Blu-ray Reviews: John Travolta Double-Feature-- Saturday Night Fever (1977); Grease (1978)

Now Dancing Their Way to Blu-ray

An Introduction

A funny thing happened while reviewing Travolta... or rather the two newest Blu-rays from Paramount Home Entertainment that captured John Travolta right at that moment his career skyrocketed from popular Welcome Back Kotter TV actor to full-fledged movie star.


For, the last time I'd seen Grease and Saturday Night Fever was as a budding film buff-- easily over a decade ago-- and honestly at the time not really getting why everyone considered the two films to be so iconic and masterful. In my eyes they didn't compare to the thematically or tonally similar superior works that had come before them like American Graffiti or Rebel Without a Cause.


Sure, Grease was fun and I knew all the lyrics-- especially around its 20th anniversary when the remix of songs made its way to the top of radio charts once again. And yes, granted, Travolta's turn in Saturday Night Fever was brave and dark enough to earn him an Academy Award nomination and to this day, I'm amazed he took on such a risk but nonetheless, I never jumped on the bandwagon of either movie.

When tapped to review the films now on Blu-ray this month from Paramount Home Entertainment, I went in eagerly, anxious to evaluate with a keener critical eye, a better sense of their history, and the filmmaking process. And in doing so--although I must confess I always try to remain completely objective-- I assumed that this time around I would more than likely understand why Saturday Night Fever is considered to be a masterpiece and would end up raving about that one while still probably end up mixed on the colorful Grease. The results however took me completely by surprise as my hypothesis was smashed to pieces when I took in the works in chronological order starting with Fever.

But before I launch into the reviews-- first a little background courtesy of the plethora of extras found on both discs:

Having caught the attention of producer Robert Stigwood during a Broadway audition for Jesus Christ Superstar, Stigwood found in Travolta a man he knew could become the next cinematic sensation. And when he later signed him to a three-picture deal, Travolta revitalized dance films for good with the astronomical amount that would follow over the course of the next decade including Footloose, Urban Cowboy, Flashdance, Fame, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Shag: The Movie, Staying Alive, Grease 2, Dirty Dancing and more (many of which were Paramount titles).

Extremely different than classic musicals, the dance pictures were never afraid to shy away from the most taboo of subject matter which was evident for Travolta first with director John Badham's gritty 1977 work Saturday Night Fever.

Going for the flip-side or venturing into the daylight much more than the extended night shoots of Fever-- one year later, Travolta reunited with his Boy in the Plastic Bubble director Randal Kleiser for the '50s parody Grease that was based on the popular Broadway musical in which Travolta had played a minor character years earlier.

More musical than a dance film-- Grease-- which still got away with a ridiculous amount of double entendre for a PG rated work-- relied more on the traditional musical aspect than strictly going for a dance approach (despite Fever's whopping soundtrack by The Bee Gees). Although once you watch the two works back to back you realize just how little dancing there actually is in Fever in the scheme of things and how much Grease's stars set out to break their necks in an attempt to entertain.

However, while studios are always pleased when a work under their banner does well-- absolutely nobody from the executives at Paramount to the cast and crew involved realized that these two signature films would not only become nearly synonymous with late '70s filmmaking (and further solidify Paramount as the studio to beat in the blockbuster '80s), instantly identifiable in every country around the globe, help announce that a brand new dark haired cinematic star was born, but far more importantly become works that would live on three decades after their initial release in theatres.

Saturday Night Fever:
30th Anniversary
Special Collector's Edition
[Blu-ray]

After reading the now infamously “fictitious” nonfiction New York Magazine article, “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night,” by British journalist Nik Cohn, producer Robert Stigwood knew he'd at last found a star vehicle for the young Travolta and quickly purchased the rights from Cohn.

Although at the time, it was taken as gospel truth, the author has now admitted that he fabricated the piece with his “novelist's imagination,” as quoted by Nigel Andrews in Travolta: The Life (56) by substituting the individuals he was familiar with back in London for the New Yorkers he saw in the disco clubs.

However, back in the '70s and shortly after its publication led to an immediate reaction from those who'd be involved in the film's production, screenwriter Norman Wexler approached the material with a bold, no-holds-barred, lean and mean take on the dead-end lives of young Brooklyn inhabitants. Although it may in fact echo Rebel Without a Cause as far as its interviewed cast is concerned, honestly to me, it feels like it has much more in common with early Scorsese's semi-autobiographical films Who's That Knocking On My Door? and Mean Streets set to the sounds of disco instead of The Rolling Stones.

