More Articles By Cyril Pearl

• The Hardly Boys in Hardly Gold
  MICROCINEMA Street: April 29 Prebook: now > William Wegman’s famed Weimaraners go the amateur detective route in this affectionate spoof. The latest Microcinema release featuring the videos of William Wegman and his faithful Weimaraner dogs is an adorable spoof that finds curious canines Fay Ray, Battina, Crooky and Chundo embarking on Hardy Boys-styled adventure-mystery. More
  
• The Hottie & The Nottie
  LIBERATION/GENIUS Street: May 6 Prebook: none > Sub-par comedy starring socialite Paris Hilton. The fact that this film received a theatrical release to more than 100 theaters is amazing—there are so many superior films that don’t even receive a token theatrical run. More
  
• My Boy Jack
  BBC/Warner Street: April 22 Prebook: now > Fine performances highlight a engrossing tale of love of family and country in WWI-era Britain. David Haig wrote and starred in this drama about British literary giant Rudyard Kipling (Haig), who is torn between devotion to his country and love for his family when he gets his son John (Daniel Radcliffe) a commission in the Irish Guards during World War I. More
  
• Alvin and the Chipmunks
  FOX Street: April 1 Prebook: now > Alvin and Co.’s colorful picture and resolution is undercut by only one high-end English audio option. The talented chipmunk trio that rose to superstardom in the ’60s returns in this smash hit, which took the international box office by storm last Christmas. More
  
• Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913)
  FLICKER ALLEY Available now > Outstanding collection of 170+ works by cinema’s original fantasist. There are 173 films by seminal early filmmaker Georges Méliès included in this compilation of work, which is the most comprehensive package ever released on DVD. (Both Kino and Facets have issued Méliès round-ups over the past few years, but they aren’t nearly a... More
  
• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Blu-ray
  SONY Street: April 6 Prebook: now > Terry Gilliam’s period fantasy is packed with extras but only adequate on Blu-ray. Terry Gilliam’s appropriately fantastical film about the fantastic tales of the famed 18th century German baron (John Neville) and his posse (which includes Sarah Polley, Eric Idle and Jack Purvis), Baron Munchausen receives an undistinguished release in its Blu... More
  
• Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball
  C3 Street: April 8 Prebook: now > Short, supplements-filled doc on the great video/pinball hybrid that never was. This doc takes a look at the shooting star phenomenon of Pinball 2000, the late-’90s game initiative that was created to resuscitate the dying pinball industry by adding videogame elements to traditional pinball gameplay. More
  
• Father Knows Best: Season One
  SHOUT FACTORY Street: April 1 Prebook: now > The first season of the classic all-American ’50s sitcom arrives in a well-supplemented edition. The mother (or is that father?) of all family sitcoms, Father Knows Best ran for five successful seasons back in the ’50s and is only now making its digital debut. More
  
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  DISNEY Street: April 29 Prebook: now > Julian Schnabel's celebration of the mind and spirit over the confines of paralysis. The third film by American artist Julian Schnabel (Basquiat, Before Night Falls) is a wonderful adaptation of French author Jean-Dominique Bauby's autobiographical international bestseller. More
  
• Houdini: The Movie Star
  KINO Street: April 8 Prebook: now > Fascinating collection of the famed escape artist’s seldom-seen silent film work. The master magician and escape artist Harry Houdini made his name liberating himself from straitjackets, handcuffs and locked safes, and as Kino’s fascinating new three-disc collection illustrates, he didn’t just work his wonders for live audiences. More
  
• The Mark of Cain
  MICROCINEMA Street: March 25 Prebook: now > Arresting film on the tattoo subculture of Russian convicts. The criminal tattooing subculture of Russian prisons is the subject of this no-nonsense 2000 documentary. A subject that was mostly unknown in America until it was covered in last year’s David Cronenberg crime drama Eastern Promises, Mark of Cain features interviews with Russian pr... More
  
• Houdini: The Movie Star
  KINO Street: April 8 Prebook: now > Fascinating collection of the famed escape artist’s seldom-seen silent film work. The master magician and escape artist Harry Houdini made his name liberating himself from straitjackets, handcuffs and locked safes, and as Kino’s fascinating new three-disc collection illustrates, he didn’t just work his wonders for live audiences. More
  
• The Mark of Cain
  MICROCINEMA Street: March 25 Prebook: now > Arresting film on the tattoo subculture of Russian convicts. The criminal tattooing subculture of Russian prisons is the subject of this no-nonsense 2000 documentary. A subject that was mostly unknown in America until it was covered in last year’s David Cronenberg crime drama Eastern Promises, Mark of Cain features interviews with Russian pr... More
  
• The 4th Dimension
  TLA Street: April 8 Prebook: now > A stylishly constructed “dream film” a la David Lynch’s Eraserhead . The 4th Dimension is a strange, stylized indie about a loner (Louis Morabito) who becomes obsessed with ideas about dreams and time and the theory that sleep may be the doorway to another dimension. More
  
• Reader’s Digest Amazing Grace: Collector’s Treasury
  QUESTAR Street: March 18 Prebook: now > A nicely packaged collection of inspirational hymns and the stories behind them. A collection of inspirational hymns in audio and video form, as well as the history behind many of them, can be found in this handsome package that contains a DVD, a CD and a booklet that offers sheet music and lyrics. More
  
• Bonnie and Clyde: Two-Disc Special Edition
  WARNER Street: March 25 Prebook: now > American outlaw classic returns in a newly polished and supplemented edition. A classic that was badly in need of a makeover—the 1999 edition didn’t look or sound all that impressive—Bonnie and Clyde arrives digitally remastered from restored picture and audio elements and with a full complement of supplements. More
  
• The Savages
  FOX Street: April 26 Prebook: March 25 > Wonderfully crafted and acted drama about two dysfunctional siblings dealing with their father’s dementia. Writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ second feature since her 1998 debut film Slums of Beverly Hills, The Savages is a darkly comic, adult drama about two grown-up siblings, Jon and Wendy Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, b... More
  
• Bonnie and Clyde: Two-Disc Special Edition
  WARNER Street: March 25 Prebook: now > American outlaw classic returns in a newly polished and supplemented edition. A classic that was badly in need of a makeover—the 1999 edition didn’t look or sound all that impressive—Bonnie and Clyde arrives digitally remastered from restored picture and audio elements and with a full complement of supplements. More
  
• The Savages
  FOX Street: April 26 Prebook: March 25 > Wonderfully crafted and acted drama about two dysfunctional siblings dealing with their father’s dementia. Writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ second feature since her 1998 debut film Slums of Beverly Hills, The Savages is a darkly comic, adult drama about two grown-up siblings, Jon and Wendy Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, b... More
  
• The Mike Douglas Show: Moments and Memories
  SRO/KULTUR Street: March 27 Prebook: now > Clips and comments from the daytime talk show. One of the most innocuous TV talk show hosts of his time, Mike Douglas helmed a daytime talk show that originally aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982. Moments and Memories compiles a healthy collection of show clips, featuring such bold-faced names of the era as Billie Jean King, Kiss, Kareem Abdul-... More