David O. Russell's action-adventure "Three Kings" is audacious, clever, cocky and laced with comedic moments. So is the Warner Home Video DVD version of the saga, which is set at the conclusion of Operation Desert Storm and stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube.
The digital version ($25) includes a nice widescreen transfer of the film, a behind-the-scenes featurette and two audio commentaries: one from writer-director Russell and the other featuring producers Chuck Roven and Ed McDonnell.But that's just the beginning of the fun. Russell's own "Video Journal" is a hoot, as the director videotapes the pre-production process of making the film.
"Being John Malkovich" director Spike Jonze, who co-stars as a redneck soldier in the movie, also gets into the fun with his short documentary sendup, "An Intimate Look Into the Acting Process With Ice Cube," in which the actor-rapper spoofs what actors do to get into "the moment."
The production designer, Catherine Hardwicke, takes viewers on a journey from her initial designs of the Iraqi village to the actual set in the Arizona desert. Director of photography Tom Sigel also provides insight on the unusual look of the film.
For those with DVD-ROM capabilities, there are links to CNN's Persian Gulf War archives and special Web events.
"THE PHILADELPHIA STORY," named in 1998 by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 greatest films ever made, is still as fresh, funny and romantic as it was when it was released 60 years ago. Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart, in his Oscar-winning role, star in this frothy delight about a society heiress and the men in her life.
Warner Home Video is celebrating the film's 60th anniversary with a special VHS edition ($20), which includes the trailer, an introduction to the film by Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne and the wonderful TNT documentary "Katharine Hepburn: All About Me."
Also new from Warners is a collector's edition of Barry Levinson's splendid 1982 comedy-drama "Diner" (VHS, $20; DVD, $25), which stars Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Steve Guttenberg, Tim Daly, Paul Reiser and Daniel Stern. Both the VHS and DVD versions include an introduction by Levinson and a "making of" documentary.
THE LATEST VIDEO OFFERINGS from Home Vision are four terrific, intellectually demanding foreign films ($30 each), all digitally mastered to their former black-and-white glory.
Jan Kadar's "The Shop on Main Street," from 1965, was the first Czechoslovakian movie to win the best foreign language film Oscar. It's a beautifully wrought drama set during the Nazi occupation and chronicles the friendship that develops between an elderly Jewish shopkeeper (Ida Kaminska, in her Oscar-nominated performance) and a carpenter (Josef Kroner) who is appointed by the Nazis to be her Aryan "controller."
Late last year, Home Vision released Danish director Carl Dreyer's silent masterpiece "The Passion of Joan of Arc." Now, the company has added three of his later motion pictures to its collection.
"Ordet," from 1955, is a dark and disturbing tale about two warring families who must deal with their religious differences when their children fall in love. "Gertrud," from 1964, is Dreyer's last film. Based on a Scandinavian play, this deliberately static but compelling drama examines a woman looking for an ideal love. Rounding out the trio is his 1943 drama "Day of Wrath," which deals with superstition and repression in the 17th century.
BLAKE EDWARDS' 1982 FILM "VICTOR/VICTORIA," starring his wife, Julie Andrews, as a struggling singer who finds success disguised as a man masquerading as a female impersonator, is a wonderful slapstick farce. But Edwards' lavish 1995 Broadway stage version, which also stars Andrews, is a clunky mess. Image Entertainment has released a taped performance of the play on video ($25) and DVD ($30).