The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner, Blu-ray, DVD), Guy Ritchie’s big screen revival of the sixties secret agent series, is an origin story of sorts—think “When Napoleon met Illya”—with the two agents in a wary partnership. Otherwise it doesn’t bother much with backstories or motivations beyond setting the scene, which in this case is Europe in the cold war culture of the 1960s, from the ominous night behind the Iron Curtain to the sunny playground of the Mediterranean
Henry Cavill, who was a stiff as Superman, is quite charming in a cocky, calculating way as Napoleon Solo, a former thief pressed into service as America’s best dressed agent. His mission is to get Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), an East German mechanic whose uncle happens to be a literal rocket scientist, over the wall to help stop some vague master criminal plot to unleash a nuclear bomb. Armie Hammer, dressed in funky proletariat chic so retro it’s cool, is stony Soviet agent Illya Kuryakin, who is after the same girl. So the rival nations decide to pair up their favorite cold warriors to stop the new international criminal threat, leading to a picture-postcard globe-hopping tour and a funky fashion show of sixties style. Oh yes, there’s also Hugh Grant getting in on the fun with his bemused dry wit. It won’t take fans of the TV show long to figure out his place in the scheme of things.
The plot is disposable at best —there’s an elegant mastermind (Elizabeth Debicki) who lives in the decadence of sleek sixties modernism with plans to destabilize the world for fun and profit—but Ritchie goes all out in reviving the Cold War sixties spy movie style and attitude, recalling Connery’s Bond movie with tongue firmly in cheek. The rival agents keep up their macho competitiveness and Vikander’s Gaby rolls her eyes at their juvenile antics, but in between we get elaborate set-pieces: foot chases and car races and physical stunts with real humans and physical objects rather than the manipulated pixels of CGI. Ritchie directs with an affection for sixties gimmickry both in terms of spy technology and filmmaking flourishes, splashing the film with multi-panel split screens (done digitally but evoking optical effects), zooms and whip pans, and the kind of splashy color that reminds us it’s all a fantasy.
It wasn’t particularly well-reviewed upon release and was not a summer hit—don’t expect a franchise to follow—but I found it refreshing and fun. Especially for a film where our two heroes are revealed to be borderline psychotics who have found their true calling in national service.
Blu-ray and DVD, with the supplements on the Blu-ray only: with five short featurettes and one collection of micro-featurettes, fun but a little slim for such a big production. The longest of the supplements—”Spy Vision: Recreating 60’s Cool” on designing the film and “A Higher Class of Hero” on creating the action sequences—are under 10 minutes apiece and the rest under five minutes each: a piece on the creator of the motorcycles in the film and portraits of the two stars and the director. “U.N.C.L.E.: On-Set Spy” collects four little pieces that run just over a minute apiece. Also includes bonus DVD and Ultraviolet HD copies of the film.
The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies – Extended Edition (Warner, Blu-ray, DVD), the final chapter in Peter Jackson’s epically-expanded adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s adventure fantasy, once again offer a longer version of his theatrical film for the home video experience. Opening with the death of Smaug the dragon and concluding with a battle that takes up about half of the film’s running time, this is the darkest of the films. It turns on the transformation of dwarf leader Thorin (Richard Armitage) under the spell of the treasure and delivers The Battle of the Five Armies, an event only sketched out by Tolkien in the novel. Jackson turns the battle into the biggest set piece he’s ever made, showing off his flair for spectacle on a mammoth scale and his gift for creating clarity in sprawling action scenes with multiple stories and central characters to keep track of.
I’m still not thrilled with the ret-con job on the classic story but this chapter is the best of the three, more focused on a central narrative spine to build the spectacle upon and featuring a solid foundation of character and conflict. It also benefits from the extended edition, which adds 20 minutes to the running time, most of it extended conversations and character scenes.
As with his previous five Tolkien films, Jackson saved his grand menu of supplements for the “Extended Edition,” a deluxe three-disc set on Blu-ray and five-disc set for the Blu-ray 3D and DVD editions. There’s commentary by filmmaker Peter Jackson and co-writer/co-producer Philippa Boyens and “New Zealand: Home to Middle-Earth Part 3” on disc one, and nearly ten hours of documentaries on the bonus discs. “The Gathering Storm: The Chronicles of the Hobbit Part 3” is a making-of documentary that runs just short of five hours and “Here at Journey’s End” (aka “The Appendices Part 12”) goes into detail on aspects of the production and pulls out to see the film in the context of the entire Tolkien story told in the six films. If you’ve seen any of the previous “Appendices” you know the kind of access and depth these productions have. A couple of bonus supplements fills out the final disc.
Also new and notable:
Jimmy’s Hall (Sony, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD), from director Ken Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty, is based on the true story of an activist who opened a dance hall for the youth of his town in 1921 Ireland, a place to talk, to learn, and to dance. With commentary by actors Barry Ward and Simone Kirby, a featurette, and deleted scenes.
Trash (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD), a drama set in the trash-strewn slums of Rio, is directed by Stephen Daldry from a Richard Curtis script and stars Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen. A labor of love project that didn’t get widely seen. The Blu-ray features a bonus Ultraviolet Digital HD copy of the film.
