This grab bag of current DVD releases includes classic foreign films, far-from-classic TV series and several documentaries that range from the sublime (German singer Dietrich Fische-Dieskau) to the sadly ridiculous (suicide leapers off the Golden Gate Bridge).

Autumn Journey

Kultur
directed by Bruno Monsaingeon
staring Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s career is chronicled in this absorbing 1995 study on the occasion of one of our latest singers’ 70th birthday. In addition to interviews, Bruno Monsaingeon’s film contains footage of Fischer-Dieskau onstage in various operas over the decades, including his many Wagner triumphs and his last lead role, as Shakespeare’s king in Aribert Reimann’s transcendent “Lear” in 1978. Also included is a complete 1991 recital of 23 Schubert songs by Fischer-Dieskau, which shows him a still-formidable interpreter even though his voice has worn with age.

Extras: none.

The Bolero

In Search of Cezanne

The Bridge

Koch Lorber
directed by Eric Steel

 One of the saddest and, at times, most unwatchable movies I’ve ever seen, Eric Steel’s documentary trains its cameras on the Golden Gate Bridge, where two dozen people (18 men, 6 women) leapt to their deaths in 2004. It might sound tastelessly voyeuristic, but “The Bridge” carries its dramatic weight through heartrending interviews with surviving family members and friends, and–in one amazing case–the recounting of a young man’s miraculous survival of his own death leap. Not for everyone, obviously, but for those who choose to watch, this is a rewarding and eye-opening experience.

Extras: behind-the-scenes featurette; suicide prevention PSA.

Child Murders

Facets
directed by Ildiko Szabo
staring Péter Andorai, Mari Balogh, Eszter Csákányi, Ilona Kállay, Barnabás Tóth

Ildiko Szabo’s bleak 1993 feature is deceptively simple: a young boy kill a young girl and confesses to the crime. The director demonstrates immense formal control over her disturbing material, unflinchingly showing the killing and a still-born birth sequence, just two powerful black and white images among many by photographer Tamas Sas. Szabo’s artistry is also evident in her highly effective use of music and her brilliant way with her unknown but memorable actors.

Extras: none.

Les Enfants Terribles

Criterion
directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
staring Nicole Stephane, Edouard Dermithe, Renee Cosima, Jacques Bernard, Melvyn Martin, Maria Cyliakus, Jean-Marie Robain, Maurice Revel

Jean Cocteau adapted his own controversial novel about a brother and sister whose relationship is far too close for comfort. That Jean-Pierre Melville directed helps ground this incestuous tale in a reality beyond Cocteau’s grasp: the result is an unsettling but buoyant masterpiece that–even though it was made in 1950–remains fresh and shocking today. Anchored by the performances of its two stars, Nicole Stephane and Edouard Dermithe, “Les Enfants Terribles” only falters in its overuse of music by Bach and Vivaldi.

Extras: commentary by critic Gilbert Adair; interviews with cast and crew; Cocteau featurette; Cocteau’s illustrations from the novel.

Inside Iraq

Shidog Films
directed by Mike Shiley
staring Mike Shiley
                                        
Freelance journalist Mike Shiley returned from Iraq with devastating, wrenching footage about the ongoing atrocities–which are being committed by everyone, local and American, even though they are both supposed to be on the same side. Without any overt political agenda or obvious axe to grind, Shiley shows that this war is a disastrous mistake that keeps spiraling further out of control. Of course, those who should see this film–the 29 percent who still are drinking the Bush kool-aid–will never do so.

Extras: none.

Ivan's Childhood

Criterion
directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
staring Nikolai Burlyayev, Valentin Zubkov

Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1962 debut is in many ways his greatest film: this unflinching study of a youngster’s existence during the ravages of war has a most ironic title, since Ivan has everything but a real childhood. The poetic imagery, the dream-like pacing, the singular mastery of the cinematic form–all are present and accounted for in this unforgettably moving drama that was followed by another masterwork, “Andrei Rubelev,” and a daring sci-fi epic, “Solaris.” But none of these later films found Tarkovsky at the very height of his creative powers as did “Ivan.”

Extras: brilliant-looking new transfer; appreciation by scholar Vida Johnson; new interviews with actor Nikolai Burlyaev and cinematographer Vadim Yusov.

The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg

New Yorker
directed by Jerry Aronson
staring Joan Baez, William F. Buckley, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffman, Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, Norman Mailer

 Decades in the making, Jerry Aronson’s portrait of the famed Beat poet and 60s peace activist seems slight: clocking in at 84 minutes, the film can’t help but be much more than a skimming of the surface of Ginsberg’s fascinating life and times. With talking heads ranging from Norman Mailer and Joan Baez to William Burroughs and Abbie Hoffman, “Life and Times” is at its most revealing in classical archival footage with no less than William Buckley, Dick Cavett, Bob Dylan and Paul Mccartney. It’s the many bonuses that make this release a must, however.

