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13 - NOT JUST THE BEST OF
THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW
With his 1992-98 comedy series, Garry Shandling paved the way not only for sitcoms like “The Office” and HBO’s own “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” but for pay cable networks to actually take the chance on original programming to rival the Big Four broadcast networks. This consistently funny and brilliantly executed behind-the-scenes look at a fictional late-night talk show akin to “The Tonight Show” or “Late Night with David Letterman” featured Shandling as a neurotic host whose life would intersect with those of real world celebrities, most of whom treated this good-natured, self-effacing limelight as a prestige gig nearly as cool as a guest spot on “Sesame Street.” Shandling is flanked by two great character actors – Rip Torn as Artie, Sanders’ bulldog of a producer, and Jeffrey Tambor, who went on to star in the similarly bold “Arrested Development,” as his forlorn Ed McMahon, Hank Kingsley. In addition to the 23 episodes from the six seasons that Shandling personally thought exemplary is eight hours of new content, including personal visits with the likes of Sharon Stone, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Tom Petty and Alec Baldwin and a making-of feature. For under $50.00, the 4-disc set is a nice thumbnailing of the series, though fans will surely grouse as to there only being one full season available (this year’s reissue of the first season originally released on disc in 2002). Reportedly, Shandling wanted to put his long but now-settled legal battle with producer Brad Grey behind him (though if anyone could pull off a comedy series about that rift, it’s HBO).
14 - THE WAR:
A FILM BY KEN BURNS AND LYNN NOVICK
Even Ken Burns, whose reputation for exhaustive coverage of a subject has made his name synonymous with the modern documentary, cannot fully encapsulate the sheer enormity of the armed conflict that engulfed the planet during World War II from 1939-1945. This is not a deficit, however. By selectively telling the story of the War through the personal stories of four American servicemen from different parts of the country, he and co-director Lynn Novick clearly show that there is so much more to learn. From their choice of footage and music to the way they get survivors to open up and provide more than just illustrative sound bytes, the New Hampshire-based filmmaker is in top form here. They give us so much more to relate to than he could in his Jazz, Baseball or The Civil War, especially considering that everyone – no matter where from – knows someone who was in or was affected by the War. Well worth the investment of $100 and 15 hours.
15 - HEARTS OF DARKNESS:
A FILMMAKER’S APOCALYPSE
One of the most anticipated DVD releases of a documentary in the 10 years that DVD has been around is this one from Eleanor Coppola. If the name sounds vaguely familiar, it is because she is married to Francis Ford Coppola, director of a couple of little movies you probably you have probably never heard of called The Godfather and The Godfather II (we hear they won some silly “Oscar” awards or something). Seriously, though, Eleanor was along for the whole harrowing trip when Francis made the 1979 Vietnam War opus, Apocalypse Now in the Philippines. The experience was a perfect lesson in Murphy’s Law Filmmaking 101 – tropical storms destroy sets, funding dries up and he and star Martin Sheen both suffer heart attacks. The candor with which Mr. Coppola, Sheen and co-star Dennis Hopper speak, in interviews shot a decade later, is admirable, and the whole film, originally released in 1991, is an important document chronicling the end of an era in film and, sadly, Mr. Coppola’s career as a director of note. Also includes the follow-up, Coda: Thirty Years Later. Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier is available for a bargain price, and includes the original theatrical cut and the longer 2001 Redux version, plus some decent making-of and Marlon Brando reading T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men,” which is worth the purchase price alone.
16 - TWIN PEAKS: THE DEFINITIVE GOLD BOX COLLECTION (THE COMPLETE SERIES)
Another long-awaited DVD release is David Lynch’s short-lived 1990-91 television series about a murder in a small town and all the high-weirdness that follows. Kyle MacLachlan plays FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, sent to the sleepy Washington hamlet to investigate, and log-loving ladies, backwards-talking dwarves and conversations with giants in the waiting room between Heaven and Hell dot his own personal journey into the heart of darkness. What’s especially nice about this issue is that previously, only a shoddily produced set of VHS tapes was available, with only the 1992 prequel feature Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me were available. Here, all 29 episodes (plus the European pilot) are lovingly restored and remastered in Dolby 5.1, along with extensive making-of features, an interactive map of Twin Peaks, the Julee Cruise music video for “Falling” and MacLachlan’s 1990 “SNL” monologue and “Twin Peaks” sketch. The only thing that would make this set more complete is the inclusion of the equally disconcerting and wonderful “Sesame Street” spoof, “Twin Beaks.”
TOMORROW AT NOON: More long-awaited DVD releases, like Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, plus Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and the latest wave of shiny Disney Treasures sets.