THE DUCHESS OF LANGEAIS (Seville) Four decades after Out: 1, Jacques Rivette is still getting his Balzac on. The octogenarian auteur comes hard with The Duchess of Langeais, a 19th-century tragedy of manners detailing the romantic impasse between an aristocratic tease (Jeanne Balibar) and her flummoxed, military-man suitor (Guillaume Depardieu). “Steel against steel,” vows the latter, attempting to adapt battlefield tactics to the boudoir — his opponent, meanwhile, wields her propriety like a bludgeon. Rivette directs the proceedings with an eye towards theatricality —?one major character is introduced with a curtain-raising flourish — but there’s nothing artificial about the emotions on display. This beautifully modulated film practically tingles with exquisite frustration. Extras: none.
Also out this week
BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! (Criterion) Guy Maddin joins the short list of Canadian filmmakers (David Cronenberg, Claude Jutra) to have their work immortalized by North America’s toniest DVD label. Can Paul Gross be far behind? Extras: Narration tracks by Isabella Rossellini, Laurie Anderson, John Ashbery, Guy Maddin, Louis Negin, and Eli Wallach; 97 Percent True, a new documentary featuring interviews with the director and his collaborators; two new short films directed by Maddin exclusively for this release (It’s My Mother’s Birthday Today and Footsteps), deleted scene, trailer, essay by film critic Dennis Lim.
CJ7 (Sony) Stephen Chow’s CGI-assisted homage to E.T. has some of the giddy kick of Shaolin Soccer but gets maudlin down the stretch. Extras: “The Story of CJ7,” “Anatomy of a Scene,” “How to Bully a Bully,” “Make Your Own Giant Lollipop,” “The Making of CJ7,” CJ7 Mission Control game, cast and crew commentary.
WATCHING THE DETECTIVES (Peace Arch) Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu go straight to DVD; High Fidelity retains its status as the only decent movie named after an Elvis Costello song or album (see also Less Than Zero, Blood and Chocolate). Extras: none.
THE WIRE: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON (HBO) I’m not a regular viewer of what is apparently the Greatest Television Series of All-Time™ but those who watched David Simon’s monumental Baltimorality tale seemed pleased enough with its resolution (even if “Don’t Stop Believin’” wasn’t involved). Extras: audio commentary, featurette.
Out Aug 19
Camp Rock, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Prom Night, Recount, Street Kings and a remake of The Wizard of Gore starring Crispin Glover — if it’s as good as Willard, we’re sold!