| DVD Roundup June 2006
Biographical Movies and DVD -- A Perfect Match
 Who will be the next faded star to
rush forward from the back of the public’s mind, right to the big screen? Moviegoers
love biographical movies, and the box-office results prove it. But was there really a
public outcry for a movie portraying the life of a mathematician? And while not many
people under the age of 40 knew the story of a horse named Seabiscuit before that
movie’s release, that didn’t stop the public from standing in line to watch Toby
McGuire ride him.
Maybe ticket buyers filled the seats to see Jamie Foxx nail
the part of Ray Charles, maybe they’re just Foxx fans, or maybe they were there to
pay tribute to Charles himself. It doesn’t matter -- if you want a box-office
success, you need a star, regardless of what type of movie it is. The film industry
understands this, and that’s why some of Hollywood’s best have recently hung
their hats on biopics. This year, six biographical movies were nominated for Oscars. Two
of them won, for Best Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote) and Best Actress
(Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line). Bottom line, biographical movies are hot.
Are those movies that good? Yes. Are the performances in
them worthy of top awards? Yep. So box offices sell out, and the actors and directors
decorate their résumés, but what do we get out of it? We get greatest-hit collections
capitalizing on the revival of someone’s career. We visit a time and place we were
perhaps too young to experience ourselves. We see flaws in our heroes’ characters and
witness the battles they fought to overcome them. In short, film biographies can do much
more than entertain; they can teach.
That’s what’s great about DVD special editions of
biographical films -- the extras help further the viewer’s appreciation of the story.
The viewer can directly compare footage of actual people and events to their cinematic
re-creations. This provides a reference by which the viewer can judge the character
created by the actor -- whether too many liberties were taken, or the performance was
right on the money. Watching the old news footage of Edward R. Murrow in the documentary
included on the DVD version of Good Night, and Good Luck, you get a very good idea
of the accuracy of David Strathairn’s performance. It gives the entire film more
credibility and authority.
Three biographical movies from the last three years that
stand out for having all of the qualities mentioned above are Capote, The
Aviator, and Cinderella Man.
Capote (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment), directed
by Bennett Miller, depicts events in the life of Truman Capote from 1959 through 1966.
Capote, a writer of short stories and novels, becomes aware of the murder of a wealthy
family in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote follows the author as he wins
over everyone, from the sheriff right down to the murderers themselves, and as he sells
his soul to write his most important book, In Cold Blood. I had never heard of
Capote before seeing this film, but as I watched the interviews with the real Capote
included in the DVD’s extras section, it was brought home to me just how incredible
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance is. He is Truman Capote.
The Aviator (Warner Home Video) is a big-budget tale
of Howard Hughes. The son of a wealthy Texas oil family, Hughes dreamed big, and never
stopped reaching to make those dreams come true. With wonderful special effects and
Hughes’s gripping story, director Martin Scorsese introduces the man to younger
audiences, many of whom were too young to have lived through the events and eras that
shaped Hughes -- and were shaped by him. The DVD includes several detailed documentaries
about Hughes. Through them, I learned exactly how important he was to the technological
growth of the United States. His story -- of a successful and powerful man terrorized by
obsessive-compulsive disorder -- is still relevant today.
In director Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man (Universal),
we follow Jim Braddock, who boxed professionally in the 1920s and 1930s, as he and his
family enjoy early success, hit rock bottom in the Great Depression, and finally rise
again, this time to the very top. Russell Crowe’s inspiring portrayal of Braddock
sells this film and makes you care more for Braddock, who ended up fighting not only to
keep his family fed, but as an inspiration for every blue-collar man on the street.
Here are ten more biographical films recently released or
reissued on DVD that are terrific on the small screen, and provide greater insight into
the real-life characters they portray.
- A Beautiful Mind (Universal)
- Coal Miner’s Daughter (Universal)
- Ed Wood (Touchstone Home Entertainment)
- Erin Brockovich (Universal)
- Good Night, and Good Luck (Warner Home Video)
- Lust for Life (Warner Home Video)
- Monster (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
- Ray (Universal)
- Seabiscuit (Universal)
- Walk the Line (Universal)
...Randall Smith
randalls@hometheatersound.com |
