everything's roundup

Hey gang- it's time for the roundup. Let's see...Archie's here, Betty's here...Veronica too. Reggie's here...hey Jughead, where are you?
Sorry, I couldn't resist. I've had that tune in my head for two days now. What tune? Why the theme song to The Archie Show of course. This is a really one of a kind week. There are so many must have sets this week, that in a rare event, all of them have earned our Top Shelf pick! I'm not kidding. I highly recommend all of the selections today to be sterling additions to your DVD library. Why? Well, let's get on with it, and you will surely see. And yes, I know your name is not Shirley.

DVD
Top Shelf Pick of The Week!
Film Noir Collection Vol. 4
Popeye
The Archie Show
300

First up: Film Noir Classics Collection Vol. 4
After three previous sets, I believe some people believed that Warner's pretty much scraped the bottom of the barrel. But Film Noir fans know better! We're just getting started it seems. Sure the big name and familiar classics have already been released, but this is where things get interesting. Volume 4 contains the most diverse, hardboiled and odd assortment of Film Noir yet. There are a few legends thrown in for good measure.
There are 10 films in this set, including: Act of Violence, Mystery Street, Crime Wave, Decoy, Illegal, The Big Steal, They Live by Night, Side Street, Where Danger Lives and Tension. That's Five discs with a double feature on each disc. With some great commentary tracks and behind the featurettes, this set is for keeps. Wolf and I have been checking it out for the past week, and we'll have a full review of the set up tomorrow. Don't miss it! And just to whet your appetite, how about a trailer from one the great films included in the set starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer: The Big Steal. (Clip courtesy of Turner Classic Movies!)




Next: Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Vol. 1!
Mark my words, this is one of the most important animation DVD releases this year; perhaps even of the past few years. For many years, Popeye has gotten short shrift on DVD, while distributors were quibbling over rights. Now, beginning with this set, all of that has been resolved. These are the original Fleischer Studios shorts in all their glory. They have been transferred from original 35mm nitrate materials and the results are fantastic. The sound and video are nothing short of greatness, and fans and animation fans in general should be rushing out (or rushing online) to order their set. Included on this four disc set are 58 black-and-white theatrical shorts, 2 color two reel films and more than 5 hours of incredible bonus features, including several feature length documentaries: I Yam What I Yam: The Story of Popeye the Sailor and Forging the Frame: The Roots of Animation 1900-1920. Also included are several bonus shorts from the Out of the Inkwell series from Fleischer Studios. Leonard Maltin has described this set in one word: "perfect". I can't think of a better description.

On to: The Archie Show!
Strong flashbacks to my childhood immediately flood my mind just thinking about this set. Wolf and I are big Archie fans from way back, and while we weren't around when the show originally came out, I saw later incarnations on Saturday mornings (Archie's Funnies, etc.) and we saw several episodes that came out on VHS. Now the complete series of the first incarnation of the show is out on DVD, and the discs are made to look like old fashioned 45's. If you don't know what those are, well wikipedia it and come back to us. The Archie Show had great tunes composed and sung by a full fledged band that had a hit record or two (ever heard of Bang-Shang-A-Lang, Jingle Jangle or Sugar, Sugar?)
The set includes all 32 episodes from this first series, an interview with the Archie Show producer Lou Scheimer; a booklet that features a reproduction of a story from the first "Everything's Archie" comic book, an image gallery and something really cool. An interactive "jukebox" that will let you just plug it in and play any song that was featured on the show. Groovy! Alright, I guess that's enough fan boy earnestness for one day. OK, maybe not - you cats need to get it today!

Lastly, 300!
We really liked this film when it first came out, as did many of you. We've heard from readers and other commentators not only was the film cinematically breathtaking, it was inspiring. But it was somewhat controversial. I say that it's a great example of creative, inspiring and visually stunning film making that Hollywood used to do. Said to say, it is a rare thing nowadays. It is most definitely a grown-up films, it's not for kids. It may be a little violent for some adults even, but I thought it was handled in very visual style that is different than just run of the mill shoot 'em-ups. The story is very inspiring and director Zack Snyder did a fantastic job of translating Frank Miller's original graphic novel to the screen.
300 releases today in several versions, but I got the two disc widescreen special edition. The video and sound is just as vibrant and crisp as it was in the theater. Included is a commentary from Snyder, screenwriter Kurt Johnstad and Director of Photography Larry Fong. The Bonus features on the two disc special edition include several documentaries: The 300- Fact or Fiction? (historians and film makers discuss the historical relevance and approach to 300) and Who Were The Spartans: The Warriors of 300. Also included are The Frank Miller Tapes which discusses the creator's efforts with the graphic novel and the film; deleted scenes; and all of the behind the scenes webisodes that were produced during the making of the film.

