Mad Max: Fury Road

MAD MAX:  FURY ROAD               C+                

Australia  USA  (120 mi)  2015  ‘Scope  d:  George Miller               Official site

If you like adrenaline-laced Hollywood action adventures, then this is the movie for you, as it’s really all about a series of lengthy chase scenes, each one attempting to create blood-curdling moments of action and suspense, followed by a few moments of down time where the viewers can catch their breath, before the next one starts up again.  It’s a bit like kids waiting in line at Disneyland before taking a ride on one of the more spectacular roller coaster adventures of their young lives, where spending all day at this could resemble the feel of this movie.  It’s not essential that you’re young, but it actually plays better to those who weren’t around to see the original MAD MAX Trilogy (1979, 81, 85).  To those that were, this is fairly forgettable, as you’ve seen it all before, where this is kind of a combination of films two and three reassembled into a director’s cut, where director George Miller waited thirty years for technology to catch up to what he likes to do, which is stage elaborately choreographed fast-action fantasy sequences that are pumped and accelerated by the apocalyptic, end-of-the-world setting, making it matter who wins these catastrophic bloodfests filled with crashes and explosions and bodies hurled in every which direction, giving each episode a moralistic twist.  Personally, having seen the originals as they came out, there’s not much to get excited about, as this has all played out before, where in at least one person’s opinion, Mel Gibson’s Max (replaced here by British actor Tom Hardy) remains the essential piece of the puzzle, where the spare minimalism of the initial episode (made for less than half a million yet earning $100 million, holding the Guinness Book of World Records for most profitable film for decades, supplanted by 1999’s BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, and then 2007’s PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, which remains the most profitable low-budget movie ever) remains the best for its novelty, daring originality and utter bleakness.  No one had ever seen anything like that before.  While this may be exactly what people in theaters want to see today, where it’s all about thrilling action and explosions on the biggest screen, really it’s just more of the same.  Even the previews before the movie tell the story, as there were four (count ‘em) trailers for Marvel Comic Book action adventure movies, from ANT-MAN to FANTASTIC FOUR to DEADPOOL to BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, not to mention a new STAR WARS Christmas release, where there is a stream of neverending movies just like this coming out of Hollywood for the next gazillion years (DC and Marvel Comic Book Movie Lineup - 2015 to 2020 ...).  The movie industry has apparently invested all their money in exploding action adventures like this, where viewers must pay a premium price to watch it in IMAX or 3D or the biggest and loudest theater experience possible, where what you pay for is more vividly enthralling than the normal experience of watching it in the comforts of your home, as that’s what Hollywood is selling.  That’s the new theatrical experience, where bigger is better.      

Essentially modelled after MAD MAX 2, aka: THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981), which offered breathtakingly relentless non-stop action in an era before CGI effects were possible and is considered one of the greatest action movies ever made, topping the list in a recent January 14, 2015 Rolling Stone magazine Reader’s Poll, Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Action Movies of All Time ..., while described by critic Richard Scheib, Moria - The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review [Richard Scheib], as an “exhilarating non-stop rollercoaster ride of a film that contains some of the most exciting stunts and car crashes ever put on screen.”  It is the ultimate demolition derby movie that this fourth film has attempted to surpass―and if you’re judging purely by thrills and spills, perhaps it has.  The question, of course, is what does it matter?  Is this anything more than a summer blockbuster movie?  Does it contain a hint of the poetry from the original Trilogy?  Compare the narrator from MAD MAX 2:   

A whirlwind of looting, a firestorm of fear.  Men began to feed on men.  On the roads it was a white line nightmare.  Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage would survive.  The gangs took over the highways, ready to wage war for a tank of juice.  And in this maelstrom of decay, ordinary men were battered and smashed.  Men like Max.  The warrior Max.  In the roar of an engine, he lost everything.  And became a shell of a man, a burnt out, desolate man, a man haunted by the demons of his past, a man who wandered out into the wasteland.

While a similar narration opens MAD MAX 4, toned down significantly:

My name is Max. My world is fire and blood.

