Cars
That Rock: Series 1 with Brian Johnson
(2014/Umbrella Region Free DVD Set)/Hollywood
Banker (2014/Bulldog
Video/all PAL Region Free Import DVDs)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C/D Main Programs: B
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Cars
That Rock
Import DVD set is now only available from our friends at Umbrella
Entertainment in Australia, can only play on Blu-ray and DVD players
that can handle the PAL DVD format, is region free and can be ordered
from the link below.
Here
are two new releases that should be issued in the U.S., but have not.
Here's why you should catch them...
Cars
That Rock: Series 1 with Brian Johnson
(2014) has the longtime member of the band AC/DC showing off his love
of fancy cars, so if you like Jay
Leno's Garage
or miss the trio who just departed from the U.K. Top
Gear,
this is an extremely well made show that is not just a substitute or
filler for those: it is a strong companion. Johnson is a huge fan of
cars, more than anyone might have expected, so in each episode, he
takes on a famous sports make and celebrates it. Mini
deals with old and new Mini Coopers, including surprises like
tracking down three from the original Michael Caine Italian
Job
(1969), Bugatti
has an even larger gap between production of its classic cars and new
cars all shown here in their all-expensive, exclusive glory in one of
the most amazing comebacks in auto history, Rolls
Royce
tells us the mighty history of the company and how its amazing cards
get made, Lamborghini
tales us to Italy and through the history of the car that became
Ferrari's permanent rival, Bentley
shows what a distinctively amazing car it is outside of Rolls Royce
(its owner for decades until recently) with its special achievements
and style and Porsche
shows how an alternative approach to manufacturing (using a Flat 6
engine vs. 8, 12 or 16 cylinders) created a legend of its own.
Rare
cars, rare stills, rare archive footage and much more (including
surprises we won't spoil) make this series an instant classic on the
subject, making me wonder why it is not in the U.S. setting ratings
records. It is so good, entertaining and involving, it is worth
going out of your way for.
Extras
include Deleted Scenes and Outtakes running over a half-hour worth
seeing after all the episodes.
Rozemyn
Afman's Hollywood
Banker
(2014) is a deceptively, simply titled documentary about her father
Frans J. Afman, who became involved with funding movies in a new way
that turned out to hit the jackpot and change filmmaking worldwide.
It started when Dino De Laurentiis was needing to fund his 1976
remake of King
Kong,
which would turn out to be a hit, turning to Afman to get money into
its budget. Part of this was a financial experiment, seeing if the
band could make any money at this. When that worked out, he backed
the first two Superman films, then got involved in a series of low
budget films at Cannon that made money, somewhat low budget films at
Hemdale (like the first Terminator) that were hits, put more money
into big productions at Carolco that were often hits (until they
folded) and at Orion in their peak years including Dances
With Wolves.
That won the Best Picture Oscar, as did Stone's Platoon
and Bertolucci's The
Last Emperor,
back to back, so Afman was on a roll.
Unfortunately,
a loud mouth of ill repute got involved with Cannon, who then bought
MGM (in what would be a joke and disaster of an acquisition) and
Afman could only retreat into damage control. The man who got so
many important and fun films made when no one else would make them
was suddenly not able to do his best work or any work, also dodging
scandals and trouble. He survived to make films again, but the
original run ended and all the companies he supported eventually
folded or went bankrupt. Afman left an incredible legacy he never
gets recognition for and this excellent documentary finally tells the
truth about what he achieved. Loaded with great interviews by
industry insiders, Mickey Rourke, Paul Verhoeven and more, this is a
must-see for all serious film fans.
There
are sadly no extras.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on both releases are in 540i
picture definition and look just fine, with Cars
all in HD and Banker
having a mix of all kinds of film and video footage, so playback is
visually as good as it can get in the format, though Banker's
vintage footage can show analog videotape flaws including video
noise, video banding, telecine flicker, tape scratching, PAL cross
color, faded color and tape damage. The audio on both is lossy Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo and they sound just fine, though Banker
has its share of rough, even analog audio from vintage footage.
To
order the
Cars
That Rock
Umbrella import DVD set, go to this link:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