Last Week:
I know - we didn't have a round up last week, but I can't let it go by without naming the Top Shelf Picks from last week and encouraging that you add them to your collection:
Firstly, the Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2 set from WHV, which we reviewed extensively here.
Also don't neglect to pick up yet another great animation set: The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection! Three DVDs of classic Walter Lantz animated goodness. Included in the set is ten-year chronology of Woody (45 shorts from 1940-1952), plus many of the other classic theatrical shorts released by Lantz that had some other famous characters: Chilly Willy, Andy Panda and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. All of the shorts are uncut and have been transferred from original negatives and restored and the audio remastered.
Also included are some great bonus features including some footage of Walter Lantz himself talking about his characters and showing how to draw Woody and pals. Also included are several other behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the special Halloween episode of The Woody Woodpecker TV Show which featured the short Spook-a-Nanny. With all this animated goodness, from Woody and Droopy to Popeye and Archie- this is the year for classic animation. If you have these in your collection, you will have (along with Looney Tunes Golden Collections and Walt Disney Treasures ) the most comprehensive set of classic animation that has ever been available to the personal collector. Don't miss out.

Television:
(check all local listings for times)
Food Network
It was great last year, so why not do it again? Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run begins this Saturday at 9pm (est). Alton and his motorcycle gang will be checking out the cuisine all along the mighty Mississippi.
Also a fairly new show that I have been enjoying as of late is Glutton for Punishment. Bob, the host (or Glutton I guess) is trying to learn all the ins and outs of food competition and preparation. He works for a week, trying to learn how to do anything from competitive oyster shucking to the secret of eating chilies, and then he goes out and attempts to compete with his new found skills. Bob is at most, very humble and recognizes true greatness when he sees it and verifies just how hard some of this stuff is. It's a good show and worth checking out.

Turner Classic Movies:
Shelf Picks for TCM
It's the Summer Under the Stars at TCM!


All this month on TCM is the annual Summer Under the Stars celebration. Each night a different star is featured. Here are our picks for this week!

Aug. 1: Star: Elizabeth Taylor
National Velvet (1944), A Date With Judy (1948), Ivanhoe (1952) and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Aug. 2: Star: Peter O'Toole
Man of La Mancha (1972), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Becket (1964) and Lord Jim (1965).

Aug. 3: Star: Joan Crawford
Above Suspicion (1943), Mildred Pierce (1945) and the documentary: Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002).

Aug. 4: Star: William Holden
Arizona (1940), Escape From Fort Bravo (1953), Stalag 17 (1953) and Executive Suite (1954).

Aug. 5: Star: James Stewart
Harvey (1950), Bend of the River (1952), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Anatomy Of A Murder (1959) and The Naked Spur (1953).

Aug. 6: Star: Robert Mitchum
Out of the Past (1947), The Big Steal (1950), The Racket (1951) and Thunder Road (1958).


Well, that's all gang. Stay tuned Shelfers, our Film Noir, Vol.4 DVD review is coming up next.



I'm the kind of guy who doesn't like to turn around, Chiquita, besides, that there's a guy behind me with a gun. Remember?

views and reviews on 300

Wolf and I have both seen 300 and have been knocked out by such a great piece of film making. However, I have been gathering my thoughts on the film, and yet have been reluctant to comment on it; especially with so much back forth going on out in the ether. From television, to radio and newspapers, and especially on the web- it seems everyone has something to say about the film. In such cases, I often hesitate to add something, just because I feel someone out there has said it better than I could have.
That being said I do want to add a couple of words- and direct you to a couple of excellent articles which I believe really tackle and discuss the merits of the film, and in a way discuss why it is being accepted by audiences and rejected by critics and cultural elitists. (and yes, sometimes they are one and the same, but I make the distinction here to include the non-critic talking heads that pop up on TV). This is sort of a roundup on the views and reviews I've seen on 300 that I believe really "get it".