In essence, it takes the same Scorsese staples of the Italian virgin/whore complex, Catholic guilt and double-standards for men and women and filters it through a Scorsese styled group of young men with seemingly no direction or purpose except to work all week, blow their paychecks on threads, hair products, alcohol, and disco club admission fees on the weekends. And when they're not bragging to each other they're rolling around the backseat of their shared vehicle for the allotted maximum amount of time with any willing (or drunk enough) female until they inevitably get somebody pregnant, get married, get out of Brooklyn, or get dead.



Unabashedly repugnant in its misogynistic, racist, and downright atrocious language not to mention the sense of doom that pervades throughout as if Brooklyn were Hell on Earth and every Italian living in it was a walking stereotype with mothers who cross themselves, a brother who joins the priesthood out of guilt only to leave, and not understanding why perhaps a girl who's had the good fortune to leave this existence isn't overly willing to become the next tumble in the back of a crappy car in a public street.

Missing the cinematic poetry of Scorsese's work as well as its three dimensionality in the depictions of its characters-- Saturday Night Fever may have rang true for some youths but that doesn't excuse the fact that essentially there's nobody to root for in the film. Of course, following the advent of such surprising studio system changing hits including Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy and Bonnie and Clyde-- American audiences were inundated with anti-heroes despite the smash success of traditional mainstream fare like Spielberg and Lucas' Jaws and Star Wars respectively-- but even in dark works like Paramount's triumphant Godfather (my favorite film of all time), we still gave a damn about the characters.

Yet and far more troublesome in Fever-- even when he's portrayed by the crazily charismatic John Travolta, we still can't wholeheartedly root for our lead character Tony Manero (John Travolta) who dances like an angel and is treated like a God by women on Saturday nights only to treat them like used tissues in return once he's had his fun.



Nor, can we feel much more than sheer pity for either of the two female leads including the hopeless Annette (a terrific Donna Pescow) who willingly becomes a whore (leading to an essential one at-a-time against her will rape sequence near the film's conclusion until a death stops it) nor the phony Stephanie (Karen Gorney) who lives in Manhattan and is the best female dancer Tony's ever met but understandably when faced with this group of Italian sexist, racist stereotypes is unwilling to stoop to date someone from her old neighborhood.



Although the film's incredible Bee Gees soundtrack and the extraordinary dance sequences (the few actually there are; as basically Tony dances with himself throughout unless matched with Stephanie) help elevate the film and it's become a definite piece of filmed Americana for capturing a mood, a time, and a place.

Despite this, throughout, I couldn't help thinking that we were following the wrong main character as instead of the hedonist who must get the hell out of Brooklyn, we would have been much better off chronicling the fascinating subplot of Tony's brother who left the church and the priesthood only to find that he doesn't fit in with either lifestyle when he accompanies Tony on the town.

Obviously, the brother isn't alone as when he leaves the film, I found myself wanting to follow along but overall, it's an underdog dance story so we're stuck instead with a lukewarm plot, ugly characterizations, and a hero who is the opposite of heroic. This is especially the case when one of his ardent younger male friends is considered as Tony ignores the drama and heartache of his Sal Mineo like sidekick Bobby (a reference both Travolta and actor Barry Miller utilized in paying homage to Rebel Without a Cause) until it's much too late.

However, in Rebel, while James Dean was at least there for Mineo at the very end and he never once took advantage of Natalie Wood-- sadly the same can't be said for Travolta after he nearly rapes one woman in the film, drives another to get raped, until he finally crosses the bridge into Manhattan without standing by those he'd left in his wake.

Intriguingly, Rocky director John G. Avildsen who-- in that Oscar winning work proved his deft ability to blend gritty urban storytelling with true heart-- left the project over creative differences before filming began when his attempts to persuade Wexler to do a few rewrites and make changes didn't sit well with either the writer or the director.

As Andrews notes in his Travolta biography, after Avildsen-- going from the advice of his friend, collaborator, and Rocky star Sylvester Stallone who would ironically helm Fever's maligned sequel Staying Alive-- hired another screenwriter to rework some of the film in the hopes of breathing life into the downbeat Fever that he said was not his “vision” and likewise expressed negative feedback regarding a few of the Bee Gees tracks, he was released from the project in favor of John Badham (59-60).

While Badham was able to turn in a film he viewed more as a character piece than a downright musical genre work that drew raves despite the fact that it was just his second feature-- to this day, I still can't help thinking if the film would've benefited from offering us at least one character that wasn't simply a stereotype.



