude #3 5. I've Got a Crush on You (Kelly, vocal) 6. Nice Work if You Can Get It (Guétary, vocal) 7. 'S Wonderful (Kelly, vocal) • Three Promotional Radio Interviews (13:54) - Johnny Green alone, Gene Kelly alone, and Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron together. As you can see, An American in Paris - 2 Disc Special Edition is packed with enough stuff to use up a good part of a day! Here's a peak at a scene from An American in Paris.