July 17: Video View column
Long before Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Edie Sedgwick was dealing with pesky photographers, walking on the wild side and generating headlines for outlandish behavior. With “Factory Girl” (Genius; $28.99, DVD; July 17), the talented Sienna Miller (“Casanova”) plays Sedgwick in a decadent drama about the initially glamorous, ultimately tragic life of Andy Warhol’s ill-fated 1960s’ “It Girl.”
The film, which is available in an unrated version and the R-rated theatrical release, stars Guy Pearce (“Memento”) as the coldly controlling Warhol. Hayden Christensen (“Star Wars: Episode I”) appears as a Bob Dylan-like folk singer who tries to coax the ill-fated Sedgwick away from the eccentric, notoriously self-absorbed artist.
“The more I read – and I read everything – the more I became really intrigued by her,” Miller said in Entertainment Weekly when “Factory Girl” opened in theaters late last year. “I know I couldn’t have done any more. I couldn’t have learned any more, studied any more, given any more emotionally.”
According to the magazine, the 25-year-old Miller, who was born in New York to an American father and South African mother but grew up in London, spent time “coughing and screaming before takes” in order to replicate Sedgwick’s scratchy, singsong voice.
“Factory Girl” suffers from a troubled script, but director George Hickenlooper (“The Man from Elysian Fields”) captures the frenzy and craziness of Sedgwick becoming a star of Warhol’s movies, an idol at The Factory (the artist’s studio) and a media sensation who died of a drug overdose at age 28 in 1971.
The extras on the “Factory Girl” DVD include: audio commentary by Hickenlooper and writer Captain Mauzner; deleted scenes; Sienna Miller audition footage; two making-of featurettes (“Making Factory Girl” and “The Real Edie and Andy”); “The Guy Pearce Video Diaries” and the theatrical trailer.
Movie Collections
n “The Summer of Steam Collection” with 10 erotically charged titles. The re-mastered “Showgirls: Fully Exposed Edition!” (MGM; $19.99, DVD) stars Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon in director Paul Verhoeven’s still controversial NC-17 film (1995) about Las Vegas dancers.
Other titles in the collection (MGM; $14.99 each, DVD) are: “Body of Evidence” (R) with Madonna, “Bolero” (R) with Bo Derek, “The Hot Spot” (R) with Don Johnson and Jennifer Connelly, “Killing Me Softly” (R and unrated) with Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes, “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” (R) with Sylvia Kristel, “Last Tango in Paris” (NC-17) with Marlon Brando, “Live Flesh” (R) with Javier Bardem, “The Lover” (R) with Jane March and Tony Leung, “Mata Hari” (R) with Kristel, “Original Sin” (R and unrated) with Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas, “The Ranch” (R and unrated) with Amy Madigan, “Summer Lovers” (R) with Peter Gallagher and Daryl Hannah and “Y Tu Mama Tambien” (R and unrated) with Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna.
Also available is “The Happy Hooker Collection” (MGM; $19.99) with Lynn Redgrave as Xaviera Hollander in three R-rated pictures: “The Happy Hooker” (1975), “The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington” (1977) and “The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood” (1980).
n “TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams” (Warner; $49.99, DVD; July 17) with the swimming star in five titles – “Bathing Beauty” (1944) with Red Skelton, “Easy to Wed” (1946) with Keenan Wynn, “On an Island With You” (1948) with Peter Lawford, “Neptune’s Daughter” (1949) with Ricardo Montalban and “Dangerous When Wet” (1953) with her future real-life husband Fernando Lamas. Each title features extras, including trailers, musical-number outtakes and comedy shorts. The titles are only available in the box set.
Blu-ray Disc titles
Two older titles – Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables” and Walter Hill’s “The Warriors” (Paramount; $28.99 each) – have arrived on Blu-ray Disc and serve as examples of how great vintage movies can look on the state-of-the-art format.
With “The Untouchables” (1987), De Palma offers a beautifully mounted, stylishly shot thriller about the battle between lawman Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) and gangster Al Capone (Robert De Niro). Sean Connery won an Oscar as best supporting actor for his performance as a street cop who helps Ness.
Thanks to Blu-ray, the image on “The Untouchables” is so bright and fresh that one can see the detailed designs on wallpaper behind the characters.
Hill mixes comic-book elements and Greek legends in “The Warriors” (1979), which concerns New York gang members who must travel through dangerous territories in order to return home. The R-rated picture, which was very controversial in its time due to some violence that occurred in theaters where it played, stars Michael Beck and features highly stylized street punks participating in creatively staged battles.
The Blu-ray version of “The Warriors” offers a sparkling image in which details, particularly during the extended subway segment, can be seen like never before.
Now Playing!
The following DVD titles either are coming soon or recently landed at a video store near you.
If your local outlet doesn’t stock them, the DVD offerings can be mail ordered by calling (800) 523-0823 or going to the Web site moviesunlimited.com or amazon.com, unless otherwise noted.
