Oh Sailor, Beware! (1930/Warner Archive DVD)/One Day Pina Asked... (1983/Icarus DVD)/Scarred But Smarter: Life N Times Of Drivin N Cryin (2014/Oasis DVD)/We Are The Best! (2013/Magnolia Blu-ray)

Picture: C/C+/C/B- Sound: C/C+/C+/B- Extras: D/C-/C/C- Main Programs: C+/C+/B/C+

PLEASE NOTE: The Oh Sailor, Beware! DVD is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.

Here is a selection of the newest music program releases...

Archie Mayo's Oh Sailor, Beware! (1930) wants to promote and launch the comedy duo of Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson as the first big sound comedy duo, but as interesting as they are, they have to compete with a rather large, extensive musical about crossed relationships with Irene Delroy falling for reporter Charles King, but pretends to seduce a Russian Prince (Lowell Sherman) while he tries to interview a Romanian General (Noah Berry). Our reporter also starts falling for another woman (Vivien Oakland).

Based on the stage production See Venice And Die (a title no studio was going to use at the time), this is some amusing nonsense and the songs are sung more like an operetta than a Hollywood Musical, but Mayo is a capable director and it shows how serious Warner was in continuing the legacy the 1927 Jazz Singer had started for them. They go all out here and there are some moments that really hold up. That is why I enjoyed it more than expected and it shows how a big studio would go out of their way even then to have a big spectacular hit. This might not have been that big, but it is that interesting and all serious movie fans should see it once just to see how ambitious Warner was.

There are sadly no extras.

Chantal Akerman's One Day Pina Asked... (1983) funs about an hour, was shown years ago on U.S. TV and gives us an often quiet, yet effective look at the late, groundbreaking choreographer at work coming up with innovative new ways to do dance and ballet. Shot over a five-week period, we get some raw, honest access to the work when it was controversial and makes for a solid record long overdue for DVD. It is a key work everyone should see once just to see the arts in action so privately like this.

Two trailers for other Icarus releases are the extras, but you can read more about Pina at these links:

Pina Bausch in Dancing Dreams DVD

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10633/Pina+Bausch+in+Dancing+Dreams+(First+Run+DV

Orpheus & Eurydike Blu-ray

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9571/Orphee+&+Eurydice+(Roberto+Alagna+dramatic+op

Eric Von Haessler's Scarred But Smarter: Life N Times Of Drivin N Cryin (2014) gives us a very rich portrait of yet another major music act that should have been a big national success of some kind, but somehow kept getting foiled throughout their career. Like Big Star or import acts like Split Enz before them, Drivin N Cryin is a popular, well respected band within the industry and in the south, but even with national TV appearances and a major label signing, did not make it big as they should have.

We can blame an industry in artistic decline in the time they started to show up (the early 1990s) and also some bad timing, but some members can blame some bad decisions as well. Still, we have seen worst acts with far worse behavior become successful and somehow stay that way, but the music is really good throughout even if no one song stuck with me from all the archive footage we get. Though I was not a fan of the visuals (see more below), this does a great job of telling yet another one of the great untold stories of the industry that is sadly becoming more and more commonplace. Even if you don't like their style or genre of music (Country, Rock, Blues, et al), it is a story that everyone should take in at least once. Impressive.

Extras include seven music clips and tribute to Buren.

Lukas Moodysson's We Are The Best! (2013) is a sometimes amusing comedy about two pee-teen gals in Sweden who are sick of their lives and boring adults around them, embracing Punk Rock and wanting to start a band despite no money, instruments or help. Running 102 minutes, it is a mixed bag with few big laughs, though I liked the idea of two lost young ladies realizing how wacky their lives are. Some parts don't work, but others are interesting enough to see this one once. I just don't think this one reached its full potential.

An Original Theatrical Trailer is the only extra.

The black and white 1.33 X 1 image on Sailor and HD-shot, anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Smarter, which has too much faux black and white for its own good, tie for last place as the softest presentations when they could both look better. The former needs restoration, while the latter might benefit from an HD transfer, but too much monochrome that looks like color turned off does not help.

The 1.33 X 1 color, 16mm-shot-on-film image on Pina is generally better, even if it has some color fading and slight detail issues, but the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Best lives up to its name by outdoing the DVDs here. It is the only Blu-ray, but has some minor flaws, yet is consistent for the most part.

The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Best is well mixed and presented, but can be simple stereo often and that limits the soundfield. It is usually recorded well, though and is the best presentation here. The lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on Sailor has the oldest audio here and it can be a little limited and distorted, but it is passable. It needs some work for any future releases, while the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on Pina is clearer and not always as limited. The lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Smarter has some location audio issues and older audio that is actually monophonic, which you can expect from a documentary, even one on music, but it is fine as it is for what it is as expected.

To order Oh Sailor, Beware! on Warner Archive DVD, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:

http://www.warnerarchive.com/

- Nicholas Sheffo