Outside of the first, which has become a prelude for the rest, still connected to the world as it was before whatever apocalyptical disaster occurred, MAD MAX 4 is perhaps the most minimalist of the entire series, where Max himself is not even the center of the action, but has been replaced by a newly introduced character, Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who’s seen as more of a badass than Max, whose replacement by a different actor is simply unthinkable.  It would be like Sergio Leone finding someone to replace Clint Eastwood in his legendary spaghetti westerns.  Some iconic figures are so cemented in the heart of the culture that it’s something you just don’t mess with.  Perhaps as a consequence of the transitory nature of a global economy, nothing is sacred.  But this certainly alters the tone of the movie, where the audience was asked to get inside the head of this lone figure wandering the wasteland, a man who started out with a wife and child, but lost everything, as did everybody else.  What follows is utter savagery, but Max, though loath to admit it, becomes a symbol for what was lost, still holding to a humane streak hidden deep inside that gruff exterior which affects our sympathies and appreciation for him, as he’s driven like no one else.  That’s entirely missing in this 4th episode.  And while he’s present, he appears mentally unstable, having grown closer to the darker side of madness, haunted by recurring flashbacks and psychotic voices in his head of all the people he tried to save and failed in the past, which have the effect of draining his strength and weakening his will to survive, which is and always has been his strongest asset.  Not so here, as we haven’t a clue what drives this man, as we no longer connect him to that same iconic figure.  Does that alter one’s appreciation for the movie?  Perhaps, as Max was like no one else.  Altering his persona removes our interest in the overall scheme of things, unless all we care about are extended chase sequences.  Originally conceived more than a decade ago, the film was ready to shoot, but postponed following the 9/11 attacks, where any number of obstacles since then have prevented the film from being made until now.  While all have been conceived and directed by Australian George Miller, this long interim from the last film has allowed technology to catch up with his grandiose vision, as the key to all these films has been the fantastic visual design of an entirely original universe, like something that might have come out of the mind and imagination of fantasy surrealist Alejandro Jodorowsky.  At least partially shot in the Namib Desert of Namibia, South Africa, considered the world’s oldest desert, it is a fitting landscape for the remnants of a post-apocalyptic world, as the world’s devastation is easily understandable without ever having to resort to any extraneous talk about how we destroyed ourselves. 

Exactly like MAD MAX 2, the action centers around a daring ride in a tanker truck to help save what’s left of any civilized world, but in something of a twist, Max is not the one driving the truck.  Instead he’s imprisoned by a marauding gang of thugs that control a territory built into the cavernous regions of a giant rock formation known as the Citadel, where they have tapped into an underground water supply and built a structured male-dominated society based on servitude, controlled by the tyrannical Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a hulking mass of a man that resembles the primitive crudeness of early gladiators.  While it’s essential that each of the imaginary worlds created for each film have a distinctly different look, this one is equally outrageous, with oversized women with massive breasts who are hooked up to machines for their milk, but also an army of captive blood donors whose blood is used to keep others alive, many of whom are suffering from cancerous tumors.  After his capture, Max is kept in chains as a “blood bag,” hooked up like an IV to one of the young “War Boys” named Nux (Nicholas Hoult), who dreams of pleasing Joe with his valor in the field of battle, where Joe promises an afterlife in Valhalla if they die in combat.  Nux uses Max as a hood ornament for one of their gas runs into a nearby city in the wasteland, while Joe’s top driver, Furiosa, is driving the giant tanker, surrounded by a squadron of motorbikes and war hot rods armed to the teeth, one of which is driven by Nux, a deranged, new generation kid who is defined by his unhinged fanaticism.  When Furiosa takes an unexpected turn, spotted by Joe’s lookout team, all Hell breaks loose, as this act of defiance opens the floodgates of rebellion, where hidden in the truck Furiosa is smuggling out Joe’s five wives, each one selected for breeding, hoping to lead them to freedom.  What follows is a furious assault to repossess his property, while Max remains chained to the car wearing an armored mask throughout the heated battle, with the tanker plunging headfirst into the middle of a raging sandstorm.  In the lull after the storm, Max and Furiosa have their own little standoff, where he discovers the young girls, uses cutters to remove the chains, and tries to drive away on his own, but the gas tank is rigged, forcing them, for better or for worse, to forge an uneasy alliance.  This rag tag team of survivors, including Nux who changes sides once he’s introduced to female companionship, and others they meet along the way, continue to come under waves of relentless assaults for the remainder of the picture, a frenetically choreographed run for freedom that accentuates Miller’s prowess at directing exhilarating, ultra-kinetic action scenes of fire, bloody chaos and sheer mayhem while barreling through the wide-open expanse of the desert, where THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001, 03, 06, 09, 11, 13, 15) meets a modern day LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) in a nonstop action adventure movie.  As to claims of a feminist theme, let’s not to get carried away, as it’s only in the sense that women, just like men, can become fantasy figures who lead revolts and fire guns and rifles defending themselves, while killing others with equal success.  Hardly worthy of applause, but many in the theater were cheering, much as they did generations earlier for John Wayne in westerns.    