Meru (Music Box, Blu-ray, DVD, VOD) – This documentary, a Sundance Film Festival winner, follows three mountain climbers on an expedition to conquer Mount Meru, one of the most complicated and difficult climbs in the Himalayas. Blu-ray and DVD, with commentary, interviews, and bonus footage.
Swim Little Fish Swim (Indiepix, DVD) is an American indie about a married couple in the East Village whose already fragile relationship is further strained by the arrival of a young French woman with aspirations to be an artist.
We Are You Friends (Warner, DVD, VOD) starring Zac Efron has the dubious honor of having one of the worst wide openings ever in the U.S.
I will review at these in a later column:
The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali / Aparajito / Apur Sansar (Criterion, Blu-ray, DVD), the films that launched the career of the great Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, get the Criterion treatment with newly-restored editions of the films and generous supplements.
Chaplin’s Essanay Comedies (Flicker Alley, Blu-ray+DVD) offers newly remastered editions of the short films Charlie Chaplin made for Essenay Studios, his home between his apprenticeship with Mack Sennett and his contract with Mutual, where he created some of his greatest short comedies.
Faust (Kino Classics, Blu-ray+DVD), the final feature that F.W. Murnau made in Germany before leaving for Hollywood, is one of his most beautiful and visually inventive and debuts on Blu-ray with a newly-remastered restoration.
Pitfall (Kino, Blu-ray, DVD) is one of the most adult and underrated film noirs of the classic Hollywood era, and it’s recently been restored by The Film Noir Foundation and ULCA Film Archive. The restoration debuts on Blu-ray and DVD with commentary.
Digital / VOD / Streaming exclusives:
Available on VOD the same day as select theaters nationwide is the romantic comedy Man Up with Simon Pegg and Lake Bell, the action film Criminal Activities with John Travolta, and the cyber-bullying thriller #Horror with Chloë Sevigny.
Available for digital purchase in advance of disc:
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (Paramount, Digital HD)
Ant-Man (Marvel, Digital HD, Digital 3D, Disney Movies Anywhere)
Home From Home: Chronicle of a Vision (Film Movement)
Fantastic Four (Fox, Digital HD) Friday, November 20
Classics and Cult:
The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali / Aparajito / Apur Sansar (Criterion, Blu-ray, DVD)
In Cold Blood (Criterion, Blu-ray, DVD)
Chaplin’s Essanay Comedies (Flicker Alley, Blu-ray+DVD)
Faust (Kino Classics, Blu-ray+DVD)
Lost Lost Lost & Walden: Two Diary Films by Jonas Mekas (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray)
The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki (Disney, Blu-ray) – Amazon exclusive
White of the Eye (Scream Factory, Blu-ray+DVD)
Living In Oblivion: 20th Anniversary (Shout! Factory, Blu-ray)
The City of Lost Children: 20th Anniversary Edition (Sony, Blu-ray)
Pitfall (Kino, Blu-ray, DVD)
A Bullet for Joey (Kino, Blu-ray, DVD)
The House on Carroll Street (Kino, Blu-ray, DVD)
Troll / Troll 2 (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Adrift in Manhattan (Screen Media, Blu-ray)
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (Olive, Blu-ray)
Eight Men Out (Olive, Blu-ray)
It Runs in the Family (Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Larger Than Life (Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Almost an Angel (Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Kid From Cleveland (Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Haunting of Morella (Scorpion / Kino Lorber, DVD)
The Wild Eye (Scorpion / Kino Lorber, DVD)
The Cheerleaders (Code Red / Kino Lorber, DVD)
Voo Doo Man (Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Splatter: Architects of Fear (Olive, DVD)
Trashology (Slasher // Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Death Nurse (Slasher // Olive, DVD)
Death Nurse 2 (Slasher // Olive, DVD)
Deadly Prey (Slasher // Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Deadliest Prey (Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Cemetery Sisters (Slasher // Olive, DVD)
Cinco de Mayo (Slasher // Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Killer Workout (Slasher // Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Shock ’em Dead (Slasher // Olive, Blu-ray, DVD)
Gene Autrey Collection 12 (four movies) (Shout! Factory, DVD)
TV on disc:
McHale’s Navy: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory, DVD)
Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series (Warner Archive, Blu-ray)
Empire (Acorn, DVD)
Art of the Heist (Acorn, DVD)
‘Tis the Season for Love (Cinedigm, DVD)
Ice Sculpture Christmas (Cinedigm, DVD)
The Brain with David Eagleman (PBS, DVD)
Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration (PBS, DVD)
Wild Planet 3D Collection (BBC, Blu-ray+Blu-ray 3D)
Limited Edition Dinosaurs DVD Gift Set (BBC, DVD)
The Rebel: Season Two (Shout! Factory, DVD)
Sgt. Bilk/The Phil Silvers Show: The Final Season (Shout! Factory, DVD)
More new releases:
Gringo Trails (Icarus, DVD, VOD)
Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery (KimStim, DVD)
The Wanted 18 (Kino Lorber, DVD)
Goodbye Gauley Mountain (Kino Lorber, DVD)
Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (Eagle Rock, Blu-ray, DVD)
Santa’s Little Helper (Fox, DVD)
Calendar of upcoming releases on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital, and VOD