DVD REVIEW OF NEW RELEASES.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor James Dean made it hot to be cool A 24-year-old James Dean running around in today's Hollywood would be lost in the hype. Why should a culture that finds Paris Hilton's scarecrow Scarecrow goes to Wizard of Oz to get brains. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] See : Ignorance Scarecrow can’t live up to his name. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Am. smile and wax- figure poses glamorous, that views her porn home videos as an upward career move, and that thinks her being able to say ``that's hot'' with the passion of a mannequin makes her a thespian even notice the charismatic Dean? The actor, with his brooding good looks, brought raw emotion to his performances on screen, but would he even get a shot today when up against prefab ``Idol'' celebrities and marketed stars of marginal talent? The odd thing is that without the cool of James Dean, the last 50 years might not have been as hot - to borrow one of Paris' two favorite words. Since he was killed in a car accident on Sept. 30, 1955 (he would have turned 75 next Feb. 8), a lot of actors and filmmakers have tried to bring that cool to their films. Others have tried to copy the pose, the look, the mystery of the man. Of course, now coolness is reduced to the manufactured look of a Gap commercial or Paris showing off her only talents - soft-core moves while washing a car and eating a burger. But here's your chance to bite into something more substantial. In celebration of 50 years of dying young and leaving a beautiful memory (I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. about a corpse), there's ``The Complete James Dean Collection Special Edition.'' The only three films Dean ever starred in each had a great director - Elia Kazan on ``East of Eden East of Eden is a novel by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck, published in September 1952. Often described as Steinbeck's most ambitious novel, East of Eden ,'' Nicholas Ray on ``Rebel Without a Cause'' and George Stevens on ``Giant'' - and are among their best works. Each has been remastered and includes a number of worthwhile extras. At this point, despite the thousands of words that will be generated this year for the anniversaries, no one is going to say much new or insightful about Dean, who died at 24. Just watch him on screen - that will tell you enough. ``The Complete James Dean Collection'' (Warner; $68.92). 'Swimming Upstream,' 'Boogeyman' The only recently released films out today are ``Swimming Upstream'' and ``Boogeyman.'' ``Upstream,'' directed by Russell Mulcahy, tells the semi-autobiographical story by scriptwriter script·writ·er n. One who writes copy to be used by an announcer, performer, or director in a film or broadcast. script Anthony Fingleton of a championship Australian swimmer (Geoffrey Rush) in the 1960s who succeeds despite being pushed by a domineering dom·i·neer·ing adj. Tending to domineer; overbearing. dom  i·neer and alcoholic father. Rush, as usual, gives a performance with an edge, but this downer down·ern. A depressant or sedative drug, such as a barbiturate or tranquilizer. of a domestic tale punctuated by its ``uplifting'' sports victory moments doesn't seem to know what it's about. As for ``Boogeyman,'' you get the picture already - gruesome deaths and attempts at creepiness, only for the brain-dead. ``Swimming Upstream'' (MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. ; $26.98). ``Boogeyman'' (Columbia; $28.95). 'Edward R. Murrow' and more TV The ``Edward R. Murrow Noun 1. Edward R. Murrow - United States broadcast journalist remembered for his reports from London during World War II (1908-1965) Edward Roscoe Murrow, Murrow Collection,'' a four-disc set, gives a comprehensive overview of the legendary journalist's career, from his coverage at the front in World War II to to his interviews with John F. Kennedy "John Kennedy" and "JFK" redirect here. For other uses, see John Kennedy (disambiguation) and JFK (disambiguation). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in , Louis Armstrong and Fidel Castro. The first disc has Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings and Ted Koppel talking about Murrow, as well as some of his interviews. Another disc looks at Murrow in his televised shows when he challenged Sen. Joseph McCarthy's abuses of power during the blacklist (1) A list of e-mail addresses of known spammers. See spam, spam filter, Blacklist of Internet Advertisers, greylisting and blackholing. Contrast with white list. (2) A list of Web sites that are considered off limits or dangerous. years of the '50s. Other television-related DVDs are listed below. ``Edward R. Murrow Collection'' (New Video Group; $59.95). ``The Dukes of Hazzard - The Complete Third Season'' (Warner; $39.98). ``Home Movies - Season Two'' (Sony; $34.98). ``Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends - The Complete Second Season'' (Sony; $39.98). ``Moonlighting - Seasons 1 & 2'' (Lions Gate; $49.98). Rob Lowman, (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com |
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