Definitely salvaged by the disco sequences set to the chart-topping, still best-selling Bee Gees soundtrack album that's filled with such gorgeous works as "How Deep Is Your Love" and countless others-- while sadly, as an Italian, a woman, and a writer, I still can't ignore its many, many, many detractors, the sound quality of the Blu-ray disc is spectacular and instantly transforms your viewing area into the famous club 2001 from the film.

While the cinematography of the work was always a bit grainy and soft in its colors especially when shooting in the darkly lit club that's filled with various colorful lights-- there's a modest improvement in the Blu-ray presentation that sharpens up some of the muddied evening scenes, although it's not nearly quite as crisp and dazzling as the much sunnier Grease.

Filled with the same extra features that populated the 30th Anniversary DVD including a near hour long walk down memory lane that's filled with interviews, a pop-up fun fact track called "70's Discopedia" and feature-length commentary with John Badham-- curiously Travolta is absent from EVERY single interview and extra.

His absence is felt throughout the featurettes that discuss everything from the "30-Year Legacy" of the movie, the soundtrack extra, and costume one but all the more so when you realize it's essentially "his" movie with features like "Spotlight on Travolta" and "Dance Like Travolta."

Further absences from the work include some of the lauded extras found on the 25th Anniversary DVD along with accompanying Badham's theatrical version with its sanitized PG-rated version to give fans a true reason to make the upgrade to Blu-ray.

Not quite as shiny as the disco ball with this wonderful sounding but slightly dulled visual transfer to high definition-- while for true die-hard fans, you'll still want to see what Travolta's famous white suit looks like cleaned up in 1080 pixels, unfortunately the rest of the visual performance doesn't live up to the price-tag.

Grease:
Rockin' Rydell Edition
[Blu-ray]

Seeing Grease again in the wake of High School Musical-- I was amazed by just how much of an impact this 1978 internationally beloved sing-along ready work has had on entertainment since its release.



Although even in its original Broadway form, it was hardly a new idea in its alternately affectionate homage to the sock hops and poodle skirt era of the '50s or its parody of the films, stars, and music of the time from Rebel Without a Cause to Elvis Presley-- nonetheless, it's impact is still felt more than thirty years later.

While on the surface, you can see it in direct plot set-up rip-offs like High School Musical in its tale of two kids who fall for each other while on break from school and the guy is thereafter startled to find the girl has become the newest addition to his class, it's also there in mini-moment like a racing or chicken style sequence that felt like it was echoed in Footloose. Likewise, it boasts the same pre-Mamma Mia! meets Rocky Horror Picture Show like legion of fans who sing along to the lyrics and act it out. Simply put-- it's a cult film all its own and Grease hasn't lost any off its gloss.

In a lustrous transfer of the film in the Blu-ray edition of the previously released Rockin' Rydell DVD, the sound and picture quality astound from the start as even those with a modest surround sound set-up or utilizing TV speakers will feel like they're experiencing a near movie theatre like presentation.

Having appeared in the Broadway show as one of the supporting cast-- hot off the success of Saturday Night Fever-- Travolta used both his clout and good instincts which stipulated that his Boy in the Plastic Bubble director Randal Kleiser would direct one of his three contractual films for Paramount when Stigwood signed him on. And in doing so, Travolta took on the role that Jeff Conaway had played as the cool high school dream boy Danny Zuko in this upbeat picture.



If you imagine the Frankie and Annette beach movies mixed with Doris Day and Sandra Dee's virginal sex comedies blended together with a walk on the wild side as experienced in Rebel Without a Cause, The Wild One and a few of the other “method” actor pictures of the era, you'll get a good sense of the theme and tone of Grease which likewise plays at times as though Elvis Presley had starred in Splendor in the Grass and it had been re-tooled as a romantic musical comedy.

While to hormonal high schoolers, the idea of a summer romance along with shedding extra layers of clothing in favor of swimwear is the ideal place to fall in love or lust-- as we learn in Grease bathing suits and hot sand also hide people's true nature, typical surroundings, and attitudes from plain sight as the sweet Australian Sandra Dee clone, Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) falls for Travolta's local bad boy. Determined that she's just “not that kind of girl,” dutifully pushing him away when he kisses her passionately for more than two seconds, the two part ways for what they assume are their respective continents only to wind up in the exact same Rydell High School.

With Zuko as the leader of his leather jacket clad group “The T-Birds” with his wing-man Kenickie (Broadway's original Zuko, Jeff Conaway), Newton-John's peppy, out-of-her-element Sandy is well out of his periphery until she's “adopted” by the most maternal member of the female version of The T-Birds as run by Stockard Channing's Rizzo in "The Pink Ladies."

