The Ross McElwee DVD Collection (First Run)

 

                           Picture:  Sound:  Extras:  Films:

 

Backyard                 C          C         D         C+

Bright Leaves          C+        C+          C         C+

Charleen                 C-        C          D         C

Sherman’s March     C         C+        C+       C+

Six O’clock News      C         C          D         B-

Time Indefinite        C         C          D         B-

 

 

My previous experiences with the work of Ross McElwee have been awkward at best.  We have looked at two previous features and the links to those titles, included on this set, are as follows:

 

Bright Leaves (2004)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2357/Bright+Leaves

 

Sherman’s March (1986)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/928/Sherman's+March+(satire

 

 

Added to this new five DVD set are two shorts and two more feature-length works, all of which fare as well and better than those works.  Backyard (1978) is a 40-minutes-long short about McElwee’s own early years.  Charleen (1984) runs about an hour and is about a remarkable teacher McElwee knew and has had an impact on his and many other developing lives.  Time Indefinite (1993/117 min.) is about him dealing with his family long term and how he finally got married, while Six O’clock News (1997/102 min.) is a sort of sequel as he wonders about the world he has brought his baby boy into.  The former deals with the love and banality of families, while the latter deals with the media’s obsession with hyping up the dark and ugly side of the world and how that world is ugly enough without the hype.  In these four works, McElwee opens up and shows why he is such an acclaimed documentarian.  Though not as interesting as similar works by Martin Scorsese or Manfred Kurchheimer’s We Were So Beloved (1986, reviewed elsewhere on this site) in the naturalness and ability to be even more personal, McElwee’s best here is still quite intelligent.  I prefer these works to the previously viewed ones, but the whole collection is now here and you can judge for yourself.

 

Except for Bright Leaves, which is letterboxed 1.85 X 1, everything is 1.33 X 1 and shot in 16mm film.  Most of the transfers are older analog type standards with lack of detail, muddiness and color problems in most cases.  The sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 in all cases, with Stereo (without surrounds) on Bright Leaves only.  Everything else is monophonic.  Extras are nil, except on the previously released discs, which you can read more about at their links.  If you want to give McElwee a fair chance, you’ll have to start with this set.  Otherwise, see the solo DVDs at your own peril.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo