Four classic films combine to make this new set a must-have for fans of classic movies and especially fans of Humphrey Bogart. The African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre are each legendary films in their own right, but when you combine them in this high-definition collection, they are even more spectacular, and then add the hours of bonus features and this new release is a true classic itself.

Bogart won the Academy Award for “Best Actor” for his performance in the 1951 film The African Queen. Starring alongside Katherine Hepburn, Bogart wowed audiences as a riverboat captain coerced into taking a stodgy missionary to safety in war-torn Africa. This is an endearing story of two people who bond over differences and similarities, and who find a way to work together while at the same time trying to survive.

A bonus feature on this disc is a “making of” documentary looking at the way the film was created and filmed on location in Africa, which was almost unheard of in those days. It was also filmed in Technicolor, which added another burden to the filmmakers. “Movies are like soufflés. They either rise or they don’t.” And this one did rise. Lauren Bacall, aka Mrs. Humphrey Bogart, traveled with him on location to help him and ended up helping the entire cast and crew, being nursemaid, cook, and general caretaker.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) paired Bogart with Mary Astor in a tale of a private detective on the trail of a priceless statue. The bonus features on this disc include a behind the story documentary. The movie is described as “the first great detective story.” It incorporates “greed, lust, love, anxiety, truth, lies…”

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) won three Academy Awards. Bogart teamed with Walter Huston in a story of Americans mining for gold in Mexico. Bonus features include a documentary on the story, which is described as “a genuine classic” and on the AFI list of top 100 films. And there a wonderful and telling documentary about Director John Huston, narrated by Robert Mitchum, who describes Huston as a “joker, lover, drinker, (and) gambler” but was a brilliant director. Paul Newman claims Huston was “an eccentric’s eccentric.” He lived life to the fullest yet had high integrity when it came to his work. This documentary highlights the man and his films, and gives viewers a new perspective on the award-winning director/actor.

The 1942 film Casablanca is a film that, although takes place during World War II, is as interesting today as it was when it first hit the screens. Bogart is an expatriate living in Casablanca. He meets a former lover, played by Ingrid Bergman, and is then tangled in a web of good vs. evil as he must find a way to get her and her husband safely out of the country. With a bonus introduction by Lauren Bacall, who states this film is “a cinema masterpiece” and outtakes as well as a “behind the story” feature, this is truly a wonderful disc. And, an interesting bonus feature includes some deleted scenes, which are subtitled because the audio has been lost. Talk about a piece of Hollywood history!

The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre are not rated. The African Queen is rated PG for thematic elements, some violence, and smoking. Casablanca is rated PG for mild violence.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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Saving Mr. Banks did not win any Academy Awards, however it is an entertaining and interesting show that deserves recognition. It did take the title of “Movie of the Year” at the AFI Awards, and was nominated for many other awards including an Oscar for “Best Original Score”.

We all know the story of Mary Poppins, the magical and whimsical nanny who comes to take care of the Banks children. The beloved books were penned by P.L. Travers, who was very reluctant to have her endearing character of Mary Poppins turned into a film, let alone a Disney film. However, in the end she relented and in 1964 audiences around the world were charmed by the movie, which did win five Oscars.

Saving Mr. Banks is the story of P.L. Travers, her life, what made her into the person she was, and her relationship with Walt Disney and the Disney Studio. The film toggles between Travers’ childhood, which was bleak and often complicated with her alcoholic yet fun-loving father, and the early 1960s when Travers was in negotiations with Walt Disney about the Mary Poppins film. The scenes of her past are sad and let viewers into the mind of the author, with glimpses of her reality that ended up in her stories and even the movie. The scenes taking place in the 1960s are the clever, witty, fun scenes that make this film worthwhile.

It’s fair to say that Travers and Disney butted heads many times over the portrayal of Poppins. Travers did not want animation in the film, and she balked at the songs the Sherman Brothers were composing. She nitpicked everything and made the folks at the Disney studios crazy with her complaints. She just couldn’t see the vision they had for her beloved Mary Poppins.

Emma Thompson wonderfully portrays Travers and Tom Hanks is pretty convincing as Walt Disney.

Bonus features on this disc include some deleted scenes. One of which, “The Nanny Song” I would have liked to see in the final film, but at least viewers can see it now.
Another bonus is a look at the studio in the 1960s compared to today. The filmmakers carefully researched the history of the studio to recreate it for this film. In the early 1960s it was a busy place, turning out motion pictures, television shows, and exhibits for the 1964 World’s Fair. The studio is described as “Mouse Deco” and except for the back lot, which is now gone, looks pretty much like it did in the 60s.

