HOME ENTERTAINMENT : Videos of Foreign Films Offer Offbeat Fare
Commercial hits such as “Batman Forever,” “Apollo 13,” “Cinderella,” “Casper” and “The Santa Clause” may be garnering all the attention this holiday video season, but fans of foreign films have something to cheer about. Several offbeat European flicks are making their video debuts just in time for Christmas.
Marco Ferreri’s 1973 “La Grande Bouffe” (Water Bearer Films) is quite literally not for everyone’s tastes. This blackest of black comedies deals with four friends--Marcello Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret and Ugo Tognazzi--who are so bored with life they decide to end it all with an epicurean orgy. Though “La Grand Bouffe” (a.k.a. “The Blow-Out”) is frequently grotesque and disgusting, the four actors are quite wonderful. Water Bearer is releasing the unrated European cut.
Oscar-winning Italian actress Anna Magnani (“The Rose Tatoo”) is at the peak of her formidable powers in 1962’s “Mamma Roma” (Meridian), directed by the renowned, controversial Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. Magnani gives a towering performance as a prostitute trying to make a new life for herself and her beloved teen-age son. However, her dreams go up in smoke when her former pimp threatens to tell her son about her past.
“Minbo” (Home Vision Cinema) is an appealing 1992 seriocomic tale from Juzo Itami, the innovative Japanese director of such hits as “Tampopo” and “A Taxing Woman.” Nobuku Miyamoto (Mrs. Itami) is terrific as a fearless female attorney who is hired to protect a plush hotel against blackmailing mobsters. But the film riled the Japanese “Yakuza” to such an extent, Itami was viciously slashed in underworld fashion 10 days after the film opened in that country.
The Japanese import “Wicked City” (Orion Home Video) is a truly bizzaro “Blade Runner”-esque sci-fi thriller. Based on the popular Japanese sci-fi comic strip, “Wicked City” presents a world some time in the future in which humans coexist with Reptoids, living beings who have taken on the physical form of humans. The poor dubbing is very distracting.
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Married to the Mob: After seeing Martin Scorsese’s latest mob epic, “Casino,” you might want to check out the informative and entertaining “The Best of American Justice: The Mob” (A&E; Home Video, $60). Hosted by Bill Kurtis, the four-volume collector’s set contains great archival footage and juicy interviews with mob insiders, Mafia informants, federal agents and authors who have covered Mafia stories. Particularly gripping is the “Mob Ladies” installment, which features profiles of Virginia Hill and Sam Giancana’s oldest daughter, Antoinette.
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Ooooh! Noooo!: “Mr. Bill’s 20th Anniversary” (Anchor Bay Entertainment, $13) is a moderately funny and perverse tribute to Mr. Bill, the beleaguered little clay man who was introduced on “Saturday Night Live.” Included are several of his best “SNL” shorts and the new “Mr. Bill Goes to Washington.” The best bit: Mr. Bill at the O.J. Simpson trial.
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Baseball: “Cleveland Rocks” (Orion Home Video, $20) is not a documentary about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the American League pennant winners. The 65-minute tribute features highlights from the 1995 season, the 1995 World Series and interviews with Orel Hershiser and manager Mike Hargrove.
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Skate Now: Olympic gold medal winners Oksana Baiul and Viktor Petrenko headline “Nutcracker on Ice” (CBS/Fox, $15). Despite some hokey narration lip-synced by Petrenko, this “Nutcracker” is pretty sweet. Originally telecast last year on NBC, the video version features behind-the-scenes and additional skating footage not seen on TV.
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Killer Bs: George Kennedy, David Carradine, Bunta Sugawara and Eric Lutes star in “Distant Justice” (Columbia TriStar), a pedestrian cop thriller about a Boston police chief battling corruption.
Marc Singer of “The Beastmaster” fame flexes his pecs as a world-weary android tracer out to find four missing “pleasure droids” in the silly action-adventure “Cyberzone” (New Horizons). Strictly for the undiscerning.
Nick Cassavettes and Brenda Bakke star in “Twogether” (Columbia TriStar), a so-so, low-budget erotic drama about the tumultuous relationship between a struggling artist and a dedicated environmentalist.
New This Week: Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken and John Turturro star in “Search and Destroy” (Hallmark Home Entertainment), a comedy about a small-time guy with big dreams.
Billy Crystal and Debra Winger star in “Forget Paris” (Columbia TriStar), a bittersweet comedy that examines marriage after the honeymoon is over. Crystal also co-wrote and directed. . . . Also new: “The Best of Anna Nicole Smith” (Playboy, $20).