Prometheus

PROMETHEUS              C+  

USA  (124 mi)  2012  ‘Scope  d:  Ridley Scott             Official site

Life on earth began in Iceland, if you believe the Ridley Scott lore that is this movie, which actually has the audacity to re-invent the beginning of the world in science fiction terminology, using a variation on dozens of movies that have come before, but this one pays homage to THE TERMINATOR (1984), as an interplanetary traveler consciously chooses this planet to create a new human species, spawning generations and centuries of life, yet humans remain clueless to their origins.  Instead, after a brief prologue, easily the most impressive piece of filmmaking overall, shot in actual Icelandic locations, the film begins in 2093 as a prequel to the original ALIEN (1979), presumably searching for the origin of life, setting into motion a series of outer space disasters that remain tightly under wraps for their next mission (with Sigourney Weaver, et al) nearly 30 years later.  While the sense of largesse is well established from the grandiosity of the opening shots, where it’s clear the story has interplanetary implications, what’s missing is any kind of interior development of the characters, where a few interesting people might have helped.  ALIEN worked because each of the characters onboard the space vessel became familiar to the audience “before” anything unusual happened, creating palpable suspense when they were suddenly threatened, where it was easy for the audience to identify with each character.  Not so here, where characters are gone before we even know who they are, feeling totally dispensable.  In fact, the person in charge of the mission comes into question almost immediately, where the unflappable ice queen, Charlize Theron as Meredith Vickers, is supposedly in charge, the daughter of the corporate CEO of Weyland Industries (who appears in the form of a hologram) that’s financing the journey, the emotionally void boss handing out instructions, condescendingly treating everyone as inferiors, but she is undermined almost immediately by the android on board, Michael Fassbender as David, who appears somehow to answer directly to her father.  Clearly there are secret issues that are not shared with the rest of the crew, or even each other.  This tends to complicate the mission, which is undermined from the outset, with so much intentional back stabbing and behind-the-scenes secret motives, where it’s never really clear what they’d be capable of achieving if they all worked together.

So rather than focus on the exhilaration of space exploration and the spectacular discoveries at hand, Scott seems more inclined to draw attention to the inevitable human failures, as if there is a flaw in the production design of human DNA.  This goes hand in hand with the title, as the mythological Prometheus created man from clay, then stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humans on earth, which enabled their progress and development, but it angered the gods, putting humans on the same level as the gods instead of inferior creatures that worshipped them.  In the grand design, it’s a question of balance, and when there’s an obvious imbalance, disaster follows.  Prometheus strove to improve human conditions, but his overreach resulted in tragedy, much like Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, which is subtitled The Modern Prometheus.  If this film suggests anything, it’s about God’s wrath instead of God’s existence.  While initially, there may have been a search for the origins of man, finding the original DNA that can explain the secret behind man’s existence, but by the end it’s all about the power of retribution and doom, a naïve curiosity venture that turns into a grandiose, operatic opening of Pandora’s Box.  Much that happens on the new planet is inexplicable from a rational standpoint, perhaps most perfectly expressed by an endless series of questions posed by this bemused viewer Red Letter Media talks about Prometheus - SPOILERS YouTube (4:00) that leaves his stunned friend in a kind of dazed, mental stupor.  This may be the effect the movie has on most viewers, as proceeding onto the planet without the slightest evidence of cautionary scientific protocol unfortunately defines human behavior in this picture, which instead turns into a whirlwind of disasters, many of them man made and self inflicted.  And while David is a perfectly created robot in man’s likeness, kind of a walking HAL computer who strictly obeys his designer and creator, he’s allowed to separate from the group and explore on his own, where it’s clear he has a completely separate agenda, as the android did in the original ALIEN, which eventually turned out to be their undoing. 

