Weird week. There’s really only one major release, as far as I’m concerned with a few nice catalogue discs thrown in the mix to keep things interesting.

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1. THE GREEN HORNET

“Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is a slacker by day, party animal by night…until he finds a serious career that’s seriously cool: crime-fighting action hero. As the Green Hornet, he teams up with gadget wiz and martial arts master Kato (Jay Chou) to take down L.A.’s underworld. Also starring Cameron Diaz and Christoph Waltz. “

I think it’s safe to say that Michel Gondry‘s The Green Hornet surprised a lot of people. Instead of being the embarrassing dud most expected it to be, the director, most well known for his music videos and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, managed to turn out an entertaining, fun action/comedy. Working from a script by star Seth Rogen (and partner in crime Evan Goldberg), Gondry keeps things light and lively, allowing the relationship between the leads, Rogen and Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou to drive the film. Christoph Waltz is around to chew some scenery as villain Chudnofsky but unlike most cinematic superhero adaptations, this film belongs to the heroes.

As is par for the course for Sony, the Blu-ray disc looks and sounds spectacular, sporting some of the deepest, richest blacks you’ll see in HD. Detail and colour are solid but not quite as impressive. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound track provides plenty of atmosphere while remaining clean and clear throughout. Lows are impressive and music is presented a majestic dynamic range. Extras are plentiful, sporting a ton of featurettes and a great, lively commentary track with Gondry, Rogan, Goldberg and producer Neal Moritz.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Filmmakers’ Commentary
• Jay Chou Audition
• Double Barrel
• The Green Hornet Cutting Room (BD-exclusive)
• “Awesoom”-Gag Reel
• “Trust Me” -Director Michel Gondry (BD-exclusive)
• Writing The Green Hornet
• The Black Beauty: Rebirth of Cool
• PS3 Theme (BD-exclusive)
• The Stunt Family Armstrong (BD-exclusive)
• Finding Kato (BD-exclusive)
• The Art of Destruction (BD-exclusive)
• movieIQ (BD-exclusive)

AMAZON: $19.99

ALSO AVAILABLE IN 3D:

AMAZON: $24.99

2. SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT

“After fifteen films that received mostly local acclaim, the 1955 comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) at last ushered in an international audience for Ingmar Bergman (The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries). In turn-of-the-century Sweden, four men and four women of different classes attempt to navigate the laws of attraction. During a weekend in the country, the women collude to force the men’s hands in matters of the heart, exposing their pretensions and insecurities along the way. Chock-full of flirtatious propositions and sharp witticisms delivered by such Swedish screen legends as Gunnar Björnstrand (The Seventh Seal, Winter Light) and Harriet Andersson (Through a Glass Darkly, Cries and Whispers), Smiles of a Summer Night is one of cinema’s great erotic comedies. “

Well, now, if I’m going to be completely honest here, Smiles of a Summer Night should be my actual choice for the number one slot this week. To me, this is the most exciting release. I love this movie. But I let the disc slip to the number two slot in my new release list for a couple of reasons – it’s a Bergman film (read: not for everyone) and while it’s a great disc all around, it isn’t a substantial upgrade form the previously released DVD edition of the film.

Smiles of a Summer Night isn’t standard Ingmar Bergman fare. There are a handful of his signature melancholy moments peppered throughout the film but this is a comedy. While not laugh-out-loud funny, the film feels like an unadulterated celebration of life and love and summertime in Sweden. It’s a shame Bergman didn’t produce more work of it’s ilk.

Criterion‘s Blu-ray presentation of the film is beautiful, as you’d expect. But it’s not a significant enough improvement from their excellent DVD to warrant re-purchase. Contrast seems tighter, detail slightly improved and film grain more evident in HD, so fans with larger viewing areas will note the improvement most. The lossless mono audio track also exhibits improvement over the compressed DVD edition but you’ll really need to have your listening hat on to notice. Supplements are carried over in whole and are excellent to a one, with the conversation between Bergman and Cowie and Donner being the highlight. I would have loved it if the disc included a commentary track or a documentary feature but hey, I’m not going to complain here. This is a great disc and a no-brainer of a purchase for fans who don’t already own a copy.