And conveniently Frenchy (a pitch perfect Didi Conn) latches onto Sandy like she's an adorable new puppy who needs to be trained so soon Sandy begins to spend time with the Ladies, much to the chagrin of Rizzo who is the polar opposite of Sandy's pure-as-the-driven-snow character.

When Sandy follows the school's advice that if you're not athletic, you should be an athletic supporter and becomes a cheerleader, at long last-- and following the standout musical number “Summer Lovin'” which offered the he said/she said version of their romance-- Sandy is placed in the same line-of-sight as Danny.

Reuniting at a homecoming event pep-rally (which is pointless as Rydell's team is the laughingstock of high school sports), Sandy is amazed to discover a much different Danny-- now minus the sunshine and bathing suit in favor of fake tough-guy pretense, male swagger, bravado, leather jackets and cars as he blows her off in front of the guys so as not to let his real feelings show.

While Sandy remains “Hopelessly Devoted” and heartbroken, she tries to move on dating Lorenzo Lamas but soon Danny sneaks back into her heart amidst a school of double standards regarding good girls, easy girls, and those like Frenchy who become a “Beauty School Droupout” in contrast to the sex and car obsessed guys.



About as deep as an Archie comic book-- the thing about Grease that makes it work so well is precisely that its only mission is to show the audience a good time, invite us to the party, and make sure we're enjoying ourselves throughout the entire film.

Although actress Didi Conn shares my surprise (and indeed my dismay) that children as young as six worship Grease which much like Dirty Dancing, isn't the type of film I'd want a young girl to latch onto as it's filled with so many sexual jokes, innuendos, and overtones that I doubt it would earn the same PG rating today not to mention it's a little annoying that Sandy has to feign being “slutty” to land the boy in “You're the One that I Want,” overall, the film's an absolute blast.

While a major believability problem-- other than some of the anachronisms such as the Barry Gibb penned “Grease is the Word” title track that sounds like a 1978 song instead of one from the '50s is that a large amount of the cast members look far too old to be playing high school students (and in some cases with the guys, it's downright giggle-inducing), you easily forgive all of that since it's letting you in on the joke that it knows precisely that it's fluff from the start.

Far less classical than most musicals and it will never stand out like Singin' in the Rain or any of MGM's Golden Age masterpieces-- it's nonetheless a great hybrid of the musical and rock 'n roll dance movie that has managed to keep the beat over the years as more people learn the steps and lyrics.

Filled with far more extras than the ones contained on the Saturday Night Fever Blu-ray-- most of which don't appear to have been transferred to high definition aside from the trailer-- the inviting behind-the-scenes featurettes such as the affectionate “Remembering Grease” are true standouts as we marvel at the dedication and true sense of pride and enjoyment those involved still seem to have for the work.



As it's noted in one of the Blu-ray extras that benefit nicely from their addition of John Travolta (yes, I'm still not sure why he was M.I.A. on Fever), the filmmakers wanted to retain the energy from the source material and actually invited Paramount executives and those on the lot to watch the elaborately choreographed high-quality production numbers that no-doubt helped push the cast even further in their work.

Filled with '50s in-jokes, cameos, and more-- while the Blu-ray quality of this one is superlative and the extras including, (of course) sing-alongs and more, turned this reviewer into a new-found fan who can appreciate it like the feel-great cinematic equivalent of instantly satisfying yet similarly forgettable delicious bubble-gum-- whether to make the upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray would probably depend on which version of the film you own and the extras to which you are “hopelessly devoted.”

All in all, it's a terrific piece of entertainment and one that's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face as well as encourage different levels of appreciation throughout as this time I realized how utterly blown away I was by Stockard Channing's command of emotion and conviction in performance.

And while I'm still stunned that instead of the critically lauded Fever, in the end, Grease turned out to be “The One That I Want,” it was great fun exploring both once again to see the way that Travolta managed to dazzle us in some of his earliest challenging film roles.

And this was especially a great film buff pursuit to go back in time in his career, long before a man named Quentin Tarantino took it upon himself to remind us how good John Travolta had been all along with his Oscar nominated turn in Pulp Fiction that made us welcome back the Kotter actor yet again in a whole new light.

Blu-ray Review: Bolt (2008) -- 3 Discs Including Digital Copy & DVD

Premiering First on Blu-ray 3/22
-- 2 Days Before It Dashes onto DVD

View Exclusive Video Clips From the Film
& Blu-ray/DVD Bonus Features

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In what Inside the Actors’ Studio host James Lipton calls his Walt Disney contribution as the “first Stanislavski animated method actor,” (following his recent work in the darkly comic Igor) playing a TV director in the film Bolt, he delivers the key line of “if the dog believes it, the audience believes it.”

The dog in question is the titular character Bolt, voiced by the charming John Travolta who-- unbeknown to himself-- is the unwitting, canine Truman Show style four-pawed star of an Inspector Gadget like superhero television series. Acting opposite his beloved “person,” Penny (Miley Cyrus), Bolt doesn't realize that the extreme stunts and heroics he carries out on a daily basis perpetually saving Penny from his cat-stroking, mad genius, arch nemesis Dr. Calico (Malcolm McDowell) are staged.

When the shooting stops-- while Penny retreats to her trailer in the hopes of playing fetch with the puppy she picked out shortly after his birth-- Bolt staunchly refuses to break character (and in fact doesn't even know he is a character) by remaining on guard, paws ready, fiercely devoted to the girl he loves. After series of misadventures finds Bolt mistakenly shipped to New York City with no idea how to return to Penny in Hollywood, the Disney comedy that boasts an inventive premise morphs into a picturesque adventure complete with humorous animal sidekicks in the long-standing tradition of Walt Disney animation.

Initially released in 3D around the 2008 Thanksgiving holiday, Bolt has the honor of becoming Disney’s first release made under the guidance of Pixar’s John Lasseter who took over the animation department following the merging of the two companies. Not to mention, Bolt was the first film to hit shelves after Disney’s bold decision to release the Oscar-nominated Bolt exclusively on Blu-ray two full days before the DVD hits shelves.

Fully committed to the Blu-ray format since Walt Disney's exceptional release of Sleeping Beauty last fall and again unfailingly loyal to their audience, they once more return with high quality two and three disc packs of their movies in a Blu-ray format that also gives families either a digital copy of the movie and/or a standard high quality DVD to prevent added expense incurred when people began making the switch from DVD to Blu-ray.

Coming off the heels of their remarkable restoration of Pinocchio, it's a bit unfair to judge the action-packed and highly contemporary Bolt with the same yardstick. Similar to Pixar’s overly long works Cars and The Incredibles, Bolt feels much longer than its 96 minute running time as it exchanges the first act’s high-tech concept to become a Disney animal road movie wherein the sidekick characters are far more entertaining than Bolt or Penny.

Yet, despite this, the movie offers some of Walt Disney Studios’ most incredibly gorgeous animation since its hand-drawn hey-day as we discover in the terrific Blu-ray extra “Creating the World of Bolt,” which analyzes the film's art direction and goal to give the work a “soft, warm, lived-in-look,” as Bolt makes his way back to Hollywood throughout the various states in the continental U.S.

Following extensive research on the techniques employed by classic American painters and dedicated to bringing back the rich hand painted history of the studio’s original animation cells while merging it into the world of CGI, the artists of Bolt inserted brushstrokes and unprecedented detail in each and every shot. The amazing achievement by the art team also involved traveling the journey Bolt would be making in the film with their cameras and sketch pads in tow to see the way light and shadow appeared to change in each new place.

And indeed, as Bolt treks back to L.A. alongside his hyper, scene-stealing hamster sidekick Rhino (incidentally Bolt’s biggest fan) and the tough New York kitten Mittens (voiced by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman in her first animated feature), we’re simply awestruck by the incredible attention to detail which helps elevate the film after it started to lose momentum in its final act.

Following its phenomenally exciting action-packed opening that soon gives way to pathos as we see the pain in Bolt’s eyes when he struggles to become reunited with his “person,” Essman and Disney employee turned voice actor Mark Walton (as Rhino) manage to charm us into laughs as Essman’s street-wise Mittens gives off an Oliver and Company vibe and Rhino comfortably slides into the most reliable of Disney supporting roles as Bolt’s version of Sebastian from The Little Mermaid.

And while overall, the premise itself is rock-solid and would’ve probably been able to be given a green-light on that strength of that ingenious concept alone, unfortunately as a whole the work feels a bit uneven once Bolt arrives in New York City. Possibly, the screenwriting team of Dan Fogelman and Chris Williams may have been a bit more successful if the storyline would’ve found a better payoff or balance between Bolt’s Truman Show like existence and discovery that although he isn’t a real bona fide “super dog,” his superb affection for his “person “will make him feel like one anyway.

And instead of simply sending him on the predictable ups and downs of a clichéd journey motif (despite the beauty) that Disney has exhausted in the past to better much result in the live action film Homeward Bound and in Pixar’s original Toy Story, by milking the opener of what the director called the set of a Michael Bay type TV show and Hollywood jokes, perhaps it would’ve kept the energy level and pacing it established much better than it did by the closing credits.