But it’s not Vickers in her virtual world that takes center stage, as she never leaves the ship, instead every step of the action on the planet is led by Noomi Rapace as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, a science expert who’s able to confirm the DNA discovered on the planet is human, so there is an inevitable link, but no one can figure out how or why.  Typically, everyone’s mission would be defined ahead of time, where each person has their own specific duty to perform, for which they received extensive training for months and years.  But the haphazard way this group separates and splits into utter chaos and disorganization leaves them continually susceptible to surprise attacks from unexpected and often unseen sources.  Their cavalier arrogance is laughable, as they mostly get what they deserve, all except Shaw who is a one woman wrecking crew, whose survival instincts are off the charts and remain impressively on display throughout, as she’s the only kick-ass character onboard that bears any resemblance to Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley character, but unfortunately all the feminist implications in her role have been removed, turning Shaw into little more than an action figure.  With such standard Hollywood character portrayals continually undermining the overall interest, retreading many of the same ideas and material, kept alive only by the often dazzling set pieces and special effects, it comes down to a battle of wits by the human (Shaw) and the android (David) against a ferociously crafty monster, where the story within the story seems to be their separately defined internal missions which are continually at odds with one another, where the exploration team is allowed to run roughshod over whatever planetary evidence exists without realizing the negative repercussions, leaving huge gaps in their eventual comprehension of how humans came from this strange and lifeless planet filled with peculiar signs of an unknown entity they cannot grasp, where both end up irreparably harmed beyond belief.  Only David appears to have the ability to unlock secret codes, discovering strange new conceptual designs of the universe, a colorful phantasmagorical virtual world, but as quickly as it appears, it instantly shuts down, leaving him in the dark about why a higher life form would both create and destroy life in the same breath, why such a strange and mysterious dual planet evolution, where after all is said and done, this is largely an overblown space adventure with people we barely know or care about, who behave in a heavy handed War of the Worlds manner that continually gets them into trouble—serious trouble—where it’s a miracle the human species survived.  However, as evidenced by this film, perhaps that’s only temporary.    

Young Adult

YOUNG ADULT                    C                    

USA  (94 mi)  2011  d:  Jason Reitman                         Official site

Oh where, Oh where has Charlize Theron gone?  Since winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in MONSTER (2003), she has all but dropped off the face of the earth, barely seen since then, working in such low profile films that many haven’t seen her at all since then.  She is back in a role that is pretty much written around her part, aka:  confessions of a psycho bitch from Diablo Cody, who is attempting to glean untold truths from the safe and secure mediocrity of the heartland.  Theron as Mavis is on the rebound after her failed marriage, one of the few who left her small town of Mercury, Minnesota to make it in the urban metropolis of Minneapolis, affectionately known as the Mini Apple, a place that few in Mercury ever see.  Mavis is the author of teen stories that are no longer in vogue, yet she’s busily typing away on her computer trying to complete the series, which is a running narrative throughout the film which mirrors the real life issues surrounding Mavis.  This is largely an opportunity lost, as the book characters offer no fresh insight into real life, but remains lost in a superficial wish fulfillment haze of self-centeredness that defines Mavis’s own world.  And therein lies the real problem with this film, as it’s stuck in a vacuous emptiness from which it rarely escapes.  Post divorce, Mavis is on a mission, to return to her hometown and reclaim her high school boyfriend Buddy (Patrick Wilson), even though he’s happily married with a newborn.  She makes this clear while throwing down tequila chasers in a bar one night, confessing her plan to a guy she went to high school with, Matt (Patton Oswalt), perhaps the most refreshing character in the film, seen as a loser in high school, a guy whose locker was next to hers but she never gave him a second look as she was a high school beauty queen that rarely thought of anyone except herself.  Nothing has changed in that department, while others around her have matured and become more responsible citizens, which she ridicules endlessly as a town full of losers. 