Special Features:

• Digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Video introduction to the film by director Ingmar Bergman
• Video conversation between Bergman scholar Peter Cowie and writer Jörn Donner, executive producer of Fanny and Alexander
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by theater and film critic John Simon and a 1961 review by film critic Pauline Kael

AMAZON: $27.99

3. FAT GIRL

“Twelve-year-old Anaïs is fat. Her sister, fifteen-year-old Elena, is a beauty. While the girls are on vacation with their parents, Anaïs tags along while Elena explores the dreary seaside town. Elena meets Fernando, an Italian law student; he seduces her with promises of love, and the ever watchful Anaïs bears witness to the corruption of her sister’s innocence. Fat Girl (À ma soeur!) is not only a portrayal of female adolescent sexuality and the complicated bond between siblings but also a shocking assertion by the always controversial Catherine Breillat (Romance, The Last Mistress) that violent oppression exists at the core of male-female relations. “

Fat Girl is a tough film for me to talk about. It’s such an honest, compelling look at the struggles of young romance and family dynamics that I can’t help but love it. But the ending! My god, that ending!! It just drives me bonkers!! I feel in so many ways that the film is nearly perfect up to that point and then it just goes off the damn rails. I mean, I understand what Breillat was after, using a dramatization of a news event that was sweeping the nation at the time (I’m speaking about it in general terms to not spoil the ending for you) to comment on male/female and familial relations. It’s a worthy concept. My issue with it is that it changes the tone of the film so drastically as to make it feel exploitative. I don’t hate the ending. I just dislike how it colours the rest of the film.

Criterion’s new Blu-ray edition of the film looks phenomenal! This upgrade from their previously issued DVD exhibits far more detail, richer colours and a more dimensional, textured image that makes it absolutely worth trading up to. The DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio track offers greater fidelity and depth than the compressed track on the DVD. Bonus features are carried over in whole including a couple of significant interviews with director Breillat and some great behind the scenes footage.

Special Features:

• High-definition digital restoration with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Fat Girl
• Two interviews with director Catherine Breillat, one conducted the night after the film’s world premiere at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival, the other a look back at the film’s production and alternate ending
• French and U.S. theatrical trailers
• Plus: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau, a 2001 interview with Breillat, and a piece by Breillat on the title

AMAZON: $27.99

4. TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH

“This gritty World War II action drama starring Gregory Peck, Oscar winner Dean Jagger, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill and Millard Mitchell is seen as one of the most realistic portrayals of the heroics and perils of war. Convinced an air force commander (Gary Merrill) is at the breaking point, Brigadier General Savage (Peck) takes over his struggling bomber group. Kind and understanding, he adopts a crushing discipline to revitalize the demoralized troop. At first resentful and rebellious, the flyers gradually change as Savage guides them to amazing feats. But the stress of command soon takes it’s toll and the weary general reaches his own breaking point.”

This excellent WWII Gregory Peck vehicle isn’t the brightest gem on Blu-ray but is most likely the best we can expect the film to look outside of receiving the full-restoration treatment. Detail is satisfactory but contrast is a bit on the light side. The original mono soundtrack is expanded in a DTS-HD Master 5.1 track that adds a touch of atmosphere but little else. Extras are carried over from the last, feature packed DVD release of the film and include an excellent commentary track from Rudy Behlmer, Jon Burlingame and Nick Redman, a handful of featurettes and more.

AMAZON: $19.99

5. ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

“The only way football star Stefan Djordjevic (Tom Cruise) will avoid a life in the blast furnaces of his bleak Pennsylvania hometown is by winning a college scholarship. Even his coach (Craig T. Nelson) dreams of parlaying a winning team into a college job far away from this graveyard of the American Dream. But it’s not long before the two virtually ruin each other’s chances for escape and their door to the future starts to close. Lea Thompson and Christopher Penn co-star.”

I always enjoyed this early Tom Cruise film and it’s presented here in a very honest transfer without any signs of untoward digital manipulation. All the Right Moves is far from home theatre demo material but after a shaky start, settles into a film-like presentation with bold colours and a nice sheen of grain. The DTS-HD 5.1 sound track is pretty sweet, with a robust representation of the musical tracks in the film and clean, clear dialogue up the middle. Not much in the way of extras here, with only a couple of trailers to speak of.

AMAZON: $15.99

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
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