Shock Corridor/The Naked Kiss

A crazed bald woman beats up her drunk pimp before taking $800 from him, and this is all before the film’s title card appears. We’ve entered serious film noir territory here, courtesy of maverick writer/director Sam Fuller. In this pair of his classic ‘60s films making their Criterion Blu-ray debut, we get a fresh look at the work of this trailblazing auteur in crystal-clear hi def.

In Shock Corridor, Fuller follows a brave newspaper reporter on his bold gambit to infiltrate a mental hospital as a patient in order to investigate a suspicious murder. One guess how that turns out for him. Although he’s perfectly sane when he enters the facility, his prolonged exposure to the deranged patients proves more than his psyche can manage. There’s precious little plot to develop here, as it’s obvious right from the opening that our hero has bitten off more than he can chew, leaving the only mystery whether or not he will successfully uncover the identity of the killer. Instead of plot, Fuller delights in wallowing in the madness of the facility, with extended scenes devoted to the escalating factors driving the reporter to insanity, including a gaggle of nymphomaniacs, a race-hating bigot inciting a riot, shock therapy, and finally the reporter’s own breakdown as he imagines the entire interior of the ward being immersed in a torrential downpour. That final scene is the most memorable, and it came at a cost. As disclosed in the bonus features, Fuller flooded the soundstage and completely ruined his set to get the otherworldly footage.

Filmed the following year, The Naked Kiss has a much more intriguing storyline and protagonist, and as such I found it to be far superior to its predecessor. Constance Towers stars as an ex-hooker named Kelly with a heart of gold, who lands in a sleepy conservative small town (is there any other kind?) in her quest to redeem herself. However, her first act in town is a final remnant of her past life, as she quickly beds the local sheriff in exchange for a donation to the Kelly fund. That sheriff subsequently keeps close tabs on her and doubts her virtue as she sets about working as a helper to disabled children and finds romance with the wealthiest man in town. Is it all an act, or is Kelly truly on the straight-and-narrow? The lingering impact and subsequent repercussions of one naked kiss bring about her perceived downfall, but also her best shot at validation if the lawman can discover the truth.

Both films are stuffed with colorful characters concocted by Fuller, not too difficult to achieve in Shock Corridor’s setting but all the more impressive in the mostly straight-laced environs of The Naked Kiss. Kelly is the most interesting character of them all, as we’re almost as conflicted about her virtue as she is, careening from that astounding opening scene with her pimp right through to her trial in the court of public opinion. Towers is stunning in the role, although more so in the latter stages as there’s something almost too theatrical rather than natural about her performance in the early scenes in town. That could be somewhat attributed to the times, as Fuller’s work here is clearly part of the early building blocks of independent film, so his lead actors were likely still finding their footing outside of the highly regimented studio system fare of the time.

This was my first exposure to any of Fuller’s work, but it’s quite easy to draw a direct line from him to the auteurs of our time such as Tarantino, Jarmusch, and Wenders. As if to drive home that idea of Fuller as godfather to all latter-day independent titans, all three of those directors in addition to Scorsese and Tim Robbins appear in a lengthy biographical program about him included in the Shock Corridor bonus features. There’s quite a bit of interview footage of Fuller included, giving viewers great insight into his gruff, outspoken, and animated personality. Tarantino also contributes a recurring comical impersonation of him while sifting through Fuller’s archives with Robbins.

Elsewhere in the bonus features, Constance Towers appears in lengthy interviews exclusive to each disc and offers incredibly fascinating insight into the production of both films. Although filmed in 2007, she’s razor-sharp, poised, and astoundingly informative in her disclosures about Fuller, the making of the films, and their lasting impact. The Naked Kiss also includes interviews with Fuller from French shows recorded in 1967 and 1987, as well as excerpts from a 1983 episode of the UK South Bank Show dedicated to him, giving viewers an abundance of exposure to this iconoclastic writer/director.

Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss are available on Criterion Blu-ray on January 18th, 2011 and are being reissued on DVD on the same date. In fact, they’re such long-time and key components of the Criterion library that it’s no surprise to find their original release order numbers on the case spines, representing release 18 and 19 in their now 500+ deep collection. The bonus features are almost entirely new to these reissues, as is the addition of much-improved new artwork by comic book artist Daniel Clowes. For more information, visit http://www.criterion.com/.

Originally published on FilmRadar.

Kevin Smith 3-Movie Collection

It's likely that anyone with an interest in this new Blu-ray box set has seen all three of the featured movies, so let's get right into the Blu-ray specs.

All three movies are presented in 1080p resolution with beefed-up audio options. Clerks and Chasing Amy deliver their audio in 5.1 DTS-HD MA (48kHz/24-bit), while Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back features 5.1 Uncompressed (48kHz/16-bit). That's all well and good, but does it really make a difference when the original material is famously lo-tech, especially Smith's breakout, the micro-budgeted Clerks? In this reviewer's opinion, not really. It's fine to brag to your fellow nerds about the unsurpassed quality of these Blu-rays, but in reality there's only so much video clarity and audio fidelity one can wring out of a mute fat dude and loud skinny dude saying "snootchie bootchies". Clerks is still as grainy as you remember it, Chasing Amy is murky, while Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back impresses comparatively with the best video quality of the bunch. The audio doesn't really have much notable discrete audio separation in any of the films, so the upgraded specs are mostly for peace of mind than any gain in performance. The diehard fans will appreciate owning the best possible specs, but for average viewers there's little in the featured films to justify moving up from DVD.

The discs are packed with bonus features, but most of them are carryovers from previous DVD releases. Only Chasing Amy touts truly exclusive and new Blu-ray bonuses.

Clerks includes the theatrical version of the film with classic commentary from '95 featuring Smith, producer Scott Mosier, co-stars Jason Mewes and Brian O'Halloran (Dante). There's also an enhanced playback track containing synchronized trivia and cast and crew quotes. The disc also includes the "First Cut" version of the film with an intro by Smith taped in 2004 for the Clerks X tenth anniversary release and a separate commentary track with Smith, Mewes, O'Halloran, Mosier, and Jeff Anderson (Randal). Other extras include a featurette on the film's restoration, original trailer, and a feature-length documentary about the film's production (also from 2004) entitled "Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks". It's an exhaustive package for a trailblazing film, guaranteed to satisfy the most demanding of Smith's fans with its plethora of insider information.

Chasing Amy features the only advertised new and exclusive to Blu-ray bonus content. The new commentary track features Smith and Mosier, while the bonus features include a documentary about the film's production entitled "Tracing Amy", a conversation with Smith and co-star Joey Lauren Adams, and a "10 years later" Q&A with Smith and the cast. Returning from previous DVD bonus features are deleted scenes, outtakes, and the original trailer. Like Clerks, the thorough bonus content here is a treat for fans, and since it's exclusive to Blu-ray it's possibly the best reason to own this set.

Although Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the newest and most technically accomplished of the three films, it gets relatively short shrift in the Blu-ray department. In contrast to the bevy of bonus features on the other two discs, this one contains only an audio commentary track with Smith, Mewes, and Mosier, along with instant access to select scenes that showcase the "ultimate in High Definition Picture and Sound", an amusing option considering the decidedly non-ultimate source material.

Thankfully, the discs are each housed in their own full-size single edition Blu-ray cases with independent artwork rather than getting crammed into a substandard repackaged case. The cases are stored in a simple cardboard slipcover with Smith's mug towering over the original cover art. Kevin Smith 3-Movie Collection is now available on Blu-ray.

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure

She’s no Disney Princess, but Tinker Bell has entered the spotlight as a key Disney player in the past few years via the Disney Fairies product line and a series of slickly-produced direct-to-DVD CGI movies. In her latest outing, a follow-up to last year’s warmly received Tinker Bell, Tink goes on a treasure hunt that takes her far away from her beloved Pixie Hollow home. Along the way, she learns the value of patience and the power of friendship.