Mavis’s answer to everything is to fill herself full of liquor, which she does pretty much every day, falling face first into her bed at night without ever crawling under the covers.  Like Reese Witherspoon in LEGALLY BLONDE (2001), she has a tiny dog that you can carry around in the palm of your hand that she all but ignores.  Matt becomes her regular drinking buddy, where he conveniently has a homemade whisky still in his garage and the two commiserate about his loser life in high school and her narcissistic intentions with a married man that seem wacko.  The excessive amount of liquor consumption is a fairly standard device in the movies these days, which doesn’t seem to find alcoholism the least bit offensive or obnoxious, treating it as an opportunity for the characters to get more chummy and honest.  In Matt’s case, this may be true, as he’s strictly a side character whose role becomes more relevant due to his genuine earnestness, while Mavis never for a single moment stops thinking of herself, like a smug and pampered rich bitch that treats everyone around her like crap, thinking their lives are little more than boring and miserable, where their freedom is typically hampered by having annoying babies.  Her plan is to swoop in and rescue Buddy from this dreaded fate, knowing he would drop everything to run away with her.  This is a strange take on the American Dream, which Mavis has appropriated as doing whatever she wants at everyone else’s expense.           

While there are a few comical gestures, mostly in the exaggerated MEAN GIRL (2004) cruelty of Mavis’s derision of others, spoken mostly when drunk, as if this actually opens up possibilities for speaking candidly, but most may be surprised at how quietly unfunny this film actually is, as it’s more awkward and uncomfortable than funny, like watching a train wreck waiting to happen.  Had there been more revelations, one can endure plenty of uncomfortable moments, but this film is as vacuous as it seems, where the empty-headed character who spends all her time accessorizing with manicures and pedicures and buying new clothes for herself really never gets below the surface, as she’s pretty much the same vain egotist she was in high school, where her good looks have allowed her to get away with anything.  The way she stuffs herself with junk food and candy, not to mention plenty of alcohol, it’s a stretch to believe she never gains any weight.  But this is Charlize Theron we’re talking about, who dons several different flirtatious and beguiling looks and still looks terrific when hung over in the morning.  All in all, little happens, little is learned, and little changes, where the movie is basically a window into small town America as seen through the eyes of an overly pampered Barbie doll with a love for booze and spewing venom about the wretched and miserable lives of others, all the while blind to how pathetic her own miserable life has become.  She is a perennial user, a blood sucker, a parasite, the kind of girl who survives by manipulating others to get what she wants.  In the end all we can ask is so what?  Why should we care? 

The Yards

THE YARDS                  A                 

USA  (115 mi)  1999  ‘Scope  d:  James Gray

Like an offshoot from THE GODFATHER (1972), using a tense and beautifully realized naturalism with an equally impressive cast, this searingly intense story remains Gray’s best work exposing the behind-the-scenes corruption where various well connected families vie for control and power from the lucrative contracts awarded to provide repairs of the New York City subway system.  The director’s own father worked for a company that supplied parts and needed services for the New York subway, adding an autobiographical touch of authenticity to this story written by Matt Reeves and the director.  It is this close, intimate glimpse that gives the film its power, basically the story of two best friends, a young Joaquin Phoenix as Willie, an on-the-edge character in over his head, as usual, and Mark Wahlberg as Leo, fresh out of prison on car heists, where he apparently took the fall for the rest of the gang.  Shot by Harris Savides who subsequently became Gus van Sant’s cinematographer, the film opens with a welcome home party for Leo awash in warm golden tones with glowing faces accentuated by candlelight, where the restless mood showcases what’s best about James Gray films, where the everpresent food and din of voices underscores a growing sense of underlying urgency.  As Leo greets his mother, Ellen Burstyn, his aunt, Faye Dunaway, and cousin, a stunningly gorgeous dark haired Charlize Theron as Erica, the energy carries them to a nightclub where Willie wants to show off his girlfriend Erica in a dance sequence bathed in red, which grows ecstatic to the gyrating, rhythmic music of Bellini - Samba De Janeiro - YouTube  (2:48), which matches the frenetic mood of Willie who quickly gets in a jealous fight when a guy tries dancing with his girl.  From the outset, territorial boundaries are set, like neighborhoods or families or contracts, where men are willing to do battle in order to protect these invisible lines, where the perception is this is all they’ve got.      

