By Steven Suskin
04 Oct 2009

"Somebody up there likes me" might well apply to the career and work, and public persona, of Paul Newman, who succumbed to cancer on Sept. 26, 2008. People like him up there, down here and in between; and a significant portion of his career is included in the monumental Paul Newman: The Tribute Collection [Fox]. Thirteen films are included on 17 DVDs (four in two-disc "Collector's Editions"). Heading the pack are three of his best: "The Hustler," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," and "The Verdict." Also on hand — the set ranges from 1958-to-1982 — are "The Long, Hot Summer," with Joanne Woodward (and Orson Welles, Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury); "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!" with Woodward; "From the Terrace," with Woodward (and Myrna Loy); "Exodus," with Eva Marie Saint; "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man," which is something of an oddity; "What a Way to Go!" starring Shirley Maclaine (with Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly and Dick Van Dyke, and a Comden & Green screenplay); "Hombre"; "The Towering Inferno," with Steve McQueen, William Holden and Faye Dunaway (and a stellar parade of featured players ranging from Fred Astaire to O.J. Simpson); Robert Altman's "Buffalo Bill and the Indians"; and "Quintet."

This Newman library comes in a handsome box (although I might as well report that when I opened the package, eight of the DVDs came crashing out of the thing — none the worse for wear — having slipped from their cardboard slipcases). What's more, there is a wonderful 132-page book, jammed with photos and wonderful essays but no authorship indicated. Product placement mavens will no doubt appreciate the final full-page photo, of a beaming Mr. and Mrs. Newman reading scripts in their 1960-ish den with Oscars on the mantel and — on the coffee table — a pack of Marlboros and a bag of Frito's Pretzels.

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With column space running out, let me mention two additional items of interest. Fame: The Complete Seasons 1&2 [Fox] contains — well, the first two seasons of the TV version of "Fame." As opposed to the 1980 motion picture, the 1988 stage musical, the just-released motion picture-remake, and who knows what else might be floating around. Specifically, that's the abbreviated early 1982 season (when the mid-season replacement won five Emmy Awards) and the 1982-83 season (when they won one). I used to occasionally catch this show, mostly to watch Debbie Allen, who won two of those Emmys, and character actor Albert Hague, who in an earlier time composed the scores for Plain and Fancy, Redhead, and a bunch of flops headed by Cafe Crown and Miss Moffat. The TV series "Fame" takes us back to the early 1980s, whence we might not actually wish to return. But the 38 episodes remain effective today — although present-day teenagers might think these guys are so old-fashioned.

Robert Altman's classic M*A*S*H [Fox] has now been added to the Blu-ray bin. Today's audiences are understandably more familiar with the long-running TV series, and for good reason; but the 1970 film came along just at the time when an increasingly large segment of the younger generation were beginning to see the folly of the goings-on in Vietnam. Altman had been struggling, mostly in TV, for more than a decade; his new-style direction — and his impressive band of players including Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Gary Burghoff and Rene Auberjonois — resulted in a surprise hit with lasting resonance (due in part to the sitcom, which began in 1972). Blu-ray features include a new "Complete Interactive Guide to M*A*S*H," which should entertain and engross fans.

(Steven Suskin is author of "The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations" as well as "Second Act Trouble," "Show Tunes," and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached at Ssuskin@aol.com.)