"CENTER STAGE" is now available from COLUMBIA TRISTAR, and while it has its flaws, it's ultimately entertaining, and even original at times!  While the film, on its surface, is about ballet, it's also about the human condition and the problems built around pride and competition.  The beginning part of the film promises to be eventful, and it is!  We get a really fresh look at the world of ballet and director Hytner's compositions and pacing moves the film along with a thrilling beat.  Unfortunately, about at the film's halfway mark, the sluggish spots begin to engulf the picture.  What was new and inspired earlier, now seems derivative and dull.  The biggest problem the film has lies in its trying to be too many things to too many people.  It should've been centered on the struggles of ballet, and instead, it tries to become a soapy romantic melodrama, at times evoking memories of "ICE CASTLES"!  Well, just kidding, it's never that bad!  This reviewer watched the film with her youngster, as the "PG-13" rating didn't seem too bad.  It's not an exploitation film!  My child loved it!  This is probably because the film is very simple, too simple in terms of narrative.  Still, the dance scenes are fantastic!  The choreography is really first-rate!  And, if one can suffer the melodramatic aspects of the film, it' ultimately entertaining.

The transfer is wonderful.  There's great depth and resolution in almost every scene.  The colors are generally quite bright and fleshtones appear natural.  There is minimal artifacting and no grain anywhere!  The 2.35:1 aspect ratio is maintained with 16:9 enhancement!  Unlike most COLUMBIA TRISTAR releases, there isn't a pan&scan version offered on the opposite side.  This is a widescreen presentation!!!  We're pleased with this decision.  If the film was shot with such a wide ratio, any fans of dvd should recognize by now the importance of the "entire" composition being maintained!

The dolby digital 5.1 mix is generally subdued during non-dance numbers, but then "WATCH OUT"!  The speakers come to life, engulfing the viewer.  There's great range and the music offers some fine directional moments, while the dialogue is always intelligible.

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has actually gone pretty far to make this a "SPECIAL EDITION"!  There's a commentary with director Nicholas "THE CRUCIBLE"Hytner, in which he explains the difficulties of the dance profession as well as interpreting it for the screen.  It offers "some" insight into the filmmaking process, but isn't one of the most entertaining commentaries of recent memory.  He seems impassioned, but there are long lulls between comments.  Thankfully, fans will enjoy the deleted scenes segment!  There are five such scenes, with three being extended scenes of earlier included moments.  The two that are new are fun to watch, but definitely would have slowed down the film even more, without adding to its narrative.  There's also a mediocre featurette.  While it offers a few interesting interviews, it's basically a self-promotion.  Teen fans will enjoy the Mandy Moore music video from the film.  COLUMBIA TRISTAR has also decided to offer the theatrical trailers in Dolby Digital 5.1(KEEP IT UP!!!)

Obviously "just in time" to help promote the new film, "CHARLIE'S ANGELS" has been released on DVD from COLUMBIA TRISTAR.  Two of the early television episodes have been compiled for this release. The episodes include: "NIGHT OF THE STRANGLER" &  "TO KILL AN ANGEL".  "STRANGLER" stars Richard Mulligan as the madman responsible for strangling beautiful girls at a modeling agency.  This allows for the perfect excuse to see the Angels wear sexy(by '70s standards) attire as they go undercover in the modeling agency.  "TO KILL" is mostly centered on Kelly and her relationship with a kid.  After she's accidentally shot by the kid at an amusement park following a murder, the other Angels must figure out who the murderer is before he gets to Kelly.  This episode is ridiculous even by "ANGELS" standards, but it's fun to watch.  Actually, both episodes are great fun.  They're inane but completely nostalgic.  The hair, the music, the dialogue, all of it is fun to take in! 

None of these girls could act, but no one could come off that well with the horrible dialogue they're given, and it's a real hoot to watch!  While both episodes are limited in quality due to the original masters, "TO KILL" appears to be much sharper than "NIGHT OF THE STRANGLER".  It looks pretty sharp in comparison to the other episode, but even this one has subdued colors and signs of age.  There's less grain to it as well and "STRANGLER" is plagued by grain as well as one of the softest color schemes we've seen so far!  The mono soundtrack doesn't sound as sharp as other mono releases.  While it doesn't have distortion, it doesn't offer the range of other mono tracks.  COLUMBIA TRISTAR has offered a supplementary featurette, "ANGELS FOREVER", comprised mostly of interviews with fans.  It's actually disturbing to see what these fans consider as "normal" behavior, attributing it to the times!   One of the show's producers is on hand, but offers little in the way of insight into either the show's phenomenon or interesting tidbits about behind-the-scenes production stories.  The short theatrical trailer for the new "CHARLIE'S ANGELS" film is offered with dolby digital 5.1 sound, and it does shake the room!  

