The following DVDs showcase four great examples of movie-making at its best. (Actually, it’s six if you include all three Godfather pictures.) All are worth checking out in this edition of Knight at Home at the Movies.
—Sex and the City (New Line Home Video) : Carrie & Co. are here at last in this two-disc special edition that includes a longer cut of an entertaining but already too-long film (though die-hards will love the additional material), a digital copy on the second disc, some deleted scenes and a half-hour conversation between star Sarah Jessica Parker and gay writer-director Michael Patrick King that is enjoyable but a tad too self-reverential. There is also a long segment on costume designer Patricia Field (who also pulled together the amazing clothes for The Devil Wears Prada), the unsung star of the movie. And let’s be honest: This DVD is going to launch a zillion viewing parties for the ladies and gay men across America. One special feature I look forward to in the next edition: how many gay men dressed up as the foursome for Halloween 2008!
—Iron Man (Paramount) : Another of summer’s biggest hits arrives in a two-disc edition. This wildly entertaining comic-book action thriller works, thanks to sassy Robert Downey, Jr.’s, tremendous performance. The second disc has oodles of behind-the-scenes stuff for those who want to know how all the cool high tech stuff was done. It’s big, loud and fun—get it!
—L.A. Confidential (Warner Home Video) : My long wait for a two-disc special edition of Curtis Hanson’s 1997 masterpiece is finally here, and it only disappoints in that it gives short shrift to the amazing score by the late, great Jerry Goldsmith (though his contributions are noted in some retro footage that’s included in the second disc). Hanson’s movie, a modern-day film noir that delves into corruption in the Los Angeles police force, is set in the early 1950s and has breakthrough performances by Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce. Both are matched by Kevin Spacey, Danny Devito, James Cromwell and Kim Basinger, in her Oscar winning performance. The film was overshadowed by the massive success of Titanic and unfairly died at the box office. Hopefully, this feature-packed special edition will help address this oversight. It’s one of the greats.
—The Godfather—The Coppola Restoration Gift Set (Paramount) : The greatest of Coppola’s 1972 original and 1974 sequel has long been a matter of record (and his second return to the Corleone family, in Part III, has plenty of fans as well). Now, Paramount has restored the first two films to their original, dark splendor, and it’s like seeing the movies for the first time. I’ve never seen The Godfather and The Godfather Part II (which I prefer) in a theatre and have always thought that the dark, smoky interiors were just a given, but this new restoration adds enormous detail to the films—and Paramount hasn’t stopped there. The set includes all the special material featured in the previous collection, and they’ve added a disc of all new stuff—hours and hours worth. For Godfather junkies, this is set is a no-brainer, and for film collectors this is a must have as well.