Loved but little-seen 'Sunshine' gets new light

By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service

Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey star in the quirky, clever and philosoph-ical "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." David Lee • Focus Features

The former is "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (Universal), which announces its prestige by arriving in a two-disc collector's edition, with extra features that will be savored by those who fell under the film's spell.

Scripted by the one-of-a kind Charlie Kaufman ("Adaptation," "Being John Malkovich") and directed by Michel Gondry (who previously teamed with Kaufman for the little-seen "Human Nature") "Eternal Sunshine" tells the story of a man (Jim Carrey) who retaliates against his girlfriend (Kate Winslet) after she has undergone a procedure in which all her memories of him are erased by signing on to have the same thing done. In the course of things, he changes his mind, initiating a sometimes-comic, sometimes-philosophical, always-challenging debate about free will, science, ego and the nature of love.

My first reaction to the movie was that it was too clever by half and unnecessarily confusing. A look at the DVD proves that some movies reveal themselves fully only in repeated viewings.

The reclusive Kaufman comes out to contribute to a DVD commentary with Gondry that clears up a few plot questions and acknowledges that some of the material, such as the nature of attraction, must be accepted on faith alone. There are also conversations between Carrey and Winslet (who appears more likely to earn an Oscar nomination for this than "Finding Neverland") and a short documentary that gives more insight into where Kaufman, as they say, gets these crazy ideas.

I didn't see "Troy" in its theatrical run, and although I have no doubt it was far more visually impressive on the big screen than it is as presented in a two-disc widescreen edition (Warner), I'm also betting it benefits from its reduced circumstances. Here it plays like a fairly respectable TV miniseries as opposed to a grand historical spectacle. (It also benefits in my eyes from being viewed after Oliver Stone's humorless botch of "Alexander.")

I can certainly understand why historians had their spears out: This seems to be inspired more by "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy than Homer's "Iliad," cutting out the mythology and focusing on the heroics of Achilles (Brad Pitt), who fights for Greece but has no love for the King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) despite his attempts to unite Sparta and Troy. Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom play Hector and Paris, respectively, with Paris complicating matters further via his affair with Queen Helen (Diane Kruger, who is lovely but curiously uninvolved).

Smutty talk restored

"Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" (New Line) announced itself as a "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" for the multiculti millennium but turned out to be little more than a retread of director Danny Leiner's previous stoner comedy, "Dude Where's My Car?" It occupies itself entirely with the munchies quest of the title characters (John Cho and Kal Penn) who will settle for nothing less than those square meatlets on steamed buns, no matter what comic obstacles arise.

Those who enjoyed the film's dope and potty gags will almost certainly want to avail themselves of the unrated version, which restores the cuts (mostly smutty talk) that were made to receive an R rating. (The theatrical edition will be the only one that will be found at Blockbuster and Wal-Mart.)

Should you need a gauge of the sophistication level of either version, you need look only at the add-on that dissects how the film's big flatulence scene was achieved and the various elements that went into creating exactly the right combination of the malodorous and the magnificent.

'Millennium' appeal

The week's TV boxes reflect the enduring cult appeal of shows that failed to reach a large audience on the networks. "Millennium — The Complete Second Season" collects the 23 episodes produced and written by creator Chris Carter's successors, Glen Morgan and James Wong. The season focuses on the shadowy Millennium Group, whose aim is finally made plain. In the meantime, FBI profiler Frank Black (the dour Lance Henriksen ) has to deal not only with approaching Armageddon and a new generation of serial killers, but the kidnapping of his wife by the mysterious Polaroid Man.

For all the readers who have written to inquire about the possible release of "Forever Knight," the late-night series that evolved from a two-hour TV movie pilot in 1989 titled "Nick Knight" (and starring Rick Springfield as a 13th-century vampire who found employment as a cop in contemporary Toronto), your wait is over. Stylish and entertaining, "Forever Knight" is available in two separately sold boxes "The Trilogy: Part One" and "The Trilogy: Part Two" (Columbia TriStar) with Geraint Wyn Davies as the ancient but still sexy Nick.

Hard-core fans may be disappointed to discover that with the exception of the introductory episode, the one shown in the United States in 1992, the episodes are the slightly longer versions seen in Canada, where the series was produced, and not the European exports, which contained nudity and more gore.

There is, however, some semi-nudity originally deleted from last season's broadcast episodes that are included in "Las Vegas — Season One Uncut and Uncensored" (Universal), though it's primarily limited to show girls and strippers. James Caan is the cool-under-fire casino manager dealing with the issues unique to the city of broken dreams, hard cases and hot chicks.

Also out: "C.S.I.: Miami — The Complete Second Season" (Paramount), a seven-disc set containing the 24 episodes from 2003-04 spin-off of the show that turned forensics into the new canasta.