Sound effects sizzle in firefighter action flick

By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service

John Travolta comes to the rescue in "Ladder 49," filmed in Baltimore. Touchstone Pictures

When Disney recently issued "Aladdin" with something called Enhanced Home Theater Mix, I didn't even push the button. But then I tried it out on "Ladder 49" (Buena Vista), last year's firefighter drama starring Joaquin Phoenix as a smoke-eater trapped in a blazing building while his former boss and friend, played by John Travolta, mounts a rescue effort.

The film got mixed reviews, but I fell for its old-fashioned look at blue-collar heroism and fire-station camaraderie. Seeing it on DVD, I found myself caught up in it again, in no small part because the Enhanced Mix seems to put you right inside that building with Phoenix; the flames now tickle your ears.

The anamorphic video transfer is also first-rate and the extras are worth watching. In the obligatory "making of" feature, we even get some real excitement when Travolta burns his hands in a shot and the medics rush to take care of him. There's also a nice piece on real-life firefighters in Baltimore, where the film was made, and about 14 minutes of cut footage, including a scene where Phoenix comes home to hear the news about 9/11.

'Charly' back from '60s

A benevolent fantasy unfurls in "Charly" (MGM), the 1968 hit starring Cliff Robertson as a retarded man who is so painfully aware of his mental incapacity that he undergoes experimental brain surgery that leaves him brilliant. He has difficulty adjusting to his new situation and gets help from a psychologist (Claire Bloom) with whom he falls in love.

Based on Daniel Keyes' novel "Flowers for Algernon," "Charly" is rooted in its time — flower-power pollen is everywhere, and the score, written and performed by sitar master Ravi Shankar, was at least as instrumental as George Harrison in getting Indian music into the collective consciousness. Yet as dated and borderline maudlin as the film may be, it remains emotionally affecting, and Robertson's performance, for which he won the best actor Oscar, is pretty brilliant.

Man in Black

The Sanctuary record label is known as a haven for old rockers who have been discarded by the major labels, and it dives into the DVD end of the business with 1969's "Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music."

It is one of the rare documentaries of its era to get a theatrical release, primarily because Cash was on top of the world at the time with his live records "At Folsom Prison" and "At San Quentin" and a surprise hit TV show. (A few years later, Cash was dropped by his label for being out of fashion, but things turned around again for him in the years just before his death in 2003.)

Filmmaker Bob Elfstrom spent months following Cash around in 1968 and 1969 and came up with some amazing footage: Along with performances in which he is backed by famed rocker Carl Perkins and the Carter Sisters (including his wife, June), Cash is filmed in the studio with Bob Dylan, who in his "Nashville Skyline" phase attempted to make a duet album with Cash that was never released. The two of them are seen here gamely running through Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings."

The Xena philes

The TV box of the week would have to be "The Final Season — Xena: Warrior Princess" (Anchor Bay), a set that exceeds even the uber-geek standards set by the previous five season box sets.

Not only does it include all 22 episodes of everyone's favorite mythological butt-kicker's farewell tour (with the two-part finale re-edited into a feature-length director's cut ), it also has copious commentaries and interviews with star Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor (who played her sidekick) and series creator Rob Tapert.

Plus, there are five featurette documentaries; all manner of outtakes, bloopers and extended scenes; and a CD-ROM with anything and everything you could possibly desire to know.

Other TV boxes out this week: "21 Jump Street — The Complete Second Season" (Anchor Bay); "Felicity — Senior Year Collection (The Complete Fourth Season)" (Touchstone); "Popular — The Complete Second Season" (Touchstone); and, oh yeah, just one more thing, "Columbo — The Complete Second Season" (Universal).