May 8: Video View column
If that special woman in your life has a soft spot for Tom Hanks, you’ll have no problem finding a Mother’s Day gift. Two of the superstar’s feel-good pictures – “Big: Extended Edition” and “That Thing You Do!: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut” (Fox; $19.99 each, DVD; May 8) – have been lengthened and re-mastered in time for mom’s special day.
“Big” (1988) remains one of Hanks’ most charming works. Director Penny Marshall brought out the absolute best in the actor during this touching tale about a 13-year-old boy who through a magical twist of the space-time continuum is transformed into a 35-year-old guy who has no trouble getting in touch with his inner child.
This “Extended” version of “Big” runs 25 minutes longer than the original film and contains previously unseen deleted scenes inserted by Marshall, who also provides an introduction. (As you watch the unrated film, keep in mind that Robert De Niro was originally hired for the lead role but left the project, causing Marshall to quickly hire Hanks since filming was about to begin.)
Hanks made his directing debut with “That Thing You Do!” and he added a whopping 39 minutes of previously unseen footage to this disc offering. The unrated comedy drama, which stars Steve Zahn (“Sahara”), Liv Tyler (the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy) and Hanks, tells a colorful story of the ups-and-downs of a pop band forming in the early days of the rock n’ roll boom.
The extras on “Big: Extended Edition” include eight deleted and extended scenes, a making-of documentary (“Chemistry of a Classic”), three featurettes and theatrical trailers.
The extended cut of “That Thing You Do!” contains bonus features such as three background featurettes, an “HBO First Look” profile (“The Making of ‘That Thing You Do!'”) and theatrical trailers.
Some recent theatrical titles have also arrived in stores just in time for Mother’s Day gifts. They are:
“Because I Said So” (Universal; $29.99, DVD; May 8) with Diane Keaton (“The Family Stone”) and Mandy Moore (“A Walk to Remember”) in a PG-13 comedy about a mother obsessed with finding an eligible bachelor for her youngest daughter.
n “Breaking and Entering” (Genius; $38.99, DVD; May 8) with Jude Law (“Alfie”), Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient”), Robin Wright Penn (“Forrest Gump”) and Vera Farmiga (“The Departed”) in an R-rated drama about how a robbery connects the lives of some very different people in London.
“Catch and Release” (Sony; $29.99, DVD; $38.99, Blu-ray Disc; May 8) with Jennifer Garner (“13 Going on 30”) and Timothy Olyphant (TV’s “Deadwood”) in a PG-13 relationship picture about a woman who must rebuild her life after her fiancé dies the day before their wedding.
n “Music and Lyrics” (Warner; $28.99, DVD; May 8) with Drew Barrymore (“50 First Dates”) and Hugh Grant (“Four Weddings and a Funeral”) in a PG-13 romantic comedy about a fading singing star who approaches an eccentric writer and asks her to help him pen a pop song.
“The Painted Veil” (Warner; $27.99, DVD; May 8) with Naomi Watts (“King Kong”) and Edward Norton (“The Illusionist”) in a PG-13 drama based on W. Somerset Maugham’s novel about an unfaithful wife who’s married to a doctor and forced to go with him on a seemingly suicidal trip deep into China to treat victims of a cholera epidemic in the 1920s.
Wilson’s adult ‘Children’
When Patrick Wilson finished the script for “Little Children,” he recognized the flawed male character and felt he had to play him.
“I called (director) Todd Field and told him that I’m not that guy but I know him,” Wilson said during an interview at the time of the theatrical release of “Little Children” (New Line; $27.99, DVD), which recently arrived in stores. “I grew up in Florida and came back after a summer acting camp and knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. My character in the film never has that type of epiphany.
“I understood my character’s sense of not knowing what he wanted to do, but I never had those feelings, though a lot of people around me did.”
In the R-rated melodrama, which is based on a novel by Tom Perrotta, he plays a house husband who stays home with his child and feels trapped professionally and emotionally in a stale marriage to his wife (Jennifer Connelly of “A Beautiful Mind”). He begins an affair with a married neighbor (Kate Winslet of “Titanic”) who shares his bleak view of suburban living.
The result is a steamy and destructive sexual relationship that leaves little to the imagination.
At the same time, a pedophile (Jackie Earle Haley of “All the King’s Men”) moves into the area, an event that terrifies the local parents and sets in motion some vigilante-like efforts to punish and terrorize him. (Winslet and Haley received Oscar nominations as best actress and supporting actor for their performances.)
Wilson is best known for his leading-man roles in “The Phantom of the Opera” and “The Alamo,” which cast him as the dashingly romantic Raoul and the fearless commander William B. Travis, respectively. He took his career in a more challenging direction after signing to play a sexual predator who uses the Internet to meet a young teenage girl (Ellen Page of “X-Men: The Last Stand”) in “Hard Candy” (2005).
