Posted on: Friday, August 20, 2004
Five Scorsese-directed films part of 'Collection'
By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service
If you own "Goodfellas" or "Mean Streets" on DVD, sorry to break your shoes, but you have to buy them again, what with special editions coming out this week.
You can ease the pain, however, by springing for the "Martin Scorsese Collection," collecting the five films Scorsese directed for Warner Bros.
The collection is composed of Scorsese's first fiction feature, 1967's black-and-white "Who's That Knocking at My Door," which also was the first movie for Harvey Keitel, playing a streetwise, Catholic guilt-ridden Little Italy guy unable to cope with the fact the girl he loves was raped. Next in line is the 1973 knockout punch "Mean Streets," which stars Keitel as a small-time hood and unleashes Robert De Niro on the world.
From 1974, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" features Ellen Burstyn, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of a housewife who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after her husband dies. The fourth film is 1985's "After Hours," an underrated one-crazy-night-in-New York comedy starring Griffin Dunne.
Finally, there is 1990's "Goodfellas," starring Ray Liotta as gangster wannabe.
As any Scorsese fan knows, the director is loquacious and quick-witted. That means his newly recorded commentaries are film school-detailed, crammed with info and anecdotes.
Other discs serve up info this Scorsese fan has never heard before, and as might be expected, the commentary on "Goodfellas," where Scorsese is accompanied by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the nonfiction book on which the film was based, and various producers and crew members, is fascinating.
Spielberg's early work Scorsese's fellow film school brat Steven Spielberg is revisiting his past with the film that told the world a major moviemaker was among us.
It was a made-for-TV movie called "Duel," first shown in 1971. It starred Dennis Weaver as a middle-class Californian on the road, who makes the mistake of cutting off a semi driver.
The long-promised Collector's Edition (Universal) contains the slightly longer European version, and, as is Spielberg's preference, a 30-minute interview about the film in lieu of a commentary. The movie also has been remastered from a gorgeous new print, making it look better than it ever did on TV. It has also been remixed into 5/1 Surround, which makes the sound of the truck's engine and grinding gears even more excruciating.
The most enticing extra, though, is a 10-minute short looking at Spielberg's brief apprenticeship in TV, with clips from his classic "Night Gallery" episode "Eyes" starring Joan Crawford and a "Columbo" installment. Because all his early TV work was done at Universal, a box set would seem to be easily assembled.
Spielberg stayed on the road for his first proper feature, 1974's "Sugarland Express" (Universal), starring Goldie Hawn and William Atherton as a young couple who, determined to regain custody of her son, lead a parade of cops on a low-speed chase through Texas. No extras, but it has been cleaned up and remixed in stereo.