Movies
n “Avenue Montaigne” (ThinkFilm; $27.99, DVD; July 17) with Cecile de France (“Russian Dolls”) in a French comedy about a waitress who becomes involved with people from the worlds of art, theater, fashion and music.
n “The Black Cat” (Anchor Bay; $14.99, DVD; July 17) with Stuart Gordon (“Re-Animator”) directing a chiller that speculates on the incidents that inspired great horror writer Edgar Allen Poe to pen his most famous poem. Jeffrey Combs, who worked with Gordon on “Re-Animator,” stars in the unrated picture, which is part of Showtime’s “Masters of Horror” anthology series.
n “Dynamite Warrior” (Magnolia; $26.99, DVD; July 17) with Dan Chupong (“Born to Fight”) in a Japanese action import about a young man seeking revenge against those responsible for the murder of his parents.
n “The Fifth Element: Re-mastered” (Sony; $28.99, Blu-ray Disc only; July 17) with Bruce Willis (“Live Free or Die Hard”) and Chris Tucker (“Rush Hour”) in French director Luc Besson’s stylish action comedy. This version is a superior new pressing of the title on the state-of-the-art Blu-ray Disc.
n “The Hills Have Eyes 2” (Fox; $29.99, DVD; July 17) with Michael McMillan (HBO’s “Big Love”) in a horror sequel that has National Guard members battling cannibalistic beings at a remote research post. It will be available in R and unrated versions.
n “The Number 23” (New Line; $28.99, DVD; July 17) with Jim Carrey (“The Truman Show”) in a psychological thriller about a seemingly ordinary guy who blames a series of numbers for causing his world to be turned into a living hell. It will be available in R and unrated versions.
n “Premonition” (Sony; $28.99, DVD; $38.99, Blu-ray Disc; July 17) with Sandra Bullock (“The Lake House”) in a suspense tale about a woman who is told by the police that her husband died in a car crash, but the next morning, she finds him alive and realizes she had a premonition.
n “Red Dawn: Collector’s Edition” (MGM; $19.99, DVD; July 17) with Patrick Swayze (“Road House”), Charlie Sheen (“Platoon”), C. Thomas Howell (“The Hitcher”) and Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future”) in a re-mastered, two-disc version of director John Milius’ 1984 action tale. The PG-13 picture concerns the students in a small Rocky Mountain town who challenge the Soviet soldiers invading the United States. The extras include two documentaries (“Red Dawn Rising: A Retrospective Look at the Making of the Film” and “Building the Red Menace: What It Took to Make World War III”) and a military training featurette.
n “Yo Yo Girl Cop” (Magnolia; $26.99, DVD; July 17) with Japanese filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku (“Battle Royale”) directing an unrated action tale about a teenage girl recruited by the government to terminate terrorists who are part of a student group at an elite high school.
Documentary
n “The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg: Director’s Cut – Deluxe Two-Disc Set” (New Yorker; $34.99, DVD; July 17) with filmmaker Jerry Aronson creating a documentary on the political radical, human rights activist and acclaimed poet. Those interviewed include Joan Baez, Bono, William Burroughs, Abbie Hoffman, Ken Kesey, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono and Patti Smith.
n “An Unreasonable Man: Two-Disc Set” (Genius; $26.99, DVD; now available) with filmmakers Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan directing an unrated documentary on the life and career of Ralph Nader.
Sports
n “Baseball’s Most Unbreakable Feats” (Shout! Factory; $19.99, DVD; now available) with Roger Clemens hosting a look at 10 seemingly untouchable baseball achievements, including Cy Young’s 511 career wins, Cal Ripken Jr.’s stretch of 2,632 consecutive games played, Pete Rose’s 4256 career hits and Ricky Henderson’s 130 single season stolen bases.
n “Home Run Derby: Volume 1” (MGM; $14.99, DVD; now available) with power hitters such as Willie Mays, Harmon Killebrew, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle in footage capturing their home runs.
n “24 x 24 Wide Open With Jeff Gordon” (Lionsgate; $14.99, DVD; now available) a 72-minute documentary that follows the NASCAR champion on and off the track.
Television
n “America’s Funniest Home Videos: Guide to Parenting” (Shout! Factory; $12.99, DVD; July 17) with Bob Saget hosting a one-hour episode of video-taped mishaps by moms and dads.
n “The Rat Patrol: Season 2” (MGM; $39.99, DVD; now available) with 50 episodes of the ABC war series on military units that specialized in mechanized reconnaissance during World War II.
n “Wanted: Dead or Alive – Season Two” (BCI; $39.99, DVD; July 17) with Steve McQueen in 32-episodes of the Western about a bounty hunter.
n “What’s Happening Now! The Complete First Season” (Sony; $29.99, DVD; now available) with Fred Berry, Danielle Spencer and Shirley Hemphill in the comedy series loosely based on the 1975 film favorite “Cooley High” and inspired by the sitcom “What’s Happening!”
n Two original Hanna-Barbera animated series – “Space Ghost and Dino Boy: The Complete Series” and “Birdman and The Galaxy Trio: The Complete Series” (Warner; $26.99 each, DVD; July 17) – that became spin-off shows on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim offerings.
Children/Family
n “The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” (Shout! Factory; $29.99, DVD; July 17), a four-disc cartoon set featuring the heroic hedgehog and his sidekick Miles “Trails” Prower.
n “The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3: The Complete Series” (Shout! Factory; $29.99, DVD; now available) with 26 episodes in a three-disc set featuring the cartoon antics of the heroic plumbers Mario and Luigi from the popular video game.