Too Few Clues to ‘Memento’

Critics have tripped over themselves with praise this year for Christopher Nolan’s savvy, clever film noir “Memento,” starring Guy Pearce as a former insurance investigator with a short-term memory problem trying to solve the murder of his wife. Part of the fun of “Memento” is that the story unravels in reverse.

As enjoyable as “Memento” is, the DVD (Columbia TriStar, $25) comes up short. If ever a movie cried out for a commentary track, it is this art-house hit, which also stars Carrie-Ann Moss and Joe Pantoliano. Instead, there is a serviceable but short interview with the 30-year-old director that was telecast on the Independent Film Channel.

The digital edition also includes the wide-screen version of the film, the trailer, the original short story penned by Nolan’s brother, on which “Memento” is based, and an offbeat look at the clues in the film. Perhaps a special edition of “Memento” will be in the offing next year.

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Attention must be paid! Broadway Theatre Archives has recently released the towering 1966 CBS adaptation of Arthur Miller’s seminal play “Death of a Salesman” ($30, VHS only). Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock, who starred in the original 1949 Broadway production, reprised their roles as Willy and Linda Loman for this Emmy Award-winning presentation.

Though Miller abridged his play for this telecast, the drama is still a haunting, powerful experience. Cobb and Dunnock are both revelations--Cobb’s body language alone should be a primer for all acting students. Also splendid are George Segal and James Farentino as their sons Biff and Happy, Edward Andrews as Charlie, a very young Gene Wilder as Bernard, Bernie Kopell as Howard and Albert Dekker as Ben. Directed by Alex Segal. The video is available at https://broadwayarchive.com or at (800) 422-2827.

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Earlier this year, MGM brought out a bare-bones DVD of the 1987 cult hit “The Princess Bride.” This week, the studio is releasing a lovely special edition that fans of the fantasy-comedy adventure will appreciate.

Adapted by William Goldman from his novel of the same name, and directed by Rob Reiner, “The Princess Bride” is a fun spoof and charming romance about a stable boy (Carey Elwes) who pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright). However, he is abducted by pirates and she is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). Before the two can find each other again, there are encounters with a sweet giant (Andre the Giant), a criminal mastermind (Wallace Shawn) and a Spanish swordsman, Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), who is out to avenge his father’s death. A pre-”Wonder Years” Fred Savage plays a sick little boy whose grandfather (Peter Falk) is reading him “The Princess Bride.”

The DVD ($30) includes a nice wide-screen transfer of the film, two original featurettes, the trailer and an entertaining and sweet new documentary “As You Wish,” which includes interviews with Goldman, Reiner and the majority of the cast.

Reiner and Goldman also supply separate audio tracks; each one is terrific. Reiner says “Princess Bride” is one of his favorite books, which his father, Carl, gave to him in the early 1970s. After he completed “This Is Spinal Tap” and “The Sure Thing,” he set out to see if he could get the rights to “Princess Bride.” But he had no idea the problems Goldman had had in trying to get the film made.

Fox originally was going to make it in the ‘70s, but the head of the studio was fired before it went into production. Another company that was interested in the film closed before it could be made. Norman Jewison was set to direct it at one point, but financing couldn’t be arranged. Finally, Norman Lear, for whom Reiner had worked on “All in the Family,” put up $16 million and “The Princess Bride” became a reality.

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Kino on Video has imported Russian-produced DVDs of the 1971 Oscar-nominated film “Tchaikovsky” ($30) and the 1980 Oscar-winning foreign language film, “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears” ($30).

The great composer Dimitri Tiomkin produced the Tchaikovsky biopic, along with arranging and conducting the score. The wide-screen transfer is gorgeous and the music is sumptuous, but the film is as inspirational as watching paint dry. The DVD features three language tracks (Russian, English and French), subtitles in 13 languages, interviews with two of the stars, a brief bio on Tchaikovsky, archival film of the composer, production stills and talent files.

“Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears” beat out such competitors as Akira Kurosawa’s “Kagemusha” and Francois Truffaut’s “The Last Metro” for the best foreign film Oscar. What was the academy thinking? Time hasn’t been kind to this uneven and overlong comedy-drama about three working girls in Moscow in the late 1950s.

The DVD includes a grainy full-screen version of the film; interviews with the director, performers, composer and writer; archival footage; still photos; and talent files.

Be sure to have several boxes of Kleenex on hand for the DVD edition of the Oscar-winning documentary “In the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kinder-transport” (Warner, $25). Judi Dench narrates this powerful, emotional look at the amazing rescue operation just prior to World War II, in which more than 10,000 Jewish and other children were transported from German-held lands to foster homes and hostels in England.

The digital edition includes moving commentary from producer Deborah Oppenheimer, whose late mother was one of the 10,000 children, and writer-director Mark Jonathan Harris. There is also another track featuring commentary from everyone from the composer Lee Holdridge to the researcher to the sound designer.

There are bonus interviews with the Kindertransport participants as well as a touching visit with actor-director Richard Attenborough, whose parents adopted two German girls during the war. He talks about how that experience changed his life. Rounding out the disc are the trailers, talent files, parent and rescuer profiles and photo galleries.

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Though Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit shorts--”A Grand Day Out” and the Oscar-winning “The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave”--came out on DVD last year, Warner Home Video and BBC Video have just released a new DVD compilation, “The Incredible Adventures of Wallace and Gromit” ($25) that includes a lot more goodies, including a commentary track from the sweetly shy Park, who created the eccentric Wallace and his brilliant, faithful dog Gromit in college. Wallace is actually based upon his father, and Gromit was a term that his brother, an electrician, used in his job.

There are early screen tests of Wallace and Gromit, three of Park’s early animated films--two of which he made when he was just 13--and a brief history of Wallace and Gromit.