The two marquee releases this week offer case studies in the dos and do-not-dos of remakes. Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland is hardly perfect—in fact, it’s fairly exhausting—but Burton brings the full force of his visual imagination to bear on the material and comes up with something that is at least distinctive. (And became a huge hit.) The recent remake of The Wolfman, on the other hand, is dreary and over-cautious, taking its source material way too seriously. (And it was a box office disappointment.) So let that be a lesson of some kind.
If I were you though, I’d skip both of those and pick up the new Blu-ray set of Sergio Leone’s classic “Man With No Name Trilogy.” Or dig deep into the slew of titles being reissued by Universal (and surely destined for Wal-Mart bargain bins everywhere), like the campy Elvis Presley/Mary Tyler Moore vehicle Change Of Habit, or the terrific 1973 Walter Matthau heist picture Charley Varrick (directed by action maestro Don Siegel), or a personal favorite, Alison Anders’ ‘60s/‘70s pop history pastiche Grace Of My Heart. No one’s going to remake these.
Absolute Power
Warner Blu-ray, $24.98
Alice In Wonderland
Walt Disney, $29.99; Blu-ray, $39.99/$44.99
American Pickers: The Complete Season One
A&E, $29.95
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Vol. 7
Cartoon Network, $29.98
Bad Boys
Sony Blu-ray, $24.95
The Barbara Stanwyck Show: Volume Two
E1, $29.98
Beautiful Creatures
Universal, $14.98
Burn Notice: Season Three
20th Century Fox, $49.98
Change Of Habit
Universal, $14.98
Charley Varrick
Universal, $14.98
The Cleaner: The Final Season
Paramount, $36.98
Clint Eastwood Collection
Warner Blu-ray, $149.99
Cornered
Phase 4, $29.99
Drop Dead Diva: The Complete First Season
Sony, $39.95
Dragonfly
Universal, $14.98
The Eastwood Factor
Warner, $14.98
The Enforcer/Sudden Impact
Warner Blu-ray, $24.98
Fierce Creatures
Universal, $14.98
For My Father
Film Movement, $24.95
The Gauntlet
Warner Blu-ray, $14.98
Ghost Dad
Universal, $14.98
Ghost Hunters International: Season One, Pt. 1
Image, $24.98
Gotcha!
Universal, $14.98
Grace Of My Heart
Universal, $14.98
Gray Lady Down
Universal, $14.98
Hannah Free
Wolfe, $24.95
Hard To Hold
Universal, $14.98
Havana
Universal, $14.98
Heartbreak Ridge
Warner Blu-ray, $24.98
Hilary & Jackie
Universal, $14.98
Hope Springs
Acorn, $49.99
Kelly’s Heroes/Where Eagles Dare
Warner Blu-ray, $24.98
Kuffs
Universal, $14.98
Life
BBC Warner, $59.98; Blu-ray, $69.99
Madigan
Universal, $14.98
The Man With No Name Trilogy
MGM Blu-ray, $69.98
Mister Ed: The Complete Third Season
Shout! Factory, $39.97
Once Around
Universal, $14.98
Pale Rider
Warner Blu-ray, $24.98
Peanuts 1970s Collection: Vol. 2
Warner, $29.98
The Red Baron
Monterey, $26.95; Blu-ray, $34.95
Rescue Me: The Complete Fifth Season
Sony, $49.95
The Rookie
Warner Blu-ray, $24.98
Small Town Saturday Night
Lionsgate, $26.98
Someone’s Knocking At The Door
Vicious Circle Blu-ray, $29.99
Space Cowboys
Warner Blu-ray, $24.98
Splitting Heirs
Universal, $14.98
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
Universal, $14.98
The Stranger (2010)
Anchor Bay, $29.97; Blu-ray, $34.98
The Sun
Kino, $29.95
The Three Musketeers/The Four Musketeers
Lionsgate, $14.98
The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 8: 1955-1959
Sony, $24.96
Tony Manero
Kino, $29.95
Two-Minute Warning
Universal, $14.98
Undisputed III: Redemption
New Line, $27.98; Blu-ray, $35.99
War Of The Worlds (2005)
Dreamworks Blu-ray, $29.99
We’ll Meet Again
Acorn, $59.99
Wild Things: Foursome
Sony, $24.96; Blu-ray, $30.95
The Wolfman
Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.98