Weekly Digital Disc Picks – July 15, 2008

There aren’t many releases this week, but there are one or two real gems in the bunch.

First, the DVD releases:

Now, the Blu-Ray releases:

Finally, the pick of the week. This one is easy: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. That’s a great movie, which not only garnered Oscar wins for Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), Best Director (Milos Forman), Best Picture, and Best Writing (Adaptation, Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman), but Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Brad Dourif), Cinematography (Haskell Wexler and Bill Butler), Film Editing (Richard Chew, Lynzee Klingman, Sheldon Kahn) and Best Music, Original Score (Jack Nitzsche). Every one of those awards was earned, and I think some of the nominations should have won out over the competition. (I’m much more impressed by Dourif here than by George Burns in “The Sunshine Boys,” for example.) The “Juicy Fruit” scene alone is one I’ll never forget. The simple fact that would grow to sympathize with a character who should be, by definition, completely unlikeable is a major achievement. If you’re looking for a solid drama based on character interaction and abuse of authority, you’ll be very happy with this one.

One reply

  1. Split on an anime standpoint
    I’m torn right down the middle between "Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu", and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya".

    So – if you’ve seen Full Metal Panic, get Fumoffu. If you haven’t seen it yet, get Haruhi, and then give FMP a try.

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