Of course, as a sucker for Disney’s four-legged friend films and having really enjoyed the outside-the-box approach of Beverly Hills Chihuahua—Bolt doesn’t disappoint overall and the unique image of a dog, a cat, and a hamster going on the road like a 3D animated version of Jack Kerouac is good fun indeed. However, in the end, I think playing with the idea of the Stanislavski method animation actor approach would’ve given it a few more paws up.

In its gorgeously packaged three disc release of the Blu-ray that comes loaded with extras including a new short starring Rhino as he gets to live out his own Bolt-like superhero fantasy, a music video and in-studio voice session footage featuring Travolta and Cyrus, Disney’s BD-live network capabilities, DBox Motion options, art galleries, a filmmaker featurette, interactive games and more—the highlight for me was definitely the aforementioned “Creating the World of Bolt.”

For in it, once again audiences can sit back and simply marvel at the level of commitment and artistry served up by those who work in Disney animation. Also offering a digital copy (compatible with both PC and Apple computers and portable players) as well as a standard DVD of the film, Bolt is also hitting the street this week along with the hotly anticipated two-disc DVD version of Lilo and Stitch with the bonus of purchasers of both titles getting the opportunity to obtain a Bolt plush toy.

DVD Review: Rona Barrett's Hollywood: Nothing But the Truth (2008)

Own It On DVD
From Infinity Entertainment
2/10/09

One Dollar from Every DVD Sold Goes to
The Rona Barrett Foundation for
Helping the Elderly Poor

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Working in the entertainment news industry for more than thirty years, veteran daily broadcaster and celebrity interviewer Rona Barrett is indeed as Infinity Entertainment Group notes, "a true pioneer and innovator." Leaving behind the overly formal television studio styled interviews we see on most broadcast and cable network shows that puts celebrity guests in the hot seat, Barrett's approach was simple, genuine, empathetic and direct.

With, as she admits, a true interest in "what makes people tick" and a commitment to "never ask a question I couldn't answer myself," (should she ever be in the interviewees' shoes), she was the first to "conceive the 'coffee klatch' style now embraced by other top journalists," as celebrities opened their doors and lives up to Rona and chatted with her as though "they were with an old friend."

There's an old quote that unfortunately after an hour of digging I cannot locate to reference directly so forgive my paraphrasing and it states that if one is fortunate enough for whatever reason to live an extraordinary life, one has no business keeping that to themselve. And so it is to our great pleasure that Ms. Barrett, who introduces the first in her series of interview DVDs serves up snippets of eleven of her most memorable interviews from stars ranging from John Wayne to Carol Burnett.

Having been acquainted with Cher since she was just a kid-- roughly around the time she was to marry Sonny Bono at age 16-- Rona visits the successful singer at home with the two relaxing on her large bed as though they were sisters as Cher candidly opens up about her recent divorce from Bono and new relationship with Greg Allman (who would become her second husband).

Confessing that she knew from an early age that she didn't want to continue life as a poor young woman who felt ugly as the only non-blonde in a family of blondes, Cher reveals the way she practiced signing autographs at age twelve and the frank discussions she had with both her mother and Bono that although she may not be the prettiest or the most talented, there was something unique about her. Admitting that her whole life revolved around Bono who waited months to even hold her hand, Cher is refreshingly able to speak lovingly about her ex whom she felt had become like family in sharing that she would always love him.

Just one of the singers and famous women Barrett includes on the disc as there's another interview of a similar vein with Priscilla Presley-- whose marriage to Elvis, Barrett had been the first one to break. Catching up with Presley now a little over a year following his death as a poised Presley recalls both the great times and the hard times of living with the King whose happiness was of the utmost importance to her. She shares that Elvis Presley's ease and genuine love for people will be the one thing that their daughter Lisa Marie would inherit, following his shocking passing.

Perhaps the most articulate singer Barrett interviews on the disc is the remarkably intelligent Donna Summer-- always underrated in my opinion-- who discusses the impact that such a frankly sexual hit like "Love to Love You Baby," had on the otherwise shy, comedy prone, and devoutly religious young woman so that she wasn't sure she wanted to leave the house for awhile. Ultimately looking back and noting that, "I'm a coat of many colors, you're just seeing one stripe," as the quintessentially graceful response to those who pigeonhole her as simply a sexy diva-- Summer shares her dedication to her craft and the way that in the end, she feels that to work in show business requires a sense of masochism, especially in the music industry where love and hate flow side by side as it beats you one week and you beat it the next.

