Director's edition of 'Cut' adds little insight

By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service

Meg Ryan is a professor who gets involved with a police officer (Mark Ruffalo) during a murder investigation, in "In the Cut." Screen Gems

Columbia TriStar opted not to go the usual route taken by distributors eager to see their films on Blockbuster and Wal-Mart shelves, by releasing both the unrated cut and the R-rated incarnation seen in theaters. This is said to be in deference to director Jane Campion, who adapted Susanna Moore's novel about a repressed college professor (played by Meg Ryan) who could hold the key to solving a series of sex murders and who becomes involved with the crude cop (Mark Ruffalo) in charge of the case. "In the Cut" was almost unanimously panned by critics, and, despite the attention given to America's Sweetheart spending much of the film in the nude and in bed, audiences showed no noticeable interest.

What's puzzling is why the MPAA was so offended by the two scenes in the director's cut. The first is a seconds-longer, only slightly more explicit scene in which Ryan sees a hooker performing a sex act; the second slightly prolongs a coupling between Ryan and Ruffalo.

This, we're told, is the version shown in France, where the film performed no better than it did here, and the commentary by Campion does nothing to clear up the mystery — of either of the cuts, or a story that makes precious little sense.

Under-appreciated 'Sylvia'

The similarly downbeat but far more involving "Sylvia" (Universal) was also shunned by moviegoers — presumably both by those who knew little of Sylvia Plath, the gifted '60s poet who became a feminist martyr, and by those who perhaps admired her work but did not want to spend two hours waiting for her to commit suicide.

One hopes that this sensitive, smart and uncommonly respectful exploration of her depression and marriage will find an audience on DVD, because the portrayal of Plath by Gwyneth Paltrow was one of the best performances of the year and unjustly overlooked by Oscar voters.

From 'Intolerable' to offbeat

Universal's DVD of "Intolerable Cruelty" has only a few add-ons, and those are hardly compelling: a couple of forgettable deleted scenes and a closer look at the sexy homemade videos that provided evidence for a divorce suit by a gold digger (Catherine Zeta-Jones) against her wealthy husband (which she lost, thanks to attorney George Clooney).

What was really just an old-fashioned screwball comedy was given a mild offbeat edge and a couple of trademark flourishes by Joel and Ethan Coen, who took over the floundering project at Clooney's request.

Bergman dramas collected

"The Ingmar Bergman Collection" (MGM) should be cause for celebration, if that word and Bergman can ever be used in the same sentence; the collection gathers together five of the great director's dramas.

In 1966's penetrating "Persona," Liv Ullmann stars as an actress struck dumb. She appears again in 1968's "Hour of the Wolf" as a woman drawn into the hallucinatory delusions of her painter-husband Max von Sydow; the same year's unforgettable and metaphorical "Shame" sees the same couple taking refuge from a civil war, only to engage in their own bloody battle.

Finally, the collection includes 1969's "The Passion of Anna," aka "The Passion" and, hurtling forward, 1977's "The Serpent's Egg," a disappointing but intriguing story of two Jewish trapeze artists trapped in Berlin.

Add a disc including nearly three hours of supplemental material, including "Intermezzo," a Swedish TV documentary focusing on this period in Bergman's career; a new doc about Bergman's remarkable cinematographer Sven Nykvist; commentary by Bergman biographer Mark Gervais; and interviews with the principals, and you should have something indispensable.

So what's the rub? Both "Hour of the Wolf" and "Shame" inexplicably have been transferred in the wrong ratio, which means images are cropped, visual information is lost and Nykvist's carefully considered compositions are in some cases ruined. One can only hope MGM will rectify the error and initiate an exchange program for those who unwittingly buy it. Save your receipt.

Other releases

The week's big TV box is "Xena Warrior Princess — Season Three" (Anchor Bay), a nine-disc affair collecting the entire season of this campy action-fantasy series starring Lucy Lawless.

More TV on DVD: "Gilligan's Island: The Complete First Season," the silly but fairly irresistible sitcom about the original Survivors; and "The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit" (Capitol/Apple) a documentary by brothers Albert and David Maysles filmed as the band conquered America 40 years ago.

And for all that, what will the week's top-selling DVD be? Almost certainly "The Lion King 1 1/2" (Disney) a direct-to-DVD two-disc set that is not a sequel, not a prequel, but an "equal" — a description of the storytelling, not the quality — to the most popular animated adventure of all time. It's the same story, featuring the same voice cast, but told now from the perspective of comic team Timon and Pumbaa, who, you may remember, were voiced by "Producers" star Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella. A number of new details are added, Elton John and Tim Rice contribute new songs, and there's a child's play-day of extras.