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Managing Editor A two-disc visit with a film director, a preview of a collected television series and five films starring the great Boris Karloff are in this week's DVD column. An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder With just six low-budget cult films under his belt, one wouldn't think that director and writer Kevin Smith would be the celebrity he is, but Smith has definitely entered the select club of film directors whose celebrity transcend just being a film maker. Like Cecil B. DeMille and Alfred Hitchcock, Smith has become a personality. Perhaps the only other contemporary director who achieved this kind of name recognition is John Waters. Smith has had a regular segment on "The Tonight Show," has popped up as an actor in other productions, has appeared on several episodes of "Dinner for Five," written comic books, and has made a habit of appearing for question and answer sessions on college campuses and other venues. In 2002, some of these college appearances were shot for the direct-to-DVD release "An Evening with Kevin Smith." Four years later the sequel, "An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder," is being released at the end of this month to coincide with the DVD release of "Clerks II." If you're not a fan of Smith's movies ("Clerks," "Chasing Amy," and "Dogma," for instance), then pass by this two-disc collection. If you think you're going to see something that resembles "Inside the Actor's Studio" with earnest conversations about the art of filmmaking you would be sorely disappointed. Instead these two appearances (one shot in Toronto and the other in London before "Clerks II" went into production) are raucous meandering conversations between Smith and fans of his work. They ask questions that range from typical fan boy geek inquiries into the fictional universe Smith has created to issues quite more personal. And Smith doesn't shy from any of it. In fact he seems to revel in the opportunity to reveal things most people wouldn't about his marriage and career. Smith's subject matter is not only dicey, but his language is definitely NC-17. Just like Smith's movies, this isn't a production for kids to watch. As a Smith fan, I enjoyed the over three hours of Smith's unrehearsed repartee with his audiences, but I know this isn't for everybody. For more information, log onto www.sonypictures.com Get Smart I received a preview disc the other day on the up-coming release of the classic television spy parody Get Smart on DVD. Time/Life is releasing the show in two forms: the complete first season with 30 episodes of two hours of bonus features and a collection of all five seasons 138 episodes on 25 discs with over nine hours of bonus material. That's a lot of "Get Smart," but if you're a fan, this is good news. "Get Smart" was a satire of "the Man from Uncle" and other mid-1960s spy shows and movies. Starring the late Don Adams, Maxwell Smart was a bungling secret agent who ultimately succeeded either through luck, the help of his fellow agent 99 (played by Barbara Feldon) or occasionally through his own skill. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, "Get Smart" was full of puns, witty send-ups of the spy genre and plenty of gadgets my favorite was the "Cone of Silence" in which people couldn't hear themselves speak! The preview disc had a sampling on what is in the two collections, including the show's pilot; the Emmy-winning episode "Ship of Spies;" and a segment from "The Bill Dana Show" featuring the origins of Don Adams's character. "Get Smart" was a favorite of mine while growing up and I still laughed at Smart's ineptitude. I think the shows hold up pretty well. For more information, go to www.getsmartondeve.com. The Boris Karloff Collection I will readily admit I will watch anything with Boris Karloff. I've been that way for years and even subjected my poor parents to taking me to "The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini" back in 1966 one of Karloff's decidedly lesser productions. My fascination with classic horror films is what drove my interest in film. For me Karloff remains the consummate character star an actor who clearly enjoyed changing his look and screen persona for every role. So I have to be very objective about this three-disc set with five of Karloff's film as I enjoyed every one of them despite the fact this is not the prime Karloff material. Films such as "Bride of Frankenstein," "The Black Cat," or "The Mummy" are not on this set. Instead the DVD producers present "Night Key," "Tower of London, "The Climax," "The Strange Door," and "The Black Castle." "Night Key" is an enjoyable B-movie with Karloff playing an elderly inventor of a revolutionary security system. "The Climax" was Karloff's first color production and is basically a re-make of "The Phantom of the Opera" with Karloff as a doctor obsessed with an opera singer. "The Strange Door" and "The Black Castle" are both costume dramas with a horrific undertone. Karloff plays a supporting role in each film. The best film of the lot is "Tower of London" a sweeping re-telling of the story of King Edward the Fourth of England whose overthrow is plotted by his brother. With Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price one of Price's first movies -- in the cast, this is a fun film. Karloff is the evil executioner Mord, one of his most striking roles. While not the best grouping of films, "The Boris Karloff Collection" is a must-have for fans such as me and, maybe, you. For more information, log onto www.universalstudioshomeentertainment.com. |
