THE DVD SHELF: Restored "Godfather"; TV's "Pushing Daisies"; Disney's "Beauty"
By Steven Suskin
06 Oct 2008
If network television has not been favoring us with much to keep our interest of late, they do turn out an occasional series that captures our attention. Such is the case with
Pushing Daisies [Warner], which premiered last October but was cut short by the Writers Guild strike. They wound up with a nine-episode season, and are now merrily embarking on their second.
"Pushing Daisies" is of interest to theatre fans due to transplanted Broadwayites Kristin Chenoweth, Jim Dale and Swoosie Kurtz. The leading players are Lee Pace and Anna Friel, both of whom are attractive and effective and do an expert job with their unconventional roles; but didn't you tune in, in the first place, to see what Kristin and Swoosie were up to?
What one found, pretty much immediately, was that creator/writer/producer Bryan Fuller has a weird and delectable sense of fantasy. The daisies that are being pushed are the kind that appear once you are six feet under them; Fuller's world is one where death is just the beginning of life's mystery, or at least the mystery of that week's episode. The writing, the characters, the design and the humor all fall somewhere between "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks," which is a pretty effective neighborhood for viewers with a healthy (or unhealthy) sense of humor and an advanced sense of the macabre.
Ms. Chenoweth, who from time to time can be a little too much for some tastes, is in fine form here: feisty, impossible and self-puncturing. She gets to act her little villainous heart out and sing, too; it's that kind of world that Mr. Miller has created. Ms. Kurtz, as a retired synchronized swimmer with an eyepatch, is as always arresting; she has only to blink with her one good eye (does the one good eye change from time to time?) to steal attention. She is paired with Ellen Greene, a singer who has occasionally trod the Broadway boards (most notably as the legendary Rachael Lily Rosenbloom, whose eponymous musical closed during previews back in 1973 and was quite a sight to see) and is better known for her chores at the Little Shop of Horrors. Kurtz and Greene make a wacky pair, all right, while Chenoweth and Greene provide a musical comedy presence. Jim Dale is on hand, too, as the ever-present narrator.
Mr. Fuller's outlandish little world is infectiously irresistible and quite juicy. The first season, nine episodes on three DVDs, is accompanied by one bonus, "Pie Time – Time for Pie," which is described as a "Delicious Interactive Featurette with Flavorful, Fresh-Baked Pie Slices as Your Entrée and Cast/Creative Team Members Dishing Forkfuls of Series Secrets." It's that kind of sensibility over at The Pie Hole, the central setting for "Pushing Daisies," and a wacky world it is that Mr. Fuller has created.
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Disney's policy of reissuing, withdrawing, and re-reissuing their classic animated movies provides a natural marketing incentive to continually upgrade their wares. In preparing their 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD of
Sleeping Beauty [Disney], they have gone back to the original materials and
really reconstructed things. As far as I understand, which is not very far, the preparation of the Blu-Ray edition caused them not only to clean up things but expand the shots. Details on the side of the frames, which were cropped out of the film as it was presented in 1959 and issued on prior VHS and DVD releases, are now restored. Disney claims, accurately so, that you are now seeing more of "Sleeping Beauty" than ever before. This applies both to the regular DVD as well as the Blu-Ray Edition.
This makes an immense difference to eager fans of the film, who no doubt already have "Sleeping Beauty" on video, laser, DVD and who knows what other media. Watching the new release, I am surprised to realize that I haven't seen the thing — at all — since it originally opened when I was a child of six. I have seen plenty of Disney over the years, but this is one that I have somehow missed. I report, further, that it is pretty good.
"Sleeping Beauty" seems to be something of a variation on "Snow White," one of the finest of the Disney group, crossed with a wee bit of "The Wizard of Oz." Which makes for an entertaining mix.
The heroine is slightly on the bland side, perhaps, but she isn't given much to do. The stars of the movie, entertainment-wise, are a trio of middle-aged sprites called Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. (If Disney ever gets around to a stage "Sleeping Beauty," and I'm not suggesting that they do, they need only cast Elaine Stritch, Barbara Cook, and Bea Arthur in the roles and they'll have their biggest crowdpleaser since The Lion King.) These old gals — the screen ones, not Elaine, Barbara and Bea — provide enough humor, for the adults in the audience as well as the kids, to make the thing a delightful 75 minutes.
What "Sleeping Beauty" doesn't have, compared to many of the other animated features in the stable, is a score that stands on its own. George Bruns effectively adapted tunes from Tchaikowsky's ballet for use as underscoring and the occasional song. A couple of real songwriters, Sammy Fain (who wrote songs for Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Peter Pan") and Jack Lawrence, provided the big ballad, "Once Upon a Dream," which is similarly drawn from old Peter Ilyich. But the music is mostly incidental, unlike in such favorites as "Snow White" and "Pinocchio."
Bonus features are many, with Disney providing a second DVD's worth as is their habit. Included are an alternate opening; deleted songs; a "Making of 'Sleeping Beauty'" feature; a "Once Upon a Dream" music video (performed by Emily Osment of "Hannah Montana"); a virtual tour of the "Sleeping Beauty" castle; and even an enchanted dance game, in which those furry forest creatures will teach you, too, how to dance.
(Steven Suskin is author of "Second Act Trouble," "Show Tunes," and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached at Ssuskin@aol.com.)