If you missed the first movie, you may be surprised to find that Tink talks now and she’s not hanging out with Peter Pan; she’s firmly embedded in a fairy community where she works as a tinker. Her look has been updated somewhat, but the artists took pains to emulate her original design from Disney's Peter Pan so her move to three-dimensional CG model is fairly seamless and unobjectionable. The biggest change in the new movie is her wardrobe, as she accessorizes her pixie dress with some suitable adventuring clothes (long sleeves, pants, and a jaunty cap) for her travels outside the Hollow. It’s a perfectly logical decision from a sensibility standpoint, but it’s not likely to be a favorite Halloween costume choice next season.

As the movie opens, Tink (voiced by Mae Whitman) is tasked with crafting a scepter to house a precious and extremely fragile blue gem in time for an autumn festival. Without the properly configured gem, the pixies won’t be able to collect essential blue pixie dust needed to maintain their tree home. She’s honored to have such a high-profile assignment from the ruling fairies, but also extremely stressed about her abilities to create the final product on time and up to snuff. Enter her friend Terence (voiced by tween heartthrob Jesse McCartney), a eager and kind male fairy who does his best to help Tink but ultimately comes to be viewed as an impediment by Tink as she tries to do everything by herself.

It should come as no surprise that the fragile gem becomes a casualty of her impatience, but her recovery efforts stretch the boundaries of common sense a bit. Rather than confess to the head fairies that she has destroyed the one-of-a-kind gem, she grasps onto the possibly fictional tale of a long-lost magic mirror that may grant its holder one last wish before it expends its power. Really? With days left until the crucial festival, she’s going to set out far away from home in search of a mirror that nobody has ever been able to find, that may not even exist, and hope that it really is magic and still has one more active wish? If you can buy that extreme leap of faith, you’re definitely in the target audience.

Along the way to the mirror, Tink meets a ridiculously cute firefly named Blaze who becomes her travelling companion and friend. His character design is fairly utilitarian, but he’s animated well and “speaks” via adorable squeaks that will enrapture audiences of all ages, making him the breakout star of the film. Will the two friends find the mirror? Will it be too late to save the festival? This is a Disney movie, so there really shouldn’t be much doubt, although the resolution takes a slightly different path than one might expect.

The new movie is winning family entertainment, with two exceptions. First, Tink isn’t a very likeable character due to her hotheadedness, making her a pretty unsympathetic heroine when she’s blowing her stack at her friends. Sure, that’s part of her character dating back to Peter Pan, but this aspect of her personality could have been tempered somewhat while still conveying the themes of patience and friendship. Second, the Disney team spent a great amount of effort crafting the magical world of Pixie Hollow and its denizens in the first movie and numerous books, so it’s a shame to see only glimpses of that world in the new movie as Tink spends most of her time on the road. She’s the star, but I’m certain there are many little fans out there who long to explore Pixie Hollow and the other fairies in more detail rather than primarily follow her exploits away from home. Unfortunately, based on the included preview of next year’s upcoming third film, it appears that this trend is going to continue.

From a production standpoint, the film is top notch and completely belies its direct-to-DVD status. Thankfully, it is being released in Blu-ray format (in addition to DVD) to allow home viewers to get as close to a theatrical experience as currently possible. The Blu picture and sound are thrilling, with fine detail like the individual specks in swirls of pixie dust, crystal-clear depth of field in the highly-detailed Pixie Hollow, and immersive surround sound effects during the expansive adventures outside the Hollow that work together to fully bring the fantasy world to life.

The disc is jam-packed with bonus features including deleted scenes, footage from the recreation of Pixie Hollow on the grounds of Epcot Center, and the ubiquitous BD Live capability. Of special note are the Fairy Bloopers, basically alternate takes on a few of the key scenes that are similar to the old Pixar bloopers over their end credits. They’re genuinely funny and definitely worth seeking out.

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is available on DVD and Blu-ray on October 27th. The Blu-ray package includes both Blu and DVD versions of the film, so if you’re undecided on version definitely go Blu to be covered either way.