Another woman who always fell prey to that double-edged sword-- Ms. Raquel Welch shares the similar way that her looks were used to define her range as a performer and while she freely admits that even at age seven she realized she received attention just walking around in ballet toe shoes due to her beauty and later used that to her advantage, she was relishing with Barrett in the opportunity to show the real side of herself that few people know.

Perhaps the most gripping portion of the disc contains a segment with Carol Burnett that quickly had me in tears in this 1976 interview in which Barrett asks her about her horrific tragedy prone life growing up as the child of two alcoholics. With the utmost of clarity and bravery, she recalls the bold decision she made as a young woman barely scraping by in New York to return home and take over as guardian of her twelve year old sister. Absolutely devastating yet extraordinarily courageous-- Burnett proves to be yet another one of those comedians who turned to laughter out of misery in order to mask a pain so deep that no one would be able to decipher it on the surface.

While Burnett safely reveals her history with Barrett, it's interesting to take a look at two interviews with Robin Williams just a few months apart before and after the start of the astronomical success of Mork and Mindy as he is unable to sit still, taking on voices and jumping topics throughout as Mork in the first one and then becoming a bit more composed in the second, speaking to her as Robin.

Noting another performer who changed in a short period-- Barrett offers a significant interview with John Travolta, just following the burial of his mother which finds him matured incredibly over the year following the success of Saturday Night Fever where he reveals that he felt his greatest ambition and goal was to continue to inspire others such as helping breaking gender stereotypical boundaries to encourage men to dance (via Fever, Grease and many others). Moreover, Travolta states that the ultimate legacy to which he aspires to leave would be to add positive inspiration to a life that is filled with so much negativity, in a way that makes contemporary viewers feel especially heartbroken realizing the tragic loss of his son Jett.

In two other interviews that break free of traditional gender stereotypes, fans who may have shortchanged Burt Reynolds as simply a car driving sex symbol and former stuntman get an intimate look at the man. Within moments, he shares his insecurities about his appearance (including one politically incorrect ethnic description), hints at the wound left by the press over his relationship with his best friend and former lover, the older "America's sweetheart" Dinah Shore, and mentions his desire to remain a bachelor but adopt a child so that he can become a father.

Much like Richard Dreyfuss, who is also interviewed, Reynolds rejects the notion that there's something wrong for men to remain bachelors although in Dreyfuss' case, it seems to have been a decision made at a young age as he shared in 1981 that he'd been openly opposed to marriage his entire life. While he doesn't like loneliness, he also confesses that although he doesn't believe he could be involved with just one person, he refutes any immature playboy labels by candidly revealing that sex is just extremely unimportant to him and that he's almost always embarrassingly been less interested in the act itself rather than foreplay (which he considers himself far more into as a "foreplay junkie").

Although Barrett's summation following each interview which she introduces and segues from into the next piece revealed that Dreyfuss has not only been married three times since that interview but also had three children, she also commends his willingness to open up about his history with drugs and bipolar disorder as promoting honesty and awareness about those extremely important issues.

However, it's the second interview included on the disc-- Barrett's final interview with John Wayne-- which is a bittersweet treat for fans as we see him just out of the hospital in one of his last public appearances before his death from cancer. Understandably sure that he would cancel and want his rest and privacy, Barrett fondly recalls the way that she heard The Duke in the background yell, "Tell Rona to come on down."

Sharing an easy rapport with a man she considers one of her favorite people of all time, courageously Barrett gives Wayne the opportunity to impart any wishes or second thoughts, asking him about regrets or if he'd do anything differently if he had the chance and while he said there were times he admits he lost his temper or said some things he probably shouldn't have, in the end, he would do it the same way all over again.

Clocking in at only a nice ninety minute running time with a bonus feature entitled Rona's Story-- it's fascinating material and while some interviews (including Carol Burnett's) seem much more compelling than others (Raquel Welch's) and we longed for more, despite the loads of tissues I was grabbing for during the Burnett segment, luckily it's been stated that this is the first in a series of DVDs Ms. Barrett is releasing.

An important piece of twentieth century American history containing some great insights into the way our society and gender roles evolved over the years, these are much more than the type of Access Hollywood tabloid style interviews we see today or low-class gossip pieces about Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, or Britney Spears.

A reminder that television interviewing is an art form and that one must be empathetic, nonjudgmental and willing to ask the tough questions in the right way-- it's an important documentary for those in what has sadly become our paparazzi styled celebrity news industry and a wonderful addition for pop culture fans wanting to know the humans behind the personas. However, perhaps the best surprise is that one dollar of each DVD Sold goes to help elderly citizens without the economic resources the chance to go into assisted living through The Rona Barrett Foundation.

