DVD Picks: 'Unforgiven', 'J. Edgar', 'Tower Heist', and 'Fort Apache'

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning masterpiece, Unforgiven (one of the greatest and most authentic Westerns ever made), is being re-released today in a special 20th Anniversary single disc BD/Digibook Edition. The movie itself, of course, is an all-out masterwork–a gritty yet poetic meditation on violence, revenge, hypocrisy, and masculine identity. Like an ever-evolving melody, its script, dialogue, images, performances, editing, and music all fuse together as one purpose-driven path towards fate and mortality. Made as Eastwood's cinematic farewell to the Old West, Unforgiven remains today the last truly great American Western.

Unfortunately, for a special 20th Anniversary Edition, this Digibook release falls short of the complete five-star BD treatment that Unforgiven deserves. For those who don't yet own a Blu-ray copy of the film, this is as good a start as any; however, for the more patient kind, or for those who already own the previously released BD, you may want to hold out for something better. In gist, this single-disc/50+page booklet release is merely a repackaging of the previous Blu-ray edition, replete with the same supplemental material and unworthy sound quality. Included in the extra features are an audio commentary track by film critic/Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel, a 2002 documentary entitled "All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger", a "making of" documentary, theatrical trailer, and more.

Ratings: IMDb - 8.3/10  Metacritic - 82/100  Rotten Tomatoes - 96% 

J. Edgar (Movie: 5/10; BD Disc: 4/10)

Sprawling, uneven, and overly gloomy, Clint Eastwood's ambitious yet uninspired biopic of one the most enigmatic historical figures in U.S. history was, in a word, a blunder. Although filled with Eastwood's trademark mastery over light and shadow, this poorly transitioned time capsule of FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) was far too complacent in its handling of its highly controversial and ever-mysterious titular character. Great performances aside, as an historical/informative depiction of the founding of the FBI, as well as an intimate character study on the man at the centre of it all, J. Edgar falls flat.

The only extra feature on this two-disc BD/DVD set is an 18-minute interview piece called "J. Edgar: The Most Powerful Man in the World." Featuring Eastwood, DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer, Denis O'Hare, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, producer Brian Grazer, and others, this brief overview of the personal and historical aspects of Hoover's life and career is interesting to a degree, but far too slight to justify it as the disc's sole extra feature.

Ratings: IMDb - 7.0/10  Metacritic - 59/100  Rotten Tomatoes - 44%

Tower Heist (Movie: 5/10; BD Disc: 6.5/10)

If you're a big fan of Brett Ratner's Tower Heist, then today's release of its two-disc BD/DVD set will arrive as a likely welcome addition to your movie collection. Sporting a robust-looking/sounding hi-def transfer and a good sized quantity of extra features, this respectably put together combo pack gives the fans of the movie more or less of what they want.

I for one, however, was not a fan of Tower Heist. Due to the sloppy introduction of its story and characters (an intro from which it never fully recovered), as well as its lazily developed heist plot full of inconvenient conveniences, any sporadic bits of fun I had were often quickly tainted. All the same, if you haven't yet seen the film, you might as well try it out. Worst case scenario: you'll spend an awkward hour and forty minutes watching a slew of big name stars meander their way through a fractious and poorly executed narrative.

Extra features include a mostly inconsequential audio commentary in which director Brett Ratner, editor Mark Helfrich, and co-writers Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson waste too much time delivering tiresome references to their favourite movies/previous collaborations, a behind-the-scenes documentary entitled "Plotting Tower Heist", deleted/alternate scenes, alternate ending, and more.

Ratings: IMDb - 6.4/10  Metacritic - 59/100  Rotten Tomatoes - 68%          

Fort Apache (Movie: 10/10; BD Disc: 8/10)

It ain't perfect, but it'll most definitely do. Warner Bros.' single disc Blu-ray release of John Ford's classic Western, Fort Apache, isn't the best of what it could be (most notably in its video and audio transfer), but is undoubtedly the best option for what's out there. For those unfamiliar with the film (and Ford's work as a whole), Fort Apache is a classic example of the power of a director's trust in his or her audience to delve deep into the unspoken substance of a given story.

Starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple, and many of the usual actors from John Ford's stock company, Fort Apache is a beautifully shot rumination on fate, destiny, mortality, and heroic mythologizing. As the first instalment of Ford's celebrated "cavalry trilogy", this meticulously paced Western has finally landed a worthy hi-def BD transfer that although imperfect comes with my high recommendation.

Extra features include a highly informative and impeccably researched audio commentary by film historian F.X. Feeney, "Monument Valley: John Ford Country" (a nostalgic look at Ford's favourite shooting location, Monument Valley, and the tonal/scenic influence it had on the Western genre), and Fort Apache's theatrical trailer.

Ratings: IMDb - 7.6/10  Rotten Tomatoes - 100% (13 reviews)

To read last week's DVD reviews, click HERE.