Posted on: Friday, December 7, 2007
Interview makes 'Pirates' a good deal
By Susan King
Los Angeles Times
The nearly three-hour "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Disney) sailed on to DVD with a lavish two-disc set that includes among its extras a riotous interview between the film's star, Johnny Depp, and Rolling Stones guitar legend Keith Richards, who has a cameo in the adventure as Capt. Jack Sparrow's father.
Depp based his character on Richards, so to watch the two together is like watching a doppelganger.
And after listening to Richards talk — and make little sense— it definitely seems that he's still enjoying his hard-living, bad-boy rock lifestyle.
Other extras in the "At World's End" package include some very funny bloopers, extensive featurettes on every aspect of the production, two boring deleted scenes with commentary from director Gore Verbinski and a profile of cast member Chow Yun-Fat.
FILTHY SWEET FUN
Jonah Hill ("Knocked Up") and Michael Cera ("Arrested Development") are the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid of high school nerds in the extremely filthy, yet sweet, teen comedy "Superbad" (Sony), produced by Judd Apatow ("Knocked Up," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin") and written by "Knocked Up" star Seth Rogen and his old high-school buddy Evan Goldberg.
Hill and Cera play inseparable friends, aptly named Seth and Evan, who are having a hard time coping with the fact that they will be going to different colleges.
Rogen and Bill Hader play two wild and crazy cops who have yet to leave their adolescence behind.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse nearly steals the film as Seth and Evan's uber-geek friend, Fogell, who selects the name "McLovin" for his fake ID.
The two-disc set includes the unrated version of the movie; ribald, often hilarious commentary from the cast and crew; an enjoyable blooper reel; behind-the-scenes featurettes; a clever bit called "Cop Car Confessions" with Hader and Rogen; audition footage; and the first table read of the script in 2002.
ALSO NEW
"The Nanny Diaries" (Weinstein): Despite a winning cast including Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Chris Evans and singer Alicia Keys, this adaptation of the best-selling book about a young woman who becomes a nanny for a wealthy, dysfunctional family is tepid. Extras include a few standard behind-the-scenes featurettes.
"Lady Chatterley" (Kino): French director Pascale Ferran's demanding, erotic adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's classic, controversial novel, "Lady Chatterley's Lover." Marian Hinds and Jean-Louis Coulloc'h give exceptionally brave performances as the illicit lovers.
"Arctic Tale" (Paramount): Beautifully shot documentary from National Geographic that puts a very furry face on the plight of global warming. But because the film's narration, delivered by Queen Latifah, is aimed strictly for the kiddies, adults will quickly want to tune out. Especially painful is a scene involving a group of walruses that recalls the bean sequence in "Blazing Saddles." Extras include a nice behind-the-scenes featurette illustrating how directors and cinematographers Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson got the amazing footage.
"The Doll" (Kino): This beautifully restored 1919 German comedy, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, is a real kick — a wry sex comedy involving a young man who is told he must get married to receive his inheritance. But he's so reluctant to take the plunge he decides to buy a lifelike doll and marry it instead. Included on the disc is a new German documentary, "Lubitsch in Berlin."
"Erik the Viking" (MGM): Monty Python alum Terry Jones' 1989 comedic fairy tale starring a young Tim Robbins was not a critical or commercial success, and Jones was never happy with the way the film was edited. So with the help of his son Bill, who just happens to be an editor, the two pared down the 100-minute film to this breezier 77 minutes. Extras include a delightful featurette, "Behind the Director's Son's Cut"; a featurette from 1989; and charming commentary from Jones.