Ladder 49

Director:
Jay Russell

When this old-fashioned epic honoring the brave men and women who dedicate their lives to saving others as firefighters was first released in 2004, on the surface it looked like it was a salute to the everyday heroes who stepped up to help search and rescue on September 11, 2001. However, further research revealed that it was written prior to 9/11 and originally set in New York but understandably changed its location after that fateful day to Baltimore, Maryland in this saga that follows Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) from his earliest days as a probationary trainee to a full fledged veteran with years of service with his fire station group, Ladder 49 that’s led by Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta).

Bookending the film with a horrifying blaze that finds Jack trapped in a huge building while Kennedy and the others on his crew try to rescue him, Jack looks back on the events that had led him to that particular moment in time including not only his role as a fireman but also a husband and father. Although some critics felt the work was overly sentimental and pointed out the film’s admittedly episodic structure, I felt that it was respectful and highly compelling filmmaking with the only major flaw being the unconvincing makeup of Phoenix and Jacinda Barrett who played his wife as-- throughout the picture-- they looked exactly how they did when they first met even though supposedly ten years had gone by.

Impressively, IMDb reported that every fire related incident in the film depicted an actual event that occurred within the United States and while, at times one can predict the events that may possibly happen to further the narrative, it’s elevated by the script by Lewis Colick (who worked on the screenplays of the equally old-fashioned October Sky and Beyond the Sea) along with the thoughtful direction of Jay Russell (My Dog Skip, Tuck Everlasting). Of course, it’s the thinking person’s action star Joaquin Phoenix who completed extensive academy and job training that’s the real star of this picture, managing to capture several emotions in a single scene and in the end will undoubtedly make even the toughest viewer find it nearly impossible to fight back tears.

The Thin Red Line

Director: Terrence Malick To this day, I’m still shocked when people say the dislike The Thin Red Line. Having had the misfortune of being released the same year as Steven Spielberg’s critically lauded yet (aside from the brilliant and unrelentingly brutal opening) highly formulaic Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line seemed to be the antidote to the Hollywood gloss of most WWII films as it is poetic, passionate, frustrating, hypnotic, tender, breathtaking and unspeakably tragic. While it’s said in some circles that having both Spielberg’s Ryan and Malick’s Line up for the Best Picture Oscar may have helped split the vote and led to the Shakespeare in Love upset, to me, it was again proof that the Academy Awards, while important and historical, are subjective and it’s a shame that several films and performances can’t be recognized as they’re overlooked in the definitive quest of simplifying things down to a single “best” choice. In comparing the works, Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that “Steven Spielberg’s film was about character and Malick’s is about spirit,” although I’d argue that spirit by its very definition is embodied in a fully realized and fleshed out character and in Malick’s film (which is based on the autobiographical novel by James Jones) is filled with a wide range of characters and their unforgettable spirits. As IMDb reported Malick had longed to adapt the book by the author of From Here to Eternity since the late 1980’s yet it wasn’t until ’98 when his meandering opus about the first major offensive by America’s Army Rifle Company C (for Charlie) on the South Pacific island of Guadalcanal in 1943 was released. While fighting for an overwhelmingly long time over the “key-positioned airfled that allows control over a 1,000 mile radius,” (IMDb) we get an intimate view of both the army and inner lives of several of the soldiers including our heroic Pvt. Witt (Jim Caviezel) and Pvt. Bell (Ben Chaplin) along with countless others that are played by the likes of Adrien Brody, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Thomas Jane, George Clooney, Elias Koteas, Jared Leto, Tim Blake Nelson, John C. Reilly, John Travolta, Nick Stahl, Nick Nolte and Sean Penn. With so many actors, it does at times become hard to tell them apart since (much like myself) the casting director must have had a thing for sensitive looking dark haired men. Viewers do at times feel a bit lost in the shuffle and may benefit from a second viewing yet contrary to critic Roger Ebert’s statement that “the actors… are making one movie, and the director is making another,” I thought they all added to Malick’s vision and their willingness to leave their egos aside for sometimes only moments of screen time owes much to the admiration for the legendary director of Days of Heaven and Badlands. The underrated Elias Koteas is especially good as Capt. Staros who fights hard to stick up for the men under his command and defy the orders of egomaniacal Lt. Col Tall (Nolte) to protect the others and save lives much to the detriment of his own career. With an average reported shot length of 7.9 seconds (IMDb) and a running time of roughly three hours, the daunting film which was nominated for seven Academy Awards alienated some with its artistic and cerebral approach but for those with the patience who appreciate a different take on a traditional war film (and one in the tradition of Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now), you will be extremely glad you invested the time.