Walt Disney was a hands-on producer. He visited each area of the studios at least once a day. Kids with parents who worked at the studio all felt like a family. To them it was a great way to grow up, and some of them share their experiences in this feature.

If you visit the studio today, the Animation Building, which is prominent in Saving Mr. Banks, outwardly looks the same. Note: It’s a magical place. I spend a lot of time on the lot and always love every minute of it from the time I drive on to the time I exit. It’s, to use a word from Mary Poppins, “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
To get the full story of Mary Poppins, you have to see this movie.

Saving Mr. Banks is also available on a single DVD. The movie is rated PG-13 for thematic elements, including some unsettling images.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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Young siblings, Zach and Hanna (CJ Adams and Erin Pitt) and their loyal dog Chinook, an Alaskan Malamute, find themselves in a difficult and dangerous situation when their seaplane crashes in the forest, leaving them to survive on their own while trekking through the wild to find help for the injured pilot. The brother and sister just left their mother (Natasha Henstridge) and were on their way to visit their father (Ted Whittall) for the weekend when their plane went down.

The situation seems more difficult for their parents who are at the base camp, worried about the youngsters in the forest. Meanwhile, Zach and Hanna, and Chinook must find water, shelter, and stay safe from a pack of hungry wolves and a grizzly bear. And if that weren’t enough, when a fire breaks out in the forest, they must deal with that as well.

The scenery is like a beautiful Northern Canadian travel film, with lakes, mountains, and the colorful leaves which make this part of the country so breathtaking in the fall. And the music adds to this aspect of the film. The cinematography and the musical score (performed by a live 65-piece orchestra) are the memorable parts of this film. For a relatively low budget movie, the score is amazing.

This is an exciting film for young viewers as they see two kids using their ingenuity and Cub Scout training to survive in the wild. And Chinook helps out and ultimately shows how good a working dog he really is. Against the Wild won three awards: Director’s Choice Award (Richard Boddington) and Crystal Image Award (CJ Adams) at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, and the Young Artist Award for Erin Pitt.

Bonus features on the DVD include outtakes and a feature about the wonderful music in the film.  Against the Wild is rated PG for action peril.

Note: No animals die in this movie (except for a fish). So children (and adults) who refrain from movies with animals because of this sensitivity do not have to worry about watching this film.

 
About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

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The story of Mowgli, the “man cub” continues in The Jungle Book 2. For the first time this colorful and musical film is available in a Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy combo pack.

In 1967 Disney’s The Jungle Book captivated audiences with the Rudyard Kipling story of Mowgli, the boy who was raised in the jungle. This little guy endeared himself to audiences of all ages, and in 2003 Disney continued his story with just as much enchantment as the original. The first film ended with Mowgli going to live in the “Man Village” with people instead of animals. The Jungle Book 2 starts a few days after the first story ended.

Mowgli is now part of the village but feels torn between his buddy Baloo and his old life of freedom in the jungle and his life of rules and responsibilities in the village. He runs away – back to the jungle and his old friend Baloo, who has also been missing his little buddy. Shanti, his “girlfriend” follows him into the jungle with little Ranjan, his new little brother, hot on her trail. Shanti and Ranjan are worried about Mowgli. They find danger and excitement in the jungle while searching for Mowgli.

Haley Joel Osment voices the Man Cub, aka Mowgli, Mae Whitman voices Shanti, and John Goodman provides the voice of the happy-go-lucky, loveable, carefree bear Baloo. With technological advances, The Jungle Book 2 is more vibrant than the original film. In the bonus features the filmmakers discuss this as well as how they wanted to remain true to the original film while advancing Mowgli’s story and adding more songs.

Some deleted scenes show a different direction for the story with songs that are delightful but, as the filmmakers acknowledge, didn’t quite fit their vision of the film. For instance, there is a song sung by Shanti, but it was cut from the production because the filmmakers wanted to put the focus of the film on Mowgli. There is another song that didn’t make it into the film with Shanti singing about the joys of the village and Mowgli singing about the fun of the jungle. Viewers are now able to see and hear what didn’t make it into this movie.

Music is a fun part of the film, and a “sing along” option allows viewers to, yes, sing along with the songs during the movie, with lyrics on the screen. And for those who might be a little sketchy about the first film (which is also available in a new combo pack), there is a short synopsis telling Mowgli’s story from the time he was found as a baby in the jungle to the time he entered the village.

“The Bare Necessities” is reprised, and the animals that viewers enjoyed in the original movie return. After all, it has only been a few days since the first story ended.

The Jungle Book 2 is filled with adorable characters, old and new (little Ranjan is so cute), and plenty of songs that will appeal to all ages. It’s rated G.

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About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook