Glorious days of 'Incredibles' now collector's set

By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service

"The Incredibles," about a family of retired superheroes recalled to duty while trying to fit into suburban life, recently won the Oscar for best animated feature and is now available on DVD. Advertiser library photo

It's a pitch-perfect re-creation of a bad cartoon from the late '60s that becomes even funnier when you switch on the commentary track, which devolves into a heated argument between Fro and Mr. Incredible over ... well, no point in spoiling even four minutes of this dense, endlessly imaginative 2-disc set destined to become one of the best-selling DVDs of all time.

Even if I hadn't thought Brad Bird's Academy Award-winning comedy about a superhero family that comes out of hiding to battle more-bratty-than-evil Syndrome was the masterpiece some critics claimed, I doubt even Hyperbole Boy could overstate the enjoyment value of the DVD set.

For instance: Ever wonder what happened while baby-sitter Kari was left to look after baby Jack-Jack while the rest of the family was off rescuing Dad? Now you'll know in a hilarious short, "Jack-Jack Attack."

And unlike those deleted scenes on many other DVD offerings that turn out only to be extended or slightly altered outtakes, this includes more than a half-hour of uncompleted story-reel footage that didn't make the final cut. Included is an alternate opening sequence that would have substantially altered the tone (and forced a different ending) and introduces a character, a pilot named Snug, who was cut from the theatrical version.

There is an hour or so of making-of material from nearly everyone involved in the movie, all of which is interesting and some of which is fascinating — in no small part because of writer-director Bird, whom no one would accuse of lacking confidence.

We get a lot of inside poop, too, like hearing about some of the actors considered for various voices (George Clooney and Harrison Ford were early candidates for Mr. Incredible, a role that went to Craig T. Nelson). A blooper reel catalogs actual mistakes made during the production — with a hilarious laugh-track accompaniment — instead of the usual cartoon-characters-screwing-up-gags bit. There are also interviews, if they can be called that, with the animated cast conducted by TV entertainment show journalists.

And not only is "Boundin'," the clever sheared-sheep animated short that preceded the film in theaters, given a commentary track by creator Bud Luckey, he even gets his own background featurette. Then there's the oddly compelling "Vowelett: An Essay by Sarah Vowell," in which the NPR correspondent recounts how she got the role of voicing sullen teenage daughter Violet Parr.

Alfie' redux

Considering that last year's remake of "Alfie" was a nonstarter at the box office, Paramount can be commended for not skimping on the DVD, which could reap attention the film did not.

Jude Law was perfectly cast as the English limo driver, played in the 1966 original by Michael Caine, who knows what women want even if he doesn't have a clue what he wants or really needs.

The disc is outfitted with two commentaries, one by director Charles Shyer and the film's editor and another with a different focus by Shyer and the producer. Also included is a short called "Alfie's Women," which lets co-stars Susan Sarandon, Marisa Tomei, Nia Long and Sienna Miller get their two cents in, plus deleted scenes and a 12-minute look at the film's excellent, Southern soul-style score by Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart.

"What the #$*! Do We Know!?" (Fox), would have to be considered last year's most off-the-wall art-house hit, an oddball mix of drama and documentary. It sends a cynical photographer played by Marlee Matlin on a New Age journey of self-discovery (with trippy visuals) that attempts to breech the gaps between science, particularly quantum physics, spirituality and mysticism.

Film noir

The success of recent film noir collections has prompted 20th Century Fox to release three much-requested titles from its vaults, including "Laura." Otto Preminger's atmospheric 1944 mystery stands as the most indelible film that legendary showman ever made.

The story of a hard-boiled cop (Dana Andrews) who finds himself falling in love with the portrait of a dead woman (Gene Tierney) whose murder he is investigating makes little sense — Andrews lets one of the besotted suspects, beautifully played by Clifton Webb, accompany him in the investigation for some reason — but casts a haunting, romantic spell few films have ever achieved.

Supplements include commentary by composer David Raksin (whose unforgettable theme song would be much recorded, most unforgettably by Charlie Parker) and two episodes of A&E's "Biography" on Tierney and costar Vincent Price. The film itself is presented in its original cut and the preferable extended one re-released in the late 1980s. It looks pretty fabulous either way.

The other two titles are really noir by association, but that makes them no less worth watching.

From 1948, "Call Northside 777" was directed by Henry Hathaway to look like a newsreel documentary and tells the story of a detective, played by Jimmy Stewart, who will stop at nothing to find a cop killer. If the movie had been made in the '70s, Clint Eastwood might have worn the badge.

Then there's Elia Kazan's 1950 thriller "Panic in the Streets," which gives Richard Widmark the job of tracking down a virus that could cause a plague on the streets of New Orleans. I hadn't seen this movie in 30 years and was surprised at how nail-bitingly suspenseful it was.

Like "Northside" and "Laura," the visual sprucing up is matched by a remix into two-channel stereo; the original mono track remains for purists.