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New on DVD/Video Week of November 26, 2007
The following are capsule reviews of new and recent DVD and video releases from the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Theatrical movies on video have a USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification and Motion Picture Association of America rating. These classifications refer only to the theatrical version of the films below, and do not take into account DVD releases' extra content.
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In 1964, the groundbreaking British television series "World in Action" commissioned a documentary called "Seven Up!" that brought together 21 children, all of them 7 years old. The children, who came from a wide spectrum of socioeconomic backgrounds, were interviewed and shown at play with each other. Over the decades since then, a film has been made every seven years tracing the personal, educational and professional fate of 14 of these children. The most recent installment of the series, director Michael Apted's "49 Up," provides, like its predecessors, a unique perspective on human development, following the now middle-age participants as they face a range of marital and professional struggles. One of the first examples of reality programming thus continues to be among the best. Added features on the DVD include a wide-ranging and insightful half-hour interview with Apted and film critic Roger Ebert, during which they discuss the details of producing the "Up" films, the shift in focus from British class divisions to the life story of each individual, as well as the future possibilities of the series. (First Run Features) 2005
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Every reader of the New Testament is confronted with the mystery of what has been called Jesus' "hidden life," the period from shortly after his birth until the beginning of his public ministry nearly three decades later about which the canonical Gospels are largely silent. This enjoyable, though highly speculative documentary seeks to fill in the details of a part of those lost years that is only briefly referred to in the Gospel of Matthew, namely the Holy Family's journey into Egypt as refugees from the murderous jealousy of King Herod. Based on Paul Perry's 2003 book, "Jesus in Egypt," the film follows Perry as he tries to uncover the path that Joseph, Mary and their infant son might have taken, from the Holy Land into lower Egypt (the area close to the Mediterranean) and then down the Nile. Relying on the oral tradition of the indigenous Coptic Church, a group of "infancy gospels" that were not included in the Bible and the mystical vision of an early Coptic leader, Pope Theophilus, Perry posits a five-year stay in Egypt for the Holy Family and a circuitous journey of several hundred miles. Considered in strictly historical terms, his elaborate conclusions seem flimsy, and some of the stories told about the child Jesus -- including his spontaneous destruction of all the pagan idols in an ancient city -- border on the outlandish. On the other hand, as an opportunity to hear the thoughts of the Christians of contemporary Egypt, and as a picturesque pilgrimage to many of their most sacred shrines and monasteries, director-cinematographer Marlin Darrah's 90-minute film holds some interest. (PureFlix/Ben Pyramid Productions) 2007
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Superb, beautifully acted over-the-years saga about Indian newlyweds (Tabu and Irrfan Khan) who emigrate to New York to start their life, and the joys and vicissitudes which follow, including the son (Kal Penn) who grows away from them. Director Mira Nair's adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's acclaimed novel holds your interest right up to its two-hankie conclusion, and though there are a few uses of the "s" word, and some low-keyed bedroom scenes with brief rear nudity in one of them, this is highly recommendable for upper teens and up, for its poignant affirmation of family, respect for one's parents, and embracing one's heritage with pride. Partially subtitled. A few crude words, brief teenage drug use, brief sexual encounters -- a couple without nudity, one a premarital situation with rear nudity -- adultery, fleeting images of dead and injured after a train wreck. The DVD includes commentary by Nair, three deleted scenes (two of them extremely brief, and one a sexual encounter without nudity), a feature on Penn, and Nair speaking with a class at Columbia University's graduate film school explaining how she was inspired by personal grief to make the film. A-III -- adults. (PG-13) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) 2007
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Superb, beautifully acted over-the-years saga about Indian newlyweds (Tabu and Irrfan Khan) who emigrate to New York to start their life, and the joys and vicissitudes which follow, including the son (Kal Penn) who grows away from them. Director Mira Nair's adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's acclaimed novel holds your interest right up to its two-hankie conclusion, and though there are a few uses of the "s" word, and some low-keyed bedroom scenes with brief rear nudity in one of them, this is highly recommendable for upper teens and up, for its poignant affirmation of family, respect for one's parents, and embracing one's heritage with pride. Partially subtitled. A few crude words, brief teenage drug use, brief sexual encounters -- a couple without nudity, one a premarital situation with rear nudity -- adultery, fleeting images of dead and injured after a train wreck. The DVD includes commentary by Nair, three deleted scenes (two of them extremely brief, and one a sexual encounter without nudity), a feature on Penn, and Nair speaking with a class at Columbia University's graduate film school explaining how she was inspired by personal grief to make the film. A-III -- adults. (PG-13) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) 2007
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Was the star described in the Gospels as heralding the birth of Jesus a real phenomenon or merely an invention of the early church? In this intriguing documentary, evangelical lawyer turned student of astronomy Frederick A. Larson uses the evidence of Scripture and the mathematical calculations of modern software -- which allow for the precise reconstruction of the night sky on any date in history -- in an effort to answer that question. He draws as well on the narratives of such ancient writers as Josephus and Philo of Alexandria to pinpoint the star's date before going on to build an impressive case for its conformity with the biblical account. Larson's study, which is presented to viewers within the intimate setting of a small, relaxed onscreen seminar, continues with an exploration of some of the natural wonders associated with the day of Christ's crucifixion and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Director Stephan Vidano's documentary is subject to the inevitable limitations of a one-man lecture format, and the computer generated graphics are not as clear as they might have been with full screen amplification. Yet this hour-long film's rhetorically skillful presentation of Larson's argument, holds your interest throughout. The DVD's only added feature is a very brief film, "The View From Beyond," showing one of the planetary alignments already discussed from a different, and dramatic perspective. It contains a few graphic reenactments of the Crucifixion. (Mpower Pictures/Genius Productions) 2007
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Beguiling, unusual fable of a 12-year-old piano prodigy (Teo Gheorghiu) who, overburdened by his musical and mathematical genius and his loving but overprotective mother (Julika Jenkins), begins to find life intolerable until a near-fatal fall results in the seeming loss of his talent. Writer-director Fredi M. Murer's film was the Swiss entry for best foreign film Oscar and features an engaging central performance and a strong affirmation of family, not only in the boy's relationships with his parents, but also with the eccentric grandfather (Bruno Ganz) with whom the boy bonds, and a perceptive study of childhood. Swiss German. Subtitles. Some disrespect of authority figures including parents, deceitful behavior, insider trading, a few crude and crass words, brief underage alcohol use and a brief reference to sex perhaps make this most suitable for older adolescents and up. DVD special features include English commentary by Murer, a making-of feature, a subtitled interview with Ganz, Gheorghiu's screen test, and seven interesting deleted scenes, including one involving a car crash. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) 2007
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.
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