John Patrick Shanley’s Academy Award-nominated adaptation of his own Tony-winning play Doubt is arguably this week’s most significant new release, though what crackled on stage comes off a little stiff on screen, even with Shanley tilting the camera like a madman. Honestly, although Doubt’s script and performances are clearly superior, the movie is every bit as heavy-handed as the overblown remake of the sci-fi classic The Day The Earth Stood Still, also out this week. But The Day The Earth Stood Still has a spaceship and a robot. Choose accordingly.
On the animation front, the clunky feature adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s Newberry-winning novel The Tale Of Despereaux arrives, ready to beguile and frustrate in equal measure. And Disney is repackaging its store of classic shorts yet again, this time in the “Disney Animation Collection:” stripped-down discs anchored by longer shorts like Mickey And The Beanstalk and Three Little Pigs. Classics-wise, the big news of the week is Universal opening its vaults and letting out a set of rarely seen films from the early ‘30s, made prior to Hollywood’s adoption of the family-friendly Hays Code. (Most intriguing title: Merrily We Go To Hell.) In a separate deluxe set, Universal is also releasing Cecil B. DeMille’s code-testing 1934 version of Cleopatra, preserving its lavish sets and tastefully naked slave girls.
Finally, if the opulence of Cleopatra makes you nostalgic for a time in this country when we could throw money around like a linebacker at Scores, let the documentary I.O.U.S.A. bring you back to Earth. In carefully argued, easy-to-grasp terms, documentarian Patrick Creadon explains that even when we thought we had money, we were actually broke, and that we’re likely to stay broke for a very long time. It’s a movie scarier than any slasher flick.
13 Most Beautiful… Songs For Andy Warhol Screen Tests
Plexifilm, $34.98
2010: The Year We Make Contact
Warner Blu-ray, $28.99
Above The Law
Warner Blu-ray, $28.99
Alexandra
New Yorker, $29.95
American High School
Starz/Anchor Bay, $26.97
American History X
New Line Blu-ray, $28.99
The Arcade Fire: Miroir Noir
Merge, $14.99/$29.99
Bedtime Stories
Disney, $29.99/$32.99; Blu-ray, $39.99
Beverly Hills 90210: The Seventh Season
Paramount, $59.98
Britney: For The Record
Jive, $19.98
Cleopatra (1934)
Universal, $29.98
Collateral Damage
Warner Blu-ray, $28.99
The Day The Earth Stood Still
20th Century Fox, $29.99/$34.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
Disney Animation Collection 1: Mickey And The Beanstalk
Disney, $19.99
Disney Animation Collection 2: Three Little Pigs
Disney, $19.99
Disney Animation Collection 2: The Prince & The Pauper
Disney, $19.99
Donkey Punch
Magnolia, $26.98
Doubt
Miramax, $29.99; Blu-ray, $34.99
Dynasty: The Fourth Season, Vol. 1
Paramount, $36.98
Faith Like Potatoes
Sony, $24.96
Final Destination
Warner Blu-ray, $28.99
Fly Away Home
Sony Blu-ray, $28.95
The Goldwyn Follies
MGM, $14.98
House (2007)
Lionsgate, $26.98
I.O.U.S.A.
PBS, $24.99
It’s A Pleasure
MGM, $14.98
John Q
New Line Blu-ray, $28.98
La Grande Bouffe
Koch Lorber, $19.98
Last Days Of The Fillmore
Rhino, $19.98
Max Fleischer’s Superman: 1941-42
Warner, $26.98
No Country For Old Men: Collector’s Edition
Miramax, $32.99; Blu-ray, $39.99
Not Easily Broken
Sony, $27.96; Blu-ray, $39.95
The Paper Chase: Season One
Shout! Factory, $49.99
Peanuts: Snoopy’s Reunion
Warner, $19.98
Point Of No Return
Warner Blu-ray, $28.99
A Song Is Born
MGM, $14.98
Taking Lives
Warner Blu-ray, $28.99
The Tale Of Despereaux
Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.98
Tales Of Ordinary Madness
Koch Lorber, $19.98
Tango & Cash
Warner Blu-ray, $28.99
TCM Spotlight – Doris Day Collection: It’s A Great Feeling/Tea For Two/April In Paris/The Tunnel Of Love/Starlift
Warner, $49.98
Uncle Nino
Questar, $19.99
Universal Pre-Code Hollywood Collection: The Cheat/Merrily We Go To Hell/Hot Saturday/Torch Singer/Murder At The Vanities/Search For Beauty
Universal, $49.98
Vinyan
Sony, $24.96
The Wedding Singer
New Line Blu-ray, $28.99
Yes Man
Warner, $28.98/$34.99; Blu-ray, $35.99