DVD Scene
'15 Minutes' has truth, tabloids and 'Fame'
By Jordan Riefe
Special to The Advertiser
"15 Minutes" (New Line Cinema) 2001
R
121 minutes
Robert DeNiro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Avery Brooks
Two cold-blooded criminals seek media exposure by videotaping their crimes.
With the second in its "Infinifilm" series, New Line is setting the standard in DVD production. What is Infinifilm? It's a comprehensive format that allows you to watch the film straight through or access information pertinent to the film (such as a documentary clip, a deleted scene or text from a filmography) on a scene-by-scene basis.
With Infinifilm, "documentary clip" doesn't mean a promotional making-of so commonly found on DVDs, but a true documentary on the subject at hand. In this case it's "Does Crime Pay?" a 21-minute panel discussion between LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman, Stan Goldman of Loyola Law School, Gloria Allred and others on the role of mass media in elevating criminals to celebrity status. Also included is "15 Minutes of True Tabloid Stars," a documentary on tabloid TV featuring Maury Povich, Jerry Springer, Sally Jessy Raphael and Deborah Norville.
Among six deleted scenes included on the disc, the most sorely missed is a chase scene through Times Square and into a movie theater. Director John Herzfeld explains that the scene followed another action sequence in the movie and amounted to too much overkill. Commentary by Herzfeld sheds light on his technique with actors as well as the research that went into getting it right. Unedited videotape shot by the actors during two murder scenes and a music video, "Fame" by God Lives Underwater, round out the disc.
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"Enemy at the Gates" (Paramount Pictures) 2001
R
131 minutes
Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins
As World War II rips through Stalingrad, a duel between two snipers takes center stage.
"Stalingrad, the epic, is a backdrop to a far more intimate story," says actor Joe Fiennes. "And I felt that's where the potency and the dynamic of the story lies." This alternately gripping and pedestrian film failed to ignite audiences at the box office earlier this year, although it contains some top-notch acting and extended montage sequences exemplifying pure cinema.
Among the nine deleted scenes on this disc, Bob Hoskins, as Kruschev, suffers the most as two of his scenes, a monologue in which he psycho-analyzes Hitler and a phone call in which Stalin dresses him down, are sadly deleted. Special features include two making-of docs, "In The Crosshairs" and "Inside 'Enemy at the Gates.'" The first includes interviews with director Jean-Jacques Annaud and his stars inter-cut with the cast and crew in action. There is spontaneity to this making-of usually lacking in similar promotional add-ons. The opposite is true of "Inside 'Enemy at the Gates,'" which consists of TV junket sound bites inter-cut with scenes from the movie. Sadly, the disc includes no director's commentary. Not a great film, "Enemy at the Gates" nevertheless has much to recommend it.
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"Josie and the Pussycats" (Universal Studios) 2001
PG-13
99 minutes
Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson, Alan Cumming
Pastiche in which a girl band is "discovered" and ground through the marketing machinery in an evil plot to control the minds of America's youth.
It ain't "Citizen Kane," but this live-action romp based on the Saturday morning cartoon was unfairly maligned by critics upon its release last spring. "Josie and the Pussycats" sets out to skewer commercialism and trend-setting, but does so with a refreshing, carefree attitude. Because of its limited appeal at the box office, Universal has eschewed the Ultimate Edition treatment, opting instead for the pared down standard release with limited special features.
Included are two deleted scenes and an extended musical number surrounding evil capitalist Fiona's (Parker Posey) grand entrance. A 24-minute making-of doc titled "Backstage Pass" contains the usual promotional materials cobbled together from an electronic press kit. Commentary provided by directors Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont and producer Marc Platt centers on technical glitches on set as well as humorous anecdotes. Rounding out the disc are the usual biographies, trailers and production notes as well as three music videos — "3 Small Worlds" by the Pussycats, and "Backdoor Lover" and "DuJour Around the World" by mock boy band DuJour.
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"Tomcats" (Columbia Tristar) 2001
R
95 minutes
Jerry O'Connell, Shannon Elizabeth, Jake Busey, Jaime Pressly
In yet another raunchy teen comedy, six college buddies bet on who will be the last to marry.
According to industry insiders, this is the teen comedy that ended it for teen comedies. Problems arose out of disagreements during production on what direction the film should take. Shannon Elizabeth is gorgeous but vapid in the film, Jake Busey is a little too convincing as an obnoxious misogynist, and Jerry O'Connell delivers a yeoman-like performance to anchor the story. Special features are limited to trailers, filmographies, production notes and subtitles.
Jordan Riefe is a Los Angeles-based writer who is the West Coast radio correspondent for Variety magazine and a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. His film reviews appear in Hotdog magazines, and he is syndicated throughout Europe and Asia.
