Scarlett Johansson DVD Set (An American Rhapsody, Girl With the Pearl Earring, A Good Woman/Lionsgate DVD)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C+     Films:

 

An American Rhapsody B

Girl With the Pearl Earring B+

A Good Woman B-

 

 

Scarlett Johansson is without a doubt one of the greatest actresses of her generation and her level of work at this point is incredibly.  She continues to pick interesting topics and is never lumped in with some of the other actresses of her caliber who often do a great film and then reside to just getting a paycheck in between by starring in something silly, stupid, and probably a sequel.  Instead she keeps doing consistently strong work and the reward for that is something great, we even know her best years are still to come.  

 

Here we have a collection with three of her rather earlier films in An American Rhapsody, A Good Woman, and 2003’s Oscar nominated The Girl With the Pearl Earring.  This is a good set that gives viewers a great indication of her talents and offers us a more familiar film along with two slightly lesser known films.  An American Rhapsody showcases the range of the actress as she is left behind by her parents who flee from the communist government and is based on a true story; the young Johansson quickly shows the young journey taken and is a story of self-discovery amidst tragedy and oppression. 

 

A Good Woman stars Johansson as a newlywed who must fend off the attempts by a seductress (Helen Hunt) who prowls on her husband in the Italian backdrop, but Johansson’s character is soon to find ways of revenge and the results are quite shocking. 

 

Of course the most recognized film in the group is The Girl With the Pearl Earring, which also happens to be the best of the bunch as the seventeen-year-old Griet (Johansson) captures the eyes of Artist Vermeer and becomes the subject of his most well-known piece of work, of course there is more to the story than just the painting and the emotional offerings in this sexual tense film works well enough to make it a must-see. 

 

All three films come with a decent selection of extras as well including commentary on An American Rhapsody and A Good Woman, while The Girl With the Pearl Earring has a production featurette.  All three films are presented widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and are on par with the typical DVD presentation. Color and depth are adequate for the most part; the Dolby Digital audio is pretty standard fare. We know that Blu-ray will certainly up the ante on these DVD offerings. Until then Lionsgate offers three films for a bargain price and fans will have something to be excited about for sure.

 

 

-   Nate Goss