 Wim Wenders' "FAR AWAY SO CLOSE" is even less accessible than its predecessor "WINGS OF DESIRE", but this too has its strong merits.  "FAR AWAY SO CLOSE" has less of a narrative structure than "WINGS", but its plot does begin to surface about twenty minutes into the film.  Both films utilize angels and their perceptions of the people they guard to make bigger statements about humanity as a whole.  While "WINGS" dealt with Germany before the wall, it still seemed to have more hope than this film. That's even more surprising when knowing this film takes place after the wall came down!  Much of the same cast is back and the camera work of Jurgen Jurges is always hypnotic!  There's an opening quote from Matthew that speaks much to what the film is about.  In "FAR AWAY" "how" people or angels see things is more important than "what" they actually see.    The film is extremely philosophical, and there's an outstanding commentary with Wenders in which he speaks about the film with reflection about his message.  While there are some gaps of silence, they come at just the right time for the viewer to take in what's taking place on screen.  His commentary is often reflective, and less technical than informative. 

The transfer is excellent!  The first half of the film is black and white, and the contrast is flawless with perfect blacks and grays.  The 1.85:1 aspect ratio is intact and the film is well framed.  The 2nd half of the film becomes color for the most part and the colors are solid, though  intentionally not bright.  Fleshtones are natural looking and there are no artifacts.  The dolby surround sound offers little directional effects, but Wenders uses music as a great effect.  The score is magnificent, and at times, it helps the whole film come to life engulfing the audience with all the speakers and a perfectly coherent dialogue driven center channel.

One of our favorite films from the past year, "EAST/WEST", is now available in a grand dvd presentation from COLUMBIA TRISTAR.  The film is epic in scope and explores what happened to Russians in exhile whom chose to return to Russia after WW2.  It's a brutal indictment against communism and never seems "heavy-handed".  While the opening credits explain the false promises made by the government in a dispatch to Soviet embassies.  By focusing on the plight of one small family, the situations that happened to thousands takes on a more personal feel.  We immediately care about the young doctor, his wife and child as they actually seem hopeful about going to Russia during the film's opening voyage scene.  It takes only minutes before the film throws the viewer immediately into the cold, harsh world of what the government was about. In a scene vaguely reminiscent of "SCHINDLER'S LIST", we see the utter cruelty of this government.  After realizing they've been lured into a complete hellish existence, and their only glimmer of hope lying in being dupes for the government, the wife plots to get out of the country.  This happens just as it seems the doctor begins to accept his homeland, even with its many faults.  What happens to this family and their courage and adventure won't be revealed, but it should be seen. 

The transfer is excellent with great contrast.  The colors are spectacular.  Even during many night scenes, there's great detail resolution.  Fleshtones "always" appear natural.  There is no pixelation.  The dolby digital 5.1 sound offers minimal directional effects, used instead mostly for atmosphere.  But, this shouldn't be discounted as the viewer feels completely engrossed throughout the film.  The dialogue is always intelligible.  The subtitles are in yellow and well captioned.  The musical score is wonderful, often boosting the overall epic feel to the film, and creating a surround environment in the mix. 

The audio commentary with the film's director and writer is also spectacular!  The film's director is French, the writer American/Russian.  They sound as if they're really enjoying themselves as well as the film and they offer insight into the film, but also into their own social concerns. They also provide great understanding of filmmaking, but more from an impassioned fan than of a technical standpoint.  They're also very honest!  Near the beginning, they both dismiss the voyage scene as an unhappy necessity, due to its simplistic origins. It's also great to hear their views after being won over by the film, finding agreement in aspects not contemplated before.  eg.  What's going on in the mind of a key player as he walks away smiling. Well worth viewing, and repeated viewing, for that matter!!!