In order to make up for the troubles he’s caused his mother, Leo intends to go straight, but all he knows are the ways of the streets, where he immediately falls back into the same crowd that got him into trouble in the first place.  He goes to see his uncle Frank, brilliantly played by James Caan as if he was the reincarnation of Sonny Corleone given a new chance at life, the guy who now runs the railway contracts, where he explains “If it's on a train or a subway, we make it or we fix it.”  But Frank is hesitant to involve his nephew in the dirty business and tries to steer him straight, but Willie who works for Frank will have none of that, believing there’s plenty of cash to go around, so he starts involving Leo in some of the petty graft, which involves the police, train employees and the local politicians, where it appears everyone is on the take.  Since this well-oiled system is so entrenched in local business practices, who is Leo to suggest it’s wrong?  This is perfectly underscored at a family dinner, where Frank is surprised Leo’s working with Willie, who is basically his bag man, the guy who pays off all the bribes and keeps everyone happy, but he accepts the situation when the women at the table start wondering what’s wrong with Leo working with Willie, since they’re such good friends?  Rather than a typical crime drama where the bad guys are clearly identified by their gun toting violence, this gets underneath the workings of a civilized society where everything is operating under the natural order of business, and when it’s family, everyone looks out for everyone else’s interests.  The character of Frank is actually inspired by Gray’s own father who was involved in a train racketeering scandal from the 80’s.   

This is an exceptional crime film that underplays and nearly eliminates macho dialogue but does place most of the interior scenes in dimly lit rooms that are nearly engulfed in shadows, where Phoenix especially wears the darkness around him like a garment, where his haunting close ups have an especially eerie feel to them.  Howard Shore chooses very sparingly to use grave, ultra dramatic music, adapting the dark and gloomy mood of Saturn from Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Based on the title, it’s inevitable that the most significant scene in the film takes place in the railroad yards, where Willie and a small group routinely damage railroad cars, which steers repair business to Frank, so he brings along Leo, thinking what harm can come of it?  But all hell breaks loose when a yardmaster refuses to play along, which sends everything spiraling out of control.  Leo gets fingered for something he didn’t do and he’s forced to go into hiding, once more taking the rap.  But on parole, he’s not afforded a second chance, so he either has to come clean or disappear.  The brain trust of the family operation works overtime on this one, as rather than someone they can simply get rid of, this is one of their own.  The moral lines are drawn, but everyone is in a quandary.  There’s a calm intelligence and seductive beauty to the way this movie is filmed, right down to the plentiful family meals, the accuracy of the speech inflections, the backroom negotiations playing out at supposedly public meetings, and the use of seedy locations, where Wahlberg’s role is reminiscent of Brando in ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), but he plays it with more quiet reserve, continually expanding his emotional range.  Erica has a spectacularly moving sequence with her stepfather Frank which could literally be an outtake from THE GODFATHER, while sisters Burstyn and Dunaway provide family cohesion with trust and believability.  The performances throughout are simply masterful and cannot be underestimated, as this has the despairing air and undignified feel of people being trapped by the system.

A NOTE OF WARNING - -  it should be pointed out that this film was originally shot in 'Scope, yet the Blu-Ray DVD releases have inexplicably been released in a 1:78 aspect ratio, compromising the look of the film, where the cinematography is one of the more stunning aspects of the film.  Quoting from this Amazon review written by purplefigment:

 

Buyer Beware.. The Yards [Blu-ray] from Echo Bridge Entertainment:

This is a product review for 'The Yards' Blu-ray release by Echo Bridge Entertainment.

Heads up that this 'The Yards' [Blu-ray] release (and additionally the 'The Yards' / 'The Lookout' (Miramax Double Feature) [Blu-ray]) from Echo Bridge Entertainment is heavily compromised (as are most everything released from their Miramax/Dimension Films partnership so far).

- It has been modified to fit your screen (because modified full screen releases were the best ideas from the VHS/DVD days) with 1.78:1 aspect ratio instead of its original intended 2.39:1 aspect ratio and of below average quality even then.

- It has had its audio mix downgraded from its original 5.1 track to 2.0.

- It is missing the extras that were available on its previous DVD release.

Consider the previous Director's Cut Miramax Collector's Series DVD release (never a good sign when the DVD equals or surpasses a Blu-ray release in areas), The Yards - Director's Cut (Miramax Collector's Series). That DVD release is in its intended aspect ratio, 5.1 audio track and contains numerous extras.