DVD SCENE
'Far From Heaven' almost like watching in the theater

By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service

Julianne Moore and Dennis Haysbert star in "Far From Heaven." The director's commentary is among minimal extras, but is informative. Advertiser library photo

But if you missed the multiple Oscar nominee at theaters, be assured that much care has been lavished on the transfer, which is gorgeous, and the sound (presented in both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1), making it even more obvious that Elmer Bernstein was robbed of an Oscar for his gorgeous, sweeping score.

As with most rush releases, this one has a minimum of extras: The "Anatomy of a Scene" special shown on the Sundance Channel, a brief Q&A with Moore and director Haynes taped at the American Cinematheque and a press-kit fluff piece are about it. But the commentary by Haynes is intelligent, informative and passionate.

'West Side' again

Yes, I know it's an American classic. but I admit I hadn't seen the movie "West Side Story" in its entirety for than a decade.

It's easily one of the best stage-to-screen adaptations ever, proven again by the new DVD Special Edition (MGM Home Entertainment) of the 1961 best-picture Oscar winner.

If you bought the original DVD release in 1998, be forewarned; this is not a new transfer, and it could have been improved by a remaster. The original 5.1 remix remains, though the DVD does add the original orchestra intermission, remixed for Surround.

Otherwise, this is all you want in a special edition, with the original 152-minute movie occupying Disc 1 and with Disc 2 given to an array of supplements. A new 55-minute documentary, "West Side Stories," retells the story of the film through new interviews with co-directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins and with cast members Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn and Rita Moreno.

The documentary's archival footage includes Natalie Wood's performance of "I Feel Pretty" (all her vocals were later redone by venerable ghost singer Marni Nixon). There's also a storyboard-to-film comparison, plus a gallery of more than 200 stills and a 160-page scrapbook that includes the entire script, reviews and biographies taken from the original souvenir program.

Extras galore

There's also interesting commentary included on the Director's Edition of "Red Dragon" (Universal). It features an enthusiastic director, Brett Ratner, being tempered occasionally by scriptwriter Ted Tally — who, after all, won an Oscar for the best film in the Hannibal Lecter trilogy, "The Silence of the Lambs."

"Dragon," previously filmed by Michael Mann as "Manhunter," has Lecter assisting and taunting FBI profiler Edward Norton as he tries to stop a serial killer dubbed the Tooth Fairy (Ralph Fiennes). Anthony Hopkins, as Lecter, trims the fat from the ham he piled on for "Hannibal."

The two-disc set is packed with extras, including a separate track for Danny Elfman's score and 15 deleted scenes. On Disc 2, there's a nearly 40-minute documentary titled "A Director's Journey" that is worth watching even if you hate the film or director Ratner, who is not always seen in the most favorable light.

Television favorites

Big TV boxes of the week: "Friends: The Complete Season 3" (Warner Home Video), a four-disc set, contains all 24 episodes shown in 1996-97, remixed into 5.0 surround. Extras include commentaries for three episodes, a trivia quiz and other filler.

The seven-disc "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — The Complete Second Season" (Paramount Home Video) offers 26 episodes from 1993-94, the most memorable of which, "Crossover," reveals the consequences of Capt. Kirk's decisions in an original "Star Trek" episode titled "Mirror, Mirror." A new doc has producer Rick Berman and the show's writers discussing the evolution of the show and characters; other extras are mostly tech-Trek oriented.

For families

"The Wild Thornberrys Movie" (Paramount) is a big-screen version of the Nickelodeon animated series about a family that travels the world making nature documentaries and having wildlife adventures, of which this is one.