The Machinist, Edison and Slapstick
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By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
An amazing historical document, an effective thriller and some funny shorts are featured in this week's DVD column.
The Machinist
Nothing attracts attention to a film quite as much as a gimmick involving one of the stars. Remember The Hours and Nicole Kidman's fake nose? There were writers lauding Kidman's "bravery" for appearing less than beautiful in the film. Then, of course, people have noted Robert DiNiro's ability to gain and lose weight for movies such as Raging Bull.
Well, the script for The Machinist described the lead character Trevor as a "walking skeleton," and Christian Bale took the description seriously. He is truly emaciated and therefore brings reality to his portrayal of a man who literally hasn't slept for a year and doesn't know why.
When notes appear in his apartment and a mysterious man begins to taunt him at work, Trevor wonders if he is paranoid or if there is a conspiracy against him.
The Machinist is a well-directed film that crosses the line between psychological thriller and a character study. Bale turns in a heart-breaking performance and, as usual, Jennifer Jason Leigh is memorable as his only ally, a sympathetic prostitute.
The ending is a shocker that will surprise and sadden you.
One warning: there is an industrial accident that is truly gruesome at the beginning of the film.
To learn more about this memorable film go to www.paramount.com/homeentertainment.
Edison: The Invention of the Movies
For anyone who is serious about learning film history, this four-disc set from Kino on Video and the Museum of Modern Art is essential. Seldom has a chapter of the history of film been treated to such a comprehensive examination.
Thomas Edison's laboratory developed much of the earliest motion picture technology (other inventors were working abroad at the same period) and the set treats its viewers to 140 films produced by the Edison company from 1889 to 1918.
Shown in chronological order, the films are introduced and analyzed by a group of film scholars, archivists and Edison biographers.
The initial films were only 50 feet in length and have a running time of a few minutes. It's interesting to see that the Edison filmmakers the great man himself was not a director chose topics that clearly traded on the broadest possible subjects.
At a time when boxing was illegal in many states, they produced boxing vignettes. They photographed a notorious "muscle" dancer named Fatima and placed bars in strategic positions to "censor" her. There's a disturbing film in which a rogue elephant is electrocuted. Even in the 19th century, sex, scandal and violence sold.
The set naturally includes the milestone film, The Great Train Robbery, which made its mark with audiences in 1903 for telling a complete story. Other highlights are The Dream of a Rarebit Fiend, an adaptation of Winsor McCay's popular comic strip, and a feature film from 1918 starring Erich Von Stroheim.
No matter how crude some of these films seem to us today, how they are presented in this DVD set puts them into the proper context a time in which inventors were changing the world on a daily basis and wonders were being seen.
For more for information, log onto www.kino.com
Slapstick Symposium: The Stan Laurel Collection
Before he met Oliver Hardy and began one of the screen's most popular comedy teams, Stan Laurel had a solo career in short subjects. This new two-disc collection from Kino on Video features 17 of Laurel's comedies made between 1923 and 1925.
Although Laurel's work with Hardy is considered some of the best movie comedy based on personality and relationship, his earlier work is a very mixed bag. Unlike many other silent comics, Laurel had no defined screen persona and his films range from mindless slapstick such as Oranges and Lemons to parody such as Roughest Africa.
Laurel is at his best when he is satirizing other films (Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride is a treat) and anyone is who is a Laurel and Hardy fan should hunt down this collection.
For more for information, log onto www.kino.com
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