“Things that scare me interest me as an actor,” the 33-year-old actor said. “My wife said I should do ‘Hard Candy,’ because most of the characters that I’ve played have a heroic moment at the end and, although they may have flaws, are searching for good.
“My character in ‘Hard Candy’ didn’t have that.”
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
“The Dead Girl” (First Look; $24.99, DVD; May 8) with Brittany Murphy (“Sin City”) and Kerry Washington (“I Think I Love My Wife”) in an R-rated dramatic mystery about how some seemingly unrelated stories revolve around the murder of a young woman.
“Deliver Us From Evil” (Lionsgate; $27.99, DVD; May 8) with filmmaker Amy Berg directing an unsettling unrated documentary about the despicable actions of a pedophile priest and the way he was moved from parish to parish.
n “Epic Movie” (Fox; $29.99, DVD; May 8) with Kal Penn (“The Namesake”) heading an ensemble cast in a broad and gross comedy that spoofs big-budget movies. It will be available in PG-13 and unrated versions.
“Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus” (Picturehouse; $27.99, DVD; May 8) with Nicole Kidman (“The Hours”) and Robert Downey Jr. (“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”) in an R-rated impressionistic tale that takes a fictional approach to the artistic birth of the brilliantly eccentric photographer in 1958.
“The Tiger and the Snow” (Hart Sharp; $24.99, DVD; May 8) with Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni (“Life Is Beautiful”) writing, directing and starring in a comedy drama about a poet who travels to Baghdad to be with the woman he loves and then discovers she has been seriously wounded due to an bomb explosion.
“Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?” (New Line; $27.99, DVD; now available) with 73-year-old Teri Horton in a documentary in which the grandmother paid $5 for a thrift-shop painting and then discovered that it might be a Pollock original valued up to $50 million.
Two unrated titles – “Night of the Werewolf” and “Vengeance of the Zombies” (BCI; $19.99 each, DVD; May 8) – directed by Spanish filmmaker Paul Naschy. “Night” (1980) is a chiller about a creature of the night battling a Hungarian blood countess. “Zombies” (1972) combines voodoo rituals and undead creatures. Both imports are presented uncut and unedited for the first time and re-mastered from the original negatives via a high-definition process.
Classic collections
“The Tyrone Power Collection” (Fox; $59.99, DVD; now available) with the Hollywood leading man in “The Black Rose” with Orson Welles, “Blood and Sand” with Rita Hayworth, “Captain From Castile” with Jean Peters, “Prince of Foxes” with Welles and “Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake” with Gene Tierney. The titles are also available individually ($19.99 each).
Television
“Cagney & Lacy: Season One DVD Collection” (MGM; $39.99, DVD; May 8) with Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly in a four-disc set with all of the episodes from the first year of the breakthrough series that follows two female detectives. The release marks the 25th anniversary of the series, which was cancelled after the first season and then brought back to the prime-time schedule due to a letter-writing campaign by fans.
“Flipper: Season One” (MGM; $39.99, DVD; now available) with Luke Halpin, Tommy Norden and Brian Kelly in a four-disc set with all 30 episodes from 1964, the premiere year of the family show about a dolphin and his human friends. The series was adapted from the 1963 hit movie of the same name.
“The Girls Next Door: Season Two” (Fox; $29.99, DVD; now available) with Hugh Hefner in a three-disc set with 16 uncensored episodes of the reality series about the Playboy publisher and his three much younger girlfriends.
“That ’70s Show: Season Six” (Fox; $49.99, DVD; May 8) with Ashton Kutcher (“The Guardian”) and Topher Grace (“Spider-Man 3”) in a four-disc set with all 25 uncut episodes from the sixth year of the popular sitcom.
Health/Fitness/How-to
“Deepak Chopra: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” (Fox; $19.99, DVD; May 8) with the doctor/scholar presenting principles about desire and potential that viewers can apply to their lives. Celebrities who appear and discuss Chopra’s work include Olivia Newton-John (“Grease”) and director/actor Bill Duke (“Predator”).
Children/Family
“Sandlot: Heading Home” (Fox; $26.99, DVD; now available) with Luke Perry (TV’s “Beverly Hills 90210”) and former Philadelphia Phillies favorite John Kruk in a direct-to-video title about children leaning the importance of friendship, teamwork and determination while playing baseball.
Two titles – “Baby Road Trip City!” and “Baby Road Trip Beach!” (Hart Sharp; $14.99 each, DVD; May 8) – in the “Baby Road Trip” series designed to introduce very young children to real-world locations.