Classics redux
‘Gone With the Wind’ returns, a new ‘Trek’ arrives
Published: November 20, 2009, 12:30 am
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Arguably the most famous motion picture ever made, “Gone With the Wind” (1939), and a rebooting of a science-fiction legend, “Star Trek” (2009), sit atop this week’s lineup of titles making their first appearance on the Blu-ray high-definition DVD format.
“Gone With the Wind 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition” ($69.92 DVD, $84.99 Blu-ray, Warner Home Video) is another impressive example of Warner’s commitment to vintage classic films. The sets (the standard DVD is a five-disc set; Blu-ray has two discs) come packaged in a beautiful red velvet box, which also contains a hardcover book packed with photos, production notes and memos, 10 art prints, a reproduction of the original 20- page theater program and a CD soundtrack sampler.
The movie looks absolutely breathtaking on Blu-ray. From the opening credits to the famous closing line, the colors are vibrant, the detail stunning and the 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is flawless.
Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’- Hara, Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes, Olivia de Havilland as Melanie Hamilton, Hattie McDaniel as Mammy and Thomas Mitchell as Gerald O’Hara again shine in their famous roles. The sweeping Civil War romance, based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel, has lost none of its luster and ability to entertain.
Little wonder it took America by storm in 1939-1940 and captured 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Victor Fleming. Leigh won for Best Actress and McDaniel won for Best Supporting Actress to become the first African-American to walk off with an Oscar. Max Steiner’s memorable music score received a nomination as did Gable (he should have won) and de Havilland.
The extra DVDs include a treasure of video extras including the documentaries “1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year,” “The Making of a Legend,” “The Legend Lives on,” “Gable: The King Remembered,” “Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond.”
The two-disc standard DVD ($24.98) comes with commentaries.
“Star Trek” ($29.99 DVD, $39.99 Blu-ray; Paramount) is the studio’s effort to pump new life into the 43- year-old franchise created by the late Gene Roddenberry. The result is an exciting, fast-paced adventure with stellar special effects and a story that takes the U. S. S. Enterprise in a slightly different direction.
The new cast captures the spirit and personality of the original characters of James
T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urvan), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scott (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yulchin).
Kirk’s birth is depicted in a hair-raising opening sequence and then we flash forward to find out how he ends up joining Star Fleet. It’s here Kirk first encounters Spock and eventually the rest of his crew-to-be. Your initial reaction is “Oh, so that’s how they met?” Well, yes, but you had better follow the story very closely after that. Enter Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan from the future, who has a score to settle with Spock and the Federation. Part of that score is to destroy Vulcan. He even manages to transport the older Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) to the future so that he might see his planet die.
Nero’s actions change the course of the future, which means all the events seen on previous “Star Trek” series and movies aren’t going to happen, or at least not happen the way they did originally. If that’s so, then isn’t it possible that the event that angered Nero might not happen at all? Then wouldn’t that . . . well, never mind. Don’t try too hard to figure it out; just sit back and enjoy.
The two-disc DVD set includes a commentary with Abrams and producer Damon Lindelof, among others; the feature “A New Vision”; a gag reel; deleted scenes; featurettes on casting, the aliens and music; and a digital copy. The third-disc Blu-ray has additional features and a Starfleet Vessel Simulator.
Coming Tuesday
“Angels and Demons” (Sony), “Funny People” (Universal), “Four Christmases” (Warner Home video), “Imagine That” (Paramount), “Shorts” (WHV).•
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