DVD round-up from The TOMB

'Night Watch', 'The Producers' and 'Brokeback Mountain' all pass before Chris's critical eye.

Apr 24 2006

Apologies for the lack of a DVD column last week, but I was off sunning myself in Barcelona, and when I got back, the pickings were so slim that I simply couldn't be bothered.

Thankfully, this week more than makes up for last week's lack of quality, with several titles all vying for space on the DVD shelf.

First up is 'Night Watch', Timur Bekmambetov's spellbinding fantasy epic that seemed to split critics down the middle last year, but only because half of us are stupid.

Forget 'War of the Worlds' and 'Serenity', this was the best sci-fi flick of 2005; an exotic, exhilarating and visually arresting tale of vampires, demons and humans battling for power on earth.

Made in Russia for a relative pittance, 'Night Watch' put much of Hollywood's more expensive summer fare to shame, and it's good to know that Bekmambetov has already finished work on the sequel (more news on that here).

Two fantastic war films also hit the streets this week in the shape of 'Sophie Scholl' and 'Patton'.

The former is an uncompromising account of the life and times of the titular Scholl, the sole female member of the White Rose anti-Nazi resistance group. It's a powerful, thought-provoking flick that dares to asks difficult and challenging questions of the viewer.

The latter is another biopic, this time of General George S Patton. Another release in the brilliant 'Cinema Reserve' series (which includes 'My Darling Clementine', 'All About Eve', 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', 'Laura' and 'Lifeboat'), 'Patton' is quite simply one of the greatest war films ever made, and features a truly grandstanding performance from George C Scott.

Another not to miss is 'A Bittersweet Life', an ultra-cool, ultra-violent Korean thriller from Kim Ji-Woon, the director of 'A Tale of Two Sisters'. One of my favourite films of last year, it passed by almost unnoticed in cinemas so make sure it doesn't suffer the same fate on DVD.

And should you fancy a giggle, check out 'The Producers' remake, though while Will Ferrell and Roger Bart perform hilarious cameos and Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick do passable impressions of Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, you're still probably best off seeking out the original.

Finally, a little film called 'Brokeback Mountain' is also released this week, a 'gay shepherd' flick that received very little press last year.

Criminally robbed at the Oscars by that darn 'Crash' film, it really is as good as everyone says, so if you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

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