First off:
Christian Johnson over at Cinerati, has written two of the best articles on the whys and why nots 300 has been recieved or rejected, and understanding it in terms of both it's origin from the greek ideals and the graphic novel storytelling aspect . They are worth reading. An excerpt:

"One of the classical virtues is that of thumos a kind of spritedness which combines patriotism and courage. It is the virtue that is central to the Spartan society. In fact, Spartan society might be said to value thumos over almost any other part of virtue as we understand it. Spiritedness is a powerful force in people, we like to take pride in our society and we value those who fight to defend it. That is thumos in a nutshell and that is what 300 is about. The film doesn't spend time showing us the ways that Sparta was unjust, and they were in many ways, because then the film -- and comic -- would be about Sparta. This film isn't about Sparta, it is about thumos."
Read the whole article here and a previous excellent article here.

Then the gang over at Libertas have offered a review and several articles that you can read: here, here, and here.

Of course, Victor Davis Hanson offered some excellent thoughs on history and 300 here and here. An excerpt:
Many of the most famous lines in the film come directly either from Herodotus or Plutarch's Moralia, and they capture well, in the historical sense, the collective Spartan martial ethic, honor, glory, and ancestor reverence (I say that as an admirer of democratic Thebes and its destruction of Sparta's system of Messenian helotage in 369 BC). Why—beside the blood-spattering violence and often one-dimensional characterizations—will some critics not like this, despite the above caveats?
Ultimately the film takes a moral stance, Herodotean in nature: there is a difference, an unapologetic difference between free citizens who fight for eleutheria and imperial subjects who give obeisance. We are not left with the usual postmodern quandary 'who are the good guys' in a battle in which the lust for violence plagues both sides. In the end, the defending Spartans are better, not perfect, just better than the invading Persians, and that proves good enough in the end. And to suggest that ambiguously these days has perhaps become a revolutionary thing in itself.


I would only add my following comment to the above: The cultural elitists own worldview tends to make them look askew at one of the most artistic films I have seen in recent memory. There is no coincidence that academia has seen a decline in the offering of classical liberal arts education and degrees. As one professor once told me, "It's called ancient for a reason. Their ideas are dusty- we are more interested in the modern and post modern. The hold more for us." Undoubtabley so. The post modern holds so many tiny nooks and crannies within which one can claim expertise and obscure wisdom , and yet at the same time pass judgement and claim moral relativistism. Ancient and classical history and literature is so often disdained in academia that now it has started to go full circle, and there is an effort to bring it back, much to the chagrin of some history professors who look at political and military history in general as passe and dangerous.

IF you think I'm just flapping my gums about the vapid, self-absorbed post modernists, then read Dr. Sanity's excellent article here on why the post-modernists (in a nutshell, cultural elitists) are in an uproar about this film. An excerpt:

Once upon a time intellectuals who sought to understand the modern world looked to the giants of intellectual thought from humanity's past. In the wisdom of their writings we would be able to find the words and meanings relevant to analyzing the events of today. But now, it is as if history has been turned upside down. We no longer look to the past to understand ourselves and our journey--instead we use our present feelings and our modern understandings and prejudices to reinterpret and deconstruct the past.
...That this rather perversely condescending and ultimately nihilistic tendency is a direct result of the essential narcissism of our times there is no doubt. Only a narcissist of the most pathological sort could or would haughtily dismiss Plato or Aristotle as merely primitive Greeks; or reject the writings of a Thomas Jefferson or John Adams because they were white male slaveholders. Only a self-absorbed postmodernist who believes he has all the answers to not only current problems, but that his superior and perfect intellect has nothing to gain by considering the admittedly imperfect thinkers and ideas of the past.
Read the whole article.

If you haven't seen 300, I would recommend it. But be warned, you may just come out of the film wanting the bad guys to lose and the good guys to win. And the cultural elitists can't have that.



A new age has come, an age of freedom. And all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it.