Bovie Movie

In 1866, Kansas, the American civil war has just finished and the armies disbanded. The building of the West begins, and in 1872, the new city of Dodge City is ruled by violence and shootings. The Irishman Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn) is a man adapted to these days and presently is conducting a group of pioneers, including Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland) and her reckless brother, to Dodge City. Once in the city, Wade is invited to be the local sheriff, and an incident makes him accept the position. He tries to clean up the cattle town, ruled by the powerful outlaw Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his gang, with the support of the decent local people.

Although a deluxe two-disc set is available, this one-disc edition of Moulin Rouge will do for those who want just the film. This DVD boasts a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original broadcast aspect ratio of 2.35:1. English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Surround, and a French soundtrack has also been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by director Baz Luhrmann and co-screenwriter Craig Pearce, and a second commentary track recorded by Luhrmann, costume director Catherine Martin, and cinematographer Donald McAlpine. A behind-the-scenes featurette rounds out this strong release.

In Bernardo Bertolucci’s art-house classic, Marlon Brando delivers one of his characteristically idiosyncratic performances as Paul, a middle-aged American in “emotional exile” who comes to Paris when his estranged wife commits suicide. Chancing to meet young Frenchwoman Jeanne (Maria Schneider), Paul enters into a sadomasochistic, carnal relationship with her, indirectly attacking the hypocrisy all around him through his raw, outrageous sexual behavior. Paul also hopes to purge himself of his own feelings of guilt, brilliantly (and profanely) articulated in a largely ad-libbed monologue at his wife’s coffin. If the sexual content in Last Tango is uncomfortably explicit (once seen, the infamous “butter scene” is never forgotten), the combination of Brando’s acting, Bertolucci’s direction, Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography, and Gato Barbieri’s music is unbeatable, creating one of the classic European art movies of the 1970s, albeit one that is not for all viewers.