Director George Hickenlooper has taken on a great challenge in adapting the Orson Welles' and Oja Kodars' original screenplay of "THE BIG BRASS RING".  A political drama set amidst the turmoil of a campaign for the office of Missouri Governor,   the story is 1/2 engrossing and 1/2 "ho-hum"!  The problem is that for every original idea set forth, there's another we've seen countless times in numerous films, including "All the King's Men" amongst many others.  The acting is terrific, and it's always a pleasure to see William Hurt on screen, something unexplainably rare these days.  The direction is competent,  but let's face it, George Hickenlooper is no Orson Welles! 

The COLUMBIA TRISTAR dvd presentation offers a lot to anyone whom enjoyed the cable presentation of the film.  To begin with we get a commentary with the film's director and co-writer.  Their passion for the original story is obvious and their comments help justify their need in making the film in the first place.  It also goes into detail about the actual production to some extent.  There are also deleted scenes, all of which were rightly excised from the actual film, doing nothing to keep the film's pace moving forward.  Additionally, there are multiple trailers.

The dvd presentation looks wonderful.  The film was shot for pay-tv and it appears to have a decent budget.  There are elaborate settings, all of which look glorious here with perfect fleshtones, solid colors and perfect contrast.  The dolby surround offers minimal directional effects, concentrating more on music elements.

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has just released Richard Pryor's "RICHARD PRYOR:LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP".  Released in 1982, much of Pryor's comedy is timeless, but we couldn't help comparing it to his previous standup concert film, which was "much more" consistently funny.  Sure, Pryor's take on organized crime has some hilarious "side-splitting" moments, but some of it's just violent without being funny at all.  Pryor may also do a little bit too much soul searching here for the audience expecting non-stop laughs, while his recollections about visiting Africa and its profound effect on him, is indeed moving, it does feel out of place with the rest of the film's tone.  While he states the trip moved him enough to vow never to use the "n" word again, he has no problem bashing everyone else and using derogatory labelings.  His recollection of the famous fire which almost took his life, is disturbing, but not funny as intended to be.

The transfer is problematic.  While fleshtones are generally fine, the film looks grainy at times and contrast is inconsistent.   I remember the film's theatrical presentation looking mediocre as well, but it's disappointing the image couldn't have been cleaned up better.  The mono sound is unremarkable.

Jon Voight stars in "THE ODESSA FILE", a gripping suspense/drama based on the novel by Frederick(Day of the Jackal)Forsyth.  Voight plays a reporter whom comes upon the diary of a concentration camp survivor whom has just commited sucide.  After reading its contents, he embarks on a dangerous objective to find a particular SS captain responsible for numerous crimes against prisoners, but also for "something else" which is kept secret until the film's final confrontation.  The film has a steady, deliberate pace, requiring a bit of patience from the viewer, but it's well worth it.   The acting, direction, and cinematography are all excellent. 

The dvd transfer is extremely sharp for the most part, while there are some grainy scenes infrequently.  Fleshtones are fine, but blacks and grays could be more discernible.  The mono sound is fine, but unremarkable.

For those wondering "Whatever happened to Dolph Lundgren?"   "STORMCATCHER" is the answer!  Lundgren plays a top notch air force pilot wrongly accused of treason.  After escaping from custody in the attempt to clear his name, he must take on a large number of ruthless bad guys out to take him, preferably "dead".  There's plenty of action here, and the film's plot while lacking any real innovations, manages to be compelling.  Even on a modest budget, the film has a surprisingly great look to it.  In the alternate commentary track, director Tony Hickox helps explain how he achieved the look of the film in spite of various budget setbacks. 

As mentioned, the film has a great, polished look to it, and the dvd transfer has a lot to do with this probably.  The color values are great, with excellent contrast and solid black and gray levels, bringing out detail in even the darkest settings.  The dolby digital 5.1 sound mix is extremely active, with numerous directional effects and effective use of LFE, sure to make the neighbors complain, as did mine, due to the walls rumbling!