Extra Scoop
'Proof ' DVD sheds no light on Crowe-Ryan antics

By Jordan Riefe
Special to The Advertiser

This is the first installment of a new weekly column written for The Honolulu Advertiser by Jordan Riefe, 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.

'Proof of Life,' 2000
R (for violence, language and some drug material)
135 minutes

It's the picture that had tongues wagging mostly for the off-screen antics of stars Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan, but don't expect any celebrity confessions among the Special Features of this DVD. The main item is a 14-minute "HBO Making Of" documentary containing a retread of the rigors of shooting at 14,000 feet in the Andes: the snow, the rain, the diet that left actor David Morse 40 pounds lighter. Oddly, there's no mention of Morse's stunt double who lost his life when a truck veered off a mountain road into a ravine.

Host David Caruso sums up the proceedings by defining the title: " 'Proof of Life' is a 'K and R' (kidnap and ransom) term. As you're negotiating hostage release, you need assurance that they're still alive." In the director's commentary, Taylor Hackford narrates, telling us what we're watching. If you're a hardcore fan, you'll love it. If not, you won't. The disc also includes the theatrical trailer and cast/director filmographies.

'Save the Last Dance,' 2001
PG-13 (for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug references)
112 minutes

"It's a romance that's ignited by dancing," says actor Sean Patrick Thomas about last year's sleeper hit "Save the Last Dance." While critics were lukewarm to this teen romance, audiences embraced it, and the DVD gives them even more to love.

Included are three deleted scenes: "record store," in which Sara (Julia Stiles) and Derek (Thomas) meet and decide to "hook up" later; "jazz club," in which Sara watches her father play a bluesy solo on his trumpet; and two scenes between Chenille and Kenny, supporting characters, chronicling the emotional ups and downs of their relationship. A 20-minute "Making Of" documentary is mostly a promotional piece featuring a character-by-character breakdown followed by a behind-the-scenes look at how the musical numbers came together. Also included is K-CI & JoJo's music video "Crazy," which plays like a promotional piece.

'State and Main,' 2001
R (for language and brief sexual images)
106 minutes

The main feature of this disc is the actors' commentary track featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, David Paymer, Clark Gregg, Patti Lupone and William H. Macy. Again and again we're told what a great writer David Mamet is, but the Pulitzer Prize winner is nowhere to be found on the disc. One might think he was ashamed of "State and Main," but there's nothing to be ashamed of. This comedic look at what happens to a small town when it is invaded by a film crew is sharp and witty (sometimes a bit too much so), but plays like great TV — on second thought, not TV, but HBO. A little light on extras, the disc is rounded out by the usual set of cast and crew biographies.

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