Extras: deleted scenes; making-of featurette; a second disc with dozens of interviews not in the movie, including Paul McCartney, Johnny Depp, Hunter Thompson and Andy Warhol; footage of Ginsberg’s memorial service in New York.

A Little Night Music

Hen's Tooth
directed by Harold Price

 Stephen Sondheim’s 1973 Tony-winning Best Musical was transferred to the screen with decidedly mixed results, even with master theater director Harold Prince at the helm. Visually, this is a lush adaptation, several of the performers (notably Diana Rigg and Len Cariou) are sufficiently charming, and even Sondheim’s wonderful score has been sensibly edited (mostly shortened, but with a new version of the song “The Glamorous Life”). But the many debits include shooting on location in Austria rather than Scandinavia (it was cheaper), and the presence of the disastrous Elizabeth Taylor, minus her youthful looks, charm and talent, who even ruins the heretofore indestructible “Send in the Clowns” (even though her singing voice was dubbed). This decidedly mixed bag isn’t helped by a lackluster DVD presentation: the transfer is mediocre-looking and the stereo sound is tinny.

Extras: none.

Maxed Out

Magnolia
directed by James D. Scurlock
staring Chris Barrett, Robin Leach, Luke McCabe, Mark Mumma, Liz Warren

 A breezily entertaining documentary about a most serious subject–personal debt–“Maxed Out” can be accused of frivolity as it tackles the implications of the fact that the average American is more than $9000 in credit card debt with no end in sight. Still, director James Scurlock knows that the “fun,” Michael Moore-esque approach is the best way to get serious points across, and in that he succeeds. Everyone needs to see this important message movie.

Extras: short featurettes and interviews on credit and debt.

The Nightcomers

Lions Gate
directed by Michael Winner
staring Marlon Brando

In 1971, this adaptation of Henry James’ psychodramatic thriller “The Turn of the Screw” was considered controversial: racy, disturbing, and violent. Today, it’s lost some of its luster, although there’s still much to cherish: Marlon Brando’s performance as Quint (brogue and all) is the kind of overacting only he could get away with; Jerry Fielding’s musical score is jaunty and ominous by turns; and Michael Winner’s direction is quite imaginative, easily his best film work.

Extras: Winner commentary and introduction.

Risk/Reward

Roland Park/Oh! Oxygen
directed by Elizabeth Holder and Xan Parker
 


This straightforward account of several women who work in varied power-broker jobs on Wall Street smartly takes it for granted that they would be in such positions instead of showing how “unique” they are. An anecdote early on about the first woman trader’s trip to the only trading-floor bathroom paved the way for separate-sex bathrooms shows how far women have advanced. Of course, they now have the myriad personal-life problems men have had for decades: namely, they don’t have one.

Extras: none.

The Secret of NIMH

MGM
directed by Don Bluth

 The first animated feature by Don Bluth, who went to make “An American Tail,” “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” and “Anastasia,” may be his most accomplished. Based on Robert C. O’Brien’s book, “NIMH” may not be as dark as “Watership Down,” yet it’s still far from the usual treacly fare that passes for children’s movies, especially today. Nicely-drawn, with a good voice cast, “NIMH” stumbles only in its over-reliance on Jerry Goldsmith’s too-insistent music, including the god awful end-title song “Flying Dreams,” with lyrics and vocals by the insufferable Paul Williams.

Extras: commentary by Bluth and producer Gary Goldman; an unnecessary second disc that includes a 15-minute making-of featurette and several kids’ games.

An Unreasonable Man

IFC/Genius
directed by Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan
staring Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan, Howard Zinn


 Ralph Nader has had a storied life in the public eye, and this documentary by Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan of necessity concentrates on his marvelous and unequaled accomplishments as a catalyst for change and safety standards on behalf of the American people. There’s so much we are indebted to Nader for that the black mark on his career–his 2000 presidential campaign which helped give George W. Bush the White House–cripples but doesn’t fatally wound his legacy. Of course, the film is staunchly pro-Nader: the few anti-Ralph voices are present only for “balance,” not for examining their claims with any depth. Still, Nader’s has been instrumental in helping Americans and, now, hurting them also; for that story, another movie needs to be made.

Extras: deleted scenes; featurettes/interviews.

Wait till Your Father Gets Home

Warners
directed by Peter Luschwitz
staring Willie Aames

Not every old TV show should be resurrected, and “Wait till Your Father Gets Home” is a case in point. This animated series debuted in 1972 as a generation-gap comedy, and its hit-or-miss humor mostly missed even then. Today, it’s almost unwatchable, though there is a time-capsule quality to the situations and dialogue that is occasionally amusing and eye-opening. Still, since most TV series aren’t much better nowadays, perhaps we haven’t come as far as we think.

Extras: retrospective featurette; animation featurette.

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